Play was weird. On one angle it looks like the shoulder absolutely clocks him but on another angle it doesn't show much contact, if any, at all. The fact that Feds is down and doesn't return though leads me to believe that he did get hit with the shoulder though. I don't see how someone gets that hurt from a stick to the face.
Even Richards himself is admitting he's not playing up to his standards, so can the excuses such as blaming his linemates stop already?
I'm assuming he's having trouble adjusting to the team and the city, so hopefully next season he bounces back in a major way. The good thing is that he has had a tendency to score some clutch goals despite his playmaking and PP struggles.
Yeah... because Richards is going to blame his linemates on camera...
Really man. You equate Richards not being a total ******* with him being totally satisfied with his linemates?
Yeah... because Richards is going to blame his linemates on camera...
Really man. You equate Richards not being a total ******* with him being totally satisfied with his linemates?
You would have a point if Richards was feeding his linemates with glorious chances routinely and they were flubbing it, or if he was outplaying his linemates by a large margin, but that hasn't been the case.
Also, he gets to play with Gabby on the PP, where he should be getting most of his points, but Richie has been underwhelming on the PP thus far. Anyone who thinks that Richards is not capable of playing better solely because of his linemates is deluding themselves.
Not to restart this debate again, but I think that the point is that Eminger tries to by physical, but actually misses on most of his attempts. And whereas Bickel actually does clear the crease, Eminger does not.
Bickel is not an NHL caliber defenseman. He makes too many mistakes, takes too many dumb penalties, and is too lousy handling the puck. Eminger is a very serviceable 5-6 defenseman.
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Originally Posted by True Blue
As for defensemen fighting, I get your point. However, those have been teh types that have been drafted recently. Fighting is a part of their game. Why draft them at all, if you will try to change the player that they are?
We didn't draft Bickel and he wouldn't even be up if not for the ridiculous number of injuries we've had to our defense.
Bickel is not an NHL caliber defenseman. He makes too many mistakes, takes too many dumb penalties, and is too lousy handling the puck. Eminger is a very serviceable 5-6 defenseman.
Ok, you proved me wrong. You win. Especially on the 'dumb penalties" part.
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We didn't draft Bickel and he wouldn't even be up if not for the ridiculous number of injuries we've had to our defense.
Not talking about Bickel here, but the ones that we did draft. The ones that have been drafted very recently. Fighting IS a part of what they do, is it not?
You are also leaving out that Erixon did not appear ready for the NHL, which is why Bickel got inserted. And that Bickel's play did prevent teh waste of an asset in a trade to fill in.
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Ok, you proved me wrong. You win. Especially on the 'dumb penalties" part.
Yeah, because three dumb penalties in two games for Bickel totally equals one questionable call against Eminger in his first game back. Eminger played 13 minutes last night. Bickel hasn't come close to that kind of icetime recently. There's a reason for that. Bickel is terrible positionally. Eminger's no great defenseman, but he is capable of playing real bottom pairing minutes.
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Originally Posted by True Blue
Not talking about Bickel here, but the ones that we did draft. The ones that have been drafted very recently. Fighting IS a part of what they do, is it not?
Other than McIlrath, which of our major defensive draft picks have been fighters? Staal doesn't fight. Del Zotto doesn't fight. Sauer almost never fights. Sanguinetti doesn't fight (he doesn't do much in the way of playing hockey either but that's not the point). McIlrath is the only fighting defenseman we've drafted high (ie first two rounds) since at least the lockout.
Quote:
Originally Posted by True Blue
You are also leaving out that Erixon did not appear ready for the NHL, which is why Bickel got inserted. And that Bickel's play did prevent teh waste of an asset in a trade to fill in.
What does that have to do with playing Bickel over Eminger? I'm not saying it's bad that we have him in our system for extreme emergencies. I'm saying there's no way in hell he should ever play over a capable bottom pairing defenseman like Eminger.
Yeah, because three dumb penalties in two games for Bickel totally equals one questionable call against Eminger in his first game back. Eminger played 13 minutes last night. Bickel hasn't come close to that kind of icetime recently. There's a reason for that. Bickel is terrible positionally. Eminger's no great defenseman, but he is capable of playing real bottom pairing minutes.
Other than McIlrath, which of our major defensive draft picks have been fighters? Staal doesn't fight. Del Zotto doesn't fight. Sauer almost never fights. Sanguinetti doesn't fight (he doesn't do much in the way of playing hockey either but that's not the point). McIlrath is the only fighting defenseman we've drafted high (ie first two rounds) since at least the lockout.
I guess I started this back-and-forth. I'm not saying Bickel is really a good NHL defenseman. However, in his first few games, he played quite well, recently, he has taken some lousy penalties. Also, I have seen SAuer fight on several occasions, though when healthy, I'm not comparing the two, Sauer is an excellent defensive defenseman.
It is also true that Bickel was brought up because Erixon wasn't ready, and we had a number of injuries. I'll leave it at that.
What does that have to do with playing Bickel over Eminger? I'm not saying it's bad that we have him in our system for extreme emergencies. I'm saying there's no way in hell he should ever play over a capable bottom pairing defenseman like Eminger.
I think you overrate Eminger, I don't feel he's that capable. And Bickel did not play that badly his first few games, so I think he's better than he's shown lately.
Last edited by Brian Boyle: 02-10-2012 at 07:55 PM.
I think you overrate Eminger, I don't feel he's that capable. And Bickel did not play that badly his first few games, so I think he's better than he's shown lately.
Yeah, my argument really merits the shakehead emoticon because you're clearly thinking on a level that's so far above me. Bickel has been exposed for what he is: An AHL defenseman. He's not good enough positionally to play in the NHL.
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