Do I want to win hockey games? You mean, like we have been: 6-1-2 in the last nine. Yeah, I want to keep our best line together over that period of time in which we've won 14 of 18 points.
Do you want to continue to be a contrarian or recognize that between the second half of last year and since Ennis returned in January that those two players have good chemistry?
Gee, I wonder why you didn't go back five games. Could it be that then Drew's numbers would be 3 goals, 1 assist, 4 pts, and +2.
It's fun to play with numbers, isn't it?
The team does need more offense...so you break up the one group that's been creating goals over the last 5-6 games? That doesn't make much sense.
Good chemistry? Hodgson is dead weight, Ennis skates around the perimiter doing all the work, and Stafford is playing air guitar with his stick! You call that chemistry!?
Good chemistry? Hodgson is dead weight, Ennis skates around the perimiter doing all the work, and Stafford is playing air guitar with his stick! You call that chemistry!?
Good chemistry? Hodgson is dead weight, Ennis skates around the perimiter doing all the work, and Stafford is playing air guitar with his stick! You call that chemistry!?
Good chemistry? Hodgson is dead weight, Ennis skates around the perimiter doing all the work, and Stafford is playing air guitar with his stick! You call that chemistry!?
so who was the guys saying bench
vanek cause it is obvious he is injured and who was the guy saying goal scorers need to play through the slumps to score goals?
Ovechkin, Kovalchuk, Iginla, Marleau, Eric Staal, Crosby, and Nash are the only players to have more 30 goal seasons since the lockout.
and if vanek had scored 2 more goals in 2009-2010 it would just be Ovechkin, Kovalchuk, and Iginla with more.
30 goals is a great season, 30 goals is 11.6% of vancouvers (top goal scoring team) total for last season, and 17.6% of new jerseys (bottom team)
vanek isnt elite, because only stamkos is elite right now, and he isnt stamkos.
in his first 7 seasons:
Gilbert Perreault - 230 goals
Thomas Vanek - 227 goals
Parise- 398 points
Vanek- 435 points
This makes essentially the same points I was going to make. If you want to look a little further you can make the point that Vanek and Parise also score in similar percentages of games, I believe both have about 35-40% of games with a goal and 60-65% with a point.
The large difference is that Parise is getting 5 minutes more icetime (3 at ES) than Vanek has this season which is probably more a reflection on Lindy than anything. Certainly we've seen Vanek play and play well in all situations...he just doesn't. He gets benched for far less than Roy's mistakes. And that doesn't necessarily suggest that Ruff is a bad coach just that he has a way of handling his players that is mystifying at times.
It's annoying b/c it looked like he was skating well and working hard out there tonight. Which makes me believe that he hasn't been hurt all along which pisses me off b/c where the hell has he been the last 20+ games?
It's annoying b/c it looked like he was skating well and working hard out there tonight. Which makes me believe that he hasn't been hurt all along which pisses me off b/c where the hell has he been the last 20+ games?
I love Vanek, but I really just think he has one of those 'soft' psyches. I don't mean that he is a soft player, because he's not. Frankly very few if any players take the kind of punishment around the net he does. But he has confidence issues. That is why he is so streaky. When his confidence goes he not only misses his scoring opportunities but he overthinks the entire game, going from a pretty decent two-way player to a guy who coughs the puck up and is a mess.
I think these issues would erase if he were on a perennial contender, but otherwise they're a serious issue. Hopefully new blood coming into the organization brings a new attitude and he can put this kind of thing behind him, because he's a fantastic talent.
I love Vanek, but I really just think he has one of those 'soft' psyches. I don't mean that he is a soft player, because he's not. Frankly very few if any players take the kind of punishment around the net he does. But he has confidence issues. That is why he is so streaky. When his confidence goes he not only misses his scoring opportunities but he overthinks the entire game, going from a pretty decent two-way player to a guy who coughs the puck up and is a mess.
I think these issues would erase if he were on a perennial contender, but otherwise they're a serious issue. Hopefully new blood coming into the organization brings a new attitude and he can put this kind of thing behind him, because he's a fantastic talent.
vanek takes a beating in front of the net on the PP... other then that, he's an incredibly soft player.
he's also one of the worst conditioned "1st line" hockey players i've ever seen.
vanek takes a beating in front of the net on the PP... other then that, he's an incredibly soft player. he's also one of the worst conditioned "1st line" hockey players i've ever seen.
I'm surprised ruff doesn't bug him about that more...IIRC he harped on stafford about it for a long time.
vanek takes a beating in front of the net on the PP... other then that, he's an incredibly soft player. he's also one of the worst conditioned "1st line" hockey players i've ever seen.
I have been to sooo many practices where Vanek was a no show. Sometime on the treadmill couldn't hurt him ether.
