How can you not like this move? The defensive has been embarrassing out there this whole series. Throw him in the lineup if he can play, it can't much worse than it has been. And even if it is, it was certainly worth a shot.
How can you not like this move? The defensive has been embarrassing out there this whole series. Throw him in the lineup if he can play, it can't much worse than it has been. And even if it is, it was certainly worth a shot.
Speaking of "shot" we can use his shot but wonder how his timing will be. At this point we can use him. I'm torn about who he replaces though...
How can you not like this move? The defensive has been embarrassing out there this whole series. Throw him in the lineup if he can play, it can't much worse than it has been. And even if it is, it was certainly worth a shot.
Largely, I've felt the problems have been at forward on defense, the one thing our defensemen havent been doing well enough is clearing the zone. The Debbie's seem to always intercept and start the cycle again.
Mesz regressed this year, his decision making looks worse. Unless his back is 100% healed I would shut him down....too often we push for right now and it comes back to bite us.
Largely, I've felt the problems have been at forward on defense, the one thing our defensemen havent been doing well enough is clearing the zone. The Debbie's seem to always intercept and start the cycle again.
Mesz regressed this year, his decision making looks worse. Unless his back is 100% healed I would shut him down....too often we push for right now and it comes back to bite us.
The defensive problem has been team-wide. Our defenders are getting beat in the corners, leaving guys wide-open, and failing to clear. If Mez can play, he should play. It would be one thing if the defense was playing well, or hell, even playing adequately, but they are not. They are playing like ****. If Mez plays tonight and is terrible, that will not be much different than whomever he replaces has been playing. If he plays and plays well, its a bonus. It really is a win-win situation. If he further injures himself and is out the rest of the year, that is not much different than what would happen if he sits out and they lose. Whether or not he has regressed is irrelevant. He is still a better player than Lilja and Gus (and probably Carle too). He's not our #1 defenseman and hasn't been all year, but he is certainly better than the bottom pairing. Even playing hurt.
Yea, I can see what your saying. Depending on the severity, which is higher closer to surgery, you can injure the back where you are out for a year+. It comes down to is it worth it for maybe one playoff game of Mez vs. Mez getting hurt for a longer period of time (which the chances are higher now than it is at the start of next season)
Just hope he doesn't injure that back more seriously, that's my main concern.
Pulled groin/broken bone...I wouldn't be concerned. Backs really are different types of injuries.
Quote:
Originally Posted by sa cyred
Yea, I can see what your saying. Depending on the severity, which is higher closer to surgery, you can injure the back where you are out for a year+. It comes down to is it worth it for maybe one playoff game of Mez vs. Mez getting hurt for a longer period of time (which the chances are higher now than it is at the start of next season)
While this is certainly a possibility, I don't think it is something to really worry about. He isn't going to play unless (a) he can do so without much pain, and (b) is cleared by the team medical/training/whatever staff. If he can play in an elimination game where the defense has been embarrassingly bad, he should play. If he gets injured it surely would suck and that is a possibility, but this is an elimination game. It would not be good policy to protect players from potential injuries (i.e. far from guaranteed) in what could be the last game of the season. If this were a meaningless game, then I would agree 100%. No need to rush back. But this is do or die. If he can play and will give us a better chance to win, he should play. If he can't skate and is not ready to play, then he shouldn't play. Do or die, fellas. Now is not the time to be worried about hypothetical injuries that potentially maybe could possibly linger to next year.
And Gus hasnt been ANY worse than Carle in his own end. 2 games ago Gus had the best plus/minus...granted he missed the first 4 score fests.
Cant do any worse. the work of the defense hasnt been great this entire playoffs. Lilja sucks, Carle has been brutal and Gus well hes a rookie who as expected had his ups and downs. I am glad they are keeping him in there. hes going to learn quite a bit about himself in these playoffs. He will be better for it IMO
Quote:
Originally Posted by achdumeingute
Mesz regressed this year, his decision making looks worse. Unless his back is 100% healed I would shut him down....too often we push for right now and it comes back to bite us.
I wouldnt be shocked to learn that his back was effed up all year and it affected his play. They have kept putting him off and putting him off. What are we near the 7 week point? probably at this point its not going to make a difference if we held him back till after Mothers Day provided we get that far.
Yes I realize back injuries can be very difficult to deal with. He could reinjure it. But the rest period was 6-8 weeks. Hes pretty much right in the middle of that. If he reinjured it now, he may have done it if they held him out the entire 8 weeks.
Just keep him out, briging him in at this point with the syle of play the Devils are playing is just a recipe for disaster. We need to win this war with the troops we currently have.
His decision making has been questionable all season long and now he will have to shake off the rust, build some confidence in how his back reacts to physical contact, probably struggling with the timing, and so on...
Does his back allow him to take slapshots? A cannon from the blue line and some traffic in front of the net could make a difference. Without Pronger he seems to have the hardest shot among all D.
