Improvement in scoring in the first and 1st period scoring differential.
Middle third for both special teams.
4-1-1 against Detroit to make sure they're 3rd or 4th in the Central
A single (1) shutout to prove it can be done.
No Kaner news off of the ice.
Fewer interviews with Mike Kitchen at the 2nd intermission.
Individual player goal: Toews finally reaching the PPG plateau.
Team aspect goal: Improved power play
Season goal: Finish at least 2nd in the Central
Playoff goal: ONE GOAL
WHAT?! They should be able to accomplish that rather unlofty goal in their sleep. I was thinking: top 5 PP and top 10 PK would be more appropriate, or at the very least top 10 in both STs.
WHAT?! They should be able to accomplish that rather unlofty goal in their sleep. I was thinking: top 5 PP and top 10 PK would be more appropriate, or at the very least top 10 in both STs.
nothing wrong with those expectations
make the POs
Top 15 PP & PK
1st is obvious and 2nd would be a good improvement over last year. This is the realistic goal we need to have
1.Earn your paycheck by playing hard and competing for 60 minutes or into Ot if required....please none of this competing hard for a third to half a game--if that--and clock -watching lacksadaisical mode the other times in a game...We see less talented teams working hard almost every shift competing as best they can to get the win but our guys too often relying on their quick strike talent seem to think that putting in only a couple of effective shifts a game is all it takes to get them a win..sometimes it is enough BUT you can't expect to win a Cup on bad habits and eventually such laxity will come back to bite you with lossess...WE need to cvompete hasrder ,longer in games and in more games during a season...so the very first goal is : MORE COMPETE,less cruising by on talent alone...
2. More TEAM PLAY ...we saw too much breakdown and lack of support between forwards and d-men..they must work better together and rely ess on individual talent to bail out a team...Nice to see say Stalberg dominate Columbus(though not any other team)--but where are the rest of the highly paid stars just cruising and letting Stalberg bail them out against bottom feeder teams ..We need a WHOLE TEAM to show up for games not just bursts from individual players.There must be better support for each other ...The chemistry was off too much last year and must be better this year...SO the 2nd goal is to see the team display more chemistry and support for each other. Win as a team..not -whose turn is it to bail us out tonight?
3. Goaltending ...that save % of Crawford's last year is unacceptable..it must be better this year by a wide margin...At least mid-range .912-.915 ...
4. PP and PK must improve ...At least one of the specialty teams must be top ten ,the other secialty team at least mid-pack...
5. Coaching....last year there was clear dysfunction ..They must be more cohesive AND effective in getting the players to execute better AND not be so lax as to accept players who start slacking off...They cannot run a country club atmosphere again.It must be all business and focus this year....
6. Players must avoid serious injury .stars must not get concussed...
7. Players must show progression or at least stability to their talent level---not regression (are you listening #88?)...
9. No player should be worse than -5 in ES play ....another -12 from a d-man and you can kiss real contender status good-bye...even if that is achieved
there should be only a very few pl;ayers with negative +/- totals...the vast majority of the team must post positive +/- stats..
10. A special goal: NO MORE 9 and 8 goal against games when playing EDM--they cannot be so embarrased as professionals again...
Team wise: Central Division Title, +30 or more GD.
Individual wise: 40 goal season from either one of the big 4 (likely Toews or Sharp), Toews was on pace for this last season before he got hurt.
Overall: Improved play from the bottom 6 forwards, harder to play against, more grit and toughness which I think we'll have with full seasons of Shaw and Carcillo.
Improved Offensive production from Kane and Keith.
One of the young guns/rookies to really shine, Brandon Saad, Jimmy Hayes and love to see Kyle Beach step up and bring what he does best to this team. Put him on a 3rd line with Bolland and Shaw, so at least he can play with some talent and Bolland has a guy that can actually shoot the puck and play his type of game.
