So we are winning again. Big win against SJ. However, we are one or two injuries away from being bad again. Smith has shown flashes of being the game breaker we desperately need but will Trotz's emphasis on defensive play stifle his creativity? Rinne has been pulling off miracles for us but we cannot depend on him every night like this. We need more consistent offensive zone pressure.
So we are winning again. Big win against SJ. However, we are one or two injuries away from being bad again. Smith has shown flashes of being the game breaker we desperately need but will Trotz's emphasis on defensive play stifle his creativity? Rinne has been pulling off miracles for us but we cannot depend on him every night like this. We need more consistent offensive zone pressure.
You can say any team is a bad team with one or two injuries to key players. So that's not really an issue.
The only way Smith's defensive play becomes an issue is if he's slotted onto the 3rd line once everyone is healthy. With linemates like Smithson and Spaling/Tootoo, there will be more time spent in the defensive zone, possibly exposing him.
As for the last point. I completely agree. Not enough pressure in the offensive zone. However if we play like we did in the 3rd period against SanJose, we're on the right track. Hard on the puck, and team speed.
So we are winning again. Big win against SJ. However, we are one or two injuries away from being bad again. Smith has shown flashes of being the game breaker we desperately need but will Trotz's emphasis on defensive play stifle his creativity? Rinne has been pulling off miracles for us but we cannot depend on him every night like this. We need more consistent offensive zone pressure.
I will be wearing my Preds Bonk jersey to the game Saturday for the purposes of a wager between myself and Dryden. Will see how things go after that.
I must say I'm impressed. I'm not sure I've seen a Bonk jersey in the arena, maybe once? Hell, dryden would probably happily wear it, being a former Hab. Someone ought to buy him a Bouillon player tee shirt
"Rinne has been pulling off miracles for us but we cannot depend on him every night like this. We need more consistent offensive zone pressure." Written on 11/6.
Tonight Rinne couldn't stop a beach ball and the team in front of him imploded and looked like a pee wee club. We just aren't that good. And we will struggle to make the playoffs.
Oh and I wore my Preds old away and I saw nothing that will make me wear it again any time soon.
"Rinne has been pulling off miracles for us but we cannot depend on him every night like this. We need more consistent offensive zone pressure." Written on 11/6.
Tonight Rinne couldn't stop a beach ball and the team in front of him imploded and looked like a pee wee club. We just aren't that good. And we will struggle to make the playoffs.
Oh and I wore my Preds old away and I saw nothing that will make me wear it again any time soon.
The team is good, not great. We're a pretty decent team from top to bottom. What we lack in some aspects of our depth defensively we make up for in Weber, Suter, and Rinne, therefore balancing our defense out at "pretty good". I understand why Trotz would like to split up Weber and Suter but I don't know if we can afford to.
This upcoming roadtrip is gonna be huge in many ways.
We have been able to cancel out our bad start to the season with points in 10 of the last 12 games, and it's going to be really interesting to see how this roadie plays out. Huge character builder. It's time for the veterans to stop the BS and make no excuses. We're a healthy team right now. Are we up to the challenge or not?
Preds last 3 games...........the avatar says it all for me! I did not see one of the last 4 we lost, but they seem to be in a major slump. Time to turn things around!
The old bug-a-boo of not scoring goals has reappeared again. Now we can't just clog up the neutral zone any more and hope for a few lucky bounces because teams have figured that out. The opposition can take as many penalties as they want and cause retaliation penalties, because the PP is used as a defensive opportunity. The Tennessee Lottery Power Play (best sponsorship ever!!!!!!! Because you have as much of a chance in winning both Powerball and Mega Millions as the Preds do scoring)
Do I dare bring up the speculation that over this long of a period, maybe no matter what group of players takes the ice, THE SYSTEM and THE MESSAGE has become far too stagnant?? The passion that I heard coming from the team's "advisor" after being embarrased by the oils on home ice last week just doesn't seem to be coming from the team's head coach. I think a HUGE link that became missing from this team over the past horific summer was a Coach Brent Peterson.
Do I dare bring up the speculation that over this long of a period, maybe no matter what group of players takes the ice, THE SYSTEM and THE MESSAGE has become far too stagnant?? The passion that I heard coming from the team's "advisor" after being embarrased by the oils on home ice last week just doesn't seem to be coming from the team's head coach. I think a HUGE link that became missing from this team over the past horific summer was a Coach Brent Peterson.
I don't know if Coach Peterson had anything to do with it or not. But I do think that at some point, Trotz' message has started fallen on deaf ears. He says that the stuff he preaches is "timeless", but I don't know.
I think at some point the "veterans" on this group have to finally start acting like pros: that's you Legwand, Erat, Fisher, Hornqvist, Tootoo, SK, etc. Their effort just hasn't been consistent.
Do you think Zetterberg and Datsyuk have to be given a "message" all the time from Babcock? No. They're professionals and they know what type of effort they have to bring to win, and they bring it not just because they want to win, but because they are competitors and it's their obligation.
I might be one of the few and may be lashed at for saying this but I feel pretty confident that its time for trotz to go. even if we somehow make the playoffs, there comes a time when you stop settling for good/mediocre and try to be great.
