It's the opposite, we need Carkner for his toughness and big body. Gilroy doesn't use his speed to be effective, he just runs around wild.
No doubt Carkner is tough, I get that, I just think his downsides far outweigh his upside, when compared to Gilroy.
Pittsburgh exposed the HELL out of Carkner in our 1st round loss two years ago. He laid that one big hit, and for the rest of the series became a breathing pylon out there.
And that was "good" Carkner... not "having an off year and can't even break the lineup regularly" Carkner.
Carkner for sure against the Bruins. We need him on PK more than we need Gilroy for the 2nd PP - I'd actually rather have Philips out there anyways.
On another note, I'm so glad Lee is gone so I can stop hearing about how he's God's gift to defensemen because he had a decent game every ten games before returning to total mediocrity, but somehow it was the coaches fault he never progressed. There, I said it.
I have to go with Carkner. His game is kind of improved recently, and I think he will be better able than Gilroy to protect the front of the net and add some grit. As long as he doesn't play too many minutes, hopefully. A tired Carkner is a liability for sure.
Gonchar of late has really improved his offense, so I think Carks may be the better choice at the moment.
Lucic is going to be a menace, we need toughness on the back end.
Carkner is a serviceable 6th dman when healthy. This year he is still feeling the affects of knee surgery and the missed training camp. I think alot of people have forgotten how solid he can be in his role when healthy.
Gilroy's shooting percentage is brutal. Something like 2%.
Lee never hit the net, though, so that stat comparison doesn't matter, eh?
But, to echo to the point of redundancy, Carkner over Gilroy. And rather have the Lee option than either of them.
But I'm a bigger Carkner fan than many here apparently, and am comfortable with him. Maybe I just know what to expect from him more than I do with Gilroy.
I haven't gotten to see much of Gilroy since I'm overseas, but based on what some people have said around him he doesn<t have that many supporters.
As far as Carkner goes I'd rather he never play for the Senators in the playoffs (yeah he scored that triple OT winner, woopy): he's just awful defensively.
Given the choice though, I'd have to go with Carkner because you be certain the Bruins are going to vicious.
