What an awful couple of games to watch. Just a terrible quality of hockey. The game against Houston was great but this was utter crap. I definitely like watching the KHL more. But I'll still watch this, because, hey it's hockey.
Monsters played relatively well first half of the game, L. Walker should have definitely scored on tha pp tonight, backdoor on a nice pass from Sgarbossa. Forwards didn't have enough creativity for my liking in these two games..Brust was reliable but didnt have to be spectacular to get the consecutive shutout.
Although Heat didn't have many shots to begin with, they were given quality chances and aitto did pretty well again. Defense needs work in transition.. Elliott had some better moments in this game but still lacks in intensity for me
Baertschi created a lot of problems for Monsters overall..puck seems to follow him. Was impressed with d-man Chris Breen of the Heat aswell, sure he's a no name but he was solid.
So why did we lose tonight? Not scoring on our chances? We badly outshot 2 to 1.
Frustrating. At both ends.
When your forwards make the same plays and don't try anything different the other team begins to adjust. Heat matched LE in speed and didn't give them a lot of room. When they didn't, it was because some of the forwards tried something new and used more of their skill rather than just grinding. LE was the most effective when their D carried the puck. Opened the ice up for the forwards.
At the other end...the D were giving the Heat way too much time and space. There was one moment when the Heat had a 1 on 2 and the Heat player stopped at the face off dot and waited for a trailing teammate. And waited. And waited. Some more waiting and then finally his second teammate entered the zone and he made an uncontested pass. Felt like an eternity and not once during that situation was the forward challenged or a stick in a passing lane. When the Heat had their chances, it was because LE seemed to collapse rather than challenge.
You can see why the Avs are trying to get players with skill AND "compete". Wasn't enough of either in this game and the ones who had some of both were the best players for LE. I know people will chirp about Elliott as if he is under the microscope but he at least tried to be consistently creative and created some chances. Lauridsen's deer in headlights approach made Gaunce's job harder. You can see Connolly is starting to get his legs and "game" back as he was slippery and continues to improve each game. If Walker's hands don't catch up to Sgarbossa's passes, it won't matter how fast his skating is.
4-1 now. VDG with two and Heard with his first! Good for him.
__________________ “It’s embarrassing. I’m embarrassed to be here right now. It’s not even funny. And it’s just embarrassing, the way we, you know, the energy we have in the room and the way we approach practices and the way we approach this game. It’s not how you’re going to win any games in this league." - Jean-Sebastien Giguere, April 8 2013
