1. Jeff Jillson- if there was ANY doubt that this kid is the real deal, it MUST be gone! Excellent in all phases of the game. Gets the puck on net.
2. Felix Potvin- great job in net! Didnt give up a single goal that should have been stopped! Made the saves a goalie needs to make
3. 1st PP Unit- This should be without question one of the top 5 PP`s in the game. Great movement, other than when they stand around occassionally watching Samsonov skate and stickhandle.
4. Sandy McCarthy- great physical presence. Big hits, solid checking and knows what to do with the puck
5. Thornton Line- Often controlled play with multiple styles...power and transition. Only line that generated offense
NEGATIVES
1. No balance on offense- 2nd and 3rd line offense was non-existant. No creators on either line. The Rolston line features nobody who can set up offense...same for the Green line. Green is not a set up man. We NEED to find offense from those sources.
2. PK- This was just flat out horrid! The Gill-Boynton pairring was schooled repeatedly on the penalty kill. Settled down as game went on, but they were in no way effective
3. Use of Bergeron- Granted, its one game. But if this is what we can expect Bergeron to be utilized as, why keep him in Boston? he played well, but was underutilized, IMHO tonight
4. Same defensive breakdowns we saw last year- Some things havnt changed. We dont challenge at the blueline enough, and we still lack a consistent physical presence in our defensive slot.
5. Physical game- Other than McCarthy, and the one big hit by Gill, physically we were not effective. McGillis also threw one good hit, if I remember right, but all in all the Devils were a MUCH more physical unit than we were!
Overall, this was a decent start. A point is a point, especially after falling behind by 2 goals on your own ice. Donato played a strong game tonight...smart and effective.
We cant count on the PP to carry us all season. Its a must to find secondary scoring.
I wonder just how long Sullivan will be able to keep the Big Three together. We couldnt find that secondary scoring in the preseason, and its continued into the regular season, albeit after only 1 game.
If Potvin continues to play likle he did tonight, he should get 60 starts. VERY good job!
i agree with most of what u said, but i think that knuble had a strong game offensivly, and rolston was not terrible either, i agree it wasnt enough, but i think that u will see that soon sammy will be used on both 1st ans 2nd line duties in the future. i feel this willl create more offence. and as for the defence, it wasnt bad at all, we allowed NO even strenght goals. pretty good in my veiw. pk i agree was teiible, but rolston and green were in the box for 1 each, that dosnt hepl, neither does the loss of lapointe and zams, both solid on the PK. potivn was terrific. jillson was terrific.....where was huml and samualsson???? what a waste of a roster spot....back to providence for u 2
well done jeff- i think you covered everything here.
the thing with potvin is that he's always been streaky- he might be awesome for the next 20 games, but the problem is when he drops off. i still say we should keep raycroft in the mix enough to push potvin to continue playing well. so far, so good.
jillson was smooth, and that hesitation/toe drag-type move on his 2nd goal was a move you'd see a 1,000 game NHLer pull off. well done. i look forward to seeing him progress this year.
sammy was sammy- just an awesome presence on the ice- i thought stevens was gonna crap his pants with 2 minutes left and staring down a 1 on 1 situation with sammy.
mccarthy did his job to a tee- if he can do this all season, he'll more than earn his paycheck. rangers fans will tell you that the problem is that sandy thinks he's a goal scorer, and sometimes plays too fancy. i liked the in-your-face game he brought, and welcome that on this team.
it's clear to me that knuble is a new man out there- he has confidence, and i think we should put him back on the thornton line (only for even strength). sammy is so dynamic that he can make a 2nd line effective- give him green and lapointe when he returns. throw rolston with axe and mccarthy.
bergeron was maybe underutilized, but it was his first NHL game. i'm going to take a wait and see approach on what they do with him, but i thought he was solid in his limited action.
the PK will improve- i have no doubts about that. boynton's timing was off, and i expect him to get much, much better.
Agree with your entire take on the night's events, Jeff.
I wouldn't be too hard on Sullivan, though, when it comes to Bergeron. Opening night, against the Devils, I didn't mind him being "underutilized." I thought he did well in the situations he saw (including a shorthanded shift in the third)...and it'll give him confidence as the B's hit the road.
If in Game 5 or 6 Bergeron is still seeing as little action as he saw tonight, then it's time to criticize the team's approach. Especially if he continues to play responsible positional hockey. But for now, no biggie from my point of view.
Now if you want to criticize a team for underutilizing a junior, look at the Leafs last year and Carlo Coliacavo (spelling wrong, but I can't be bothered to look it up). Toronto kept him around, and kept him around..and didn't play him except for one single game. Naturally, he blew it on the game-winning goal, and was returned to juniors feeling lousy about himself.
Ahhhh...it feels good to praise the Bruins and slam the Leafs. It must be hockey season!
My biggest problems with the PK neely, are that NJ has an AWFUL PP and we made them look like the best PP in the league!
I have no doubts that we will improve in this area...no doubts at all!
BUT...by the same token, we cannot rationally expect that our PP will play as well as it did tonight EVERY night!
Our PP was what allowed us to remain in this game...it was TREMENDOUS!
But until we find secondary scoring, we will struggle often I believe.
I think its only a matter of time before Knuble moves back up, and Sammy drops down!
I`ll bet that, even though they dont work well together, that ROLSTON- SAMSONOV- LAPOINTE is our #2 line once Marty is ready to return!
Lines 2-4 were average at best today offensively. They all played well in their own zone, but thats not all we should expect!
Later
No real qualms with your observations except that it is a new year and while NJ, had an awful pp last year this year could be different. Any team that can put out Rafalski, Niedermayer, Elias, Larianov, and Langenbrunner shouldn't be last in the league. Will they go 3 for every 5 no, but they shouldn't be that bad.
I'm glad to hear you guys are pleased with Felix's first performance..
I was watching for him to play well.. I'm glad you guys rallied back for the point vs the Devils.. although judging by that effort in OT.. I thought you guys deserved to win it.. you were so close.. damn Neidermayer (sp).. hehehe.. anyways good luck the rest of the way.. I hope Potvin plays well for you guys and that you guys do well this season..
Somebody has to knock him down not let him sit there and get 2 shots off...
