I think Andy was totally robbed of another shutout tonight. Buffalo didn't have anything going in the 3rd until that call on Bouwmeester... yeah, didn't really have anything going on Tarnasky's call either. Oh well.
And Carolina gets beat down at home against the Pens, and the Bruins score two in the third to beat the Bolts, so its a great night. Glad Boston won, dont want them coming in here on Saturday after a lose to the Bolts tonight.
As of this very moment, we are a point behind Carolina with a game in hand, who happens to be in the eight spot, and we are only five points out of the sixth spot, and six points behind division leading Washington. Maybe the boys finally noticed that they need to start their March run in December. Here is to another win, and hopefully a solid effort Saturday against the Bruins.
I don't know what to think about him. Is he ready to become a no1 goalie? Is trading Vokoun for a skilled forward an option?
maybe? NO!
how can anyone watch this last stretch and say "hmm skill is what we're lacking"? we're worried about how horton and stillman are going to work back into this lineup and, basically, the hardworking grinders on this team are carrying the load.
that's one thing - the other thing is that we have NOBODY else in the organization who's capable of playing goal at the pro level. talking about trading vokoun is ridiculous. end of story.
Winner, Winner, Chicken Dinner!!! Panthers played their hearts out again tonight. The effort is their by our kids who have nothing to lose. Hopefully some of our regulars that our out of the lineup(Namely Horton) are taking notice the way to help this team is to play the way we have played this past week. Great Job coaching to Deboer!
They didn't sit back and let the game slip away like they did early in the season. Good to see.
One good thing about injuries is that you get the chance to see people playing that you'd not see, or not see as much, as before. They get the opportunity. I'm quite impressed with Frolik and Olesz is coming on too. This sure beats losing, doesn't it?
Who was that? I can't remember anyone ever dogging Campbell. He's always been a solid, hard working 4th liner for us. Campbell is playing beyond expectations right now whereas Dvo and Pelts are getting back to what they should have been doing all along.
I believe that would be me - not that I cussed him out, but I suggested in the offseason he wasn't very good in a checking role. I also at various times suggested he could be tried out as on a scoring line as he was showing some untapped potential in that area, but didn't think he'd be good enough to unseat the guys ahead of him in the depth chart.
I don't mind being wrong.
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"...and ultimately it doesn't matter."
The way Andy is playing, why shouldnt Martin see what top six forward he can get for Vokoun? I dont really want to break up the great pairing we have, but I think it is going to be tougher for us if we lose Bouw, than if we traded Vokoun. We all ragged on Bouw a lot this season, but Im starting to get on the wagon with him again, as I want him to stay. And I think we can get a better return for Vokoun than we could for Bouw. That would keep our D in tact, upgrade our offense, and maybe not downgrade our goaltending. And in the offseason, there are guys available to get as backups, like Conklin, Valiquette, Roloson, Niittymaki, etc. Just a thought, but is it that bad of one though?
...and also, Frolik, individually, has been the best player on the team in the past few games IMO. Doesn't mean that he's our best overall player. I said that knowing Booth, Horts, and Stillman are out. I would put them all over Frolik in terms of the "better" forward but they aren't playing and weren't included in what I meant. I'm not ready to annoint Frolik as a first line player right now, let alone the top player on our full roster, but he's been playing phenomenal lately just like the grinders, and I can see him becoming a star in the future.
no, this is not an individual's game. this is why i'm a bit disappointed and this is where your conception of the game needs to grow a bit. yes, he's been playing as well the other grinders but he's not been the "best player on the team" the past few games as you put it. the reason the team is playing well and winning is that they are executing from end board to end board consistently and that means all 6 guys.
don't get me wrong, i was drooling after watching that setup. i didn't try to hide the fact either. let's try to put things in perspective, though. this is a team game and the team is winning as a team right now.
Winner, Winner, Chicken Dinner!!! Panthers played their hearts out again tonight. The effort is their by our kids who have nothing to lose. Hopefully some of our regulars that our out of the lineup(Namely Horton) are taking notice the way to help this team is to play the way we have played this past week. Great Job coaching to Deboer!
i like deboer and would probably prefer to play for him if i was a player but this is not his doing. he's fortunate that right now, he has no prima donnas in the lineup. he's got a bunch of hungry first year pros, something JM didn't have the luxury of last year.
The way Andy is playing, why shouldnt Martin see what top six forward he can get for Vokoun? I dont really want to break up the great pairing we have, but I think it is going to be tougher for us if we lose Bouw, than if we traded Vokoun. We all ragged on Bouw a lot this season, but Im starting to get on the wagon with him again, as I want him to stay. And I think we can get a better return for Vokoun than we could for Bouw. That would keep our D in tact, upgrade our offense, and maybe not downgrade our goaltending. And in the offseason, there are guys available to get as backups, like Conklin, Valiquette, Roloson, Niittymaki, etc. Just a thought, but is it that bad of one though?
no, this is not an individual's game. this is why i'm a bit disappointed and this is where your conception of the game needs to grow a bit. yes, he's been playing as well the other grinders but he's not been the "best player on the team" the past few games as you put it. the reason the team is playing well and winning is that they are executing from end board to end board consistently and that means all 6 guys.
don't get me wrong, i was drooling after watching that setup. i didn't try to hide the fact either. let's try to put things in perspective, though. this is a team game and the team is winning as a team right now.
My conception of the game does not need to grow at all. For the record, I've played at some relatively high levels of hockey, with some relatively high-profile players, and I've also been certified to and have reffed and coached. I understand 100% what a "team game" hockey is, believe me. When you belong to a team, your different players need to do what they do best and execute. That means your grinders need to grind, your playmakers need to make plays, your differenty defensemen need to do their job, and your goalie needs to do his job. Everyone has a role. CPR have finally stepped up and really started synergizing in their role. Instead of playing like an AHL line, they've started playing aggressively and now they're really working hard out there. It's rubbing off on the team. No one is being lazy and everyone is pulling their own weight.
One thing we had going on previously was that our best players weren't being our best players (sound familiar e.g. Olli last year). Horton was playing okay but he wasn't really doing anything special. Booth was the exception to that. When Horton went down it really gave Frolik an opportunity to step up onto that line and get increased minutes and he's been playing much more lately. He's been more productive and involved than Horton had in that role, which is why some of the other posters here are even calling to keep Frolik, Weiss, and Booth together even after Horts comes back. This obviously means that Frolik has been playing excellently when he's doing a better job filling in for our supposed "top forward" in Horton than Horton did prior to his injury really save for a couple games. Frolik playing well and playing as a top player would play is just as important as Peltonen's improved play lately or Campbell's forechecking. If Weiss and Olesz were on hot streaks too right now, Frolik probably would have many more points than he has in his recent stretch. At so many times this year, one of our best players, Horton, simply wasn't playing like one of our best players and this is where the whole team concept comes into play. Yes, you play on a team, but if you don't pull your own weight individually, then the team will suffer and will underachieve. At the moment, every single player is pulling their weight, or more, and that's why we're seeing these results but it's because they're doing their jobs individually.
You guys realize that the Sabres tied it up unofficially. The ref luckily blew a quick whistle.
What? The whistle blew, every player stopped playing and the Sabre shot it in long after. They didn't "unofficially" tie it up. That's completely ridiculous.
What? The whistle blew, every player stopped playing and the Sabre shot it in long after. They didn't "unofficially" tie it up. That's completely ridiculous.
The puck was loose and technically the whistle shouldn't have blown. But lucky for us the ref lost sight of the puck and he had to blow the whistle.
Watch the replay. I know the shot was after the whistle. It's nice to see us get a lucky call once in awhile.
. Nice to get the win.
