as Black Saturday as hockey fans, we deserve better than this. The 4 Stanley Cup playoff games today were all decided by 3+ goals....It's the first day with 4+ playoff games, all decided by at least 3 goals, since April 20, 1983.
That is quite a mind numbing stat. I have to think it is, at least in part, the product of the skewed, artificial groupings comprising the first round.
From the get go of this Cup competition, I'm very interested to see how inter-Divisional Play goes, as it has been impossible to measure relative team strength across Divisions because of the scheduling. In part this has been fed--and here a bit of denigration of the home town--by the notion that the NYR would have been a Playoffs qualifier had they not been placed in quote hockey's 'strongest Division'. I never credited that notion, partly because I thought it regional bias and partly because different styles and toughness of play do not necessarily translate into regular season statistics nor which teams are primed for Playoff hockey.
this is more like old school divisional playoffs (which I preferred) to conference wide playoffs. I love the old school division rivalries.
second best playoff game I ever went to was Bruins Whalers adams division 1st round, game 6.
just two teams who hated each other going at it - the fans were fighting in the stands, Whalers won in OT to force game 7.
That Whalers team was loaded, Francis, Dineen, Verbeek, Ferraro, Ulf, but couldn't get past Boston.
Bruins close out the Caps in 5 (I predicted 7 - I think we'll find out about a Backstrom injury - he was invisible all series)
Avs sweep (and I predicted a sweep - even a broken clock is right twice a day)
other results:
Preds shock canes and square the series at 2 (I predicted a Canes sweep and up 2 - 0 I looked like I knew what I was doing, but back to back double OT losses and the Canes are stung)
and as mentioned EDM losing a disastrous game, to go into a 3 game hole. I had EDM winning in 5.
Full slate - of 5 games today (three possible handshake games):
PIT vs NYI (series tied at 2) @ 7:00
MTL vs TOR (series tied at 1) @ 7:00
FLA vs TBL (TBL up 3 - 1) @ 8:00
and right back at it
WIN vs EDM (WIN up 3 - 0) @ 9:45 (what? that's what NHL says, weird start time - must be something with the staggering of start times)
LVG vs MIN (LVG up 3 - 1) @ 10:30
Everyone said the Canes were going to cruise against Nashville
Flying high today after the B's closed out the Caps. I was worried after that first game, but Boston stepped up their physically game and game 2 completely swung the series. Hope they extended Hall after the SCF/Expansion Draft
It's obvious they need a hard ass coach in the worst way. All the symptoms are there. Half assed close outs, turning down shot blocks, forwards cheating for offense, lack of physicality, stupid penalties. No accountability.
Stars in their early 20s generally don't want to play a defensive system that suppresses their own offense. McD will balk, but they have to do it anyway.
Conor has to make the transition like Yzerman, Modano, St Louis etc. Sacrifice a little offense, commit to two way play and they can contend.
It's obvious they need a hard ass coach in the worst way. All the symptoms are there. Half assed close outs, turning down shot blocks, forwards cheating for offense, lack of physicality, stupid penalties. No accountability.
Stars in their early 20s generally don't want to play a defensive system that suppresses their own offense. McD will balk, but they have to do it anyway.
Conor has to make the transition like Yzerman, Modano, St Louis etc. Sacrifice a little offense, commit to two way play and they can contend.
Interesting point.
How do you compare McDavid's two-way game to someone like Auston Matthews or Nikita Kucherov? Matthews hasn't won in the playoffs yet, but Kucherov obviously has.
I don't think McDavid's two-way game is Crosby level, certainly not Bergeron level. but it's been solidly improving every year - as has his face-offs.
I think the organizational failure to bring in a franchise goalie has been as important probably as a lenient coach to their failures to this point.
How do you compare McDavid's two-way game to someone like Auston Matthews or Nikita Kucherov? Matthews hasn't won in the playoffs yet, but Kucherov obviously has.
I don't think McDavid's two-way game is Crosby level, certainly not Bergeron level. but it's been solidly improving every year - as has his face-offs.
I think the organizational failure to bring in a franchise goalie has been as important probably as a lenient coach to their failures to this point.
but otherwise I agree with your post.
Agree on goalie, Smith is a nice story but he no longer has the athleticism to recover in scrambles. It's shown up multiple times.
Re McDavid, he can and has shown defensive ability, with his skating he can hound pucks when he wants and he will hit. My point is more toward the overall roster and lack of commitment. That supporting cast is full of soft, offense only players.
It has to be all the time, and you need a coach with enough gravitas to say if you don't follow the system your ice time will be affected.
Do Conor and Draisaitl want to play below the dots to support their defenseman on the breakout? No, they want to get out on the rush. That gets exposed in the playoffs. Tying up sticks, eating shots, sticking your nose in on the boards. None of it takes skill. The trick is getting a coach who will get buy in, and weather the friction with the superstars.
Bowman/Yzerman, Hitchcock/Modano, Torts/st Louis & Lecavalier were all rocky at the start but the teams became contenders.
Edmonton has put him on a pedestal and consults him on all organizational decisions. I suspect he wouldn't want a defense first coach but it's in the organ-eye-zations best interest
like you need 9 stars at forward and 4 on D to even compete.
Besides McDavid and Draisaitl, EDM has Nugent-Hopkins, Barrie and Nurse (who had a breakout season) on D, Puljujarvi who showed he can develop into an NHLer, Yamamoto (he and Puljujarvi were both almost .5 ppg as 22 year olds) what happened to Kyle Turris? He was a reliable 50-point player.
When I watch EDM and BUF I feel like they have some talented individuals but just are missing something as a team. depth is an issue as is goalie for both, but I'm sure coaching probably is too.
A lot of people trying to figure out what went wrong. Can't *just* be the goalie when you lose 4-3 in triple OT.
At least better hockey last night than 4 blowouts. Carey Price made the habs Leafs a lot closer than it should have been, he was incredible. And Campbell gives the Leafs something they haven't had the past few years. As do players like Wayne Simmonds and Zach Bogosian.
Good to see Spencer Knight show up in a big way after allowing a goal on his first shot, save the next 36 shots.
Last nights results:
NYI push PIT to the brink after a bad goalie giveaway in double OT. Up in the series now 3 - 2.
TOR beat MTL 2 - 1 to take a 2 - 1 series lead.
WIN beat EDM 4 - 3 in 3 OT to sweep the Oilers
FLA stayed alive with a 4 - 1 win over TBL, now down 3 - 2
Today's games (2):
MTL vs TOR right back at it (TOR leads 2 - 1) @ 7:30
CAR vs NSH (series tied at 2) @ 8:00
Lovely. Rangers fans and media have moved from obsessing over
I agree with Diversify, I think Draisatl and McDavid are incredibly bad defensively.
McDavid needs someone like Kakko on his wing - a great defensive forward who can spring him for rushes.
Edmonton is probably the biggest failure I can think of in sports. Maybe the Cavaliers in the NBA in LeBron's first go-round is a fair comparison.
What was Florida thinking signing Bobrovsky? What an albatross.
and they did that AFTER they drafted Knight at #13 overall.
What did they think 7 years, maybe he'll be ready?
Or even overlap 1 or 2? so 5 years?
made no sense to sign Bob after they drafted Knight unless they just felt like a massive goalie hedge makes sense because their lineup is so stacked with young talent.
I noticed it at the time and that's even if Bobrovsky plays well (he hasn't been great), why waste a 1st round pick, a top 15 pick at that.
Players taken after knight: Cam York (top pair D), Caufield (Sniper), Alex Newhook (top 6 forward), Krebs, Harley, McMichael, Heinola, Foote, Pinto, Kaliyev, etc. - that was such a deep draft this is the type of move that really hurts.
Bear and Koekkoek we SO bad they saw less than 15 minutes in a triple OT game. Think about that. I don't blame them either, e ery time Bear had a shift wpg got scoring chances. The bottom half of that roster is awful. Mismatched skillsets and former scorers that haven't accepted their roles.
In comment 15271494 MyNameIsMyName said:
Quote: Are in trouble. The goal tending difference is huge./////// Has to be one of the worst plays by a Goalie in a playoff game in recent history. Isles had no business winning that game.
Pens' 2nd period was the best period I've seen them play this year, not that I have seen them so much other than vs NYR. They were dynamic, near dominant, didn't know they had it in them.
I agree with Diversify, I think Draisatl and McDavid are incredibly bad defensively.
McDavid needs someone like Kakko on his wing - a great defensive forward who can spring him for rushes.
Edmonton is probably the biggest failure I can think of in sports. Maybe the Cavaliers in the NBA in LeBron's first go-round is a fair comparison.
What was Florida thinking signing Bobrovsky? What an albatross.
and they did that AFTER they drafted Knight at #13 overall.
What did they think 7 years, maybe he'll be ready?
Or even overlap 1 or 2? so 5 years?
made no sense to sign Bob after they drafted Knight unless they just felt like a massive goalie hedge makes sense because their lineup is so stacked with young talent.
I noticed it at the time and that's even if Bobrovsky plays well (he hasn't been great), why waste a 1st round pick, a top 15 pick at that.
Players taken after knight: Cam York (top pair D), Caufield (Sniper), Alex Newhook (top 6 forward), Krebs, Harley, McMichael, Heinola, Foote, Pinto, Kaliyev, etc. - that was such a deep draft this is the type of move that really hurts.
Oh yeah, this isn't hindsight albatross. It was obvious at the time.
but ever so much more glaring after last night...Knight being the reason Panthers came back and won going away. A 20 year old keeper in his SCP debut, smiling behind his mask, put heart and backbone in a talented roster. That series becomes very interesting now. TB looked anemic in the 3rd. Anyone recall ever seeing a keeper smiling inside his mask in a tight (while it was) must win game? Let alone debut in the playoffs?
but ever so much more glaring after last night...Knight being the reason Panthers came back and won going away. A 20 year old keeper in his SCP debut, smiling behind his mask, put heart and backbone in a talented roster. That series becomes very interesting now. TB looked anemic in the 3rd. Anyone recall ever seeing a keeper smiling inside his mask in a tight (while it was) must win game? Let alone debut in the playoffs?
Maybe bias on my part, but when I watch Knight (from the time he was 16/17) I see a young Carey Price. his hallmark is his poise, positioning, and even temperament, so I'm not surprised to see him smiling.
As a goalie do you see any comparisons? You played goalie, right?
Maybe bias on my part, but when I watch Knight (from the time he was 16/17) I see a young Carey Price. his hallmark is his poise, positioning, and even temperament, so I'm not surprised to see him smiling.
As a goalie do you see any comparisons? You played goalie, right?
Ha, ha, yes, but hardly worthwhile to dredge that up in discussion of last night, smh. In any event, first time I've seen him, what struck me early on (and the color guy--sure sounded like Rosen's sidekick Nicoletti--noted it as well), with TBL in possession in his zone but near the BL, Knight was standing straight up (tall > 6'3") to scope out puck location: you see keepers sometimes pop up straight and then drop down into crouch/semi-crouch, so this was different. He's slender, not like some of these Michelin Man profile goalies, Bobrovsky, et al. He's very twitchy and quick along the crease when he goes down to smother shots, almost enveloping the post rather than nudging up tight against it. He's not stand-up like Rogie or cat quick like Giacomin, nor is he a butterfly guy, based on this look, so maybe Price (whom I've not seen that much of), or even another Hab Dryden, who was so tall that it tooks time for him to get flat along the ice. I'll watch Price tonight.
...My point is more toward the overall roster and lack of commitment. That supporting cast is full of soft, offense only players.
It has to be all the time, and you need a coach with enough gravitas to say if you don't follow the system your ice time will be affected....
Do Conor and Draisaitl want to play below the dots to support their defenseman on the breakout? No, they want to get out on the rush. That gets exposed in the playoffs. Tying up sticks, eating shots, sticking your nose in on the boards. None of it takes skill. The trick is getting a coach who will get buy in, and weather the friction with the superstars....Edmonton has put him on a pedestal and consults him on all organizational decisions. I suspect he wouldn't want a defense first coach but it's in the organ-eye-zations best interest
to the bonds' man's comment, this from the Jets' beat writer Murat Ates in The Athletic this AM:
Quote:
The truth is that Winnipeg found a way to make one more save, one more block, and one more steal than Edmonton every critical moment. Whether it was Edmonton's third period, Game 3 collapse or the way it was an exhausted McDavid who gave the puck to Connor for the triple-overtime, sweep-clinching winner — the Jets exploited Edmonton's mistakes while the Oilers collapsed under the abject lack of depth to support their superstars.
I hate Toronto and I hate Carolina for giving him to the leafs because he's talented. Now we get to hear more sanctimonious horseshit about how the progressive enlightened ways of the leafs unlocked his potential.
I hate Toronto and I hate Carolina for giving him to the leafs because he's talented. Now we get to hear more sanctimonious horseshit about how the progressive enlightened ways of the leafs unlocked his potential.
yeah, he always had potential he had 46 and 56 points as a 20 and 21 year old. Just MTL needs coaches to play defense or center - they try and shoe horn players into bad fitting roles.
they did make out well in the trade getting Domi for Alex and flipping Domi a couple years later for Josh Anderson (who has been invisible these playoffs and is probably injured)
I hate Toronto and I hate Carolina for giving him to the leafs because he's talented. Now we get to hear more sanctimonious horseshit about how the progressive enlightened ways of the leafs unlocked his potential.
yeah, he always had potential he had 46 and 56 points as a 20 and 21 year old. Just MTL needs coaches to play defense or center - they try and shoe horn players into bad fitting roles.
they did make out well in the trade getting Domi for Alex and flipping Domi a couple years later for Josh Anderson (who has been invisible these playoffs and is probably injured)
Yes Habs definitely salvaged a great return in the end. Anderson was always a pain as a Jacket. I love big guys who can fly and enjoy killing people.
I don't understand how both defenseman watched Necas fly through the the zone and around the net without stepping up. Is there any system that calls for the forward to carry the attacker from the blue line to behind the net? Lol Duchene
Samsonov left the puck behind his own net for Bruins' Smith to collect it and shovel in the gamewinner in the 2nd OT there. We see shit happen when fatigue takes over, you just hope it isn't your team it happens to
is stepping down in his role as Vice Chairman with EDM and is taking on an analyst role with TNT (they have part of the hockey contract starting next year).
I suspect we will see more dominoes falling in EDM - not sure if this was all Gretzky's decision or what he even did as Vice Chairman (if anything), but I do expect changes there.
Quote:
as Black Saturday as hockey fans, we deserve better than this. The 4 Stanley Cup playoff games today were all decided by 3+ goals....It's the first day with 4+ playoff games, all decided by at least 3 goals, since April 20, 1983.
That is quite a mind numbing stat. I have to think it is, at least in part, the product of the skewed, artificial groupings comprising the first round.
From the get go of this Cup competition, I'm very interested to see how inter-Divisional Play goes, as it has been impossible to measure relative team strength across Divisions because of the scheduling. In part this has been fed--and here a bit of denigration of the home town--by the notion that the NYR would have been a Playoffs qualifier had they not been placed in quote hockey's 'strongest Division'. I never credited that notion, partly because I thought it regional bias and partly because different styles and toughness of play do not necessarily translate into regular season statistics nor which teams are primed for Playoff hockey.
this is more like old school divisional playoffs (which I preferred) to conference wide playoffs. I love the old school division rivalries.
second best playoff game I ever went to was Bruins Whalers adams division 1st round, game 6.
just two teams who hated each other going at it - the fans were fighting in the stands, Whalers won in OT to force game 7.
That Whalers team was loaded, Francis, Dineen, Verbeek, Ferraro, Ulf, but couldn't get past Boston.
they lose, they're down 3 - 0.
They need to win. EDM outshooting WIN 48 - 33 so far
they lose, they're down 3 - 0.
They need to win. EDM outshooting WIN 48 - 33 so far
Lol. Fuck them and their empty arenas.
Bruins close out the Caps in 5 (I predicted 7 - I think we'll find out about a Backstrom injury - he was invisible all series)
Avs sweep (and I predicted a sweep - even a broken clock is right twice a day)
other results:
Preds shock canes and square the series at 2 (I predicted a Canes sweep and up 2 - 0 I looked like I knew what I was doing, but back to back double OT losses and the Canes are stung)
and as mentioned EDM losing a disastrous game, to go into a 3 game hole. I had EDM winning in 5.
Full slate - of 5 games today (three possible handshake games):
PIT vs NYI (series tied at 2) @ 7:00
MTL vs TOR (series tied at 1) @ 7:00
FLA vs TBL (TBL up 3 - 1) @ 8:00
and right back at it
WIN vs EDM (WIN up 3 - 0) @ 9:45 (what? that's what NHL says, weird start time - must be something with the staggering of start times)
LVG vs MIN (LVG up 3 - 1) @ 10:30
IIHF
@IIHFHockey
·
3h
BREAKING NEWS!!!!
Dmitri Orlov & Ilya Samsonov of the @Capitals
and Vladimir Tarasenko of the @StLouisBlues
will join @russiahockey
at the #IIHFWorlds after quarantine!
Read more: https://bit.ly/2SjUz3N
IIHF
@IIHFHockey
·
3h
BREAKING NEWS!!!!
Dmitri Orlov & Ilya Samsonov of the @Capitals
and Vladimir Tarasenko of the @StLouisBlues
will join @russiahockey
at the #IIHFWorlds after quarantine!
Read more: https://bit.ly/2SjUz3N
Knew that was coming as soon as Washington got eliminated.
Quote:
the worlds are going on....
IIHF
@IIHFHockey
·
3h
BREAKING NEWS!!!!
Dmitri Orlov & Ilya Samsonov of the @Capitals
and Vladimir Tarasenko of the @StLouisBlues
will join @russiahockey
at the #IIHFWorlds after quarantine!
Read more: https://bit.ly/2SjUz3N
Knew that was coming as soon as Washington got eliminated.
I thought Ovi might play. He's probably injured too or maybe he'll decide later.
Stars in their early 20s generally don't want to play a defensive system that suppresses their own offense. McD will balk, but they have to do it anyway.
Conor has to make the transition like Yzerman, Modano, St Louis etc. Sacrifice a little offense, commit to two way play and they can contend.
Stars in their early 20s generally don't want to play a defensive system that suppresses their own offense. McD will balk, but they have to do it anyway.
Conor has to make the transition like Yzerman, Modano, St Louis etc. Sacrifice a little offense, commit to two way play and they can contend.
Interesting point.
How do you compare McDavid's two-way game to someone like Auston Matthews or Nikita Kucherov? Matthews hasn't won in the playoffs yet, but Kucherov obviously has.
I don't think McDavid's two-way game is Crosby level, certainly not Bergeron level. but it's been solidly improving every year - as has his face-offs.
I think the organizational failure to bring in a franchise goalie has been as important probably as a lenient coach to their failures to this point.
but otherwise I agree with your post.
Interesting point.
How do you compare McDavid's two-way game to someone like Auston Matthews or Nikita Kucherov? Matthews hasn't won in the playoffs yet, but Kucherov obviously has.
I don't think McDavid's two-way game is Crosby level, certainly not Bergeron level. but it's been solidly improving every year - as has his face-offs.
I think the organizational failure to bring in a franchise goalie has been as important probably as a lenient coach to their failures to this point.
but otherwise I agree with your post.
Agree on goalie, Smith is a nice story but he no longer has the athleticism to recover in scrambles. It's shown up multiple times.
Re McDavid, he can and has shown defensive ability, with his skating he can hound pucks when he wants and he will hit. My point is more toward the overall roster and lack of commitment. That supporting cast is full of soft, offense only players.
It has to be all the time, and you need a coach with enough gravitas to say if you don't follow the system your ice time will be affected.
Do Conor and Draisaitl want to play below the dots to support their defenseman on the breakout? No, they want to get out on the rush. That gets exposed in the playoffs. Tying up sticks, eating shots, sticking your nose in on the boards. None of it takes skill. The trick is getting a coach who will get buy in, and weather the friction with the superstars.
Bowman/Yzerman, Hitchcock/Modano, Torts/st Louis & Lecavalier were all rocky at the start but the teams became contenders.
Edmonton has put him on a pedestal and consults him on all organizational decisions. I suspect he wouldn't want a defense first coach but it's in the organ-eye-zations best interest
Besides McDavid and Draisaitl, EDM has Nugent-Hopkins, Barrie and Nurse (who had a breakout season) on D, Puljujarvi who showed he can develop into an NHLer, Yamamoto (he and Puljujarvi were both almost .5 ppg as 22 year olds) what happened to Kyle Turris? He was a reliable 50-point player.
When I watch EDM and BUF I feel like they have some talented individuals but just are missing something as a team. depth is an issue as is goalie for both, but I'm sure coaching probably is too.
Has to be one of the worst plays by a Goalie in a playoff game in recent history. Isles had no business winning that game.
A lot of people trying to figure out what went wrong. Can't *just* be the goalie when you lose 4-3 in triple OT.
At least better hockey last night than 4 blowouts. Carey Price made the habs Leafs a lot closer than it should have been, he was incredible. And Campbell gives the Leafs something they haven't had the past few years. As do players like Wayne Simmonds and Zach Bogosian.
Good to see Spencer Knight show up in a big way after allowing a goal on his first shot, save the next 36 shots.
Last nights results:
NYI push PIT to the brink after a bad goalie giveaway in double OT. Up in the series now 3 - 2.
TOR beat MTL 2 - 1 to take a 2 - 1 series lead.
WIN beat EDM 4 - 3 in 3 OT to sweep the Oilers
FLA stayed alive with a 4 - 1 win over TBL, now down 3 - 2
Today's games (2):
MTL vs TOR right back at it (TOR leads 2 - 1) @ 7:30
CAR vs NSH (series tied at 2) @ 8:00
It's not happening, folks. And you want to talk about gutting the roster? It would cost, at the very minimum, Lafreniere, Kakko and Fox.
McDavid needs someone like Kakko on his wing - a great defensive forward who can spring him for rushes.
Edmonton is probably the biggest failure I can think of in sports. Maybe the Cavaliers in the NBA in LeBron's first go-round is a fair comparison.
What was Florida thinking signing Bobrovsky? What an albatross.
McDavid needs someone like Kakko on his wing - a great defensive forward who can spring him for rushes.
Edmonton is probably the biggest failure I can think of in sports. Maybe the Cavaliers in the NBA in LeBron's first go-round is a fair comparison.
What was Florida thinking signing Bobrovsky? What an albatross.
and they did that AFTER they drafted Knight at #13 overall.
What did they think 7 years, maybe he'll be ready?
Or even overlap 1 or 2? so 5 years?
made no sense to sign Bob after they drafted Knight unless they just felt like a massive goalie hedge makes sense because their lineup is so stacked with young talent.
I noticed it at the time and that's even if Bobrovsky plays well (he hasn't been great), why waste a 1st round pick, a top 15 pick at that.
Players taken after knight: Cam York (top pair D), Caufield (Sniper), Alex Newhook (top 6 forward), Krebs, Harley, McMichael, Heinola, Foote, Pinto, Kaliyev, etc. - that was such a deep draft this is the type of move that really hurts.
Quote: Are in trouble. The goal tending difference is huge./////// Has to be one of the worst plays by a Goalie in a playoff game in recent history. Isles had no business winning that game.
Waiting to hear about Backstrom. If he's not injured and just regressed to a normal player the Caps may free fall faster than I think the Pens will.
Quote:
I agree with Diversify, I think Draisatl and McDavid are incredibly bad defensively.
McDavid needs someone like Kakko on his wing - a great defensive forward who can spring him for rushes.
Edmonton is probably the biggest failure I can think of in sports. Maybe the Cavaliers in the NBA in LeBron's first go-round is a fair comparison.
What was Florida thinking signing Bobrovsky? What an albatross.
and they did that AFTER they drafted Knight at #13 overall.
What did they think 7 years, maybe he'll be ready?
Or even overlap 1 or 2? so 5 years?
made no sense to sign Bob after they drafted Knight unless they just felt like a massive goalie hedge makes sense because their lineup is so stacked with young talent.
I noticed it at the time and that's even if Bobrovsky plays well (he hasn't been great), why waste a 1st round pick, a top 15 pick at that.
Players taken after knight: Cam York (top pair D), Caufield (Sniper), Alex Newhook (top 6 forward), Krebs, Harley, McMichael, Heinola, Foote, Pinto, Kaliyev, etc. - that was such a deep draft this is the type of move that really hurts.
Oh yeah, this isn't hindsight albatross. It was obvious at the time.
Maybe bias on my part, but when I watch Knight (from the time he was 16/17) I see a young Carey Price. his hallmark is his poise, positioning, and even temperament, so I'm not surprised to see him smiling.
As a goalie do you see any comparisons? You played goalie, right?
As a goalie do you see any comparisons? You played goalie, right?
It has to be all the time, and you need a coach with enough gravitas to say if you don't follow the system your ice time will be affected....
Do Conor and Draisaitl want to play below the dots to support their defenseman on the breakout? No, they want to get out on the rush. That gets exposed in the playoffs. Tying up sticks, eating shots, sticking your nose in on the boards. None of it takes skill. The trick is getting a coach who will get buy in, and weather the friction with the superstars....Edmonton has put him on a pedestal and consults him on all organizational decisions. I suspect he wouldn't want a defense first coach but it's in the organ-eye-zations best interest
just can't generate scoring chances.
he already had two assists before that.
looks good, after about his 4th team after being traded from MTL
yeah, he always had potential he had 46 and 56 points as a 20 and 21 year old. Just MTL needs coaches to play defense or center - they try and shoe horn players into bad fitting roles.
they did make out well in the trade getting Domi for Alex and flipping Domi a couple years later for Josh Anderson (who has been invisible these playoffs and is probably injured)
Quote:
I hate Toronto and I hate Carolina for giving him to the leafs because he's talented. Now we get to hear more sanctimonious horseshit about how the progressive enlightened ways of the leafs unlocked his potential.
yeah, he always had potential he had 46 and 56 points as a 20 and 21 year old. Just MTL needs coaches to play defense or center - they try and shoe horn players into bad fitting roles.
they did make out well in the trade getting Domi for Alex and flipping Domi a couple years later for Josh Anderson (who has been invisible these playoffs and is probably injured)
Yes Habs definitely salvaged a great return in the end. Anderson was always a pain as a Jacket. I love big guys who can fly and enjoy killing people.
Habs down in seemingly insurmountable 3 - 1 hole after being simply over matched by TOR.
CAR takes a 3 - 2 series lead with an OT win.
today - 3 games - all possible handshakes
PIT vs NYI (NYI lead 3 - 2) @ 6:30
TBL vs FLA (TBL leads 3 - 2) @ 8:00
MIN vs LVG (LVG leads 3 - 2) @ 9:00
yeah, no idea why with three games, push Vegas to 9:30 or 10, start NYI at 7 or 7:30 the earliest.
It's NBC time, I'd bet puck drop is closer to 7pm
I suspect we will see more dominoes falling in EDM - not sure if this was all Gretzky's decision or what he even did as Vice Chairman (if anything), but I do expect changes there.