Post-Game Talk: 1/24 vs Buffalo

[HisIceness]

6-3 win. Staal hat trick.

You guys feel better now? I do.

Now time to get ready for round 2 tomorrow night.

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[Blueline Bomber]

Yeah, winning tends to ease the pain of the first two games. And I posted this on the main board, but I figure I'll post it here as well:

With his 13th career hattrick, E. Staal now has 15% of his career goals in 2% of his career games. Probably higher than 15%, since he's had a couple 4-goal games.

Now, Archer's coming on. WOOOO!

 

[SeaBasstian]

that game was awesome. J looked good. E looked good (after a while). Skinner was fantastic (and really deserved the hatty). Bowman was great all game, and Dalpe came on fire there towards the end, earning some PP time. Semin LOOKED good but couldnt turn it into anything....sound like anyone we know (a former russian calder winner?) and NO this is not me comparing the 2 I was just syaing lol. but i sure hope Alex's skills start translating soon cause he has had some amazing shots they just wont convert. maybe the reason he has resorted to passing more? Cam was far better than last 2 games, but still not stellar, although he did have at least 2 really really good stops i can think of.

oh and Chantel....i dont care what you say or how you screw up anything.....just keep wearing those glasses and all will be forgiven

 

[Novacane]

We dove our way to victory!!!

 

[My Special Purpose]

Joni Pitkanen with two assists and a plus-4 night (on my fantasy team's bench). I think he was glad to have McBain back. Honestly, the way Gleason/Faulk and Pitkanen/McBain played tonight, I'm not sure how they can justify having any of them sit to get Corvo back in the lineup. Even Sanguinetti was better tonight. I'm all for having Corvo sit again, but I'm not seeing it.

 

[gocanes88]

oh and Chantel....i dont care what you say or how you screw up anything.....just keep wearing those glasses and all will be forgiven

I trust we can thank Eye Care Associates for this wonderful addition.

 

[Novacane]

Corvo out. Instant success. But seriously, I saw nothing from McBain's play tonight that justified him being benched. I guess he might have needed to get his legs under him first, but he looked really good out there. So nice to see the offense clicking. Still need to work on PP conversion though. It sets up nicely, but there needs to be more play in tight. Tlusty had a few chances along the goal line, and pulled it out. Just bank it off his pads and go for a rebound. May not be pretty, but it's usually pretty effective.

 

[Joe McGrath]

Joni Pitkanen with two assists and a plus-4 night (on my fantasy team's bench). I think he was glad to have McBain back. Honestly, the way Gleason/Faulk and Pitkanen/McBain played tonight, I'm not sure how they can justify having any of them sit to get Corvo back in the lineup. Even Sanguinetti was better tonight. I'm all for having Corvo sit again, but I'm not seeing it.

He was so good Tripp praised him.

 

[OntarioFisherman*]

Unfortunately we are going to have score 4 goals + every game if we are going to have a chance at winning because both our defense and cam ward are subpar. Offense looked pretty good tonight though.

 

[geehaad]

McBain looked like dog ****. Clearly the boy is out of shape, and didn't work on his strength over the summer. Very disappointing, and very evident that he has gone his entire playing career relying on his talent, rather than hard work.

One day he'll learn...probably after he's been dealt off of this team's roster.

 

[Finlandia WOAT]

So in addition to being a great passer, Semin is a decent forechecker as well. And he can be responsible defensively.

Love Semin. Love Faulk. McBain was good- he actually tried to hit people and shove them around. Love Hockey Beiber. Love both the Staal's. E. Staal was jealous of Skinner and decided to one up him. Jordan was good.

Actual notes:

Tlusty didn't look out of place.

Semin has been "Boychuk" good, in that he does looks good, but he hasn't converted. Unlike Boychuk, Semin can forecheck. He and Staal had some great cycles going.

Faulk was great (again), though he was on the ice for two goals. One was assist of the year by Vanek, and the other was the goal by Pominville. We'll see if we can pin some of those on him.

E. Staal was overpowering Myers all night. Staal seems to do better against people like Chara and Myers- players that rely on being stronger than everyone else. Staal isn't one of the 95% of the NHL that they can push around.

Bowman looked pretty good, but our third line with Jokinen and Char didn't really do anything all night. They weren't bad, but they didn't produce anything.

Let's see what happens tomorrow. But a great win, great game to be at.

 

[Joe McGrath]

The only time they were in real trouble was when Dwyer was in for Dalpe for defensive purposes....which seems like it should have worked but didn't.

 

[Finlandia WOAT]

Our PK seems to be much better so far. One thing I have noticed is that we have more than 2 pairings on the PK (which is what Mo did): I saw E. Staal and Tlusty, J. Staal and Dwyer and Jokinen and LaRose. I also saw Dalpe out there (at the end).

 

[Joe McGrath]

Our PK seems to be much better so far. One thing I have noticed is that we have more than 2 pairings on the PK (which is what Mo did): I saw E. Staal and Tlusty, J. Staal and Dwyer and Jokinen and LaRose. I also saw Dalpe out there (at the end).

Bowman was on te PK a bit as well.

 

[tomdundo]

Jokinen-Brent took at least one PK shift together as well. Brent got kicked out of the circle, and Jokinen stepped in.

 

[Boom Boom Apathy]

So how much of the success of guys like Bowman, Dalpe (and even Faulk) do you think is due to them being in game shape vs. most of the NHL not being in game shape? I've watched a few other games and read feedback from other fans and see guys like Kadri and Frattin being some of the better players on the ice for their teams. I see Keith Aucoin being very effective in NY, etc.. Makes me wonder if the reason they look good right now is simply because they are in better shape. Either way, it's good for them because they get a chance to succeed and build confidence.

Just curious if y'all think these guys will still look as good 10-15 games into the season?

 

[Ole Gil]

Even when Semin doesn't produce points, just having out there on the ice, being someone teams have to keep track of opens up space for Eric.

And what is Joni Pitkanen's training regiment? No hockey in lockout, transistions straight into 24 minutes a night. Is he secretly a gym rat?

 

[Boom Boom Apathy]

Even when Semin doesn't produce points, just having out there on the ice, being someone teams have to keep track of opens up space for Eric.

Yeah, It's kind of fun to have a guy on the PP that teams have to actually respect and back away from when he has the puck. He definitely creates time and space for others. That said, we really need him to start scoring.

 

[normalpsychology]

24 minutes isn't exactly a long work out bro, do you even lift?

 

[Boom Boom Apathy]

McBain looked like dog ****. Clearly the boy is out of shape, and didn't work on his strength over the summer. Very disappointing, and very evident that he has gone his entire playing career relying on his talent, rather than hard work.

One day he'll learn...probably after he's been dealt off of this team's roster.

I only saw a small portion of the game tonight and will have to watch it on GCL another time, but what did I miss? The couple of shifts I saw him on, I thought he looked decent (admittedly, a very small sample size).

 

[DaleCooper]

The decision to sit Corvo and keep Sanguinetti in: http://blogs.newsobserver.com/canes/decock-mullers-coaching-moves-pay-dividends

 

[Finlandia WOAT]

I only saw a small portion of the game tonight and will have to watch it on GCL another time, but what did I miss? The couple of shifts I saw him on, I thought he looked decent (admittedly, a very small sample size).

I noticed him several times, most of them good.

He also had some rough moments, but then, McBain always had some rough moments to his defense. It's his offense that we keep him around for.

 

[Novacane]

I only saw a small portion of the game tonight and will have to watch it on GCL another time, but what did I miss? The couple of shifts I saw him on, I thought he looked decent (admittedly, a very small sample size).

Personally, I thought McBain looked great for the first game of the season. I don't get the benefit of replay in the arena on most plays, but I didn't see any egregious turnovers or lapses in coverage.

 

[Joe McGrath]

I only saw a small portion of the game tonight and will have to watch it on GCL another time, but what did I miss? The couple of shifts I saw him on, I thought he looked decent (admittedly, a very small sample size).

99% sure he's kidding.

 

[LadyCane]

Even when Semin doesn't produce points, just having out there on the ice, being someone teams have to keep track of opens up space for Eric.

And what is Joni Pitkanen's training regiment? No hockey in lockout, transistions straight into 24 minutes a night. Is he secretly a gym rat?

Didn't I read somewhere (possibly even here) that Pits is one of the best-conditioned guys on the roster, that he can (and sometimes does) literally skate circles around everyone else?