2012 Canada - Russia Challenge - Halifax, NS

[Hope Bringer]

anywhere I can watch last nights game?

 

[J Murda]

Imo, if Canada had a little bit more of a shoot first attitude then last nights game would have been a little bit of a different story. It seems they are trying to make each other look good in situations where being selfish might be the better option. It's not surprising in an exhibition game when you have a bunch of top level players trying to flash their game. Not taking anything away from Russia though, Grigs and Yaks came alive and the Canadian defense will have to do a better job of containing them tonight if they want a better outcome.

 

[Patmac40]

Agreed,

and I maybe the only one that feels this, but on the replay of the 6th goal it looks like brossoit was starring in the complete wrong direction of where his rebound went, which put him in terrible position to recover.

This is correct. The play on the last goal wasn't something that happened so quickly that Brossoit had no chance at it. The puck squirted loose to the Russian forward and Brossoit wasn't even looking at the puck. Once he was able to figure out where it was, it was already off the Russian's stick and he couldn't get back in position. He just seemed to have a really awful time trying to track the puck most of the game.

 

[The Beyonder]

anywhere I can watch last nights game?

http://watch.tsn.ca/#clip738860

 

[wings5]

And when exactly did i say otherwise?

Well you were just talking about the Flyers.

 

[Hope Bringer]

http://watch.tsn.ca/#clip738860

awesome thanks!

 

[777]

TSN is showing a tape delay of game 3 now

 

[I am the Liquor]

The defensive breakdowns were the primary cause of the SCORING CHANCE, yes, I agree. The positional play and the lack of anticipation of the goalie were the result of the goal imo.

They both take some blame.

Lack of anticipation and positional play on a bang bang 2 on 1?

Let me know when you are ready to be serious.

 

[Atomos2]

There is no way Rielly was better that game, no chance. You critisize Murphy for selfish plays yet Rielly made similar plays all game as well, except fewer of them worked out. Murphy got into the zone in the final minutes but the Russians were too good defensively. Why in the world would dump and chase work better?

Umm...no. Don't get me wrong, I'm a fan of Ryan Murphy. The way he skates with the puck is fun to watch and he can take over the game, but I would have much liked to see Rielly in the last minutes of the game. Rielly makes good passes to the forwards and allows them to gain access into the zone. I knew with Murphy he would try to take it in by himself. The russians were good defensively because all they had to do was stop one player, granted it was a dynamic player, but still just one player.

 

[I am the Liquor]

I never sad they lost because of goaltending. I said you can't put all the blame on the defense.

You originally said they win the game with a different goaltender, and you said nothing about the defense.

 

[Beleafer4]

You are barking up the wrong tree.

The major mistakes that led to the last two goals were not made by LB.

Go back and look at the replays.

Brossoit didnt play well by any means, but other than the first goal, none of the rest could be blamed on him. It was the defensive breakdowns that were the primary cause.

If you played at a high level like you said you did you would know this.

Good goalies save chances that they werent supposed to. I learned this the hard way after watching leafs goalies thoughout the last decade allowing in every shot they should have + some shots they shouldnt have, while the opposing goalie was robbing us left and right of golden oppurtunities. Goalies are supposed to bail you out and make your team look better than they really are, why do you think boston and L.A have won the cup recently?

Makarov robbed the canadians the entire game while brossoit only made 1 goodsave last night. I dont think even makarov was amazing but brossoit was brutal. Take away the first goal and the game would have been 5-5. Make some saves he shouldnt have, and we would have won that game. This isnt house league, we are playing our best goalies in the country and they should be able to be more than below average (as you said, he let in all the goals he should have let in plus a goal that shouldnt have went in). Playing in front of a goalie that never makes that extra save also makes the game more difficult for the players, as they always have to worry about not making that 1 mistake, because if they do, it is in the back of the net. This causes them to over-think and play even worse.

Put subban in there and lets see what happens.

 

[Smif]

You originally said they win the game with a different goaltender, and you said nothing about the defense.

It wasn't all the goalies fault, there were other factors as well. But I do stand by my original statement when I said they win with a different goaltender. Like the goaltending they got from game 1.

 

[4thlineduster]

Although I'm obviously a bit biased.....I have to say I've been very impressed with Monahan this series.

 

[member 147413]

Can I get a non biased opinion on every defender? I'll post what I've thought, but I'm a Leafs fan soo, what do I know :p

Murray - Surprised by how much offense he brings, I expected a very steady defenseman, I got that and a little offense on the side.

Harrington - Steady, strong defensively, good positioning, he reads the play well, but
I've seen him get beat 1v1 a couple of times.

Rielly - Not as flashy as I originally expected, very smart, great passer and good speed, much stronger on defense then given credit for, but he could use his strength a bit more. (6.1 and 199lbs)

Murphy - Incredibly gifted offensively and a phenomenal skater, but he does come with his downsides. He needs sheltered minutes on the power play and against weaker forwards, very lackluster defensive play and doesn't think the defensive game very well.

Pelech - Quiet, he's a Harrington-lite.

Dumba - Where are the bigs hits? Good skater, he wants the puck on the PP, he has a good shot, solid defensively, but we haven't seen the offensive game that he can bring.

Ceci - He's okay, he makes some questionable pinches, it doesn't help that he's a sub par skater either. Brings a little physicality which is nice, but I haven't seen enough from him yet.

Hamilton - Definitely not playing the game he's been so praised of playing. He's been good, but I don't see anything that stands out, he's good at everything, but nothing is off the charts.

Reinhart - (We haven't seen much, but I do like the way he plays, simple, but effective)

 

[member 147413]

Although I'm obviously a bit biased.....I have to say I've been very impressed with Monahan this series.

Don't worry, he's been great, originally I had my next years Top five as...

Mackinnon
Jones
Shinkaruk
Barkov
Monahan

But he's impressed me a lot, so I swap Monahan and Shinkaruk, as I haven't seen enough explosiveness from Hunter.

Mackinnon
Jones
Monahan
Barkov
Shinkaruk

 

[HockeyGuruPitka]

Really impressed with the defense on team Canada. A lot of the goals so far seem to be a result of creative and dynamic offensive minded d. With good goaltending this team is great. I personally haunt been blown away by team Canada's front line with the exception of huberdeau and hudon. I guess that's because Canada often has a powerhouse forward (Tavares Crosby etc). I do believe the defense picks up the slack here. However our end needs to become a priority. Tonight with subban in net should be a good indicator of what we have overall.