Post-Game Talk: McDavid hated that goal

[joestevens29]

I think that some of Nurses faults/mistakes have been atributed to Ceci. There have been so many times this season where Nurse has made a bad decision I stopped posting about it.
Too much work.
Its very difficult to play with a dman that wanders. Especially for a player that is being paid like a 4/5 dman who is expected to be a 2/3 dman. Now I am not saying that Ceci is without faults...he most definitly makes bad reads. The thing is that Nurse is being paid to be a #1 dman. With that comes a requirement to be a player that can be relied upon. A player that can help compensate for a lesser player (Ceci).
Nurse doesnt do that.
Just consider how Ekholm was not only able to compensate for Bouchard defensive deficiencies but he actully made Bouchard a better player. His impact has been so impressive that the Bouchbard/Ekholm pairing now eats up a substantial amount of tough minutes.
Nurse for me is what he is and he will never out perfrom his contract. I am not advocating for trading Nurse but his albatross contract absolutely negatively affects this team.
I think trading Ceci is inevitable and I also think that unless Holland replaces him with a legit 2/3 dman then the Nurse/? pairing will be no better than it is now and thats on Nurse IMO.

Problem I find with Nurse is when his partner makes a mistake and he has to cover he just makes things worse. Gets caught like a dog chasing his tail

Almost be better if he just did what he is supposed to originally do and call it a day. Instead the goalies now have two d-men running in circles and get confused lol

 

[guymez]

I don't disagree in theory, I just think that in this case Ceci is playing so poorly and is creating so many problems that its at the point where expecting Nurse to cover all that off is unreasonable.

During the streak that pair was more than fine and Nurse was considered to be playing great hockey. I don't perceive much of a change in Nurse's game compared to then, but with Ceci he's currently playing at about a 1GA/game average that are 100% his fault.

I think what really helped the Nurse/Ceci pairing a lot during the streak was the fact that the forwards were playing with a lot more defensive awareness. makes the whole team better.
Where Nurses game falls apart is when the pressure is on....thats especialy true when the other team is cycling the puck. He gets confused especially right when things start to break down.
So does Ceci but again thats to be expected with a player like Ceci. I expect more form a player getting paid like Nurse.

So while I agree that Ceci isnt good enough to be playing the role this team currently has him in its my belief that Nurse isnt the dman you (and some other posters) think he is.

Problem I find with Nurse is when his partner makes a mistake and he has to cover he just makes things worse. Gets caught like a dog chasing his tail

Almost be better if he just did what he is supposed to originally do and call it a day. Instead the goalies now have two d-men running in circles and get confused lol

Thats it exactly.

 

[Slats432]

Can't believe the NHL highlight package doesn't have a highlight of the Nuge backcheck. I saw the end of it on Sportsnet. Would have liked to see the lead up though.

 

[joestevens29]

I think what really helped the Nurse/Ceci pairing a lot during the streak was the fact that the forwards were playing with a lot more defensive awareness. makes the whole team better.
Where Nurses game falls apart is when the pressure is on....thats especialy true when the other team is cycling the puck. He gets confused. So does Ceci but again thats to be expected with a player like Ceci. I expect more form a player getting paid like Nurse.

So while I agree that Ceci isnt good enough to be playing the role this team currently has him in its my belief that Nurse isnt the dman you (and some other posters) think he is.


Thats it exactly.

I honestly can't remember as I've caught a lot of talk radio lately, but someone was mentioning how good Ekholm is for Bouchard. I mean we all know if it weren't for Ekholm defensively it would be scary with how Bouchard plays at times.

Now I know there's that saying about how hard it is to teach old dogs new tricks, but man if Nurse and Ekholm could work together more I think it would do wonders for Nurse. Not saying they should be partners, but if Ekholm could do some teaching to Nurse it would be great.

 

[guymez]

Can't believe the NHL highlight package doesn't have a highlight of the Nuge backcheck. I saw the end of it on Sportsnet. Would have liked to see the lead up though.

That was THE play of the game.

 

[Slats432]

Found it.

 

[jeffff]

Can't believe the NHL highlight package doesn't have a highlight of the Nuge backcheck. I saw the end of it on Sportsnet. Would have liked to see the lead up though.

They did.....at least they did this morning when I watched at 8:00 and then again at 9:00.

They even showed Skinner smacking his stick on the ice afterwards.

 

[guymez]

I honestly can't remember as I've caught a lot of talk radio lately, but someone was mentioning how good Ekholm is for Bouchard. I mean we all know if it weren't for Ekholm defensively it would be scary with how Bouchard plays at times.

Now I know there's that saying about how hard it is to teach old dogs new tricks, but man if Nurse and Ekholm could work together more I think it would do wonders for Nurse. Not saying they should be partners, but if Ekholm could do some teaching to Nurse it would be great.

I hear you.
Both players play the left side though so one of them would have to play on their off wing.
I think that with both those player on the top pairing the 2nd pairing might be a little overwhelmed.
Acquiring a right handed Ekholm lite would be perfect.

 

[Slats432]

They did.....at least they did this morning when I watched at 8:00 and then again at 9:00.

They even showed Skinner smacking his stick on the ice afterwards.

Yes, I just watched the NHL highlight package and it wasn't there in their 10 minute game recap.

 

[PositiveCashFlow]

RZH

 

[Oilers]

Haha Ekholm in overtime was the most awkward thing I’ve seen. Hilarious assist too, give it to McDavid and let him go end to end

 

[yukoner88]

"And I will find you, and I will trade for you."

TRADE FOR BUCH, KENNY

*Buchberger gets promoted to assistant coach*

 

[PULSATING]

Haha Ekholm in overtime was the most awkward thing I’ve seen. Hilarious assist too, give it to McDavid and let him go end to end

Guy didnt like what he was seeing. Legendary patience

 

[Messrules11]

Nice to see McD with the game winner but we don’t get the 2 points without that backcheck from Nuge. Hell of a play there, need more of that from everyone.

 

[Stoneman89]

Nice to see McD with the game winner but we don’t get the 2 points without that backcheck from Nuge. Hell of a play there, need more of that from everyone.

It's possible that Skinner stops that though if Nuge doesn't get there. Just sayin.

 

[Jimmi McJenkins]

Wendo, the champ.

 

[brentashton]

Can't believe the NHL highlight package doesn't have a highlight of the Nuge backcheck. I saw the end of it on Sportsnet. Would have liked to see the lead up though.

Im not.

I don’t see a league that relies on the foolish largesse of a Toronto based TV sports broadcaster that just also happens to own a member club that had the said player on their roster prior, to rub that awesome play into viewer noses in a hilight pkg? We peeps out here in the hinterland will have to be satisfied we knew better than the wunderkid GM.

 

[tiger_80]

McDavid, btw, is only 56 points shy of 1,000 with more than 20 games to go. If he keeps the pace he's been on in the past ten games he could come close to hitting the milestone already this season.

 

[ManOfSteelI]

McDavid, btw, is only 56 points shy of 1,000 with more than 20 games to go. If he keeps the pace he's been on in the past ten games he could come close to hitting the milestone already this season.

To add on that, he has 27 points in Feb (2.25 p/gp). If he maintains that pace, he will get exactly 56 points to finish the season. Another big game or two and that becomes pretty doable.

 

[HugentNopkins]

I loved the Nuge backcheck but wtf was Harnaryan's call on that? He sounded so disappointed that Thomas didn't get a shot. Awful commentator year in year out.

 

[Senor Catface]

Found it.

I wonder who the St. Louis goof is holding up his stick on the breakaway like they already scored.

 

[snag]

It's possible that Skinner stops that though if Nuge doesn't get there. Just sayin.

Guess we'll never know....but do we really need to?

 

[Da McBomb]

Found it.

Skinner banging his stick on the ice in appreciation of Nuge's backcheck was awesome as well.

 

[snag]

I wonder who the St. Louis goof is holding up his stick on the breakaway like they already scored.

Pretty sure it was Parayko

As it unfolds...

as it comes back...

 

[Yablo21]

The Binnington show. Blues didn't deserve to even be in this game. They played solid first 5mins and figured they had something. Figured right there that Blues stepping back there and playing careful was the wrong move for them. Absolutely Oilers were coming back from that. By the end of first that was evident.

Blues even with Binnington in net have trouble holding leads.

They have one of the best records in the league when scoring first. Team played like crap in the first 5 minutes, then when they stopped being garbage Skinner shut the door.