Observations XIX

[Roman Yoshi]

One thing that really impresses me about Fiala is his ability to quickly steal the puck in the neutral and offensive zones and turn up ice. It's really impressive. Not Datsuck level but he is looking really promising.

Making me eat a little crew. It isn't all there offensively or defensively, but he has made great progress in the last year.

Jarnkrok frustrates me to no end.

I like Salomaki in the lineup. We missed him last year.

 

[drwpreds]

Steve beat me to it, but I was going to ask if anyone else thought that was Emelin's best game as a Predator? Not that he was great, but he was much more consistent and relaxed it seemed. Still got in a fee good hits, didn't get burned in transition or beaten around the net.

He doesn't have to be amazing, but if he can just be good enough on a consistent basis, that would be pretty big for him on the third pair when Ellis is healthy.

I did- he has been much better the last couple of games and hopefully it is an encouraging sign. I am sure the first few games were a pretty big adjustment as he is playing in a totally different system.

 

[GoldOnGold]

Weber activated from IR, Bonino to IR. Bonino's agent says he could be out a couple of weeks.

 

[Pred303]

I haven't missed weber at all, so that's no loss. bonino we just have no real clue on yet.

 

[GoldOnGold]

I thought he looked good with Hartnell and Aberg at times, but it's tough to say whether or not that would be a good line over the long run.

 

[Legionnaire11]

I haven't missed weber at all, so that's no loss. bonino we just have no real clue on yet.

Weber is coming back from IR. He skated with Irwin during practice today and Bitetto was the 7th.

 

[Pred303]

of course it's too early to read much into scoring... but I do worry some because in 3 of our 7 games we have scored 1,1,0 goals... admittedly by a miracle (Rinne) we are 1-1-1 in those three...

so while it's certainly not time to worry yet, it's something we should keep our eyes open on.

 

[NoNecksCurse]

of course it's too early to read much into scoring... but I do worry some because in 3 of our 7 games we have scored 1,1,0 goals... admittedly by a miracle (Rinne) we are 1-1-1 in those three...

so while it's certainly not time to worry yet, it's something we should keep our eyes open on.

a major concern for me. it's early but losing fisher, neal, and even wilson hurts us a little more than what we expected. granted each of those 3 had their downfalls but we had a pretty good idea of what we would get (bigger sample size). the guys we are counting on to replace them have a small sample size of producing here in Nashville. again it is early but i expect us to add a forward sooner than the deadline.

 

[AdmiralsFan24]

of course it's too early to read much into scoring... but I do worry some because in 3 of our 7 games we have scored 1,1,0 goals... admittedly by a miracle (Rinne) we are 1-1-1 in those three...

so while it's certainly not time to worry yet, it's something we should keep our eyes open on.

It's really not. Last year we had a 5 game stretch where we scored 2, 1, 2, 5, 0 (the second two goal game is because we won a shootout.) We had a 10 game stretch from late December to mid January where we scored 4 against the Blues, 6 against the Lightning and 0, 2, 2, 1, 1, 2, 2, 2 in the other 8 games. I know we rested some players but the last 7 games of the regular season last year we went 1, 1, 3, 1, 1, 7, 1.

Sometimes you don't score a lot of goals. Whether it's because you're missing guys, you run into a hot goalie or you're just a little out of sync. It happens. The only reason you're noticing this is because it's the beginning of the season and there's nothing to look back on to compare it to.

 

[Scoresberg]

It's really not. Last year we had a 5 game stretch where we scored 2, 1, 2, 5, 0 (the second two goal game is because we won a shootout.) We had a 10 game stretch from late December to mid January where we scored 4 against the Blues, 6 against the Lightning and 0, 2, 2, 1, 1, 2, 2, 2 in the other 8 games. I know we rested some players but the last 7 games of the regular season last year we went 1, 1, 3, 1, 1, 7, 1.

Sometimes you don't score a lot of goals. Whether it's because you're missing guys, you run into a hot goalie or you're just a little out of sync. It happens. The only reason you're noticing this is because it's the beginning of the season and there's nothing to look back on to compare it to.

Perfectly put. Also, we've played a bit more defensively, especially on the road because that has brought us success before. Of course, we're gonna see a dropoff in offense but if we can replace that with better special teams and better defense (so far so good) we're gonna be alright. Although, to put us over the top, I'd like to see us add a top-6/9 winger or C to replace Aberg and move Jarnkrok to the wing permanently or even on the 4th.

Also, growing pains were expected for our forward group with two new key forwards and some young talent expected to break out. It takes some time. Granted, if none of those come through we're really gonna struggle offensively and might miss the playoffs.

 

[Pred303]

what a strange feeling to have a game at 11:00.

 

[NoNecksCurse]

what a strange feeling to have a game at 11:00.

don't like it at all. seems like a game hand made for us to lose.

 

[PredsV82]

of course it's too early to read much into scoring... but I do worry some because in 3 of our 7 games we have scored 1,1,0 goals... admittedly by a miracle (Rinne) we are 1-1-1 in those three...

so while it's certainly not time to worry yet, it's something we should keep our eyes open on.

To me it seems like we are a lot like we were at the start of last year, specifically, looking for chemistry and not yet playing in a good rhythm., and dealing with our share of injuries. Last year, Rinne struggled in October and we got off to a disastrous start. He had a fantastic November and we piled up wins even though we weren't playing all that well. By the time we got it all together we were in too deep a hole to do any more than challenge for 3rd in the division and eventually had to settle for a wild card spot.

This year, at least so far, we have skipped the horrid october(well, after two crappy road games at the start) and are keeping pace with the rest of the division/conference despite not really hitting on all cylinders. That gives me hope that when we finally get our shit together we will be in a position to make a run at the division instead of hoping to slip in as a WC.

 

[FossilFndr]

don't like it at all. seems like a game hand made for us to lose.

Some folks feel that way before every game.

 

[Drake744]

Some folks feel that way before every game.

They're like 1-5-2 or something. Maybe we lose, maybe we don't, but this isn't a game we should expect to lose.

 

[glenngineer]

Was well over 1000.

Discuss: Callie Jarnkrok worst current Predator or all time worst?

Not worst all time.

Not worst current Pred.

Is not the type of player to make those around him better. Needs good offensive players on his line to be successful offensively. Should be playing on the 4th line as a PK specialist.

 

[NSH615]

Not worst all time.

Not worst current Pred.

Is not the type of player to make those around him better. Needs good offensive players on his line to be successful offensively. Should be playing on the 4th line as a PK specialist.

Should be playing on Vegas now instead of Neal.

 

[JustaFinnishGuy]

This is one of those godlike starting times for us fans abroad. It's a 7:30 PM start for me.
I'd think this game will be hard just because we are the away team. No away game has been good for the whole 60 minutes yet.

 

[triggrman]

Very well played loss. Plenty of good chances just couldn't cash in.

Irwin is very slow.

Speaking of speed, we've got to do a better job putting Fiala in situations to use his speed more.

 

[GoldOnGold]

Random Thoughts

• Fiala has been looking more energetic and has made more plays the last couple of games, which is good.
• This is probably at least partly because the Fiala - Sissons - Smith line seems to have actually managed to build some chemistry.
• The JOFA line looked pretty lifeless at first, but they really turned it on as the game went by. I thought Forsberg had a particularly good game.
• Johansen could still stand to skate a bit faster sometimes.
• Our bottom defensemen really need to be better.
• 0/5 on the PP despite some good puck movement.
• It feels like Subban will never score on a goalie again. At first he was constantly getting his shot blocked, now he's always deferring to his partner.

 

[Bringer of Jollity]

Sometimes you lose games you have no business losing.

Feel like we lost a great opportunity to stomp them early by failing to get anything going on the early PP opportunities. Guys have got to get some of those shots on net.

 

[Armourboy]

Very well played loss. Plenty of good chances just couldn't cash in.

Irwin is very slow.

Speaking of speed, we've got to do a better job putting Fiala in situations to use his speed more.

Gotta wonder how much of that is the guys not looking to make that play vs how much of it is him not being in position to make it. Seems everyone looks for Arvy to make those high speed plays so I'm not sure why we don't see the same from Fiala.

 

[NoNecksCurse]

well that was disappointing. i never have good feelings about early start times. would be interesting to see our records in games started at noon and afternoon. it's probably not near as bad as us fans make it out to be but right now it seems like we never win them.

johansen forsberg and arvy had a great bounce back game after their worst so far in the early stages. dominated the game 75% of the time they were on the ice.

arvy is gonna be a steal with his contract. the guy never quits. will be a fan favorite for the whole time he is here.

forsberg now has 11 points in 8 games. 6 goals scored already. he had 0 at this time last year. i think this is the year he sets single season goal record and possibly hits 40.

johansen was a possession monster but would still like to see him show more hunger to score. still a great game.

sissons/smith/fiala weren't as prevalent but they still had some moments. fiala will get better as the year progresses and i think he will be a catalyst for that line going forward.

the PK looks much better to me than in years past. they did score a PP goal on us but that was on emelin the ogre which brings me to my next point.

WIBE will be the death of this team. it doesn't matter who we plug in, these guys rotate their suck from game to game and cost us points. injuries happen but gosh ellis is missed. emelin directly cost us 2 goals on not only mistakes but just plain awful mistakes. irwin did his best pylon impression with Halloween coming up and man it was a 10/10. seriously gonna be in a world of trouble till ellis is back and even then we need two of the 4 on the ice. and as the whole board has stated, why not play girard? he may make the same mistakes but there is room for growth and he can handle a puck and create offense.

girard has 1 goal, 2 assists, and 3 points in 3 games. emelin, irwin, weber, and bitetto have 2 assists in 24 games combined. both of those assists came from emelin in the Colorado game. neither assist was any sign of skill. same as when you see McLeod on the scoresheet with an assist. 3 points in 3 games >> 2 points in 24 games. not to mention, girard is a PMD and can improve.

saros was good from my view. i think rinne may have stole us a point possibly but you cant put blame on saros getting his 2nd start on the road in a noon game with the pile of suck known as WIBE in front of him.

subban didn't have a good game to me. fired a lot of shots with nothing coming out of it and was fumbling the puck all game. lost count of how many times he fumbled it or couldn't keep the puck in the offensive zone.

I'm not even opposed to calling up carrier at this point. would like to hear the ads fans valued opinion on him.

ekholm and josi were elite today. great game. ekholm is underrated and glad to have josi back. really appreciate those 2's game.

hartnell jarnkrok and salomaki had a decent game as well from my view. and as much as i hate on jarnkrok, he had a good game for him. had some chances and did some really fine work on the PK. hartnell had some good moments with the puck too.

0 SOG from emelin, irwin, and weber in a combined 38 minutes of TOI. also known ladies and gentleman as an offensive black hole. i cannot rip on these duds enough right now.

McLeod with 5 minutes of TOI. put that in the question marks along with why isn't girard playing..

i hate to say this but i see aberg being a non contributor for us.

watson isn't flashy but i love his game. you need guys like him to do what we did last year.

bout all i got right now. kind of pissed i didn't sleep till 2 after watching us fail to get a point. oh well on to tuesday against calgary at home

 

[GoldOnGold]

Aberg didn't even play. He was scratched for McLeod (who I guess we needed against the famously physical Rangers?).

 

[NoNecksCurse]

Aberg didn't even play. He was scratched for McLeod (who I guess we needed against the famously physical Rangers?).

yes i know. i was running off on guys playing and not.