GDT: Thurs, 08-Oct-2015 | OTT @ BUF | 7:00P ET | TSN5 | Season Opener

[freddy61]

I think when BM says he'd like another top 6 player he means a top 2 centre. No real knock on Zib but I see him as a solid 3rd line centre who plays more of a crash and check role. A a RW he could develop into a top 6 if we didn't have Stone and Ryan but imo not at centre. Remember when we thought Fisher was a tweener centre not quite 2nd line and not quite a playmaker. It was just the reality of his style. A very good player who could get you 20 goals but a different style more suited to the 3rd line. That's why I see Zib with Michalek and Lazar as a better option. I am not pushing JGP as the answer to the 2nd line centre it's just I think he has more playmaking potential to his game. As a centre JGP's game needs maturing but we have no one else right now with his skill set and playing with better players would probably elevate his game too.

Another option: If they think Lazar could do it they should try to develop him at centre as quickly as possible. I don't know enough about his history at centre to judge that.

 

[NyQuil]

I'm going to get flamed but I see no value in Lazar playing in the NHL right now. He's got no offence at all.... Why the SENS think its not better for him to go down to the AHL and discover his touch and then come back up is beyond me. But he should not be playing top 6 minutes

Well, he scored on the empty net, so I'll give him that.

I agree with bottom six though.

 

[HavlatMach9]

Remember when we thought Fisher was a tweener centre not quite 2nd line and not quite a playmaker.

in hindsight, fisher as a 2nd line center wasn't so bad. z when he is going is a great #2.

good toi distribution in the 1st game to make sure we have something left on sunday

 

[Benjamin]

Just finished watching the game.

Cowen was a beast. Physical and solid defensively. He was taking the extra shots at players and hitting as much as possible. Loved it.

Wiercioch was good too. Liked everyone on defense. Anderson was sharp.

Smith-Neil = guaranteed defensive zone time. They are awful.

Were Zibanejad and Ryan in the lineup?

Hoffman's ability to always create something is unmatched on this team. He needs to stay on the 1st line with a ton of ice time.

Turris+Stone is gonna annoy alot of teams offensively and defensively.

 

[DrunkUncleDenis]

Smith-Neil = 3 lbs

ftfy.

But ya I agree.. just dreadful I think Smith could stay in the lineup with improved linemates, though.

 

[Burrowsaurus]

I'm going to get flamed but I see no value in Lazar playing in the NHL right now. He's got no offence at all.... Why the SENS think its not better for him to go down to the AHL and discover his touch and then come back up is beyond me. But he should not be playing top 6 minutes

I don't know about this.

 

[The Waffler]

I think we have three good lines, we just need to give the middle two lines a few games to get going. I don't see any need to shuffle the lines until the weekend is over.

The fourth line is abysmal.

Hey, at least that 4th line isn't a 3rd line anymore #progress

 

[Viletho]

On Nhl.com. Stone only got 1 takeaway in the game.. Is it me or he did stole the puck like 2-3 times in one shift at some point. He stole the puck for the second goal also.. He got at least 4 Takeaway.

 

[NyQuil]

On Nhl.com. Stone only got 1 takeaway in the game.. Is it me or he did stole the puck like 2-3 times in one shift at some point. He stole the puck for the second goal also.. He got at least 4 Takeaway.

Yeah, I actually went and looked after the game and was surprised.

We had 4 takeaways total for the game and Buffalo had 6.

We did outhit them at a ratio of 2 to 1. :shrug:

RTSS stats are tracked by the home team IIRC, so it's a bit fuzzy.

 

[BigBush*]

On Nhl.com. Stone only got 1 takeaway in the game.. Is it me or he did stole the puck like 2-3 times in one shift at some point. He stole the puck for the second goal also.. He got at least 4 Takeaway.

he had 3 alone just in the highlight on sportsnet.

does that play on the second goal where he leans up against the boards to block the pass count as a take away (or should it)?

 

[BonHoonLayneCornell]

i cant be the only one who thought neil played better than smith and chiasson right?

just asking because of all the line combos that have him out, he isnt going to be here longterm but if we are going based off yesterday then one of smith/chiasson need to be sitting

I actually thought Neil looked pretty good last night too.

 

[Xspyrit]

I hope the line-up eventually ends up like this :

Hoffman-Turris-Stone
MacArthur-Zibanejad-Ryan
Michalek-Pageau-Lazar
Prince-Smith-Chiasson
Neil (vs tougher teams)

Methot-Karlsson
Cowen-Ceci
Wiercioch-Wideman
Boroweicki (vs tougher teams)

Somebody please let me know when hfboards mobile drops the impossible-to-close CIBC ads.

They did achieve to ensure that I will never do any business with the CIBC...

His leg got caught in Zibanejads gravitational pull while the rest of his body didn't.

That's where I got Stone, so no.

Is it a 3 people pool?

He certainly looks much better than he did in preseason

It is a relief

You mean it's almost impossible to conclude about established NHL players on anything that happens in preseason? I got caught before, I then stopped putting significative weight on it.

So many little details some people don't see when they watch a game

Too much beer

Edit : oops sorry Choco, my bad

What's CF?

Conference Finals...

 

[Holdurbreathe]

So you expect him to continue to be 42% at the dot for the whole season? He'll be up around 50% by the end of the season, convert one loss to a win last night, and he's at 50% on the night. His line more than doubled the oppositions shot attempts, and thats while starting 57% of his starts in the Dzone.

Meanwhile, Zibanejad's line was outshot despite him winning 70% of the draws and starting in the OZ 73% of the time.

It's only one game, so I don't want to bump him onto the 2nd line yet, but I find your resistance to the idea a little much. If you had said that Zibanejad has established himself over a much larger sample, sure, but one game of poor faceoff% is not much to go on.

First I agree it is only one game, but the game in question was seemingly enough for the JPG supporters to suggest moving him up!

My issue was he simply didn't offer much offence 5 on 5. His only shot on goal was on the PK I believe, so his line generated 2 shots if the stats on NHL.com are correct.

More importantly, as someone has already mentioned, he passed the puck when he was in scoring position nullifying potential offensive opportunities.

It was for these reasons I don't think he is ready for 2nd line play.

In terms of Zibby, suggesting a team stat (SOG A) somehow indicates a failure on his part seems to contain bias IMO.

While his line with the D may have given up more shots than they took, his 73% in the circle gave his line mates opportunity to generate offence. So it is possible the lack of shots were the result his line mates and/or D not getting the puck to the net.

Personally I think having Ryan on his off wing and Lazar who hasn't yet developed his offence game, may have had more to do with the lack of offence than Zibby.

 

[Nac Mac Feegle]

That top line though....Man is it ever fun to watch Hoff and Stone in particular play the game. Mix in an extremely steady and consistant Turris who was solid in the dot imo

Only one game but almost all have mentioned Cowen looked great, using his size and range all over the place made smart simple plays which is what he needs to do. I am happy for the big fella and hope he builds on this.

I will take the coach's challenge as it worked in our favour however it left a bad taste in my mouth as it looked to be literally a 1/4 inch offside. I am worried about a slippery slope for this rule.

Would agree on getting Prince in there ASAP, would have had him starting last night to be honest. Hope we can lose the mentality that we need an enforcer for Toronto games and get the skill in.

tough one for the Lehner, hope he gets healthy quickly.

Bring on bluey and the toilet seats!

Agreed.

It was a win, but icky. I know, by the letter of the law, it was offside...but do we really expect the refs to get that one right in real time? Without that challenge, this could've easily been a tie or OT loss for us. We got very lucky.

I would be steaming mad if that happened to us.

 

[bert]

Agreed.

It was a win, but icky. I know, by the letter of the law, it was offside...but do we really expect the refs to get that one right in real time? Without that challenge, this could've easily been a tie or OT loss for us. We got very lucky.

I would be steaming mad if that happened to us.

I agree with this! Well put.

 

[Sens of Anarchy]

Not sure about the love affair with Chiasson over Neil... I have really tried to find some good qualities in Chiasson's game.

Neil is better physically
He is better at one on one puck battles
He reads the play better
He is in the right position more often
He can protect and make opposition accountable

Sure he is nearing the end of his rope. But to me Neil outplays Chiasson pretty much every time I watch a game they are both in.

Chiasson has size but doesn't use it.
I find his skating really suspect unless he is going in a straight line
He wins very few one on one battles if he engages at all
He may be a better pure scorer than Neil but neither are in the lineup to score. And neither does it often enough to attribute much value to the point.

So I am willing to read all about Chiasson's positive attributes and how he makes us a better team.

 

[DrEasy]

Not sure about the love affair with Chiasson over Neil... I have really tried to find some good qualities in Chiasson's game.

Neil is better physically
He is better at one on one puck battles
He reads the play better
He is in the right position more often
He can protect and make opposition accountable

Sure he is nearing the end of his rope. But to me Neil outplays Chiasson pretty much every time I watch a game they are both in.

Chiasson has size but doesn't use it.
I find his skating really suspect unless he is going in a straight line
He wins very few one on one battles if he engages at all
He may be a better pure scorer than Neil but neither are in the lineup to score. And neither does it often enough to attribute much value to the point.

So I am willing to read all about Chiasson's positive attributes and how he makes us a better team.

It could be due to projecting the trajectory of their respective careers. Chiasson presumably can get better than this.

 

[Sens of Anarchy]

It could be due to projecting the trajectory of their respective careers. Chiasson presumably can get better than this.

Yah it could be but I would bet that unless that trajectory shows up this year he won't be here next year. IMO the Sens have a few players very close if not ready to make the jump up from Bingo. McCormick and Puempel come to mind this year, Next year there will be more. They already have Prince .... All these guys project better IMO.

 

[DrEasy]

Yah it could be but I would bet that unless that trajectory shows up this year he won't be here next year. IMO the Sens have a few players very close if not ready to make the jump up from Bingo. McCormick and Puempel come to mind this year, Next year there will be more. They already have Prince .... All these guys project better IMO.

I agree with you. But If Chiasson doesn't perform well I don't see Murray replacing him or Neil with a skilled guy like Prince or Puempel. It'll probably be McCormick indeed, or Robinson or some veteran he'll acquire.

 

[BonHoonLayneCornell]

I think when BM says he'd like another top 6 player he means a top 2 centre. No real knock on Zib but I see him as a solid 3rd line centre who plays more of a crash and check role. A a RW he could develop into a top 6 if we didn't have Stone and Ryan but imo not at centre. Remember when we thought Fisher was a tweener centre not quite 2nd line and not quite a playmaker. It was just the reality of his style. A very good player who could get you 20 goals but a different style more suited to the 3rd line. That's why I see Zib with Michalek and Lazar as a better option. I am not pushing JGP as the answer to the 2nd line centre it's just I think he has more playmaking potential to his game. As a centre JGP's game needs maturing but we have no one else right now with his skill set and playing with better players would probably elevate his game too.

Another option: If they think Lazar could do it they should try to develop him at centre as quickly as possible. I don't know enough about his history at centre to judge that.

I highly doubt that is what BM is thinking. He has said over and over that he sees Zbad as our future number 1 center and has all the tools to be one.

 

[BigBush*]

I highly doubt that is what BM is thinking. He has said over and over that he sees Zbad as our future number 1 center and has all the tools to be one.

BM would move Zib in a heart beat for a #1C if he could

 

[Cosmix]

I agree with this! Well put.

I won't get mad just because if it happens to the Senators, as my preference is for the league to make the correct call no matter which team it affects. I might be very disapponited and cuss like a trooper.

 

[Cosmix]

They did look good and Buffalo is a bottom feeder but I don't know why everyone is using this caveat. I think Buffalo's offense will actually be pretty decent this year, it's their defense and goaltending that are the problem. They have a lot of speed at forward and this is exactly the opposition I was most worried about Cowen-Boro facing. I see it as very positive.

Cowen had one shift in particular where he pinned and hemmed Kane in the corner which I found very positive.



I agree. He also looked stronger and like he had developed his balance. I don't think he fights off that check for the ENG last season.




I'd rather try a few other combinations before breaking up Hoffman-Turris-Stone which have been excellent since they were assembled.

Personally, I'd like to see:

Prince-Zibanejad-Ryan : Prince's speed and playmaking would be an interesting addition to this line and would make up for Ryan being so slow. His playmaking would take away some pressure from Ryan having to try to carry the puck all the time. Might be a bit of a gamble in their own zone.

MacArthur-Pageau-Lazar: Excellent speed, very responsible, very tenacious. It's an upgraded version of last year's third line.

Michalek-Smith-Chiasson: Michalek's skill and speed help elevate Smith. Chiasson gets to play his regular side. Excellent size and better without Neil slowing them down.

or

MacArthur-Zibanejad-Ryan: MacArthur has a very decent all round game and would bring many of the speed and playmaking advantages Prince would even if I don't think he's as natural at it as Prince. Definitely more solid two ways than with Prince.

Michalek-Pageau-Lazar: I like Michalek's size and straightforward game with these two. Pageau gets to be a little creative with two very defensively responsible north-south wingers.

Prince-Smith-Chiasson: Prince completely changes the outlook of the 4th line giving them a chance to actually be in the offensive zone. I think Smith has been much better this season so far and I want to see him play with better players.

I agree strongly that the first line should not be broken up. I think it is really difficult to find players who can play well together and it would be incredibly stupid to break it up when you find chemistry that works well. You can mess with the other lines as much as you like because they are not working so there is not much to lose and potentially much to gain.

Regarding Zibanejad, I don't see him as much of a play maker so unless he develops a lot more I suspect we will be left wanting more than he can ever provide.

 

[maclean]

I'm watching the game right now (this is my life now, I watch hockey on replays because games start at 1:30am for me), and through two periods, there are lots of positives to take away here.

where are you getting the game after the fact?

 

[BonkTastic]

RTSS stats are tracked by the home team IIRC, so it's a bit fuzzy.

Yeah, they're probably best taken as a "ballpark" figure.

They're not accurate at all, never have been. Home/Away splits for stats like "hits" are incredible when you actually take a look at them.