GDT: 14 January 2014 - Calgary Flames at Nashville Predators (Burning down the HOP)

[RomanEmpire]

I don't care who it's against, any confidence for Ellis is a good thing. We need him to pan out.

 

[StarvinArvyn33]

Ellis was my first star tonight. He was everywhere and took control when needed. Even looked good in his own zone, didnt see him get out muscled once. Hope he continues to get minutes like he did tonight, only way to help his development.

 

[PFL615]

Stalberg actually tipped on Ellis 2nd goal.

Ellis and Weber D-men directly contribute to 3 goals. 1 goal by a forward and on the power play.
Thank goodness are D is good offensively.

 

[AtlantaWhaler]

Not defending our poor offense at all, but Craig Smith is quietly having a nice rebound year. Smith and Ellis are two players looking pretty good as of late.

 

[token grinder]

Not defending our poor offense at all, but Craig Smith is quietly having a nice rebound year. Smith and Ellis are two players looking pretty good as of late.

Stop it, Silly Goose. Trotz Ruins young kids.

 

[PFL615]

Yeah Trotz benching him for things like "lack of emotion" and putting him on lines with grinders all while expecting him to produce or face reduced ice time or scratching has really been the catalyst for his game.

 

[PredsV82]

Yeah Trotz benching him for things like "lack of emotion" and putting him on lines with grinders all while expecting him to produce or face reduced ice time or scratching has really been the catalyst for his game.

ok wise guy what do you think turned him around?

Trotz gets all the blame when a young player struggles but none of the credit when a young player improves... what a load of dungarees..

 

[Enoch]

Smith has produced at a high level everywhere but a Trotz system. If anything, Trotz is holding him back with his nonsensical line placements. Truthfully, I think he hit a wall last year. Going from college to NHL is a big jump.

 

[PFL615]

It sure as hell wasn't Trotz. According to thr poster above and i am sure many others see what this "wise guy" is seeing.

Great coaching by Trotz to finally let the kid play some on the PP every now and then. Coach of the year material!!!

 

[SeventyOneTN]

It sure as hell wasn't Trotz. According to thr poster above and i am sure many others see what this "wise guy" is seeing.

Great coaching by Trotz to finally let the kid play some on the PP every now and then. Coach of the year material!!!

Smith earned that time by not making the ridiculous mistakes he was making in years past. He was a turnover machine and consistently in the worst possible places.

 

[Enoch]

Smith earned that time by not making the ridiculous mistakes he was making in years past. He was a turnover machine and consistently in the worst possible places.

Counter: The Predators run a stringent defensive system that allows for zero creativity during the transition game and calls for strict adherence to defensive responsibilities. This can make rookies and young players look foolish and tentative, especially given Trotzs proclivity to bench and call out young players.

 

[PFL615]

Smith earned that time by not making the ridiculous mistakes he was making in years past. He was a turnover machine and consistently in the worst possible places.

Counter #2 He actually tries to make something happen offensively which in turn is going to lead to turnovers and mistakes. He is not other forwards who is going to get the puck and immediately flip it blindly to the other team and lead to constant turnovers like other Predator forwards tend to do.

Smith actually tries to make something happen and i think that causes negative focus on him whenhe does turn it over. Not one word is said about the 50 times a game other veteran players blindly flip the puck without even looking for the pass or attempting to wait for it.... make a move to open up
the ice.

 

[deanwormer]

Ellis was my first star tonight. He was everywhere and took control when needed. Even looked good in his own zone, didnt see him get out muscled once. Hope he continues to get minutes like he did tonight, only way to help his development.

Ellis has been our best player through the homestand. Granted, he's not playing the hard D minutes Weber is, but he's been consistent, making plays on O, decent moving the puck on the PP, and solid on D - out-muscled a couple times but can't coach size. Putting him with Klein, the guy that will cover up most miscues, seems to be the tonic for freeing up Ellis' game.

 

[PFL615]

Agree with Ellis. He has definitely improved this year

 

[101st_fan]

Smith, a 4th round draft pick, showing inconsistency as he transitions from a collegiate player to a pro is the norm. So far this season, he's performing more consistently than in years past and is on pace to reach 20+ goals.

Seeing the team come out hard in the third, take advantage of chances, and get a win was a nice change from its recent play. Too often we've seen a good first period followed by crappy later play. Last night, they stepped up and created opportunities to succeed in the later parts of the game and got something called a "win". The big question is when do we see one of those again.

 

[SeventyOneTN]

Counter #2 He actually tries to make something happen offensively which in turn is going to lead to turnovers and mistakes. He is not other forwards who is going to get the puck and immediately flip it blindly to the other team and lead to constant turnovers like other Predator forwards tend to do.

Smith actually tries to make something happen and i think that causes negative focus on him whenhe does turn it over. Not one word is said about the 50 times a game other veteran players blindly flip the puck without even looking for the pass or attempting to wait for it.... make a move to open up
the ice.

Have to agree to disagree. Smith was making the mistakes you cannot make at this level, typically by trying too hard to go too fast. The game as slowed down for him a touch and he makes better decisions and has been rewarded.

The way some of the posts sound, Trotz must be an idiot. I am just trying to say, that there is logic and a progression. Top line time is earned. When given the chance and you fail you have to prove yourself. You can disagree with the Trotz system, but it isn't like it was ever as simple as give the guy top line minutes and he produces.

 

[SeventyOneTN]

Counter: The Predators run a stringent defensive system that allows for zero creativity during the transition game and calls for strict adherence to defensive responsibilities. This can make rookies and young players look foolish and tentative, especially given Trotzs proclivity to bench and call out young players.

My point was that he didn't just get move up and produce. I think it is a possibility that some of the players get tentative. However, in this case Smith seems to have figured some things out. Of course last year it seemed Wilson had, but now I am not so sure.

 

[101st_fan]

Weber with a PPG then another minus. if his +/- wasnt so pathetic, he would be getting some attention around the league

His play mirrors the team ... good PP play, getting beat at ES. The team has a top ten PP%, bottom five 5on5 goals for/goals against ratio. Weber with 8 PP goals, -15 at ES .... but tied for the team lead in empty net goals.

 

[Wrong Box Legwand]

To further brag on Ellis, he was one of the few players who looked awake on Sunday. Him along with Jones and a little bit of Smith.

 

[Dave is a killer]

His play mirrors the team ... good PP play, getting beat at ES. The team has a top ten PP%, bottom five 5on5 goals for/goals against ratio. Weber with 8 PP goals, -15 at ES .... but tied for the team lead in empty net goals.

Just like our Captain, this team is straight ...

 

[ILikeItILoveIt]

Want to know why the Minnesota game was so big?? With tonight's results, if we had won Sunday against the Wild, we would be only four points out of the playoffs with a game in hand- instead, its 8....

Of course that's the half-empty way to look at it. The other way is: we won and Wild & Yotes lost so now we're only 8 out with a game-in-hand, same as if we beat the Wild but they won and we lost tonight. I was bummed big time about the no-show Wild game and how important it was. Tonight is a good reminder that every game is worth 2 points and you never know what the other teams you're trying to catch are going to do. 34 games left. We win our game-in-hand and it's 6 points out with 33 games left. Wild/Stars/Yotes are all struggling. Odds are long but at this point we'd settle for reasonably meaningful games. Get me to 4 points out at the Olympic Break and Pekka in goal in March and we got ourselves a playoff race.

 

[Cashville]

Calgary is not a good team; I wouldn't read too much into this to be honest.

 

[sparkle twin]

Nice to see a win!

I was worried about Hutton, but made he made the stops he had to make, well enough of them. Most Calgary shots were from outside and he had clear views of them most of the night.

I love Weber bombs. Nice to see Ellis having some good games.

They played Real American when Jones wrestled down Backlund, lol.






Got a wave and a puck from SOB!! Totally made my night. The win made it even better! I thought he was going to throw it to the calgary fans next to me, but I guess being a chick in an SOB shirt helped!

 

[bishop12]

I wonder if Trotz has ever considered Ellis and Weber on the PP together....