2014 LMHF Report - Game #1

[LoudmouthHemskyfan#1]

Note about Smyth. Did you notice why Byfuglien was screening Pavelec on the Hemsky goal?

Watch Smyth before Hemsky scores.

Yep, he can go to the net if he gets enough time. Just not worth it though.

 

[Panda Bear]

It's great that Arcobello can ghost into good scoring positions, but it doesn't matter if he doesn't have the hands to receive high-pressure passes nor the shot accuracy and release to score on NHL goalies.

He's fine when he has time and he plays a smart game, but he just isn't good enough to play a high-skill game at this level.

 

[Master Lok]

It's great that Arcobello can ghost into good scoring positions, but it doesn't matter if he doesn't have the hands to receive high-pressure passes nor the shot accuracy and release to score on NHL goalies.

He's fine when he has time and he plays a smart game, but he just isn't good enough to play a high-skill game at this level.

Can we give the guy more than ONE game before determining what his career level is going to be? Or do people really think they're that good at predicting player ability?

 

[Panda Bear]

Can we give the guy more than ONE game before determining what his career level is going to be? Or do people really think they're that good at predicting player ability?

Probably not, no.

 

[djdub]

It's great that Arcobello can ghost into good scoring positions, but it doesn't matter if he doesn't have the hands to receive high-pressure passes nor the shot accuracy and release to score on NHL goalies.

He's fine when he has time and he plays a smart game, but he just isn't good enough to play a high-skill game at this level.

This is flat out ridiculous.

I can understand frustration with a guy during a tough loss, but it was his first game in the NHL for christ sake. You don't think the guy had some nerves out there?

Give him at least 10 games before you write him off completely, especially when he had a half decent game, by first nhl game standards.

 

[Aerchon]

It's great that Arcobello can ghost into good scoring positions, but it doesn't matter if he doesn't have the hands to receive high-pressure passes nor the shot accuracy and release to score on NHL goalies.

He's fine when he has time and he plays a smart game, but he just isn't good enough to play a high-skill game at this level.

Arco did everything but score. He obviously is good enough to play a high skill game at this level.

Nuge only had 4 goals last year in 40 games last year. Injured or not that isn't very good. Obviously not talented enough to play at this level.

Lets see how many goals Arco puts up over 40... Don't think it will be much of a gamble to say he has a decent shot of cracking 4...

If the only thing you can focus on is that he missed on a few good opportunities you don't have a leg to stand on.

Eberle missed 4 wide open nets last year. Hemsky missed a much better opportunity than any of Arco's last night...

If you've all ready decided Arco is terrible that's up to you, but in this place called reality Arco had an amazing second game in the NHL.

 

[AlowlyMcOilersfan]

This is flat out ridiculous.

I can understand frustration with a guy during a tough loss, but it was his first game in the NHL for christ sake. You don't think the guy had some nerves out there?

Give him at least 10 games before you write him off completely, especially when he had a half decent game, by first nhl game standards.

It was his second NHL game.

 

[djdub]

It was his second NHL game.

lol

 

[PaPaDee]

Great review, always enjoy your write-ups.

Hall seemed to be our worst player out there tonight. I think it's partially due to him being asked to play a position he hasn't played regularly in years. Really wish we had another NHL center available so we could slot Hall to where he belongs.

Smyth is brutal. Painfully slow, can't win board battles and doesn't even really have a very high hockey IQ. I wish they'd move him down the depth chart. Hopefully when RNH and Gagner return, he'll be slotted where he belongs.

Dubnyk looked so uncomfortable all night. Didn't have any confidence and didn't give his team any confidence either. Hopefully he comes back strong, he's a better goalie than that.

Thought our 4th line was effective with limited minutes.

The Eberle, Perron & Arcobello line was very "meh". Perron seemed to be the only one really engaged in the game, Eberle was played physically and seemed to wilt. Arcobello had a few chances, but couldn't bury them. Thought he was ok on faceoffs, but didn't see his end of game totals.

I thought Belov looked a little uncomfortable out there. Tried going for the hip check a few times and missed, causing a chance the other way. But this is his first NHL game on the smaller ice.

Hopefully we'll see some improvements in the next one.

 

[PaPaDee]

My big takeaway from this game was that Joensuu is a real player. I wasn't getting excited because the preseason is the preseason, but if he can maintain this he is a great top 9 option and a solid top 6 option that becomes infinitely more valuable with the style he plays being so sorely needed on this team.

Would love to see him get some reps riding shotgun with Nuge and Eberle when 93 gets back.

Also, would LOVE to see Perron on Hall and Hemsky's wing soon. Seems like a stylistic match made in heaven.

Yep, he looked very effective. Would have liked him to get more minutes though.

 

[ScrillaVilla]

this a thread I think we should come back to in a month or two, I have a suspicion based upon past performance that many of the players that are being credited with bad games and those being credited with great games will essentially be swapping categories with each other.

EDIT: except Ryan Smyth, hes still gonna be ******

 

[Panda Bear]

This is flat out ridiculous.

I can understand frustration with a guy during a tough loss, but it was his first game in the NHL for christ sake. You don't think the guy had some nerves out there?

Give him at least 10 games before you write him off completely, especially when he had a half decent game, by first nhl game standards.

I'm not frustrated at all. I went to the game last night and had a great time. While the loss was disappointing, there were tons of positives to take away from the game.

I'm sure he had some nerves out there. I haven't written him off at all, and I like the player. I just don't see him making it as a top six centre as more than an injury call up.

Arco did everything but score. He obviously is good enough to play a high skill game at this level.

Nuge only had 4 goals last year in 40 games last year. Injured or not that isn't very good. Obviously not talented enough to play at this level.

It's amazing how subjective sports can be. Hall was taking shifts away from Arcobello in both the second and the third.

Why are you making a strawman argument? Nugent-Hopkins is fine, and I defended him frequently last year. He was dealing with that nagging shoulder injury that's been hampering his offensive game since he returned from it in his rookie season. RNH is completely irrelevant to this, and my comments on Arcobello aren't based solely on him missing one chance yesterday.

Lets see how many goals Arco puts up over 40... Don't think it will be much of a gamble to say he has a decent shot of cracking 4...

If the only thing you can focus on is that he missed on a few good opportunities you don't have a leg to stand on.

Eberle missed 4 wide open nets last year. Hemsky missed a much better opportunity than any of Arco's last night...

If you've all ready decided Arco is terrible that's up to you, but in this place called reality Arco had an amazing second game in the NHL.

Sure. He might crack four goals, but I doubt he stays up for forty games. He likely drops to OKC once RNH is back.

Arcobello didn't have a bad game last night by any stretch. He's a smart player who ghosts into good scoring areas and positions himself well defensively. He has a great work effort to go along with good on-ice awareness.

Unfortunately he's still a) small; b) not a good enough skater; and c) doesn't have good enough hands to make plays in tight when checked by NHL defencemen. He was fine as a pivot leaving our zone, but he wasn't able to contribute in their zone unless he was on the receiving end of a play (e.g. shot at back post) or on the powerplay (where he has time and space).

By the way, I don't remember him rocking anyone even though he did try to lay the body a few times.

 

[IV XIV XCI]

Bottom line is, despite not playing a great game, we were good enough to win - probably by at least 2 goals.

That is both encouraging and disappointing all at once.

 

[Stoneman89]

Hall was hamstrung and trying to do too much and in the end it hurt him. If Eakins can provide him with 2 other players on his line instead of one and a half, I think he'll be much better. Unfortunately, it sounds like Smyth will have to be much worse to get a kick down the roster or even to the press box where he belongs.

 

[Mowzie]

Thanks for the report LMHF, solid as usual.

Also, stay safe Mowzie things are rough in the motherland right now.

Thanks brother. There's definitely more tension now than when I've come in previous years.

 

[McShiva]

I do think one of the main problems here with some of us rating the players performances (as one poster put it) is we are only keying on things based purely on our own perception of that player.

On the other hand, if you look at the wide variation of ratings of the players, then you can see it was because each of those players was inconsistent, and the entire team was playing inconsistently as a whole. (and has been for years come to think about it)

The only players we can agree on that played good or bad are the players that were the only ones that played consistently good or bad, and everyone else was so inconsistent that we can't even rate them properly. Just that concept alone causes me far more worry about the team's chances than say Dubies one bad game. (and it WAS really bad)

 

[Aerchon]

I'm not frustrated at all. I went to the game last night and had a great time. While the loss was disappointing, there were tons of positives to take away from the game.

I'm sure he had some nerves out there. I haven't written him off at all, and I like the player. I just don't see him making it as a top six centre as more than an injury call up.

It's amazing how subjective sports can be. Hall was taking shifts away from Arcobello in both the second and the third.

Why are you making a strawman argument? Nugent-Hopkins is fine, and I defended him frequently last year. He was dealing with that nagging shoulder injury that's been hampering his offensive game since he returned from it in his rookie season. RNH is completely irrelevant to this, and my comments on Arcobello aren't based solely on him missing one chance yesterday.


Sure. He might crack four goals, but I doubt he stays up for forty games. He likely drops to OKC once RNH is back.

Arcobello didn't have a bad game last night by any stretch. He's a smart player who ghosts into good scoring areas and positions himself well defensively. He has a great work effort to go along with good on-ice awareness.

Unfortunately he's still a) small; b) not a good enough skater; and c) doesn't have good enough hands to make plays in tight when checked by NHL defencemen. He was fine as a pivot leaving our zone, but he wasn't able to contribute in their zone unless he was on the receiving end of a play (e.g. shot at back post) or on the powerplay (where he has time and space).

By the way, I don't remember him rocking anyone even though he did try to lay the body a few times.

First thing first. I am not comparing RNH to Arco. RNH is an elite level player. When Nuge comes back tho I fully expect Smyth to be demoted and Arco to stay right where he is till Gagner comes back.

I am using RNH as an example of someone who displayed a lot of what you are complaining about as meaning he doesn't belong in the NHL. While injured of course RNH last year "a) small; b) is a good enough skater; and c) doesn't have good enough hands to make plays in tight when checked by NHL defencemen."

Arco has a better face off % than RNH. Arco scored more at the AHL level than RNH...

I will again repeat that I think The Nuge is much much better than Arco. But if you take a step back and really look at Arco objectively you see there is a lot to like about his game.

2 games in the NHL with one being below average and one being pretty damn good plus a strong AHL showing = a prospect we should be excited for. Not crapping all over.

Its very strange how some people (not saying you) just don't like a player and really push to tell everyone how terrible said player is. Even tho by the numbers Arco has great potential and has exceeded all expectations of him to date.

 

[Draiskull]

First thing first. I am not comparing RNH to Arco. RNH is an elite level player. When Nuge comes back tho I fully expect Smyth to be demoted and Arco to stay right where he is till Gagner comes back.

I am using RNH as an example of someone who displayed a lot of what you are complaining about as meaning he doesn't belong in the NHL. While injured of course RNH last year "a) small; b) is a good enough skater; and c) doesn't have good enough hands to make plays in tight when checked by NHL defencemen."

Arco has a better face off % than RNH. Arco scored more at the AHL level than RNH...

I will again repeat that I think The Nuge is much much better than Arco. But if you take a step back and really look at Arco objectively you see there is a lot to like about his game.

2 games in the NHL with one being below average and one being pretty damn good plus a strong AHL showing = a prospect we should be excited for. Not crapping all over.

Its very strange how some people (not saying you) just don't like a player and really push to tell everyone how terrible said player is. Even tho by the numbers Arco has great potential and has exceeded all expectations of him to date.

Doubt you will find many who will agree with you here. Arcobello was 'Smyth' bad last game IMO and instead of being a contributor to offense was a hinderance.
Whiffed on scoring chances and was always a step or 2 behind the wingers.

Hall played a shift with Perron and Ebs and that line looked a LOT more dangerous.

Rooting for the kid since he deserves some NHL games after what he did last year but to put him anywhere close to RNH is unfair to the Nuge. Arco is having trouble keeping up with his linemates where Nuge would be a step or 2 ahead of the same linemates.

 

[Panda Bear]

First thing first. I am not comparing RNH to Arco. RNH is an elite level player. When Nuge comes back tho I fully expect Smyth to be demoted and Arco to stay right where he is till Gagner comes back.

I am using RNH as an example of someone who displayed a lot of what you are complaining about as meaning he doesn't belong in the NHL. While injured of course RNH last year "a) small; b) is a good enough skater; and c) doesn't have good enough hands to make plays in tight when checked by NHL defencemen."

Arco has a better face off % than RNH. Arco scored more at the AHL level than RNH...

I will again repeat that I think The Nuge is much much better than Arco. But if you take a step back and really look at Arco objectively you see there is a lot to like about his game.

2 games in the NHL with one being below average and one being pretty damn good plus a strong AHL showing = a prospect we should be excited for. Not crapping all over.

Its very strange how some people (not saying you) just don't like a player and really push to tell everyone how terrible said player is. Even tho by the numbers Arco has great potential and has exceeded all expectations of him to date.

If you're not big, you need to be able to skate like a demon. If you can't skate like a demon either, then you need to have otherworldly puck skills and awareness to even stand a chance.

RNH doesn't display what I'm talking about. While he's not big, he does have reach with is stick and has excellent balance on his skates. He's a beautiful skater. When I'm talking about making plays in tight, I don't only necessarily mean scoring--I mean things like receiving a pass under pressure, stickhandling in tight quarters, dishing off a pass despite two other sticks digging for the puck.

Again, I like Arcobello...but he's 25. I just don't think he has the skill to offset his size and skating to make it as a top six centre.

 

[Aerchon]

Doubt you will find many who will agree with you here. Arcobello was 'Smyth' bad last game IMO and instead of being a contributor to offense was a hinderance.
Whiffed on scoring chances and was always a step or 2 behind the wingers.

Hall played a shift with Perron and Ebs and that line looked a LOT more dangerous.

Rooting for the kid since he deserves some NHL games after what he did last year but to put him anywhere close to RNH is unfair to the Nuge. Arco is having trouble keeping up with his linemates where Nuge would be a step or 2 ahead of the same linemates.

LOL. This is so wrong its mind boggling. I already have people agreeing with me.

Hall didn't do jack with Eberle and Perron. "Looked dangerous". LOL. Really?

Arco was directly involved in 4 premium scoring chances, one which went in. Arco had double the amount of shots of Hall. Was doubly as "dangerous" while being 1/4 the liability that Hall was in that game.

Were you even watching the game?

Hall was terrible in game one. Your the first person to even slightly suggest Hall was anything less than terrible.

Arco was good in game one. Only complaint is that he didn't score on the chances HE created.

Panda: Arco isn't a great skater, that's pretty apparent but its not as bad you think. I really don't know where you get this other BS that he has no scoring and cant handle passes or the speed of the game. He has proven in the AHL that he can do all that in spades while playing with Hall and Eberle.

NHL is of course harder, but using the facts, he technically did a better job of that than Nuge in the AHL.

That in itself gives him a legitimate shot of cracking an NHL roster.

Peeps need to stop hating and give this kid a real shot.

A lot of the comparisons you keep drumming up are exactly the same faults Nuge or Gagner have in spades as well. Gagner can not skate like a demon.

 

[Toydarian]

If you're not big, you need to be able to skate like a demon. If you can't skate like a demon either, then you need to have otherworldly puck skills and awareness to even stand a chance.

RNH doesn't display what I'm talking about. While he's not big, he does have reach with is stick and has excellent balance on his skates. He's a beautiful skater. When I'm talking about making plays in tight, I don't only necessarily mean scoring--I mean things like receiving a pass under pressure, stickhandling in tight quarters, dishing off a pass despite two other sticks digging for the puck.

Again, I like Arcobello...but he's 25. I just don't think he has the skill to offset his size and skating to make it as a top six centre.

You don't think RNH can make plays in tight?! Or are you talking about Arcobello?

 

[Draiskull]

LOL. This is so wrong its mind boggling. I already have people agreeing with me.

Hall didn't do jack with Eberle and Perron. "Looked dangerous". LOL. Really?

Arco was directly involved in 4 premium scoring chances, one which went in. Arco had double the amount of shots of Hall. Was doubly as "dangerous" while being 1/4 the liability that Hall was in that game.

Were you even watching the game?

Hall was terrible in game one. Your the first person to even slightly suggest Hall was anything less than terrible.

Arco was good in game one. Only complaint is that he didn't score on the chances HE created.

Panda: Arco isn't a great skater, that's pretty apparent but its not as bad you think. I really don't know where you get this other BS that he has no scoring and cant handle passes or the speed of the game. He has proven in the AHL that he can do all that in spades while playing with Hall and Eberle.

NHL is of course harder, but using the facts, he technically did a better job of that than Nuge in the AHL.

That in itself gives him a legitimate shot of cracking an NHL roster.

Peeps need to stop hating and give this kid a real shot.

A lot of the comparisons you keep drumming up are exactly the same faults Nuge or Gagner have in spades as well. Gagner can not skate like a demon.

Alright.. lets play this... find me another poster who thought Arcobello had a good game last night.. "Doubly as dangerous as Hall" part is flat out wrong if you watched the game.
Also, Perron-Hall-Ebs had the Jets pinned in their own end for the entire shift.

 

[Aerchon]

Alright.. lets play this... find me another poster who thought Arcobello had a good game last night.. "Doubly as dangerous as Hall" part is flat out wrong if you watched the game.
Also, Perron-Hall-Ebs had the Jets pinned in their own end for the entire shift.

I think I am being trolled.

There are literally over 100 posts on this board saying how poorly Hall played. Smid was doubly dangerous in comparison to Hall. Hall was only dangerous to our own team with his turnovers.

And for people agreeing with me about Arco just go to page one of this thread.

The only complaint about Arco is that he didn't finish off his scoring chances that i've read. Which a lot of people are reading way too much into.

I watched every single Barons game during the lockout. And from what I've heard Arco only got better after Hall, Eberle, and Shultz left.

He looked very very good in the AHL. He looked good in training camp. Is he a NHLer? No one knows yet. But his play to this point clearly puts him in the play him until Gagner comes back category, barring a significant drop in his effectiveness.

And while we do not have a lot of options to replace Arco, I fully believe if Mac T or Eakins didn't 100% agree with what I am saying. He wouldn't be playing right now.

PS: And if you are getting hung up on the double dangerous than Hall thing I was main referring to the FACT that Arco had more than twice as many scoring chances as Hall had. As well as twice the number of shots on goal.

 

[NugeFan]

I think I am being trolled.

There are literally over 100 posts on this board saying how poorly Hall played. Smid was doubly dangerous in comparison to Hall. Hall was only dangerous to our own team with his turnovers.

And for people agreeing with me about Arco just go to page one of this thread.

The only complaint about Arco is that he didn't finish off his scoring chances that i've read. Which a lot of people are reading way too much into.

I watched every single Barons game during the lockout. And from what I've heard Arco only got better after Hall, Eberle, and Shultz left.

He looked very very good in the AHL. He looked good in training camp. Is he a NHLer? No one knows yet. But his play to this point clearly puts him in the play him until Gagner comes back category, barring a significant drop in his effectiveness.

And while we do not have a lot of options to replace Arco, I fully believe if Mac T or Eakins didn't 100% agree with what I am saying. He wouldn't be playing right now.

PS: And if you are getting hung up on the double dangerous than Hall thing I was main referring to the FACT that Arco had more than twice as many scoring chances as Hall had. As well as twice the number of shots on goal.

I thought Arco didn't play that bad at all. It was only his second game in the bigs and he did fine. Smytty on the other hand is a complete joke. Get your head out of you a** Eakins. Wake up!

 

[Aerchon]

Just got around to reading today articles that are posted.

LOL.

This is too funny.

Follow the link for a dose of reality. Almost word for word what I've been saying.

http://oilersnation.com/2013/10/2/just-lucky-i-guess