Pavel Buchnevich
Drury and Laviolette Must Go
We finally beat Finland in a big game. Great mentality to do so. This group has had so many big losses to these same Finnish players. We were due for a victory.
I thought Finland played a good game. For them to constantly battle back from deficits in the game is admirable, and they did this with a pretty weak team. This was definitely not one of their more talented teams, but they played us really even.
I still think our lines are struggling. The first line is good, as is the third line, but the second line still is not scoring and the fourth line has become completely ineffective. There should be a very short bench in the final with the fourth line. They should not see the ice past 10 minutes in the third if they don't have a good game, and I would try to skip their shifts when there's a TV timeout or any other chance I can get. I don't know what can be done about the second line. I don't think it's a good mix. I would suggest swapping Caufield and Kaliyev, but are we really going to do that before the final?
The PK is the biggest issue I had with this game. I don't know which coach is making these PK decisions, but they are brutal and costing us goals. The biggest issue I have is that Beniers is 1C on the PK. You cannot have a 1C on the PK who cannot win FO's. He's demonstrably below-average on them at this point. Maybe he'll be better next year against players his own age, but against older players he's not winning them. He's 48%. You have Farinacci at 60% and Turcotte at 54%. Why is Beniers taking so many FO's on the PK? We set up Finland so many times on their PP without making them work because Beniers lost FO's clean. I would have Beniers on the PK, but not taking the FO's. And then the fact that the coach has Slaggert and Beniers out there as the centers at the end of the game is absolutely insane. Again, your two best centers on FO's (and your two best centers right now overall) are sitting on the bench. None of this makes any sense. Sort it out before the Canada game. They will make us pay, if we don't.
I thought that Sanderson was great on defense. I liked how Johnson played, as well. Lacombe had his best game of the tournament. He was a big boost to a struggling defense in this game. Farinacci had another good game. Turcotte continued to play well. Kaliyev had a big game. Boldy had another good game. I thought Zegras was quiet, although the PP assist was excellent. We need to get Caufield playing better. He could be key to winning the final. As I already said, the fourth line is non-existent right now. Knight started well, but how he allowed those late goals wasn't great. The tying goal was exceptionally weak.
And the 3 best player decisions were pretty bad. Knight certainly does not deserve it. I'm sorry, but he's been pretty weak aside from the Sweden game against real competition. York was brutal today. Maybe the worst player on the ice. Turcotte should've got one, and I probably would've given Boldy one over York, as well.
I thought Finland played a good game. For them to constantly battle back from deficits in the game is admirable, and they did this with a pretty weak team. This was definitely not one of their more talented teams, but they played us really even.
I still think our lines are struggling. The first line is good, as is the third line, but the second line still is not scoring and the fourth line has become completely ineffective. There should be a very short bench in the final with the fourth line. They should not see the ice past 10 minutes in the third if they don't have a good game, and I would try to skip their shifts when there's a TV timeout or any other chance I can get. I don't know what can be done about the second line. I don't think it's a good mix. I would suggest swapping Caufield and Kaliyev, but are we really going to do that before the final?
The PK is the biggest issue I had with this game. I don't know which coach is making these PK decisions, but they are brutal and costing us goals. The biggest issue I have is that Beniers is 1C on the PK. You cannot have a 1C on the PK who cannot win FO's. He's demonstrably below-average on them at this point. Maybe he'll be better next year against players his own age, but against older players he's not winning them. He's 48%. You have Farinacci at 60% and Turcotte at 54%. Why is Beniers taking so many FO's on the PK? We set up Finland so many times on their PP without making them work because Beniers lost FO's clean. I would have Beniers on the PK, but not taking the FO's. And then the fact that the coach has Slaggert and Beniers out there as the centers at the end of the game is absolutely insane. Again, your two best centers on FO's (and your two best centers right now overall) are sitting on the bench. None of this makes any sense. Sort it out before the Canada game. They will make us pay, if we don't.
I thought that Sanderson was great on defense. I liked how Johnson played, as well. Lacombe had his best game of the tournament. He was a big boost to a struggling defense in this game. Farinacci had another good game. Turcotte continued to play well. Kaliyev had a big game. Boldy had another good game. I thought Zegras was quiet, although the PP assist was excellent. We need to get Caufield playing better. He could be key to winning the final. As I already said, the fourth line is non-existent right now. Knight started well, but how he allowed those late goals wasn't great. The tying goal was exceptionally weak.
And the 3 best player decisions were pretty bad. Knight certainly does not deserve it. I'm sorry, but he's been pretty weak aside from the Sweden game against real competition. York was brutal today. Maybe the worst player on the ice. Turcotte should've got one, and I probably would've given Boldy one over York, as well.
