Post-Game Talk: #3| Boston Bruins @ New York Islanders | January 18th | 5:00 PM | F/W 1-0

[Throttle]

Pageau is worth every penny.

Does this also include picks? Cap space? Asking for a friend...

 

[BelovedIsles]

Varly is ridiculous right now.

I said this when he was signed, when Varly is on, he's ON; inconsistency has plagued his career. Behind a top D, just accentuates his abilities.

The B's have the best defensive system in the league. They leave no room, only teams like Tampa can make them look avg.

Pretty evenly played game; Nelson line has to step up, Beau is doing his pressing act. Nelson is being weak, lazy on the puck; channel that inner bubble, Brock.

Toews' reach is better than Leddy, however, Leddy evades trouble better.

Didn't see Dobson's gm. 2, looked good tonight. In that vein, Bellows looks like he's playing a simple, conservative game out there; a mildly more effective MDC.

JPG is a light Bergeron.

 

[BelovedIsles]

I want to point out the possible boost Varly got from having Sorokin around. I'm not joking. Papa bear is feeling good.

Yep--spot on; my thought during the bubble.

 

[BelovedIsles]

Varlamov was excellent again. Pulock seems to be playing more physical this year. Pelech is a monster defensively, it wouldnt shock me to see him play his was on to team Canada.

They'd look for someone w/ more offense (I suspect); that takes nothing away from Pelech's D. One of the most elite defenders in the league, I appreciate him every single night. The little artful D plays are beautiful.

 

[buud]

Maybe his teammates will come up with one for him...I heard Lee call/refer to Dobson as "Dobbie" between periods in Game 1.

I like "Moby" - would be a great fan chant, and better than "Ill-ee". I just hope he can live up to a nickname like that.

i like the idea of calling him 'YA'. it kinda goes well with the YES YES YES chant.

it's clean, it's positive, easy to say.

go YA!!

what was the story behind the white whale again?

 

[Islanders4Cups]

What the hell is up with Beau? He looks even worse than his rookie year so far. He can't handle a simple pass, he can't make a simple pass, and his game is all around dog shit. He needs to wake up and get his head out of his ass.

He seems to be pressing for sure. Timing is off. Maybe as a previous poster mentioned, lack of a true training camp and I imagine less skating in the off season has impacted some players more than others.

 

[PWJunior]

Does this also include picks? Cap space? Asking for a friend...

Abso-f***ing-lutely.

 

[MJF]

I watched the game again just now and I came away with a more measured take on things rather than yesterday when it was so tense and raw. We played a Bruins team that for years plays our style but better than anyone else in the Eastern Conference. Ground and pound. The B's have always had a deeper arsenal than us. Their first line, when Pastrnak is healthy, is lethal. Their defense before they let Krug and Chara go was as good a unit as any team in the league. I always felt the Bruins were the comparable for the Islanders the last 2 seasons.

Yesterday's game wasn't pretty. I thought both teams had trouble making passes and had some puck management issues, especially in the first 2 periods. Maybe it was the ice, as this was the first game of the season on that sheet. Our issue yesterday was not effort. I thought we had our legs going the entire game. I thought we started the game well and lost our momentum when we got the power play in the 1st period. After that it was all Bruins and we withstood the onslaught for the last 11 minutes of the period. The 2nd period was one where both teams were fumbling the puck around. The Bruins pressured our puck carriers into turnovers and poor passes, while I thought we were pretty good on the backcheck and denying the Bruins high percentage scoring chances. We helped Varly out a lot more in the 2nd because he saved our asses in the 1st period. The 3rd period looked more like what we do best. Wore the Bruins down and forced them into turnovers and we finally broke through. That was our best 20 minutes of the game.

After listening to Barry Trotz's postgame it reaffirmed what I've been hammering home on this board since he got here. Barry and Lou would like to add offense when it's available, but they are not actively looking to build a wide open offense. They view the Metro Division like you would the NFC East or Central from back in the day. A black and blue division. You build a team for the cold weather, not Air Coryell (dated reference lol). We're building a team that plays playoff hockey every game. Keep the puck out of our net, don't give up high percentage chances, and get some timely goals of our own. Wear the opponent down.

Again, the type of hockey we play is frustrating to watch. I actually don't know if the coaching staff has an in-house answer to our power play woes. Maybe down the line it will be Bellows and/or Wahlstrom. But for now Trotz seems content to have Leddy and Mayfield, Pelech and Pulock, our 3rd and 4th lines make sure the other team doesn't get a good scoring chance.

 

[SayItAintSoJohnny]

I watched the game again just now and I came away with a more measured take on things rather than yesterday when it was so tense and raw. We played a Bruins team that for years plays our style but better than anyone else in the Eastern Conference. Ground and pound. The B's have always had a deeper arsenal than us. Their first line, when Pastrnak is healthy, is lethal. Their defense before they let Krug and Chara go was as good a unit as any team in the league. I always felt the Bruins were the comparable for the Islanders the last 2 seasons.

Yesterday's game wasn't pretty. I thought both teams had trouble making passes and had some puck management issues, especially in the first 2 periods. Maybe it was the ice, as this was the first game of the season on that sheet. Our issue yesterday was not effort. I thought we had our legs going the entire game. I thought we started the game well and lost our momentum when we got the power play in the 1st period. After that it was all Bruins and we withstood the onslaught for the last 11 minutes of the period. The 2nd period was one where both teams were fumbling the puck around. The Bruins pressured our puck carriers into turnovers and poor passes, while I thought we were pretty good on the backcheck and denying the Bruins high percentage scoring chances. We helped Varly out a lot more in the 2nd because he saved our asses in the 1st period. The 3rd period looked more like what we do best. Wore the Bruins down and forced them into turnovers and we finally broke through. That was our best 20 minutes of the game.

After listening to Barry Trotz's postgame it reaffirmed what I've been hammering home on this board since he got here. Barry and Lou would like to add offense when it's available, but they are not actively looking to build a wide open offense. They view the Metro Division like you would the NFC East or Central from back in the day. A black and blue division. You build a team for the cold weather, not Air Coryell (dated reference lol). We're building a team that plays playoff hockey every game. Keep the puck out of our net, don't give up high percentage chances, and get some timely goals of our own. Wear the opponent down.

Again, the type of hockey we play is frustrating to watch. I actually don't know if the coaching staff has an in-house answer to our power play woes. Maybe down the line it will be Bellows and/or Wahlstrom. But for now Trotz seems content to have Leddy and Mayfield, Pelech and Pulock, our 3rd and 4th lines make sure the other team doesn't get a good scoring chance.

I agree completely with this, as it is obvious that his system is priority #1. and he does not like it when we get away from that (which we did a plenty in the second game) and it becomes an open ice affair.

I think we can all live with that with the assumption that we fix that PP. It is maddening to watch. Half the time you can't even tell we are at a man advantage, and that simply doesn't relate to serious contenders. We have to get that fixed.

 

[PK Cronin]

I watched the game again just now and I came away with a more measured take on things rather than yesterday when it was so tense and raw. We played a Bruins team that for years plays our style but better than anyone else in the Eastern Conference. Ground and pound. The B's have always had a deeper arsenal than us. Their first line, when Pastrnak is healthy, is lethal. Their defense before they let Krug and Chara go was as good a unit as any team in the league. I always felt the Bruins were the comparable for the Islanders the last 2 seasons.

Yesterday's game wasn't pretty. I thought both teams had trouble making passes and had some puck management issues, especially in the first 2 periods. Maybe it was the ice, as this was the first game of the season on that sheet. Our issue yesterday was not effort. I thought we had our legs going the entire game. I thought we started the game well and lost our momentum when we got the power play in the 1st period. After that it was all Bruins and we withstood the onslaught for the last 11 minutes of the period. The 2nd period was one where both teams were fumbling the puck around. The Bruins pressured our puck carriers into turnovers and poor passes, while I thought we were pretty good on the backcheck and denying the Bruins high percentage scoring chances. We helped Varly out a lot more in the 2nd because he saved our asses in the 1st period. The 3rd period looked more like what we do best. Wore the Bruins down and forced them into turnovers and we finally broke through. That was our best 20 minutes of the game.

After listening to Barry Trotz's postgame it reaffirmed what I've been hammering home on this board since he got here. Barry and Lou would like to add offense when it's available, but they are not actively looking to build a wide open offense. They view the Metro Division like you would the NFC East or Central from back in the day. A black and blue division. You build a team for the cold weather, not Air Coryell (dated reference lol). We're building a team that plays playoff hockey every game. Keep the puck out of our net, don't give up high percentage chances, and get some timely goals of our own. Wear the opponent down.

Again, the type of hockey we play is frustrating to watch. I actually don't know if the coaching staff has an in-house answer to our power play woes. Maybe down the line it will be Bellows and/or Wahlstrom. But for now Trotz seems content to have Leddy and Mayfield, Pelech and Pulock, our 3rd and 4th lines make sure the other team doesn't get a good scoring chance.

It's like most of you have forgotten our team is built to win games 2-1, not 5-1.

That's it. We've been gone too long and the 4 goal opener spoiled us all. Back to reality.

 

[Mr Misunderstood]

I watched the game again just now and I came away with a more measured take on things rather than yesterday when it was so tense and raw. We played a Bruins team that for years plays our style but better than anyone else in the Eastern Conference. Ground and pound. The B's have always had a deeper arsenal than us. Their first line, when Pastrnak is healthy, is lethal. Their defense before they let Krug and Chara go was as good a unit as any team in the league. I always felt the Bruins were the comparable for the Islanders the last 2 seasons.

Yesterday's game wasn't pretty. I thought both teams had trouble making passes and had some puck management issues, especially in the first 2 periods. Maybe it was the ice, as this was the first game of the season on that sheet. Our issue yesterday was not effort. I thought we had our legs going the entire game. I thought we started the game well and lost our momentum when we got the power play in the 1st period. After that it was all Bruins and we withstood the onslaught for the last 11 minutes of the period. The 2nd period was one where both teams were fumbling the puck around. The Bruins pressured our puck carriers into turnovers and poor passes, while I thought we were pretty good on the backcheck and denying the Bruins high percentage scoring chances. We helped Varly out a lot more in the 2nd because he saved our asses in the 1st period. The 3rd period looked more like what we do best. Wore the Bruins down and forced them into turnovers and we finally broke through. That was our best 20 minutes of the game.

After listening to Barry Trotz's postgame it reaffirmed what I've been hammering home on this board since he got here. Barry and Lou would like to add offense when it's available, but they are not actively looking to build a wide open offense. They view the Metro Division like you would the NFC East or Central from back in the day. A black and blue division. You build a team for the cold weather, not Air Coryell (dated reference lol). We're building a team that plays playoff hockey every game. Keep the puck out of our net, don't give up high percentage chances, and get some timely goals of our own. Wear the opponent down.

Again, the type of hockey we play is frustrating to watch. I actually don't know if the coaching staff has an in-house answer to our power play woes. Maybe down the line it will be Bellows and/or Wahlstrom. But for now Trotz seems content to have Leddy and Mayfield, Pelech and Pulock, our 3rd and 4th lines make sure the other team doesn't get a good scoring chance.

And to provide another football reference, "Defense travels."

Whether or not your offense is clicking, the defense (structure) gives you chance to win every game. That's all you can ask for.

 

[MJF]

I agree completely with this, as it is obvious that his system is priority #1. and he does not like it when we get away from that (which we did a plenty in the second game) and it becomes an open ice affair.

I think we can all live with that with the assumption that we fix that PP. It is maddening to watch. Half the time you can't even tell we are at a man advantage, and that simply doesn't relate to serious contenders. We have to get that fixed.

I agree that fixing the power play would serve us well, but I won't get on board with the idea that unless we do fix it we can't win in the playoffs. We CAN win playing the style of game we've been playing, but it will be a much tougher road to hoe. The hope here is that Wahlstrom or Bellows can help the power play click because I don't see us looking for outside help anytime soon to fix it. At least not at the expense of the game plan we have now.

 

[MJF]

That's it. We've been gone too long and the 4 goal opener spoiled us all. Back to reality.

Every once in a while this point needs to be restated. Yesterday was the kind of game Trotz and Lou built us for.

 

[The Winter Soldier]

I think last night enforced how important a 3rd line player can impact a game. Beauvillier is struggling. I would have no problem dropping Beau down to the 3rd line with Pageau. I think these 2 play well together from the limited viewings I have seen of the 2. This may give the Isles 3 scoring lines without sacrificing D.

 

[JKP]

I agree completely with this, as it is obvious that his system is priority #1. and he does not like it when we get away from that (which we did a plenty in the second game) and it becomes an open ice affair.

I think we can all live with that with the assumption that we fix that PP. It is maddening to watch. Half the time you can't even tell we are at a man advantage, and that simply doesn't relate to serious contenders. We have to get that fixed.

I can always tell when we're on the PP because they're f***ing around with the puck at our blue line and in the neutral zone for 3/4 of it trying to figure out how to enter the O-zone. It's hard to stomach. For how brutal our entries are, why don't they just dump it in more and crash to go get it? Has to be more efficient than spending 20 seconds on those stupid drop passes that drive me insane on the PP.

 

[LeapOnOver]

Probably going to get blasted here, but up until JPG's goal, besides faceoffs, he made a slew of boneheaded plays. So many times he tried to pass the puck in the middle of the ice through several players and most of the time it was a feathered pass and no zip on it. He was responsible for a ton of turnovers, at least from my eyes. I wasn't happy with his play at all. I'm not trying to point him out specifically, I'm sure other players were worse last night. It's just so many times I found myself thinking, "What is he trying to do there?" and since he scored he's being compared to Bergeron 'light' Honestly, I don't think he's anywhere as intelligent as Bergeron hockey IQ wise. He's a skilled player, don't get me wrong, but I definitely don't see a high hockey IQ from him, or at least I didn't last night.

 

[Joedoggy]

Probably going to get blasted here, but up until JPG's goal, besides faceoffs, he made a slew of boneheaded plays. So many times he tried to pass the puck in the middle of the ice through several players and most of the time it was a feathered pass and no zip on it. He was responsible for a ton of turnovers, at least from my eyes. I wasn't happy with his play at all. I'm not trying to point him out specifically, I'm sure other players were worse last night. It's just so many times I found myself thinking, "What is he trying to do there?" and since he scored he's being compared to Bergeron 'light' Honestly, I don't think he's anywhere as intelligent as Bergeron hockey IQ wise. He's a skilled player, don't get me wrong, but I definitely don't see a high hockey IQ from him, or at least I didn't last night.

Last year also.....rinse repeat.

 

[BelovedIsles]

Brock and Beau have to get rolling, that should help the PP. That whole line looks like a shell of itself from September. Actually, the entire top 6 needs, and can be, better.

 

[LeapOnOver]

Disagree. Why? Because there was 1 goal? There were numerous stretches especially in the 2nd and 3rd where it was end to end action. It was also physical like a playoff game.

I'd agree. Didn't seem that boring to me at all, especially for a 1-0 game. And if anybody wants to argue about boring hockey, think the culprit is more likely the team that hasn't scored an even strength goal yet this season than it would the Isles.