Post-Game Talk: 5-0 Homestand, the puck is in your rink Ken

Will Holland do something besides acquiring a scrub?


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ZJuice

pickle juice connoisseur
May 17, 2010
10,564
9,135
Edmonton
Didn't comment much on the game overall. Clearly we have to tighten up. Koski was stupendous at moments in the game and arguably keeping us in it as Jersey were allowed better scoring chances earlier on. Then again when the Devils took a 3rd period lead.

Good as it is to be getting these wins its still a matter that we are outscoring our mistakes. The ones on the 3rd GA being pretty bad. Drai starts the unwrapping trying for too much and turning puck over at own blue line. But then BOTH Nurse and Ceci over pursue to guy that didn't score, and leave the net and trailer completely open for that guy to score.

The last part isn't momentary resilience and "levels of D" Its still the team blowing it when one guy makes a mistake. The team, and D, still get rattled, and even our best D. I'll be confident the team can survive its mistakes better when I'm seeing more consistent cover for mistakes. When we screwup, we still screwup big. We're somewhat fortunate the game is against NJ and they have difficulty defending or protecting a lead.
What I’ve been loving about Koskinen is he is unphased by turnovers (usually) and follows the play in front of him incredibly well (unless he is playing the puck). He sees the defensive breakdowns and adjusts and prepares mentally to make the save on the open guy. It’s great to see. With Smith you can watch him see the breakdown happen then collapse into his crease, opening up a lot of targets for an NHL shooter. Perhaps he is compensating because his lateral movement is poor or painful, but if he can see it happen why not time it and cut off the angle (like Kosko!) Smith is good when we play well defensively for him. But obviously, we make a lot of mistakes.

I think Koskinen is not perfect with rebound control and it seems to bite us on the penalty kill (after he makes 2-4 massive saves.) But I still would rate him well for rebound control.

On Drai, also Kassian and Hyman if I’m picking names, look before throwing the puck into an area you haven’t seen yet. And simply check your blind spots often.
I see them let guys walk in unnoticed way too often. Make a habit of shoulder checking! Simple stuff that prevents goals. I’m sure lots of the guys are guilty of this too :/

Wish I weren’t so lazy so I could make a compilation for each player. Just simple mistakes that can be easily fixed if you are aware of it.
 
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Keggatron

Registered User
Nov 15, 2008
969
605
Again I was a Barrie fan but his production is very much related to PP specifically.

Barrie this season is 5th among D here in EV pts. That is specifically unacceptable and production is his calling card. Barrie is a worse D, defensively, than all ahead of him with exception of Bouchard who is a rook learning his craft. 12EV pts. Thats not much.

We're paying heavily for a D that mainly gets pts just on basis of being on a PP with generational players. He's largely been along for the ride this season.

Last season Barrie had 25EV pts. Why the stark dropoff?

I was a huge fan of Barrie last year as well and up until recently was really disappointed with him this season. However he's got 12 points in his last 12 games and seems to have turned around the offense under Woodcroft. Bouchard has 5 in that same span. I also like Bouchard, but it's clear at this moment he can't provide what Barrie can provide for us when Barrie is producing.

Let's also not forget that outside of the first month of the season, our PP hasn't exactly been automatic. It was downright atrocious for a few months there.
 

NotAVacuumSalesman

The Guide And Record Book™
Jun 19, 2017
3,984
7,200
The only problem I had with the post I was responding to was the use of the word hypocrite to describe a very large portion of the fanbase. That's way too harsh.
As far as I'm concerned those 'very large portions' are all hypocrites. Harsh..? Nah, it's the truth!

I described the fanbase that quit on the team for their moral standard of Kane's off ice issues. They literally quit on the team only to come back and cheer in silence when the team is winning again. If that's not being hypocritical, then tell me what is?


We can check the dictionary:

Definition of hypocrite


1: a person who puts on a false appearance of virtue or religion
2: a person who acts in contradiction to his or her stated beliefs or feelings

Definition of HYPOCRITE

Do you want an example??

Hypocrite: Kane's signing with the Oilers. YUCK! I'm not watching anymore Oilers game again cause he's going to do something stupid and embarrass the Oilers just like his previous teams.

Same Hypocrite: Oh hey.. The Oilers are winning again. I guess I'll watch and cheer for them now that they're winning instead of losing. Kane's still on the team but that doesn't matter, we're winning and that makes it OK to cheer again!

These are the types of 'fans' I'm describing as hypocrites. Hopefully you gain knowledge and understand what a hypocrite is.

I'm always here to help. :)
 

Behind Enemy Lines

Registered User
Feb 19, 2003
15,157
16,017
Vancouver
So coach is indicating that Kassian fighting amped the group. Drew them more into the game. I don't disagree. In the exchange its pretty clear Kass was initially trying to defer on the fight. I imagine he reminded that he had just had facial surgery. But he relented, and part of that is that when a young enforcer comes to you part of the code is that they need it, they need it to stay in the lineup, and to be seen as something. So Kass did himself and his opponent a favor. Just like some tough would have done for Kass a dozen years ago.

Kass was rewarded by being up on the top line, and wasn't at all out of place, and the line scored 2 goals after the switch was made.

Kass is somebody that can play well with either Connor or Leon and brings a required element in some games and plays better when elevated.

But that Kass was willing to break his face again for the team is indisputable.

I think there is a chemistry element we don't necessarily see with our limited perception of team dynamics being what we see on-ice. We've heard teammates and coaches laud Kassian for his locker room presence and leadership including some levity. We saw a team newcomer, Perlini, one month in, dress as Kassian for Halloween. There's more to this player's role on the team than we can see, imo.

But beyond that, as you allude, Kassian can spark this team with a huge hit or fearless to drop the gloves despite his recent injury and pass ones which came while punching faces... a rare physical intimidation aspect this team has little of. He's also a player who can move up and down the line-up with size, physicality, strong skating and passable skills to do so. No one likes when Kassian drifts too much while not leaving any mark on games. But I think there's strong, distinctive skill set and intangibles with his team mates that make the Zack Attack a valuable support player on a largely finesse style team.

He's also the player type you want when the second season begins and tough, physical tight checking trench warfare series takes over.
 

The Nuge

Some say…
Jan 26, 2011
27,442
7,549
British Columbia
Again I was a Barrie fan but his production is very much related to PP specifically.

Barrie this season is 5th among D here in EV pts. That is specifically unacceptable and production is his calling card. Barrie is a worse D, defensively, than all ahead of him with exception of Bouchard who is a rook learning his craft. 12EV pts. Thats not much.

We're paying heavily for a D that mainly gets pts just on basis of being on a PP with generational players. He's largely been along for the ride this season.

Last season Barrie had 25EV pts. Why the stark dropoff?

Last year he played top pairing with Nurse and was second on the team in EV TOI/Game. This year, he’s fifth in EV TOI/Game. It’s pretty easy to see why his production would go down. And without seeing the stats to know for sure, it’s probably safe to assume his quality of teammate is down significantly this year considering that usage
 

BoldNewLettuce

Esquire
Dec 21, 2008
28,130
6,968
Canada
I show up and post a bit. Not as much as I'd like due to health issues. I do read and like a lot in the meantime.

Sorry to hear it brohombre. Get well!!!

I can't tell if I had covid and am now a shell of a person or if I just can't do my job anymore.

Like if you're confused all the time at work can you just claim long covid....or generally if you've always been bad at math can you just say you've always had covid?

I guess I'm derailing.....get well soon!!!
 

Drivesaitl

Finding Hyman
Oct 8, 2017
46,311
57,051
Canuck hunting
Last year he played top pairing with Nurse and was second on the team in EV TOI/Game. This year, he’s fifth in EV TOI/Game. It’s pretty easy to see why his production would go down. And without seeing the stats to know for sure, it’s probably safe to assume his quality of teammate is down significantly this year considering that usage
Chicken or Egg?. Barries usage has been according to his usefullness, with a severe drop off this season. I mean this is an actual Veteran D that has been available almost every game in which lots of our vets were out with Covid/Injury and yet Barrie minutes and usage has declined. That doesn't seem like a problem to you?
 

The Nuge

Some say…
Jan 26, 2011
27,442
7,549
British Columbia
Chicken or Egg?. Barries usage has been according to his usefullness, with a severe drop off this season. I mean this is an actual Veteran D that has been available almost every game in which lots of our vets were out with Covid/Injury and yet Barrie minutes and usage has declined. That doesn't seem like a problem to you?

I’d argue it’s more like Tipp was a huge fan of Bouch and wanted to get him in the lineup in a contributing role, and those minutes had to be dispersed amongst 3 good right handed dmen. Barrie’s role on the PP would naturally mean he’d lose minutes at ES when you’re trying to use the 3 dmen relatively equally (they’re at 21, 20, and 19 in terms of overall TOI/game)
 

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