Post-Game Talk: {AHL} Laval Rocket 5 (SO) 4. Providence Bruins: Evans Saves Laval from Embarassment in the Shootout

[Gravity]

Evans look like he could fill the 3C position down the line.

 

[Runner77]

At that point, I can understand Bouchard leaning a bit on the vets. They just blew a 4-0 lead, so he wants to make sure he puts guys who can win him the game. And more specifically, guys who may have more experience in such a situation. Despite that, Poehling, Vejdemo, and Evans saw a lot of time on OT. As well as Leskinen. It's just Brook that I'm wondering about.

Except that if they're playing 3 on 3, don't you want your speediest players out there? Those slow vets could be a liability in that context.

 

[26Mats]

Sorry but you're the one who is oblivious to an evident reality. This is totally over the top.

It's OK to mention it once or twice. But clearly, you appear to have a vested interest in that it's not enough for you that they dedicated the better of TWO INTERMISSIONS plus several mentions in the third period to your cause and you still can't admit that it's exaggerated. It's clearly never enough for you.

You tuned into a hockey game and a political convention broke out and it appears this is totally normal to you.

Enjoy the game, whatever that game might be. Peace out.

I have no vested interested and no cause just telling it like it is.

There is no need for you to be so offended by it when the large majority of their viewers probably enjoy the segments. You should probably ask yourself why you are so offended. But that is none of my business.

 

[Adam Michaels]

The good news is that Laval isn't in competition with Providence. So the Bruins picking up the loser point doesn't affect Laval as much as it would have had it been a divisional rival. So all that mattered is that the Rocket get the 2 points. It still doesn't absolve them from blowing a 4-goal lead. But at least there is a silver lining.

 

[Gravity]

The good news is that Laval isn't in competition with Providence. So the Bruins picking up the loser point doesn't affect Laval as much as it would have had it been a divisional rival. So all that mattered is that the Rocket get the 2 points. It still doesn't absolve them from blowing a 4-goal lead. But at least there is a silver lining.

A sliver of a silver lining. Early in the season so fine but you can't go around blowing 4 goal leads lol.

 

[Tyson]

Let’s how Primeau does against these guys

 

[Runner77]

I have no vested interested and no cause just telling it like it is.

There is no need for you to be so offended by it when the large majority of their viewers probably enjoy the segments. You should probably ask yourself why you are so offended. But that is none of my business.

Who's offended? It's a hockey forum discussion. Are you projecting again? I just find it laughable that a broadcaster in this day and age is still peddling this kind of stereotypical content that viewers like yourself are defending. I'd be looking as to why it means so much to you that you feel compelled to pluck out examples from the Olympics and tennis to try and make a point you can't defend.

Next thing you know, you're going to tell me that Jasmin Leroux got his RDS gig without the help of his dad.

 

[Adam Michaels]

Except that if they're playing 3 on 3, don't you want your speediest players out there? Those slow vets could be a liability in that context.

The only slow one from the vets that had no business out there was Alzner. The rest (Varone, Barber, Hudon, Belzile, Ouellet, and Olofsson) to me were guys I can count on. Not the fastest players in terms of speed, but they're not slow pokes barely able to skate to save their lives (e.g. Karl).

 

[Runner77]

The good news is that Laval isn't in competition with Providence. So the Bruins picking up the loser point doesn't affect Laval as much as it would have had it been a divisional rival. So all that mattered is that the Rocket get the 2 points. It still doesn't absolve them from blowing a 4-goal lead. But at least there is a silver lining.

I'd much rather that they rack up goals even if they gave up several. You can always tighten up defense but when you can't score, it's a much tougher hill to climb.

 

[Adam Michaels]

A sliver of a silver lining. Early in the season so fine but you can't go around blowing 4 goal leads lol.

Most definitely. The season is long, so there are all kinds of games when you look back in the season. There are blown leads, there are comeback victories, there are high scoring affairs, there are tight and low scoring games. Let's hope this type of game won't repeat itself often.

 

[26Mats]

Who's offended? It's a hockey forum discussion. Are you projecting again? I just find it laughable that a broadcaster in this day and age is still peddling this kind of stereotypical content that viewers like yourself are defending. I'd be looking as to why it means so much to you that you feel compelled to pluck out examples from the Olympics and tennis to try and make a point you can't defend.

Next thing you know, you're going to tell me that Jasmin Leroux got his RDS gig without the help of his dad.

We disagree. I've seen it every where in every sport by every ethnic group. I don't know what to tell you other than that.

The nepotism is a totally different issue. Hence I haven't made any mention of it.

Do you ever watch TVA Sport and RDS broadcasts. Last year they had shoutout competitions with all the Quebecers in the intermision. And I think when we played Colorado they had a long segment on Samuel Girard and what it meant for him as a Quebecer to be playing in the NHL and what it means to Quebecers. Are you offended by this? Are you against this type of programming that the viewers seem to enjoy?

Not sure how you're offended by Quebecers pointing out Quebecers in the AHL and NHL. If you would have liked them to have spent more time on other things by the majority of viewers liked the segments, well that's just too bad for you. it's how ratings and advertising dollars work. If the majority of viewers are like you and didn't want to see it and turned the channel, well that's too bad for the network, their ratings will suffer.

 

[atrud66]

How did Olofsson look?

 

[26Mats]

The exemples you are refering to are rarities. As in not many japanese in MLB
not many chinese in NBA
and so on.
It is not like Quebecois are a rare breed in NHL/AHL. I do agree with Runner that I would have prefered getting in depth coverage of the habs prospects than just talk about his Quebecois fascination. Sounds like a similar narrative that we need a bilingual GM even if some anglos would do a much better job.

By the way I am a quebecois from quebec city, so I have no prejudice.

Quebecois aren't a rare bread in the NHL?
We have 2 Quebers on our 23 man roster and we are one of the teams with the most in the league...

But it's not about exact numbers. Who do you think Dominicans follow and talk about in broadcasts of MLB? Yet I would imagine there are far more Dominicans in MLB than Quebecers in the NHL.

 

[Luigi Habs]

How did Olofsson look?

I was at the game. I didn't like his game. Slow to take a decision with the puck.

Lindgren was solid in the first 2 periods, but then the comeback happened.

I thought, even though he didn't shine, Poehling clearly looks a step over the rest. McCarron is visibly physically huge and I thought he is much faster than before, but his decision making is very questionable.

Varone was the best Rocket player today. Leskinen easily the best defender out there. I didn't notice Brook too much though.

 

[Mrb1p]

Can't lean this hard on your vets in the A... Winning is fine but who cares about winning with career AHLers. Not happy tonight either...

sigh.

 

[Tyson]

As a Québécois I get annoyed when listening to French broadcasters always having to stress someone is Quebecois...just play

 

[Treb]

Can't lean this hard on your vets in the A... Winning is fine but who cares about winning with career AHLers. Not happy tonight either...

sigh.

Young guys played PP, SH, contributed on every goal, Poehling and Evans went in the SO...

 

[Runner77]

We disagree. I've seen it every where in every sport by every ethnic group. I don't know what to tell you other than that.

The nepotism is a totally different issue. Hence I haven't made any mention of it.

Do you ever watch TVA Sport and RDS broadcasts. Last year they had shoutout competitions with all the Quebecers in the intermision. And I think when we played Colorado they had a long segment on Samuel Girard and what it meant for him as a Quebecer to be playing in the NHL and what it means to Quebecers. Are you offended by this? Are you against this type of programming that the viewers seem to enjoy?

Not sure how you're offended by Quebecers pointing out Quebecers in the AHL and NHL. If you would have liked them to have spent more time on other things by the majority of viewers liked the segments, well that's just too bad for you. it's how ratings and advertising dollars work. If the majority of viewers are like you and didn't want to see it and turned the channel, well that's too bad for the network, their ratings will suffer.

It's just sports. It takes a lot more than that to "offend" me. Just making a point based on factual observations from one game. Don't forget that Leroux has a history of demagoguery (I've heard plenty of those comments especially after an NHL draft where he became bitter), if you lift some of his comments from past years, the guy always looked like he was making a stump speech and resorting to the same woe-is-me talking points.

This type of excessive lathering up of Quebec-born players becomes old fast, especially when it's not enough to dedicate almost two intermissions to it -- time that could have been spent talking about the team we were watching. The players and coaches he was lauding, were on other teams, they're just a bunch of names getting rattled off. Adds no information we can't look up for ourselves if we really care about where certain players are born.

You can't speak for what the majority liked during this game. I voiced my opinion, I wasn't talking about you. "Too bad for you" that you need to constantly project your predispositions on others, you're constantly looking to portray emotions that you feel necessarily have to be involved. Well, they aren't. It's just facts and observations garnered from this game. Just because a broadcaster resorts to a tired and arcane formula doesn't validate the viability or appeal of that formula.

You know, with all the times you've brought up being offended in your answers, seems to me that I've touched a nerve. No one should be offended by this unless, you tuned in to get a healthy dose of demagoguery disguised as sports and you're not liking that someone flagged it. It's like a version of the masked singer. Who cares about the Rocket, right? Read me the phone book of Quebec born players. And do it again. And again. In one friggin' game, blanket BS about people born in the province. How much is enough? We get it, there are several Quebecers in the league. And you know them. Not just players, obscure assistant coaches too.

Good for you Stéphane Leroux, maybe they'll buy you a beer for having mentioned their names on air. No worries, Jasmin is going to continue on twitter from where you left off.

 

[26Mats]

It's just sports. It takes a lot more than that to "offend" me. Just making a point based on factual observations from one game. Don't forget that Leroux has a history of demagoguery (I've heard plenty of those comments especially after an NHL draft where he became bitter), if you lift some of his comments from past years, the guy always looked like he was making a stump speech and resorting to the same woe-is-me talking points.

This type of excessive lathering up of Quebec-born players becomes old fast, especially when it's not enough to dedicate almost two intermissions to it -- time that could have been spent talking about the team we were watching. The players and coaches he was lauding, were on other teams, they're just a bunch of names getting rattled off. Adds no information we can't look up for ourselves if we really care about where certain players are born.

You can't speak for what the majority liked during this game. I voiced my opinion, I wasn't talking about you. "Too bad for you" that you need to constantly project your predispositions on others, you're constantly looking to portray emotions that you feel necessarily have to be involved. Well, they aren't. It's just facts and observations garnered from this game. Just because a broadcaster resorts to a tired and arcane formula doesn't validate the viability or appeal of that formula.

You know, with all the times you've brought up being offended in your answers, seems to me that I've touched a nerve. No one should be offended by this unless, you tuned in to get a healthy dose of demagoguery disguised as sports and you're not liking that someone flagged it. It's like a version of the masked singer. Who cares about the Rocket, right? Read me the phone book of Quebec born players. And do it again. And again. In one friggin' game, blanket BS about people born in the province. How much is enough? We get it, there are several Quebecers in the league. And you know them. Not just players, obscure assistant coaches too.

Good for you Stéphane Leroux, maybe they'll buy you a beer for having mentioned their names on air. No worries, Jasmin is going to continue on twitter from where you left off.

Yeah when I hear Leroux I often think of Don Cherry.

 

[Runner77]

Yeah when I hear Leroux I often think of Don Cherry.

I don't like public figures that use their platform to disrespect others. We're all deserving of respect and both of these guys have made disparaging remarks over the years that we could have all done without. Anyways, moving on.

 

[Gabe84]

Just got back from Laval where I attended the Bruins-Rocket game.

The game was a tale of two stories : amazing start for the Rocket with solid goaltending to keep the momentum going then a drop in intensity and shoddy netminding to let the opponents back in the game.

I was sitting, once again, pretty close from the ice so it's hard to have a really good and thorough analysis from this point of view.

OFFENSE
Evans had a very good game, playing his usual smart game based on his vision and smarts. He also added some pretty intense forechecking to his aresenal for this bout. His intense play led to a worrying moment in the second when he raced to a corner with an opponent who kind of stamped him in the boards. It was close to boarding but no foul plays were called. Evans earned the first star of the game after scoring the game winning goal in the 6th round of the shootout thanks to a really smooth deke. One more thing : anytime Evans took a faceoff near me (quite a few times), he won them clearly.

It wasn't Hudon's best game. As usual, he played pretty intensely, flanking Peohling. He had some good opportunities, including an overtime rush, but couldn't complete.

Poehling registered an assist on Cox's goal, right off the faceoff. What stood out the most in Ryan's case, though, was his defensive game and his play on the PK. He made many very smart plays to take pucks away, prevent shots, etc.

My favorite forward this game was Vejdemo. His speedy forechecking was quite troublesome to the Bruins. He and Jevpalovs caused many a headache, including a very nice shorthanded goal after Jevpalovs' pressure led to a turnover in the attacking zone which Vejdemo picked up and sent in the back of the net. Downside though : Vejdemo needs to get much better at faceoffs.

The highlight reel you're going to see from this game is Varone's smooth hands on Barber's goal. What you won't see is his awful play in his own zone. He is very frustrating to watch. Doesn't backcheck much, seems very hesitant to get in the dirty areas... Even on the forecheck, I saw him make some dubious plays to avoid contact.

I don't have much to say about Barber. He'll rack up points without really getting noticed, is my guess.

McCarron was playing his first game of the season, flanked by Pezzetta and Weise, so not much offensive support. He earned a boarding penalty in the first after a violent check against the boards right in front of me. Otherwise, I read that he lost some weight and it shows. He looks faster. He made some nice plays defensively but he was used very scarcely. I don't think he played a single minute in the third. He fought Breen (who looked gigantic) in the first after the boarding incident. I wish he didn't have to do that after coming back from an injury, but I guess that's part of his game.

I don't have a whole lot to say about Cox. He completes Vejdemo and Jevpalovs pretty nicely. He had good speed. His goal was quite impressive. Very nice screened shot.

Belzile was his usual self. Heavy forecheck, always going... No luck this time around but he looks like a guy that wants a taste of the NHL.

Weise looked very frustrated all game long. Not much else to say.

DEFENSE
Leskinen was the guy I was looking at most of the night. He's my favorite player on defense. Very smooth skater, has a good first pass. He had a decent game. He needs to simplify his game. I was impressed by his physical play. He had quite a few big body checks.

The learning curve is rough for Brook. The guy is such a great skater. He oozes talent but boy oh boy... The pace of the game is too fast for him and it shows. He will catch up. This is a great learning experience for him. Bouchard uses him on the PK and that's awesome. I don't think he deserves to be there but he needs to play and he needs to learn.

I'm not a fan of Alzner. I thought his addition to Laval's roster would be huge. It isn't. He doesn't do much. Even the simple plays, he fumbles. He recovered a puck late in the game when the Rocket were trying to protect their lead. All he had to do is dump it out of his zone. He put too much velocity on his dump and caused an icing. I can't say I really recall anything else though. I get that he's the type you don't really want to stand out in the NHL... But at this level, you expect more from him. He played a shift in OT and yikes... It wasn't pretty.

Ouellet had an ok game. He's a solid AHL defenseman but a game like this isn't doing much to help his NHL hopes. Small mistakes, fancy and dangerous plays... I'm happy with his current role within the organization.

Lamarche is what you want and what you expect from a no6 in the AHL. Happy to have him on the team.

Finally: Olofsson got back in the lineup after a long absence. I'm rooting for the guy. He showed some nice things: speed, strength, smarts. He is talented. But he's also very rusty and it really showed when the game heated up. He made some really weird plays late in the game. He also had a breakaway thanks to a very smart read in OT. But yeah, it wasn't an easy game for him. He played on the 3rd pair too so of course it's not a great position in the lineup. Hopefully he can stay healthy and back into game shape because he really shows promise.

In goal, Lindgren came out roaring in the first with two big glove saves, keeping the momentum going for Laval. He kind of got left out to dry by his team in the third, but he didn't really bail them out either. The tying goal was not that great. If I remember properly, the third goal was kind of iffy too. A cross ice pass that led to a shot. It ended being a goal because Lindgren's lateral push wasn't strong enough. Benefit of the doubt though : it was still a cross-ice pass that led to a one-timer. Tough one. He stood on his head in the shootout. My overall impression of Lindgren is that he leaves me wanting more. He shows some nice things then disappoints you a few minutes later.

 

[Mrb1p]

Young guys played PP, SH, contributed on every goal, Poehling and Evans went in the SO...

IDK, I tuned in the 3rd and I saw Brook like two shifts and Poehling 3. Evans did play a regular shift.

 

[ahmedou]

Only one period where we were present. We thought that it was already over. We let our goalie lonely without support. That's amateurish. I wasn't astonished on how we blew up our lead. Even if I jynxed it up a lil bit (SO post), they haven't the right to behave like newbies hockey players