GDT: Canes At Nashville 8PM EST

[Big Daddy Cane]

There isn’t another winger in this league I’d take over him going forward.

Pastrnak is only 24. I think you have to give deference to 100 point type production over the past two seasons.

Svechnikov is right behind him, depending on the time horizon. The likes of Kucherov, Panarin, Stone and Huberdeau are nearing 30. Kane and Marchand are on the wrong side of it.

 

[MMANumminen]

Svech will be fighting for the rocket this year, lovin' it

 

[Navin R Slavin]

Pastrnak is only 24.

Holy shit that's scary.

 

[dogbazinho]

At least Rod hasn't separated Aho and Svech on special teams.

 

[MinJaBen]

At least Rod hasn't separated Aho and Svech on special teams.

Ssssshhhhhhhhhhhh!

 

[Anton Dubinchuk]

Pastrnak is only 24. I think you have to give deference to 100 point type production over the past two seasons.

Svechnikov is right behind him, depending on the time horizon. The likes of Kucherov, Panarin, Stone and Huberdeau are nearing 30. Kane and Marchand are on the wrong side of it.

Pasta is the king right now, not disputed. That said, I am curious to see what he does and who he is without Bergeron and Marchand (that’s coming up in a few years, whether they retire or not pretty soon they won’t be “Bergeron and Marchand” anymore).

 

[Nikishin Go Boom]

Natural stat trick says Nashville had only 5 HD chances last night and the Canes had 11. That seems mighty low for the Predators.

 

[Moosetache]

that natural stat trick HD info might be the least accurate advanced stat I've ever seen.

 

[AhosDatsyukian]

Pastrnak is only 24. I think you have to give deference to 100 point type production over the past two seasons.

Svechnikov is right behind him, depending on the time horizon. The likes of Kucherov, Panarin, Stone and Huberdeau are nearing 30. Kane and Marchand are on the wrong side of it.

Living in Boston, I've watched a fair amount of Pastrnak, especially in person. Tremendously skilled scoring winger and you can't ask for much more in that regard. But it's the other aspects of the game where he's lacking that is why I would take Svech over him (plus I do think Svech will have consistent 100 point type production at some point if he can get consistent minutes with Bergeron/Marchand caliber linemates, whether that's Aho/TT or future acquisitions/prospects developing). Pasta is useless defensively, is not a leader at all and isn't anywhere near as physical as Svech. And 24 is still 4 years older than Svech, yes Pasta's young but that difference is not insignificant. Many Bruins fans in my office that I talk hockey with get extremely frustrated with Pasta at times. I can't say I've gotten frustrated with Svech once yet. As of right now, yes I'd definitely take Svech over Pastrnak.

 

[Stickpucker]

I know this is heresey but hear me out...

Svech looked really good on Aho's RW. I'd be curious if TT can get some chemistry on Tro's RW.

Have we tried Necas on LW? ....I like Necas game a lot but it's like other players aren't seeing the ice like him or reading off of him well. It also seems no one is moving to get open when he's weeling around...they just plant themselves somewhere waiting for a pass.

 

[NotOpie]

I know this is heresey but hear me out...

Svech looked really good on Aho's RW. I'd be curious if TT can get some chemistry on Tro's RW.

Have we tried Necas on LW? ....I like Necas game a lot but it's like other players aren't seeing the ice like him or reading off of him well. It also seems no one is moving to get open when he's weeling around...they just plant themselves somewhere waiting for a pass.

I believe that Marty's issue remains confidence. He seems to see the ice well, but just doesn't trust his own judgement, so often feels it's safer to dish the puck rather than shoot. He also needs that level of confidence to drive to scoring areas with and without the puck. Last night, I did see him play a fairly solid defensive game.

 

[Sens1Canes2]

Living in Boston, I've watched a fair amount of Pastrnak, especially in person. Tremendously skilled scoring winger and you can't ask for much more in that regard. But it's the other aspects of the game where he's lacking that is why I would take Svech over him (plus I do think Svech will have consistent 100 point type production at some point if he can get consistent minutes with Bergeron/Marchand caliber linemates, whether that's Aho/TT or future acquisitions/prospects developing). Pasta is useless defensively, is not a leader at all and isn't anywhere near as physical as Svech. And 24 is still 4 years older than Svech, yes Pasta's young but that difference is not insignificant. Many Bruins fans in my office that I talk hockey with get extremely frustrated with Pasta at times. I can't say I've gotten frustrated with Svech once yet. As of right now, yes I'd definitely take Svech over Pastrnak.

The propensity to take offensive zone stick penalties is a little annoying ...

 

[Discipline Daddy]

Maniscalco's question would've been "James, you sat out the first two games but faced some shots early, was it good to see the puck a lot early on in order to really get a feel for the speed of the game after such a weird offseason and taking all this time off? Did it feel good to make some saves early and sort of help settle you in and help you get back in the swing of things, especially compared to the alternative of not seeing the puck and sort of being on edge, maybe getting a little nervous and wondering when you were going to be called on to make a save?"

Mike has a knack of asking a question, and then immediately answering it.

"James, you're a quality goalie in this league with a track record of success for several franchises. Going into this game, you didn't play for a while but got to practice regularly with the team and see things from a close vantage. When you came into this one, against a pretty good Nashville Predators hockey club, you faced some tough shots in early. Did you think it was helpful to see these shots early? Because a lot of times in the National Hockey League a goaltender who stays active has a lot of success, so the early shots might help. Also is your best friend really the pipes? Do you have 3 best friends? What does your wife say to that?"

 

[AhosDatsyukian]

The propensity to take offensive zone stick penalties is a little annoying ...

That's true but he's definitely gotten better in that regard since his rookie season.

 

[Boom Boom Apathy]

That's true but he's definitely gotten better in that regard since his rookie season.

It seems very similar to me. Hard to tell for sure though.

EDIT: quick check of Natural Stat Trick: while it doesn't say what penalties or where they occur, his minor penalty / 60 min. is almost identical in his first and 2nd year.

1.48 / 60 in his rookie
1.41 / 60 in his 2nd year

Too early to tell this year.

EDIT 2: I read it wrong.

1.55 / 60 in his rookie year (all situations)
1.42 / 60 in his 2nd year (all situations)

Over the course of a full 1400 min. season, that difference is 3 less minor penalties on the season. So a very slight improvement.

 

[AD Skinner]

Mike has a knack of asking a question, and then immediately answering it.

"James, you're a quality goalie in this league with a track record of success for several franchises. Going into this game, you didn't play for a while but got to practice regularly with the team and see things from a close vantage. When you came into this one, against a pretty good Nashville Predators hockey club, you faced some tough shots in early. Did you think it was helpful to see these shots early? Because a lot of times in the National Hockey League a goaltender who stays active has a lot of success, so the early shots might help. Also is your best friend really the pipes? Do you have 3 best friends? What does your wife say to that?"

"If you're James Reimer, do you feel, I don't want to say confident, but do you feel confident about seeing shots in a game where a goaltender might see a lot of shots?"

 

[AhosDatsyukian]

I believe that Marty's issue remains confidence. He seems to see the ice well, but just doesn't trust his own judgement, so often feels it's safer to dish the puck rather than shoot. He also needs that level of confidence to drive to scoring areas with and without the puck. Last night, I did see him play a fairly solid defensive game.

Yeah if Necas had Svech's confidence he'd be doing so much better. Svech never hesitates to take the shot or drive the net, and it often pays off. I think Necas can do the same but he just doesn't have that mentality yet. Although another aspect that plays into that may just be Necas' lack of size and strength. Svech can bully most other players around which I think gives him that confidence to some degree. Necas still gets tossed around like a ragdoll out there...

 

[Anton Dubinchuk]

Yeah if Necas had Svech's confidence he'd be doing so much better. Svech never hesitates to take the shot or drive the net, and it often pays off. I think Necas can do the same but he just doesn't have that mentality yet. Although another aspect that plays into that may just be Necas' lack of size and strength. Svech can bully most other players around which I think gives him that confidence to some degree. Necas still gets tossed around like a ragdoll out there...

Yep, if Necas played with Svech's confidence and aggressiveness he'd be injured within 5 games. He has to find the balance, when and how to use his skill. He seems to always pick the wrong time. When he picks the right time, we see goals like the Arizona one from last year.

 

[AhosDatsyukian]

It seems very similar to me. Hard to tell for sure though.

EDIT: quick check of Natural Stat Trick: while it doesn't say what penalties or where they occur, his minor penalty / 60 min. is almost identical in his first and 2nd year.

1.48 / 60 in his rookie
1.41 / 60 in his 2nd year

Too early to tell this year.

EDIT 2: I read it wrong.

1.55 / 60 in his rookie year (all situations)
1.42 / 60 in his 2nd year (all situations)

Over the course of a full 1400 min. season, that difference is 3 less minor penalties on the season. So a very slight improvement.

Not sure if there's a way to look this up easily and I may be completely wrong, but I think I remember him still having the issue earlier last year but he was much cleaner as the season went on. Either way, it's a fair point that that's a knock on Svech at this point, but not enough to make me pick Pastrnak or another winger over him if I'm picking a winger to build my team around right now.

 

[Boom Boom Apathy]

Not sure if there's a way to look this up easily and I may be completely wrong, but I think I remember him still having the issue earlier last year but he was much cleaner as the season went on.

OCT-DEC: 30 PIM / 40 games = .75 PIM/Game
JAN-MAR: 24 PIM / 28 games = .85 PIM/Game

These were all 2 min. Minor Penalties.

 

[AhosDatsyukian]

OCT-DEC: 30 PIM / 40 games = .75 PIM/Game
JAN-MAR: 24 PIM / 28 games = .85 PIM/Game

These were all 2 min. Minor Penalties.

You've convinced me! Kaaaakkkko over Svech now!

 

[MinJaBen]

I think Necas can do the same but he just doesn't have that mentality yet.

I don't think this is true. I think half of Necas's problems come from his hands aren't as good as Svech's hands when handling the puck. He loses control of the puck when it is on his stick in space a lot more than Svech does.

 

[AhosDatsyukian]

I don't think this is true. I think half of Necas's problems come from his hands aren't as good as Svech's hands when handling the puck. He loses control of the puck when it is on his stick in space a lot more than Svech does.

Yeah I didn't mean to suggest that Necas will be able to make those power moves to the net that Svech does just that if he starts pulling the trigger a bit more and has more confidence in his decision making and make quicker decisions he can start producing more and creating offense for himself like Svech does. They are way different players, but Necas definitely has significantly more ability than he's shown so far, and I think it just comes down to size/strength and mentality.

 

[Boom Boom Apathy]

I don't think this is true. I think half of Necas's problems come from his hands aren't as good as Svech's hands when handling the puck. He loses control of the puck when it is on his stick in space a lot more than Svech does.

Very true. And he's not nearly as strong on his skates.

 

[NotOpie]

Yeah if Necas had Svech's confidence he'd be doing so much better. Svech never hesitates to take the shot or drive the net, and it often pays off. I think Necas can do the same but he just doesn't have that mentality yet. Although another aspect that plays into that may just be Necas' lack of size and strength. Svech can bully most other players around which I think gives him that confidence to some degree. Necas still gets tossed around like a ragdoll out there...

Agreed on the strength issue; he has to work on that consistently.

However, perhaps the thing I notice the most is he's looking sideways and behind more that forward. I've noticed that if he merely committed to two or three more strides forward, he'd often be in space and able to either take a shot or more easily get an effective pass off. That's what he was doing at the end of last season and has seemed to regress.

Also, while he doesn't have Svech's strength and confidence, he is quite a bit faster and a bit quicker in general. That's the skill/talent he could/should use to get time and space.