biturbo19
Registered User
- Jul 13, 2010
- 25,795
- 10,843
Some really interesting thoughts here.
The bolded in particular is interesting to me. I get the same sort of impression from Miller. I think he's a true "student of the game", he's a very "smart" goaltender who has a very strong grasp on the game going on around him. Not just a shot-blocker in net, but a guy who is constantly reading plays, anticipating, understanding. Very "throwback" in a lot of ways, and it gets him burned badly at times when his reads are off...but it's the way he plays.
And i can absolutely understand why he would end up frustrated with the decisions of some of our players defensively at times. Get the sense he'd really like to control his own team defensively like marionettes sometimes (and sadly, it might actually end up more effective if he could
). Some of our players are prone to absolutely unpredictable defensive plays that have to be tough on a goaltender who plays the game in his head as much as Miller seems to.
Vrbata's been generating so many shots this year, the fact he hasn't had much in the way of results has been a bit misleading i think. In any case though, i think the bolded is an interesting question to pose. Looking through the crop of RH goal-scoring forwards set to hit the market this summer (aside from Stamkos
), there's really diddly squat. And frankly, if you can re-up Vrbata at $5M, where else are you going to find those 20-30 goals for less, or in a younger/more well-rounded player without coughing up crucial rebuild assets? Kind of an awkward situation, but Vrbata does have some real value and despite his poor shooting results to kick off the season, he's a guy who can score goals and isn't a complete liability overall.
I think it is what it is.
I've noticed the bolded as well. There are times this year when it looks like the Sedins are absolutely flying out there. The near shorthanded goal they almost set up was a clear example of it. The burst to get both of them up in the play like that, it's something you don't always see out of them.
Something i've noticed this year in particular though, is that they seem to be getting even smarter in "picking their spots" with that burst. They'll ride through a game on Turtle Speed and their smarts keep them in the right spots the vast majority of the time...but they'll jump on the right opportunities with a burst of speed that we haven't really seen from the Sedins in a good while. With the Twins, i really wouldn't put it past them to have worked out a way to be even more "efficient" as they grow older.
It's so impressive to me, the way Hansen seems to be evolving as a player at this stage of his career. He's truly starting to play a game that isn't just Honey Badger, it's like...Savvy Honey Badger. He's finding a way to not just play minutes with the Twins, but actually truly play minutes with the Twins. He's not just running around doing a little bit of Jannik Hansen while the Sedins do their thing...he's starting to become that "3rd Sedin" like Burrows at his peak.
I'm legitimately surprised, but i love it.
Agreed. It's a bad pairing. It doesn't work very well to the guys' (limited) strengths.
Bartkowski just panic-tossing the puck to Sbisa is about the worst thing that could happen for a defensive pairing. Sbisa tries about as hard as anyone on our team (i know this sounds like a facetious Benning-ism, but it's true), he just doesn't have the star skillset to fully make good on his efforts. Expecting him to be both the first guy in to almost every puck battle (as in that shift in the first), AND expect Bart to just cruise around and not actually do much of anything like getting the puck out...that's a huge ask of a guy like Sbisa, and went predictably poorly.
The bolded in particular is interesting to me. I get the same sort of impression from Miller. I think he's a true "student of the game", he's a very "smart" goaltender who has a very strong grasp on the game going on around him. Not just a shot-blocker in net, but a guy who is constantly reading plays, anticipating, understanding. Very "throwback" in a lot of ways, and it gets him burned badly at times when his reads are off...but it's the way he plays.
And i can absolutely understand why he would end up frustrated with the decisions of some of our players defensively at times. Get the sense he'd really like to control his own team defensively like marionettes sometimes (and sadly, it might actually end up more effective if he could
). Some of our players are prone to absolutely unpredictable defensive plays that have to be tough on a goaltender who plays the game in his head as much as Miller seems to.Vrbata's been generating so many shots this year, the fact he hasn't had much in the way of results has been a bit misleading i think. In any case though, i think the bolded is an interesting question to pose. Looking through the crop of RH goal-scoring forwards set to hit the market this summer (aside from Stamkos
), there's really diddly squat. And frankly, if you can re-up Vrbata at $5M, where else are you going to find those 20-30 goals for less, or in a younger/more well-rounded player without coughing up crucial rebuild assets? Kind of an awkward situation, but Vrbata does have some real value and despite his poor shooting results to kick off the season, he's a guy who can score goals and isn't a complete liability overall.I think it is what it is.
I've noticed the bolded as well. There are times this year when it looks like the Sedins are absolutely flying out there. The near shorthanded goal they almost set up was a clear example of it. The burst to get both of them up in the play like that, it's something you don't always see out of them.
Something i've noticed this year in particular though, is that they seem to be getting even smarter in "picking their spots" with that burst. They'll ride through a game on Turtle Speed and their smarts keep them in the right spots the vast majority of the time...but they'll jump on the right opportunities with a burst of speed that we haven't really seen from the Sedins in a good while. With the Twins, i really wouldn't put it past them to have worked out a way to be even more "efficient" as they grow older.
It's so impressive to me, the way Hansen seems to be evolving as a player at this stage of his career. He's truly starting to play a game that isn't just Honey Badger, it's like...Savvy Honey Badger. He's finding a way to not just play minutes with the Twins, but actually truly play minutes with the Twins. He's not just running around doing a little bit of Jannik Hansen while the Sedins do their thing...he's starting to become that "3rd Sedin" like Burrows at his peak.
I'm legitimately surprised, but i love it.
Agreed. It's a bad pairing. It doesn't work very well to the guys' (limited) strengths.
Bartkowski just panic-tossing the puck to Sbisa is about the worst thing that could happen for a defensive pairing. Sbisa tries about as hard as anyone on our team (i know this sounds like a facetious Benning-ism, but it's true), he just doesn't have the star skillset to fully make good on his efforts. Expecting him to be both the first guy in to almost every puck battle (as in that shift in the first), AND expect Bart to just cruise around and not actually do much of anything like getting the puck out...that's a huge ask of a guy like Sbisa, and went predictably poorly.
