GDT: Car'lina @ New Jersey... OPPA 8-BIT STYLE!!!

[CanesAvs16]

I take everything DeCock says with a grain of salt... but if he is right here... what do you guys think?

Luke DeCock ‏@LukeDeCock
@dabrams2021 Wouldn't be surprised to see Dalpe on the third line Thursday either.

I guess we could bring him up and have a more offensive third line? Bowman/Jokinen/Dalpe? OR we could let Jokinen and Dalpe play their natural positions and have Bowman/Dalpe/Jokinen.

The fourth line seems to be providing the physical hits we need. I almost wouldn't mind Larose on this line. I would like to see him play with Wallace and give a little more energy/offense. With the little amount of ice time Larose saw on the 3rd line last night, I feel like this may be a better fit for him anyway.

I am loving (for the most part) what I am seeing from Wallace. With the 4th line getting 3rd line minutes last night, he was very effective in the offensive zone.

 

[Boom Boom Apathy]

I take everything DeCock says with a grain of salt... but if he is right here... what do you guys think?

Luke DeCock ‏@LukeDeCock
@dabrams2021 Wouldn't be surprised to see Dalpe on the third line Thursday either.

I guess we could bring him up and have a more offensive third line? Bowman/Jokinen/Dalpe? OR we could let Jokinen and Dalpe play their natural positions and have Bowman/Dalpe/Jokinen.

The fourth line seems to be providing the physical hits we need. I almost wouldn't mind Larose on this line. I would like to see him play with Wallace and give a little more energy/offense. With the little amount of ice time Larose saw on the 3rd line last night, I feel like this may be a better fit for him anyway.

I am loving (for the most part) what I am seeing from Wallace. With the 4th line getting 3rd line minutes last night, he was very effective in the offensive zone.

I wouldn't be surprised to see Westgarth and Wallace both in the line-up against Toronto.

 

[tarheelhockey]

Is there a version of that bubble chart that shows quality of competition, offensive zone starts, etc.. available for games to date in 2013? That would show it.

I saw one posted on the main board with Pens numbers, which I think was taken from Pensburgh. No idea if there's a league-wide version or not.

 

[Ole Gil]

I wouldn't be surprised to see Westgarth and Wallace both in the line-up against Toronto.

We talk about whether it's worth having Westgarth, or just another random on the 4th. The 3rd game in 4 nights might be a situation where having the extra body that can play 7 minutes might be worth it. Even if its Nodl, and he does nothing but play 7 minutes.

Wallace has been quite nice. Kind of fun seeing one of our guys finish a check with enough force to maybe even knock someone over. That he is killing penalties is a double bonus. I'd like to see him stick in the lineup from here on out, for sure.

 

[WhiteTrashAmerican]

Buckle up boys, and prepare yourselves for three minutes of ice time, a cheap shot, and a staged fight with Colton Orr.

 

[caniac315]

As far as I can figure, we're a garbage franchise that shouldn't even exist and also we're the poster childs for diving in the NHL.

While the same time they are so fearful they will have to face us in the playoffs. It's a good thing you are supposed to hate the Devil. I LOVE beating them and it's even sweeter that they hadn't lost at home this season, UNTIL NOW!!

 

[My Special Purpose]

Very good news about Pitkanen. Still screws our d against Toronto, but that's all I can complain about.

I hate to be a broken record, really, but has Joni ever gotten "hurt" when he was playing poorly? Seriously, every damn time he suffers one of his "injuries," it's when he's playing spectacularly and getting a lot of positive attention, interview requests and league-wide publicity.

Yeah, I know, I'm nuts.

But I had social anxiety disorder in high school/college and it affected me greatly. Zack Greinke in MLB still battles with it. John Smoltz overcame it with the help of a therapist.

Yeah, I know. I'm nuts. But there is some evidence ...

 

[geehaad]

But there is some evidence ...

If there is some evidence that he plays poorly and doesn't get injured, that would be some supporting evidence, but I haven't seen it.

 

[Lazyking]

As long as he's not out for more then a game, I don't really care. guys get nicked up and this season is so compressed, I'm surprised we're healthy as we are.

 

[Novacane]

If he's out only against Toronto, I wouldn't even call it an injury. More just a "maintenance" day. And there's nothing wrong with that for the number of minutes he logs a night.

 

[Joe McGrath]

I hate to be a broken record, really, but has Joni ever gotten "hurt" when he was playing poorly? Seriously, every damn time he suffers one of his "injuries," it's when he's playing spectacularly and getting a lot of positive attention, interview requests and league-wide publicity.

Yeah, I know, I'm nuts.

But I had social anxiety disorder in high school/college and it affected me greatly. Zack Greinke in MLB still battles with it. John Smoltz overcame it with the help of a therapist.

Yeah, I know. I'm nuts. But there is some evidence ...

I find it hard to believe Joni would have unnecessary knee surgery to get out of being interviewed.

 

[My Special Purpose]

I find it hard to believe Joni would have unnecessary knee surgery to get out of being interviewed.

I expected disbelief and mockery -- y'know, heaven forbid anyone actually considers an alternate theory -- but to take *one* injury (he's had several, about one a year, and only one required surgery) and one symptom to their illogical extremes to debunk a theory is what the internet is all about.

 

[Joe McGrath]

I expected disbelief and mockery -- y'know, heaven forbid anyone actually considers an alternate theory -- but to take *one* injury (he's had several, about one a year, and only one required surgery) and one symptom to their illogical extremes to debunk a theory is what the internet is all about.

I don't find the idea that he's milked injuries to be all that outrageous, but your post makes it sound like he's never actually been injured, despite having knee surgery last year and being examined by top level doctors. I find it hard to believe he'd be able to fake injuries every year in that scenario. Maybe I'm wrong and team covers it up, but with what your suggesting you shouldn't expect everyone to just say, oh hey look your right Joni's a big phony.

 

[My Special Purpose]

I don't find the idea that he's milked injuries to be all that outrageous, but your post makes it sound like he's never actually been injured, despite having knee surgery last year and being examined by top level doctors. I find it hard to believe he'd be able to fake injuries every year in that scenario. Maybe I'm wrong and team covers it up, but with what your suggesting you shouldn't expect everyone to just say, oh hey look your right Joni's a big phony.

See, that's part of the problem. I'm not suggesting he's a phony *at all.* Mental illness is very real. It's just as real as any other reason a guy may miss time.

My first college game, I came in to start the ninth inning in with a two-run lead. I threw exactly my pitch and the guy hit a solid grounder to short, which my shortstop turned into the first out routinely. But I was shaken at how hard the guy hit the ball when I put it exactly where I wanted it. I started thinking that I was a fraud and everybody in the stands was seeing right through me. It got away from me FAST.

The next pitch went to the backstop. Then I called out the pitching coach and faked a groin injury to get myself out of the game. I never pitched in a D-I game again.

Yes, I faked the injury, but that wasn't the problem. The problem was that I couldn't be on the field for one more minute out of pure fear.

I'm not suggesting Joni's situation is exactly the same. I'm suggesting there may be something there that could potentially be treated. When I was in school in 1989, there was no such thing as social anxiety disorder. But we know a lot more about it now and we know how to treat it.

I swear to you, I know everybody says this, but there is NO doubt in my mind that if I was born 20 years later -- and was accurately diagnosed and aggressively treated for my anxiety -- I'd have played in the majors. There is nobody who saw me play as a school kid who would say any differently.

I see a lot of the same stuff when I see Joni. That's all I'm saying.

 

[Joe McGrath]

See, that's part of the problem. I'm not suggesting he's a phony *at all.* Mental illness is very real. It's just as real as any other reason a guy may miss time.

My first college game, I came in to start the ninth inning in with a two-run lead. I threw exactly my pitch and the guy hit a solid grounder to short, which my shortstop turned into the first out routinely. But I was shaken at how hard the guy hit the ball when I put it exactly where I wanted it. I started thinking that I was a fraud and everybody in the stands was seeing right through me. It got away from me FAST.

The next pitch went to the backstop. Then I called out the pitching coach and faked a groin injury to get myself out of the game. I never pitched in a D-I game again.

Yes, I faked the injury, but that wasn't the problem. The problem was that I couldn't be on the field for one more minute out of pure fear.

I'm not suggesting Joni's situation is exactly the same. I'm suggesting there may be something there that could potentially be treated. When I was in school in 1989, there was no such thing as social anxiety disorder. But we know a lot more about it now and we know how to treat it.

I swear to you, I know everybody says this, but there is NO doubt in my mind that if I was born 20 years later -- and was accurately diagnosed and aggressively treated for my anxiety -- I'd have played in the majors. There is nobody who saw me play as a school kid who would say any differently.

I see a lot of the same stuff when I see Joni. That's all I'm saying.

That's fair, and you obviously have a unique perspective. I'm not going to say you are wrong because neither of us really knows for sure. The possibility still remains that he just is injury prone.

 

[faulkingdynamic]

He's at his best when he is playing on the physical edge. The more physical you play the more likely you are to get some bumps and bruises. So there is some logic to the notion that he gets hurt when he is playing well but id attribute it simply to style of play

 

[Sens1Canes2]

That's fair, and you obviously have a unique perspective. I'm not going to say you are wrong because neither of us really knows for sure. The possibility still remains that he just is injury prone.

...and he also played an integral role in the run in '09. I remember him playing really really well. I don't really buy this angle, it seems to me to be pure guesswork based on a poster's personal experiences. Now, I don't for a second doubt the poster's own experiences, but there aren't many similarities between the two.

 

[geehaad]

to take *one* injury (he's had several, about one a year, and only one required surgery) and one symptom to their illogical extremes to debunk a theory is what the internet is all about.

Isn't that what you're doing? The difference being that you're actually *proposing* the theory...

Doesn't it seem more logical that having debilitating fear such as that would pretty much preclude him from playing in the NHL? It's not like the light was shining much more brightly in the past few days than it was in the days preceding it.

I think there's a much more simple explanation to him leaving mid-game and being out day-to-day with a "lower body injury": he's not a guy who plays through pain.

See there...no internet theory necessary. Done and done.

 

[TheBigKahuna]

This might be the most ridiculous "serious" discussion I've seen on here in a long time.

 

[Roboturner913]

^
Yeah, I know. Surely it couldn't be as simple as just having leg problems?

From experience, if you have one major problem with your leg it can plague you forever.

I blew out my knee in college running track, you naturally change the way you walk/run. So that led to a toe problem. Compensating for that led sore ankles, which led to hamstring and quad pulls, then a dislocated kneecap. Finally my orthopedist said, enough you have to stop. Just sit on your behind a year and don't do anything. I'm sure the healing for a world-class athlete goes much faster, but my guess is Joni could've used a little more time from all his knee junk. JMO.

 

[Anton Babchuk]

I can't believe I'm taking part of this discussion, but I don't recall Pitkanen playing particularly well when he had surgery a few games into the 08-09 season. My memory is that he was getting caught up ice leading to a goal against pretty much every game (which has stuck with him with some idiot Canes fans, even though that has turned into maybe once every 20 games at the worst).

He also had surgery during training camp in '09 and obviously he wasn't playing well then as he was not playing.

On the flipside he managed to play 65 consecutive games to end 09-10 when he was leading the league in ice time and scoring a bunch of points and getting publicity, etc.

But, no, Pitkanen has some mental illness because he suffered a concussion and a knee injury that required surgery last year and now has a day-to-day groin injury.

This discussion is embarrassing.

 

[Anton Dubinchuk]

Could we have a Royce White situation on our hands?

 

[Carolinas Identity*]

Could we have a Royce White situation on our hands?

Quick, check twitter for tweets from Joni saying Muller and JR aren't doctors