GDT: Coyotes at Ducks 7pm PST HOCKEY IS BACK!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[DavidBL]

Yeah that was the bad play, completely rushed it most likely from nerves in that first period.

They settled after that. The team as a whole played a great defensive third and I think Arizona only had one credited high danger chance in the period.

I am not sure you guys read the Athletic but there was an article recently about the Ducks and Kings and playing faster. In the article it was discussed that part of being faster is pushing the puck "North" or towards the oposing net. And not D to D. Its probable Guhle played that exactly like he thought he should have.

 

[Sean Garrity]

I think the early hate for Guhle stems from the general love for Monty and for the most part he has not been good as a Duck. He’s clearly a bit of a fish out of water at this point, but it’s hard to tell if completely his fault or others aren’t where they’re supposed to be.

 

[KelVarnsen]

Jeeze people it was one game stop writing off guhle after one freaking game especially the first game of the season where Nobody is in game shape yet.... if he can’t handle it after 5-10 then we have an argument.... relax and give the whole team a block of games to judge by instead of one game where 3/4 lines were garbage and 3/5 dmen weren’t up to par

I agree with this. Getz got some serious hate from some people after 2 periods but I didn’t see much after the third period because he played really well that last period. I think we, myself included, need to give the team some games.

The best part of last night for me was the entertainment factor. I didn’t see much dump and chase at all and the team overall was so much better to watch that at any time last season. I hope they can keep this style of play up!

 

[KyleJRM]

I don't even think That Play was that bad from Guhle. When I think of horrible turnovers, they generally don't involve going up the boards toward the blue line into a 1-on-1.

I thought he was fine last night. His skating puts him in the right position a high percentage of the time.

 

[KyleJRM]

I agree with this. Getz got some serious hate from some people after 2 periods but I didn’t see much after the third period because he played really well that last period. I think we, myself included, need to give the team some games.

The best part of last night for me was the entertainment factor. I didn’t see much dump and chase at all and the team overall was so much better to watch that at any time last season. I hope they can keep this style of play up!

In the first two periods, Getzlaf looked completely unable to skate while biffing on about a notable percentage of his passes. In the third, he looked completely unable to skate but at least able to still hit passes when the puck comes straight to him. That's better, but still pretty bad.

Like you said, it's only one game. Maybe things get better. Certainly no decisions are going to be made anytime soon. But he was possibly the worst forward on the ice last night and we need to prepare ourselves for the possibility that we have another Kesler on our hands, where the legs are just completely gone (although this time from years of cumulative injuries rather than just a single hip blowout).

 

[Trojans86]

I fell asleep late in the second. We had nothing going and to me it seemed like it was sloppy passing and transition play that kept shutting us down. Should be correctable. Glad to hear they did better in the third.

 

[TheGoodShepard1]

Yeah, I thought Guhle was nondescript last night after a rough first period. Certainly far from the worst D-man on the team (looking at you, Korbinian)

It’s a pretty open secret that we need another top-4 Dman if they want to make a run as a true playoff contender this year though

 

[Paul4587]

In the first two periods, Getzlaf looked completely unable to skate while biffing on about a notable percentage of his passes. In the third, he looked completely unable to skate but at least able to still hit passes when the puck comes straight to him. That's better, but still pretty bad.

Like you said, it's only one game. Maybe things get better. Certainly no decisions are going to be made anytime soon. But he was possibly the worst forward on the ice last night and we need to prepare ourselves for the possibility that we have another Kesler on our hands, where the legs are just completely gone (although this time from years of cumulative injuries rather than just a single hip blowout).

Getzlaf has hockey iq and hands/passing ability Kesler never came close to having. If he has lost his legs he’s going to be a lot more effective than Kesler was who relied on being the hardest worker and skating around like a buzz saw on the ice to be effective.

 

[snowave]

Not the best game in the world, but for game 1 and all the young guys, I was fairly content with the result. I actually liked Guhle. Sure, he wasn't great with the puck, but he was physical and showed some promise. Also, I think Getz misses his buddy, Pears. He looked depressed out there.

 

[Sean Garrity]

Getzlaf has hockey iq and hands/passing ability Kesler never came close to having. If he has lost his legs he’s going to be a lot more effective than Kesler was who relied on being the hardest worker and skating around like a buzz saw on the ice to be effective.

I agree, I don’t see any reason why Getzlaf can’t have a Thortonesque type of decline if Getzlaf is motivated to play that long (which I get the sense he doesn’t want that).

 

[KyleJRM]

Maybe he can be Thortonesque, but that's not what we saw last night. He was seriously holding his line back.

But again, just one game, we'll see where it goes from here.

 

[KelVarnsen]

Man you jump to worst case scenario real quick. He was not the worst forward in the ice for us. He wasn’t great but to say he was the worst is not accurate IMO.

 

[TheGoodShepard1]

Maybe he can be Thortonesque, but that's not what we saw last night. He was seriously holding his line back.

But again, just one game, we'll see where it goes from here.

Disagree with this. Sure Getz wasn’t great (although I thought he had a very good defensive 3rd period), but Kase was extremely rusty when he was on the puck and I thought Ritchie was absolute ass.

 

[KyleJRM]

Disagree with this. Sure Getz wasn’t great (although I thought he had a very good defensive 3rd period), but Kase was extremely rusty when he was on the puck and I thought Ritchie was absolute ass.

Kase generated some shots, I think he led the team in shot attempts?

I'll grant Ritchie is in the conversation too.

 

[KyleJRM]

Disagree with this. Sure Getz wasn’t great (although I thought he had a very good defensive 3rd period), but Kase was extremely rusty when he was on the puck and I thought Ritchie was absolute ass.

I didn't even think his third period was all that great. He had some pucks bounce straight to him and he didn't turn them over, but that's about it.

Every time his forward line tried to break into the offensive zone, they were down a player because he was 30 feet behind the play. And if he did get down there and the play went the other way, he was the last one back in the defensive zone. He looked like it was physically painful for him to skate end to end and he was trying to only do it if he absolutely had to. Being *that* slow may not be as obvious as getting the puck taken off your stick or making a bad pass, but it hurts the team just as much.

But that's the last time I'll say it for now, because I don't wanna belabor the point. If other people saw it differently, that's cool.

 

[Terry Yake]

holzer should not be with the big club

he's a career AHL'er

 

[bsu]

Getzlaf just looked so damn stiff

 

[cheesymc]

Getzlaf just looked so damn stiff

Yeah, either he’s hit another wall at his age or he’s playing hurt. Didn’t appear to be the same player. It might be good to let him sit out every 8 games or so to recover.

 

[Mr Rogers]

Getzlaf has looked very stiff in the past especially at the beginning of the season. Hopefully it's mostly due to rust and not even more decline. He's never been the best out of the gate.

 

[ScarTroy]

Some people are going to get real quiet when Getz turns it on again. Poor guy can’t have an underwhelming 1st game of the season without being compared to Kesler after hip surgery lol

 

[PaddyMcStackin]

I think it is time to move on from Ritchie. Aside from size he doesn't bring much to the table. He's an offensive black hole when the puck is on his stick.

 

[SmokeyDuck]

I would move Ritchie for a D. Though is value is pretty low right now.

 

[terranraida]

Weirdly enough the best three months of his career were played mostly alongside Bieksa. He’s had plenty of good partners who he’s struggled alongside, the issue is with Cam not who he’s paired with. Last night was an example of that, Guhle was awful but Cam was outstanding.

Am I really just jaded about Bieksa that my entire memory of those two paired together is just a black hole of garbage?

 

[Quack Shot]

I feel like winning any game in the first 5-10 games for the Ducks is an accomplishment. So this is a pretty good start lol

 

[AngelDuck]

I think it is time to move on from Ritchie. Aside from size he doesn't bring much to the table. He's an offensive black hole when the puck is on his stick.

He’s not that bad, he just isn’t a true top 6 player