GDT: Game 17 - CBJ at COL - 9 Nov, 9pm

[Madifer]

Tuukka Rask very recently smashed a stick multiple times and broke it after a goal allowed. He's a regular at goalie stick abuse.

I guess you'd like everyone to be completely detached and reserved when they are getting their a$$eS handed to them. Which most of these CBJ are. About the only players with any outward passion on this roster are Foligno, PLD, Atkinson, Korpisalo and Dubinksy. Perhaps I should include Jenner and Elvis in this list. Jones, Werenski, Wennberg and most of the rest are complete flatliners. They probably get more upset when their play stations and cell phones have technical glitches than they do at being paid million$ for their dog manure performances.

And, yes. It would be cool as hell to see some in-the-stands action.

If I was a Bruins fan then Id be totally fine with Rask smashing his stick at least once every game. He has proven it all on numerous occasions so just let him be.

And about the roaster and the motivation or lack thereof, while I dont necessarily agree with the list, I think the prob could be Torts style not fitting everyone.
I wonder what the French kid will turn out to be. His youthful passion and love for the game was off the charts last year during the PO. Lets see what he becomes

 

[Johansen2Foligno]

I don’t know why everybody’s complaining about John Tortorella here. HE DID YANK KORPISALO AFTER THE STICK-SLAMMING INCIDENT. (It was only for a minute or two, and we were playing with an extra skater BUT STILL...)

 

[Iron Balls McGinty]

Tuukka Rask very recently smashed a stick multiple times and broke it after a goal allowed. He's a regular at goalie stick abuse.

I guess you'd like everyone to be completely detached and reserved when they are getting their a$$eS handed to them. Which most of these CBJ are. About the only players with any outward passion on this roster are Foligno, PLD, Atkinson, Korpisalo and Dubinksy. Perhaps I should include Jenner and Elvis in this list. Jones, Werenski, Wennberg and most of the rest are complete flatliners. They probably get more upset when their play stations and cell phones have technical glitches than they do at being paid million$ for their dog manure performances.

And, yes. It would be cool as hell to see some in-the-stands action.

Right or wrong, I think there is a bit more leeway on stick smashing when your numbers are 1.99 and .933 than 3.13 and .895. When you are good and it happens once it while it will be overlooked. When you are bad and it happens weekly it looks childish.

 

[Cyclones Rock]

Right or wrong, I think there is a bit more leeway on stick smashing when your numbers are 1.99 and .933 than 3.13 and .895. When you are good and it happens once it while it will be overlooked. When you are bad and it happens weekly it looks childish.

Agreed.

I guess I have a lot more leeway for ill manners in hockey than many here do.

 

[Cyclones Rock]

If I was a Bruins fan then Id be totally fine with Rask smashing his stick at least once every game. He has proven it all on numerous occasions so just let him be.

And about the roaster and the motivation or lack thereof, while I dont necessarily agree with the list, I think the prob could be Torts style not fitting everyone.
I wonder what the French kid will turn out to be. His youthful passion and love for the game was off the charts last year during the PO. Lets see what he becomes

Texier should have been on the list. My mistake.

My guess is that Korpisalo is the type who "runs hot" regularly. I think it's also important to understand that right now with the CBJ will probably make or break his dream of being a #1 goalie in the NHL. He's under a ton of pressure for a lot of reasons and hockey is (or used to be) a passionate and physical sport that is fueled for many players by emotion.

If he's acting out in a manner which suggests that it's his teammates fault on goals, that is a different story but I have only seen a hint of that once.

 

[Madifer]

Texier should have been on the list. My mistake.

My guess is that Korpisalo is the type who "runs hot" regularly. I think it's also important to understand that right now with the CBJ will probably make or break his dream of being a #1 goalie in the NHL. He's under a ton of pressure for a lot of reasons and hockey is (or used to be) a passionate and physical sport that is fueled for many players by emotion.

If he's acting out in a manner which suggests that it's his teammates fault on goals, that is a different story but I have only seen a hint of that once.

His dream is his and its up to him to use this chance whether the team is playing a tight game or not.

I also dont agree with the reasons you seem to link to him slamming his stick. He could be frustrated at himself as well, not only his teammates.

I simply dont like Korpi and hope to have a better goalie soon.

 

[KJ Dangler]

Have to laugh that we’re even discussing Korpisalo, better yet referencing the last goal against as korpisofty . Makes you question if some here even understand hockey , but whatever . Korpi kept that game from being a 7-2 game . Almost every goal he’s gave up lately has been brutal defensive coverage . I seem to remember Torts talking about how we would play more responsively defensively , yet that hasn’t been remotely the case. He’s trying to cheat the defenseman in the play constantly to generate offense, because he has no clue how to generate offense thru his forwards . Guys like Milano , Bemstrom , Texier Bjorkstrand are highly underutilized , in favor of players like Wennberg, Foligno, Boone . It took what 14 games to finally get Bemstrom on the powerplay , and we see he’s the only player that can pass , cross seam the instant he receives the puck . He’s scored 2 goals in 2 games not being saddled strictly on the 4th line . Watching Bednar coach The avs last night , and seeing all the young players they are developing gave me a sick feeling in my stomach . The good thing is torts will be sent packing soon , other than that , it’s hard to watch how badly this team is being coached .

 

[Monstershockey]

Have to laugh that we’re even discussing Korpisalo, better yet referencing the last goal against as korpisofty . Makes you question if some here even understand hockey , but whatever . Korpi kept that game from being a 7-2 game . Almost every goal he’s gave up lately has been brutal defensive coverage . I seem to remember Torts talking about how we would play more responsively defensively , yet that hasn’t been remotely the case. He’s trying to cheat the defenseman in the play constantly to generate offense, because he has no clue how to generate offense thru his forwards . Guys like Milano , Bemstrom , Texier Bjorkstrand are highly underutilized , in favor of players like Wennberg, Foligno, Boone . It took what 14 games to finally get Bemstrom on the powerplay , and we see he’s the only player that can pass , cross seam the instant he receives the puck . He’s scored 2 goals in 2 games not being saddled strictly on the 4th line . Watching Bednar coach The avs last night , and seeing all the young players they are developing gave me a sick feeling in my stomach . The good thing is torts will be sent packing soon , other than that , it’s hard to watch how badly this team is being coached .

Bemstrom has been used off and on all season on the power play. I know what you mean about Korpi and people might not understand hockey. It's like people that always blame coaching and wanting them fired.

 

[Double-Shift Lasse]

Team full of “gritty guys” like PLD, Foligno, Anderson, and Jenner afraid to do the dirty work.

Correct me if I’m wrong but we’re talking about two different things here. Deflections and rebounds are not the same. I posted something earlier this week about the team being poor at banging home rebounds. I don’t see an unwillingness but an inability.

As for deflections, that’s sometimes a high skill play. In any case, I’d like to see more of those too.

 

[majormajor]

Tuukka Rask very recently smashed a stick multiple times and broke it after a goal allowed. He's a regular at goalie stick abuse.

I guess you'd like everyone to be completely detached and reserved when they are getting their a$$eS handed to them. Which most of these CBJ are. About the only players with any outward passion on this roster are Foligno, PLD, Atkinson, Korpisalo and Dubinksy. Perhaps I should include Jenner and Elvis in this list.

I'll agree with you on the Korpi part, that a little stick smashing is fine every now and then. I remember when it was considered weird if the goalie wasn't psychotic, if he could actually hold a conversation.

Jones, Werenski, Wennberg and most of the rest are complete flatliners. They probably get more upset when their play stations and cell phones have technical glitches than they do at being paid million$ for their dog manure performances.

I'd love it if Jones and Wennberg changed their mental approaches to the game. Cerebral-humble-perfectionism is not working for them. A superstar complex would be a step forward. Smashing stuff? Maybe, but they're low blood pressure guys. The problem is the opposite of what you characterize. They care too much, and are too self critical. One or two bobbles and they'll be in their own heads all night.

I guess Torts and his teammates were all wrong when they told him it can’t ever happen again and it’s an embarrassing reaction.

His teammates told him that? I don't remember it.

I know Torts said it but that ought to have just been an instant riot. The whole press corps should have just dropped to the ground and started guffawing. A coach who can't control himself is firmly saying "that can't happen" about his goalie smashing a stick?

 

[Viqsi]

I didn’t say it was negative. It’s just the truth,

The sad reality is the Penguins are the Penguins because they got top 3 picks 3 years in a row. The blackhawks are who they are because they got Kane a Toews in back to back years. The Capitals got Ovi and Backstrom in a 3 year span

I covered that in the Tanking Thread already with top-3 picks. There are actually seven teams that have clustered picks like that. (The Caps are not one of them, as Backstrom was a #4 overall pick, not top-3). You've cited two that succeeded in Pittsburgh and Chicago; another team that has not won it all yet but has at least looked legit at times is Tampa Bay. You have also, incidentally, omitted the two that have failed miserably (Edmonton and Florida) and the one that ceased to exist entirely (Atlanta). As for the seventh team, well, you won't find it in that post because I was apparently grumpy enough wen doing that writeup as to inadvertently overlook a team entirely - the heretofore helpless Buffalo Sabres. Whoops! Silly me. Looks like I overstated the chances of success by accident. Boy, is my face red.

If we want to extend this study to add top-5 picks over the years and allow for one-year gaps, then we do indeed get to add the Caps, and also the Hurricanes and Kings as cup winners, and the Leafs as a quasi-plausible competitive team... as well as the MacLean-era Jackets, the Avalanche, the DiPietro Islanders, and the Tavares Islanders. Oh, and adding picks #4 and #5 to the allowable range greatly reduces the odds of getting a "franchise player", because there's many more "meh" guys and outright busts in those two picks. But I'll leave that part of the update to somebody else who still has faith that facts matter in this debate.

 

[thebus88]

Then what do they count Nyquist's goal as from the other night? I do think we don't score many deflection goals though.

With all the recent advancements in hockey statistics, "deflections" and "tips" are now considered different by the dorks who keep track of the stats, even though they cant differentiate between something being done on purpose or not, on the ice during games.

 

[thebus88]

No credit for that. Wrist shot, hehe.

THE NUMBERS DONT LIE!!

 

[thebus88]

I've heard/seen fans of Merzlikins consider this same "fire" shown by Korpisalo, as a positive thing and something that could HELP him play in the NHL. Maybe not the same people, but I find that interesting.

This team really is impacted significantly with Murray being out.

 

[Iron Balls McGinty]

I've heard/seen fans of Merzlikins consider this same "fire" shown by Korpisalo, as a positive thing and something that could HELP him play in the NHL. Maybe not the same people, but I find that interesting.

This team really is impacted significantly with Murray being out.

Elvis is competitive but I haven’t seen him throw a temper tantrum on the ice yet.

You can be competitive and not be petulant.

 

[Double-Shift Lasse]

Elvis is competitive but I haven’t seen him throw a temper tantrum on the ice yet.

You can be competitive and not be petulant.

How do we know Elvis is competitive?

 

[KJ Dangler]

I've heard/seen fans of Merzlikins consider this same "fire" shown by Korpisalo, as a positive thing and something that could HELP him play in the NHL. Maybe not the same people, but I find that interesting.

This team really is impacted significantly with Murray being out.

Murray is a sound defensive player, but to me most of the problems stem from Torts idiotic strategy . We heard all off season that we would employ a more intentional defensive system. Problem is, Torts doesn't have a clue on offense, and feels the only way we can generate offense is by cheating our defense man up . I would argue a heavy dose of playing your actual skilled wingers, and letting them develop would be a much better strategy , especially when your the youngest team in the league. We know what Wennberg, Foligno, Nash, Boone ceiling is. Yet they play almost 20 minutes a night. How much better is the team though when Texier, Bemstrom, Milano take that next step in their development. I dont want to hear that we used Bemstrom on the power play all year. It took nearly 15 games to get guys lined up on their strong shooting side. Bemstrom scored probably 19 of his 22 goals last year from Ovies office, yet were just now finally seeing him used there. We have a gaping hole at center in the #2 spot. Why isnt Texier being used there ?

 

[KJ Dangler]

Elvis is competitive but I haven’t seen him throw a temper tantrum on the ice yet.

You can be competitive and not be petulant.

I've seen him try to fight one of his defenseman for not playing sound, or giving the effort Elvis felt they should have been playing with . Almost everyone of the goals that Korpi has given up lately has been on piss poor coverage, or flat out odd man rushes. Hes finally getting his shot, played very well for the most part, but yet we get behind, try to cheat our defense man up to generate offense, and it results in a ton of great chances for the other team.

 

[ViD]

I fully believe Jarmo got the upper management blessings to start the season with virtually no changes to the team and going with two unproven goalies.

There’s no way he hoped for a winning season with this lineup

 

[Double-Shift Lasse]

I fully believe Jarmo got the upper management blessings to start the season with virtually no changes to the team and going with two unproven goalies.

There’s no way he hoped for a winning season with this lineup

Of course he did. I don't know why anyone would have thought differently.

 

[Monstershockey]

Murray is a sound defensive player, but to me most of the problems stem from Torts idiotic strategy . We heard all off season that we would employ a more intentional defensive system. Problem is, Torts doesn't have a clue on offense, and feels the only way we can generate offense is by cheating our defense man up . I would argue a heavy dose of playing your actual skilled wingers, and letting them develop would be a much better strategy , especially when your the youngest team in the league. We know what Wennberg, Foligno, Nash, Boone ceiling is. Yet they play almost 20 minutes a night. How much better is the team though when Texier, Bemstrom, Milano take that next step in their development. I dont want to hear that we used Bemstrom on the power play all year. It took nearly 15 games to get guys lined up on their strong shooting side. Bemstrom scored probably 19 of his 22 goals last year from Ovies office, yet were just now finally seeing him used there. We have a gaping hole at center in the #2 spot. Why isnt Texier being used there ?

Too bad. Bemstrom has been used on the power play all year. It took him this long to do something. I have seen Bemstrom take shots from that spot, they haven't gone in. He has scored all of 1 goal from there. His other was off a rebound down low. If you know so much, why are you here and not taking Torts' job. I mean, you think coaches should be developing players at the top level. They are picked to play in the NHL because they are already developed. Maybe they can hire a guy that will go on the ice with them so he can hold their hands and explain to them what they are doing wrong as they are making mistakes.

 

[Monstershockey]

How do we know Elvis is competitive?

I don't know if you want to call it competitiveness or just being aggressive, but when he played Friday night, he took no crap from anyone who got in his crease. Punching, pushing, or slashing whoever came close. He was slashed in the hand and he was up in the guys face instantly. He had an air about him the way he carried himself that I haven't seen from any of the goalies we have had in Cleveland. I am going to assume the competitive, confident, and aggressive play all goes hand in hand when people are trying to describe his play.

 

[Iron Balls McGinty]

Yes. Combined with the way he speaks in interviews. He hates losing.

All we’ve heard about Korpisalo is how calm and cool he is. He’s been here for 3-4 years as backup and has he ever acted like this in games he’s played? Not that I ever recall. Why is he doing it now?

 

[KJ Dangler]

Too bad. Bemstrom has been used on the power play all year. It took him this long to do something. I have seen Bemstrom take shots from that spot, they haven't gone in. He has scored all of 1 goal from there. His other was off a rebound down low. If you know so much, why are you here and not taking Torts' job. I mean, you think coaches should be developing players at the top level. They are picked to play in the NHL because they are already developed. Maybe they can hire a guy that will go on the ice with them so he can hold their hands and explain to them what they are doing wrong as they are making mistakes.

Bemstrom has been very limited on powerplay all year . I have no clue why u keep repeating this . A few games ago he was put back on , because the powerplay was BRUTAL, and rightfully so with Foligno , Anderson , Boone , manning the powerplay. At that point he was moved to the center spot of the 1-3-1 for some unknown reason , 2 games ago he was moved to left wing of 1-3 -1 and has scored in both games .

If you think player development isn’t the job of the staff in today’s NhL , your are badly mistaken . The league is as young as it’s ever been . But no, I should have no opinion on a message board , because after all Torts has all the answers

 

[KJ Dangler]

Yes. Combined with the way he speaks in interviews. He hates losing.

All we’ve heard about Korpisalo is how calm and cool he is. He’s been here for 3-4 years as backup and has he ever acted like this in games he’s played? Not that I ever recall. Why is he doing it now?

Because he’s getting a legit shot to be the man, he’s playing really well , and the defensive structure has multiple breakdown game after game