Post-Game Talk: Game 52: Preds @ Canucks | 9:00 PM CST | Fox Sports TN | "We made some moves" Edition

[sparkle twin]

Great win Preds!!


Good job by Hutton and the PK! Good start to the road trip.


How in the world was Weber the #1 star of the game, lol?

 

[Persona5]

We finally had a goalie steal a game! Great night for Hutton!

As for MDZ, I thought he played well. I didn't see any major mistakes and with more time alongside Jones their chemistry will improve.

I really can't fault either Ellis or Hutton for the Higgins goal. Ellis was in the right position and Higgins just made an amazing(lucky?) play on the puck. As for Hutton I don't think there is any goalie in the world that could have saved that one.

Smith is still looking good and I'm not just saying that because of the goal although that was a nice snipe for sure. We all thought (myself included) that Cullen was helping smith out and that was why that line was going so well early on. I'm starting to think it is just Smith and how he is playing.

This was played more like how playoff games are generally played. Both teams were amped up as they knew it was a 4 point game and could mean something toward the end of the season. Both teams played a tight game. We just were able to break through a little in the third.

Last thing is I really do hate Vancouver. It really bugs me how they are constantly diving to draw penalties. Nothing would make me happier than to take the 8th spot in the playoffs and knock them out. Well maybe knocking the wild out but it is close.

 

[Enoch]

Glad for the win. Only saw about 5 mins if the game, so help me out:

1) why did stalberg only get 7 mins toi?
2) why did Wilson only get 10 mins?
3) spaling had 20.5 mins of ice time and led all forwards. Why?!?
4) how did Hutton look?
5) how did delzotto look?

I get Spaling is a Trotz guy. I also saw he got the tip on Jones goal. It's hard to argue against that. Then again, one could also say a reason we are absolutely dreadful offensively is bc two of our skilled players are getting no time, while our thrd line grinders are getting absurd amounts of minutes.

It seems like Hutton is on a role. I saw the past few games and he was much improved. Has that continued or was this just a crappy effort by a bad offense?

Again, didn't see the game. Those are observational notes and genuine qs.

 

[AintLifeGrand]

This is the first game we have won after trailing after 2 periods...

 

[GeauxPreds]

Spaling also set up Smith for the great one timer that tied the game up. It could've just been one of those games where trotz was playing whoever was hot/had the fire to show up tonight, but I admittedly didn't see much of the game either.

 

[Persona5]

Glad for the win. Only saw about 5 mins if the game, so help me out:

1) why did stalberg only get 7 mins toi?
2) why did Wilson only get 10 mins?
3) spaling had 20.5 mins of ice time and led all forwards. Why?!?
4) how did Hutton look?
5) how did delzotto look?

I get Spaling is a Trotz guy. I also saw he got the tip on Jones goal. It's hard to argue against that. Then again, one could also say a reason we are absolutely dreadful offensively is bc two of our skilled players are getting no time, while our thrd line grinders are getting absurd amounts of minutes.

It seems like Hutton is on a role. I saw the past few games and he was much improved. Has that continued or was this just a crappy effort by a bad offense?

Again, didn't see the game. Those are observational notes and genuine qs.

1) He only played 7 minutes because he isn't playing well. Really is that simple for stalberg.

2) Wilson's minutes have declined lately and with as many penalties we took his time was limited by that as well. He needs to play more consistently and he will get more minutes.

3) Spaling is getting minutes on the PK and the PP. When a player does that he will generally get a lot of minutes. He capitalized on it as well and giving him those minutes is justified.

4) Hutton was very good last night. Rebound control could have been a little better but honestly I think he stole the game. He was able to make some key saves and the only goal scored, there was nothing any goalie in the world could have done to stop it.

5) MDZ was limited in TOI but when I saw him out there he played very well. He made a few very strong defensive plays and his passing was rock solid. The two plays that come to mind was him breaking up a two on one by sliding and taking away the shot and pass. The other was a very nice pass over to Legwand that was whiffed on. I think it would have been a goal if Legy was able to hit it.

 

[Predsfan78]

Glad for the win. Only saw about 5 mins if the game, so help me out:

1) why did stalberg only get 7 mins toi?
2) why did Wilson only get 10 mins?
3) spaling had 20.5 mins of ice time and led all forwards. Why?!?
4) how did Hutton look?
5) how did delzotto look?

I get Spaling is a Trotz guy. I also saw he got the tip on Jones goal. It's hard to argue against that. Then again, one could also say a reason we are absolutely dreadful offensively is bc two of our skilled players are getting no time, while our thrd line grinders are getting absurd amounts of minutes.

It seems like Hutton is on a role. I saw the past few games and he was much improved. Has that continued or was this just a crappy effort by a bad offense?

Again, didn't see the game. Those are observational notes and genuine qs.

Stalberg didn't do much of anything - so that may correlate to his time on ice. I don't believe he was hurt.

Wilson played fairly well, I didn't even notice that he only played 10 min. I hope he is not hurt.

Spals was very involved. Aside from a tipped goal and an assist, he also blocked a massive shot in the 1st period that surely will leave a mark wherever the puck hit him.

Hutton looked good. He made multiple saves on the PK, a breakaway and some other important times. I think in the first period he was caught in the back (it may have been a weird bounce off the boards) where Vancouver could have easily scored. Dan Hamhuis had about 5 chances to score on one of the Canucks' many power-plays but he was either missing the puck or shooting wide. Vancouver had their chances but either didn't put the puck on goal or when they did Hutton was in the position to stop it.

Del Zotto played good overall. He was playing cautiously, I think. You could see a couple of times when the team was lunging forward towards the Vancouver side of the ice (during what looked like an attack), he was staying further back than Jones. We got to see a little of his passing ability, his physical play, and even a shot or two on net. Too early to tell at this point how he will turn out but last night he played pretty good.

 

[Drake744]

I feel like the Dubnyk trade sort of pissed Hutton off and now he's got something to prove. This is the first time I've seen him feel like he has confidence. Dare I say, it looked like he had some swagger in net last night from some of his body language. Especially after the 6 minute PK.

 

[Predsfan78]

5) MDZ was limited in TOI but when I saw him out there he played very well. He made a few very strong defensive plays and his passing was rock solid. The two plays that come to mind was him breaking up a two on one by sliding and taking away the shot and pass. The other was a very nice pass over to Legwand that was whiffed on. I think it would have been a goal if Legy was able to hit it.[/QUOTE]

How could I forget that pass. Leggy should have buried that one. It was setup perfect for him.

 

[Predsfan78]

I feel like the Dubnyk trade sort of pissed Hutton off and now he's got something to prove. This is the first time I've seen him feel like he has confidence. Dare I say, it looked like he had some swagger in net last night from some of his body language. Especially after the 6 minute PK.

Yes, I think he sort of has to prove it now or he may not get another chance to play in NHL. If he can make a turnaround under these circumstances - he may get an extension.

 

[101st_fan]

Glad for the win. Only saw about 5 mins if the game, so help me out:

1) why did stalberg only get 7 mins toi?
2) why did Wilson only get 10 mins?
3) spaling had 20.5 mins of ice time and led all forwards. Why?!?
4) how did Hutton look?
5) how did delzotto look?

I get Spaling is a Trotz guy. I also saw he got the tip on Jones goal. It's hard to argue against that. Then again, one could also say a reason we are absolutely dreadful offensively is bc two of our skilled players are getting no time, while our thrd line grinders are getting absurd amounts of minutes.

It seems like Hutton is on a role. I saw the past few games and he was much improved. Has that continued or was this just a crappy effort by a bad offense?

Again, didn't see the game. Those are observational notes and genuine qs.

Stalberg's lack of special teams play and the amount of time we spent with somebody in the box killed his ice time. Trotz juggled lines a bit and got four shifts for Stalberg in the 3rd, compared to only two for Clune.

Wilson was not effective on the boards last night ... simply lost too many individual battles.

Spaling's 4:54 of short handed time coupled with playing with his ES line resulted in his huge ice time. He and Smith did well on the wings with both Legwand and Gaustad at center.

Hutton still gives up too many rebounds into the low slot but the team collected them well most of the night.

MDZ had a couple good passes but his lack of PK time and less than physical style highlighted Klein's absence. He wasn't horrible defensively but in balancing the left/right issue Poile created an offensive/stayhome balance issue. I'm waiting to see how MDZ and Jones gel.

 

[kypredsfan]

Trotz said he was gonna ease MDZ into PP time and more ice time. I thought he looked pretty well out there. His passing was nice to see anyways.

 

[Bringer of Jollity]

Stalberg's lack of special teams play and the amount of time we spent with somebody in the box killed his ice time. Trotz juggled lines a bit and got four shifts for Stalberg in the 3rd, compared to only two for Clune.

Wilson was not effective on the boards last night ... simply lost too many individual battles.

Spaling's 4:54 of short handed time coupled with playing with his ES line resulted in his huge ice time. He and Smith did well on the wings with both Legwand and Gaustad at center.

Hutton still gives up too many rebounds into the low slot but the team collected them well most of the night.

MDZ had a couple good passes but his lack of PK time and less than physical style highlighted Klein's absence. He wasn't horrible defensively but in balancing the left/right issue Poile created an offensive/stayhome balance issue. I'm waiting to see how MDZ and Jones gel.

One of the comments quite a few Rangers fans made was that MDZ is not a player that shies away from the physical style, so I'm not sure how much of a concern this is going forward. Entirely possible he reigned his game in a bit playing for a new squad with little practice or knowledge of the system.

 

[Pattypred]

Hey y'all, I'm really worried about the VAN players. They appeared to be so very weak last night, they couldn't stay on their skates.

Or, they were auditioning for the next summer Olympics for the Canadian Diving Team. What do y'all think?

 

[worstfaceoffmanever]

This is the first game we have won after trailing after 2 periods...

Hard to believe, isn't it? 0-21-1 before last night, if memory serves.

We played the kind of game we needed to play to win, pretty much to the letter. The defense generally played tight, pounced on rebounds (of which there were many), and got bailed out by Hutton when there was a breakdown. It helped that Vancouver couldn't execute in the slightest, especially in the six-minute perpetual penalty kill at the end of the first. That might have been the worst 20 minutes I've ever seen Hamhuis play.

Del Zotto played well. He made some good defensive plays when the pressure was on, and his passing was generally strong. He was our #4 based on even strength TOI, but got no special teams time (Trotz said postgame this is coming later). Trotz dropped him (and Ellis) off the end of the bench with about 6 minutes left.

Spaling is really coming on; he's fourth among our forwards in scoring in January. He hit a pinhead to set up Smith's goal and got himself in front of the net a la Hornqvist on the game-winner. He did all that, played nearly 5 minutes of shorthanded time, and had a generally excellent game, and he didn't even get one of the three stars. Media.

 

[Persona5]

Hard to believe, isn't it? 0-21-1 before last night, if memory serves.

We played the kind of game we needed to play to win, pretty much to the letter. The defense generally played tight, pounced on rebounds (of which there were many), and got bailed out by Hutton when there was a breakdown. It helped that Vancouver couldn't execute in the slightest, especially in the six-minute perpetual penalty kill at the end of the first. That might have been the worst 20 minutes I've ever seen Hamhuis play.

Del Zotto played well. He made some good defensive plays when the pressure was on, and his passing was generally strong. He was our #4 based on even strength TOI, but got no special teams time (Trotz said postgame this is coming later). Trotz dropped him (and Ellis) off the end of the bench with about 6 minutes left.

Spaling is really coming on; he's fourth among our forwards in scoring in January. He hit a pinhead to set up Smith's goal and got himself in front of the net a la Hornqvist on the game-winner. He did all that, played nearly 5 minutes of shorthanded time, and had a generally excellent game, and he didn't even get one of the three stars. Media.

Spals really didn't get a star for the game? He had more points than anyone in the game. scored the game winner, and played all the hard minutes. After this I may just never even bother looking at who the 3 stars of a game were. It is pointless...

 

[101st_fan]

Spals really didn't get a star for the game? He had more points than anyone in the game. scored the game winner, and played all the hard minutes. After this I may just never even bother looking at who the 3 stars of a game were. It is pointless...

How can a meaningless vote by the home team media be pointless?

 

[PredsV82]

Spals really didn't get a star for the game? He had more points than anyone in the game. scored the game winner, and played all the hard minutes. After this I may just never even bother looking at who the 3 stars of a game were. It is pointless...

the tv guys had him as 1st star, FWIW

Spals
Hutton
Smith

 

[worstfaceoffmanever]

the tv guys had him as 1st star, FWIW

Spals
Hutton
Smith

In-house, it was Weber, Higgins, and Smith. Don't really know what game they were watching.