Post-Game Talk: GM 43: Blues def. Canucks - 2-1 (Shootout)

[LiquidSnake]

Much of the time, the Wings have preached passing up the 'big hit' when it takes you out of 'position'. I really like Babcock as a coach, but i doubt he'd magically be able to flip some switch with Kassian.

I think that kind of 'killer instinct' is something that some players have, others don't. It can be emphasized at times, with proper coaching and situation. But i'm really starting to wonder if Kassian has it...or if he's more of a Dustin Penner type, who needs constant prodding and reminders that he's huge, and he needs to use his size out on the ice to be effective.

It's like, when Kassian goes through outbursts of physical play...it's as though he's doing it because that's what coach told him to do or yelled at him about.

A guy like Backes tonight...? You get the sense he does it just because he wants to. That's how he likes to play the game.

I'm not so sure. I mean Kronwall has made a career off that type of play. Although his selection of when he hits is near flawless.

I don't think there's a switch with Kassian. He just seems to not be that comfortable in his role. I'm not surprised. I said at the start of this season that I'd be ecstatic if he had 10 goals this year.

Agree about Backes but it took him a while to get there too.

 

[CherryToke]

Ballard "yeah, it's really fun knowing your gonna get run through the boards every time you go for a puck"

 

[me2]

Backes is permanently on the angry pills. I'd love Kassian to be like that but I don' t think it's in him. You can't learn angry and intense, it's part of your character.

Kassian is Bruce Banner - he needs something to set him off to become the hulk.

 

[luongo321]

Ballard "yeah, it's really fun knowing your gonna get run through the boards every time you go for a puck"

This is why I don't want to play the Blues in the first round. Really physical. Even if we advance to the next round, we will be injured.

 

[Pip]

This is why I don't want to play the Blues in the first round. Really physical. Even if we advance to the next round, we will be injured.

this is exactly why I want to avoid them in the first round, no way we come out of that series healthy, especially our defensemen

 

[CanadianPirate]

Backes is permanently on the angry pills. I love Kassian to be like that but I don' t think it's in him. You can't learn angry and intense, it's part of your character.

Kassian is Bruce Banner - he needs something to set him off to become the hulk.

I don't think so. He hasn't shown it this year but I remember reading he had a reputation for losing his ****. Didn't Buffalo try to reign him in? I wonder if the canucks have been trying to as well.

 

[Proto]

I wish Gillis had been willing to offer 1st-round-pick money to Backes when he offersheeted him.

 

[Free Edler]

I wish Gillis had been willing to offer 1st-round-pick money to Backes when he offersheeted him.

Instead all we got was the privilege of overpaying Steve Bernier.

 

[David71]

Is edlers back bothering him again.? How about hamhuis he has been awful since e start of the season a hidden injury?

 

[pahlsson]

Ballard "yeah, it's really fun knowing your gonna get run through the boards every time you go for a puck"

potshot at AV's system

 

[Virtanen2Horvat]

This is what you do for the Dallas game.

Sedin-Sedin-Kassian
Burrows-Kesler-Roy
Raymond-Schroeder-Hansen
Sestito-Lapierre-Weise

Hamhuis-Garrison
Edler-Ballard
Alberts-Barker

Schneider
Luongo

 

[CherryToke]

This is what you do for the Dallas game.

Sedin-Sedin-Kassian
Burrows-Kesler-Roy
Raymond-Schroeder-Hansen
Sestito-Lapierre-Weise

Hamhuis-Garrison
Edler-Ballard
Alberts-Barker

Schneider
Luongo

nope that makes too much sense, wont happen.

 

[Astoria]

At two minute mark, backes asks if he's ----ing going bald.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=MMFJ8-2GSHM#!

BAAAAHAHAHAHA...bahahahaha..bahaha...ha..ha..heh....

Go home Backes, you've had a long day of crazy and it's time to rest.

 

[Virtanen2Horvat]

nope that makes too much sense, wont happen.

I know sucks it won't happen knowing AV is in charge.

 

[biturbo19]

I'm not so sure. I mean Kronwall has made a career off that type of play. Although his selection of when he hits is near flawless.

I don't think there's a switch with Kassian. He just seems to not be that comfortable in his role. I'm not surprised. I said at the start of this season that I'd be ecstatic if he had 10 goals this year.

Agree about Backes but it took him a while to get there too.

I think it's a different scenario with Kronwall, as a defenceman. His signature 'Kronwallian Hits' come while standing guys up at the bluelines. It's a physical extension of positional play. Whereas for a forward like Kassian and the sort of destroyer we want to see him be in the offensive zone creating that 'look over your shoulder' factor for the other teams' blueline (like Backes did for our blueline tonight), those sort of hits can take a guy well out of the sort of 'position' Babcock (and even AV much of the time) looks for. ie. On the wrong side of the puck defensively.

The only guy on the Wings i can think of who takes those sort of runs on the forecheck consistently is Abdelkader. Occasionally you see it from a few other guys, but they're hardly the sort of team that sends guys like missiles to drive guys through the end boards every time they touch the puck. That's not really their gameplan.

Backes is permanently on the angry pills. I love Kassian to be like that but I don' t think it's in him. You can't learn angry and intense, it's part of your character.

Kassian is Bruce Banner - he needs something to set him off to become the hulk.

Yeah, i'm starting to get that sort of impression from him. There are time when something sets Kassian off and he becomes that guy. But he's very rarely that catalyst in the scenario. Just kind of along for the ride.

Here's hoping that 'Playoffs' is enough to set him off though.

This is why I don't want to play the Blues in the first round. Really physical. Even if we advance to the next round, we will be injured.

True. It's looking like whoever gets the Blues 1st round...it's going to be one of those series where whoever emerges victorious, is going to be so banged up it's hard for them to make any further headway. But i guess we'll see.

 

[Canucks LB]

Kassian may still be battling that back injury

Let's hope that is the case

 

[cotillion]

BAAAAHAHAHAHA...bahahahaha..bahaha...ha..ha..heh....

Go home Backes, you've had a long day of crazy and it's time to rest.

teehee, kassian does not have a good hair situation going on, have to admit that.

 

[Astoria]

teehee, kassian does not have a good hair situation going on, have to admit that.

Oh yeah, I can admit that. Kassian is definitely not on my list of, "How you doin'" candidates... I guess I'm a bit guilty of possessing what I like to call my "hyper-sensitive-oh-no-you-didn't" gene when it comes to the Canucks. I'm working on it though...you know, through therapy and water boarding.

 

[Wheatley]

I know sucks it won't happen knowing AV is in charge.

Maybe AV doesn't want a plug on the first line? Just a guess though.

 

[tantalum]

So it must be clear by now that Ebbett should not be getting a regular shift at center. Time to move Roy back to center and stick Ebbett in a 4th line role or better yet in the pressbox with Schroeder taking over the 4th line role.

a few those extended shifts the Blues had were solely due to Ebbett simply not making the correct defensive play. Add to it that Roy is clearly not comfortable playing along the boards in his own zone and sucks at it and Hansen struggling with that part of his game and you get what we saw last night.

On Barker....I thought he played the role of Kasual Kev perfectly last night.

 

[tantalum]

The Canucks got away with a number of penalties themselves...it was poorly officiated but it was pretty fair.

Yes and no. Certainly they missed some canuck penalties, but it is clear the Blues are using the Sutter game plan of "they will only call so many penalties so go ahead and interfere interfere and interfere some more".

There is simply no way refs in todays game will put a team shorthanded more than a handful of times no matter what they do.

 

[tantalum]

Blues shooters talked smack after the shootout b/c of the team they were playing. This is a team that will punch a player in the head w/o a helmet, chicken wing sticks to look like hooks and dive. alain vigneault hockey.

It's a convenient thing to say until you watch every other team. It's not AV hockey....it's NHL hockey.

Heck the game before Weber was punching a guy being held back by an official....I can only imagine what people would say is the roles in that were reversed.

And speaking of dives Tarasenko had a hell of a one in front of the net when he was tapped at the whistle and then he sent himself flying 10 feet. Funny to hear a team that has guys like OShie, who is no stranger to diving, complain about diving. Not quite as funny as teams with Dustin Brown, Brad MArchand or Joe Thornton on it but getting there.

Let's be frank...all teams have players that dive. ALL. All teams have players that will chicken wing a stick if given the opportunity, it's almost stupid not to given the refs tend to call a penalty when a stick gets near a players waist. Hossa is a master of the chicken wing yet for him it's not a big deal because his name isn't Ryan Kesler? All teams have players that will take cheap shots.

 

[Orca Smash]

So it must be clear by now that Ebbett should not be getting a regular shift at center. Time to move Roy back to center and stick Ebbett in a 4th line role or better yet in the pressbox with Schroeder taking over the 4th line role.

a few those extended shifts the Blues had were solely due to Ebbett simply not making the correct defensive play. Add to it that Roy is clearly not comfortable playing along the boards in his own zone and sucks at it and Hansen struggling with that part of his game and you get what we saw last night.

On Barker....I thought he played the role of Kasual Kev perfectly last night.

Agree with all this.

Roy needs to go back to center, either roll 3 lines or try kesler on wing with raymond schroeder hansen line as your 3rd until higgins returns. But I doubt av even remembers who schroeder is anymore.

If we do need to roll 3 lines we are still a bit stuck without higgins. I have no idea who slots in for him on that wing. People are saying jensen has played better, but I dont know if we can bring him up again or if thats even a good option, roy does need to play with reasonably offensive wingers that dont include dale weise.

 

[ItsAllPartOfThePlan]

WTF was the point of getting Sestito? The guy barely throws and hits. In a game like this, the guy has to step it up. Useless

 

[MrShift4]

I am ignoring the result and just recognizing that the Canucks needed this kind of a game against a good opponent to wake up!