when roussel comes back, him and ferland should be a good combination in regards to forechecking and chipping in the odd goal here and there. light a fire under ferland.
Post-Game Talk: GM 6: Canucks def. Blues - 4-3 (SO) (Ferland, Miller, Horvat)
- Thread starter Mr. Canucklehead
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when roussel comes back, him and ferland should be a good combination in regards to forechecking and chipping in the odd goal here and there. light a fire under ferland.
DL44
Status quo
Askel
By the way Benning should be fired.
Good to win against a good team on the road. Nice to battle back from 2 down.
Beagle does a good job on the PK but that line was not good enough 5on5. Motte looked good, but he needs to not be overplayed so he can play with energy. Last year he started to sock as soon as he got more ice time. Lets hope we stay healthy enough to keep him on the 4th line. Shaller was back to sucking again.
Edler needs to be of the PP, he killed a lot of plays there, the fact that Canucks had 3 PP without a shot on goal is just not good enough.
Sutter is playing much better this year, lets hope he can stay healthy I don't want to see Beagle in a bigger role.
Pettersson, Miller and Boeser played OK. Blues are tough and plays on the edge, but I felt like they battled all night. Horvat looked good in the third, but is still not playing as good as last year.
Beagle does a good job on the PK but that line was not good enough 5on5. Motte looked good, but he needs to not be overplayed so he can play with energy. Last year he started to sock as soon as he got more ice time. Lets hope we stay healthy enough to keep him on the 4th line. Shaller was back to sucking again.
Edler needs to be of the PP, he killed a lot of plays there, the fact that Canucks had 3 PP without a shot on goal is just not good enough.
Sutter is playing much better this year, lets hope he can stay healthy I don't want to see Beagle in a bigger role.
Pettersson, Miller and Boeser played OK. Blues are tough and plays on the edge, but I felt like they battled all night. Horvat looked good in the third, but is still not playing as good as last year.
Petey wants to cycle the puck more with quick passing, to make the box shrink and open up for the one timer. Instead, other players shoot the puck too early and the puck dies. All the time! I even notice some players tries to dangle on the PP. Should be a big no-no. Too easy to defend against. Quite frustrating to see, actually.
The best part of this game for me was how the haters and whiners got put in their place. For the first little while the GDT was awash in complaints about Ferland... until he scored. Whining about the refs got pretty annoying... until they gifted us a 2 minute 5-on-3 with 10 minutes to go in a game where we were down a goal (what on earth did Berube say to that ref I wonder) and finally Leivo getting the winner in the shootout which I called to my wife (citing the fact that he also has been a target for some time now). Good to see Demko play well even if goals 2 and 3 weren't great. Our PP remains wretched and without that 5 on 3 we lose this but I'll take it...
DL44
Status quo
Motte... shoulda taken the more dangerous option of Steen on the half wall instead of peeling to the point on goal one... pinball ensued and Bozak made a great hack at the puck after Myers disrupted the pass attempt by Steen...
Ferland.. solid play on the forecheck that lead to his goal mouth goal. Virtanen withers the nice to start the whole thing with the bank up to Sutter.
Great shot by Petrangelo to beat Demko. Great play by Barbeshev to let the puck thru. 2 gms in row we've seen players do that.. Sutter last gm.
Tanev sagged waaay too much allowing the shot, Demko didn't handle it well, Motte didn't have his head on a swivel and let Tarasenko get to the puck..
Motte with the post and Miller driving the net gets rewarded.
Fantastic play by Petty on the deke.. great drive to get to the loose puck by Horvat.
PP bad.. but playing vs a legit elite PK.
Our PK also continues to look elite level.
Liked some of the post-pk line shuffles... Green reunited Horvat-Boeser at one point... another time Horvat-Virtanen...
Another time we saw a Ferland-Sutter-Motte line for a shift (coulda been mid change..)
Hung in there vs one of the deepest d cores in the league... and swung back.
Great sign. Great game. Great result.
Wasn't happy at all with Boeser. Very concerned that this is healthy offseason of training Boeser. Completely perimeter and just not getting there. Fabbri got there. Ferland got there. Miller got there. Horvat got there. Boeser is nowhere to be seen around the net.... no legs.
Ferland.. solid play on the forecheck that lead to his goal mouth goal. Virtanen withers the nice to start the whole thing with the bank up to Sutter.
Great shot by Petrangelo to beat Demko. Great play by Barbeshev to let the puck thru. 2 gms in row we've seen players do that.. Sutter last gm.
Tanev sagged waaay too much allowing the shot, Demko didn't handle it well, Motte didn't have his head on a swivel and let Tarasenko get to the puck..
Motte with the post and Miller driving the net gets rewarded.
Fantastic play by Petty on the deke.. great drive to get to the loose puck by Horvat.
PP bad.. but playing vs a legit elite PK.
Our PK also continues to look elite level.
Liked some of the post-pk line shuffles... Green reunited Horvat-Boeser at one point... another time Horvat-Virtanen...
Another time we saw a Ferland-Sutter-Motte line for a shift (coulda been mid change..)
Hung in there vs one of the deepest d cores in the league... and swung back.
Great sign. Great game. Great result.
Wasn't happy at all with Boeser. Very concerned that this is healthy offseason of training Boeser. Completely perimeter and just not getting there. Fabbri got there. Ferland got there. Miller got there. Horvat got there. Boeser is nowhere to be seen around the net.... no legs.
Star Ocean
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Pettersson being dreadful and yet PPG is a good sign.
Edler does lead the team in PPP currently. He is what he is, but his point shot on the PP this season has been dangerous this season with the new setup.
mossey3535
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- Feb 7, 2011
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P1-11:48 I don't like that he is down early here. The puck carrier behind the net can't skate out front, he's covered. But Demko has a good track and manages to get square and gain depth with a nice slide. Great save.
P1-07:55 Demko goes down when the rushing attacker has the puck at the hashmarks. This is a brutal idea, and Steen is wide open on his forehand going to the open side of the net. Very lucky Edler blocks the pass. Steen could have shot there and he would have a whole far side open.
P1-05:53 Demko is watching the play in the corner from his knees. Again, a BAD HABIT. Unlike last time, this time he will pay. He actually gets to his feet for the soft feed from the half-boards, but then he does the RVH INSTINCTIVELY again. You can see he does this regardless of what happens to the puck. Eventually the guy is close enough that doing post integration here is acceptable, but I think because he was in this position for so long before he doesn't think to seal the ice. He's looking at the puck but obviously he has no track because he doesn't react at all. This shot goes straight through him, which is inexcusable. The RVH is a blocking technique. If you're not going to seal the ice with it, it's pointless. So after that sloppiness, the shot fortuately hits the post and bounces to the guy in front (who Edler should have). Demko reaches instead of sealing and then sliding because he's in desperation mode. It doesn't work and again goes through him. This is a brutal sequence, an AHL sequence to be honest.
P2-17:13 A straight up whiff. I can only guess that he didn't get a track on this puck but it's from so far out and it goes through him. Not a good goal.
P2-14:15 he's shook.
P2-12:38 poor decision here to slide over. the guy is wide open, one deke and this is a goal. lucky he is bailed out by Barbashev shooting, and even luckier that Barbashev hits the crossbar.
P2-12:00 he really needs this save. it's a pretty good one too but again he can't catch it...
P2- 09:00 a good save here, notice that the difference is that his RVH is solid - he starts with his far pad up but then seals the ice when he sees there's danger. PS how the f*** can we be doing a good job on the PK when we allow two cross-seam passes for good scoring chances?
P2-08:10 Again he is down early. The blues guy behind the net is wayyy more than two stick lengths away. Credit Demko for good track and anticipation as he sees the puck go out to the point. This is a great bit of recovery actually - see how Demko's head doesn't move as he transitions from knees to feet and he gets his glove square? Very nice. Except now he has to telescope because he didn't keep his feet. So he has to get up, then go down to make the save while sliding forward. He actually does a great job, like the rebond Marky gave up in the first or second game it's just in a very awkward spot just above the pads and into the kneepads and/or thigh so despite a really exteme arm cradle he can't control the rebound. Then on the the bank play from behind the goal line, he STARTS a bad habit by initiating a slide to the post. BUT he stops that and regains his feet before going back to the post instead of sliding (which he was doing a lot of the day). IMO this prevents a Tarasenko goal. If he had slid back to the post, he might not get the lean with his upper body to cover the angle and the puck has a chance to go in. Since he goes back on his feet he is able to do the VH with the post pad up which better covers the open net.
P2-07:17 I wish people would stop commenting on "big rebounds". This is perfect rebound control by Demko. He uses his stick to redirect the puck with velocity to the side boards. There's two blues driving the middle, leaving the rebound hot actually makes it harder for them to pick up the rebound rather than giving up a small rebound that is easy for a forward to pounce on. Some elevation would make it even better, but that's a nitpick. Notice at the end of this Demko slides back to his post. So his bad habit came into play again. If he had done this on the previous sequence Tarasenko might have a goal. This is why I harp on doing the right thing. I think that terrible pre-season game broadcast using a potato Auld mentioned that Demko has been "repping out" the post integration so many times with Clark to get it right that he started doing it instinctively. But that is practice. It's Demko's responsibility to use that technique responsibly in the games. And because he stayed on his knees so much in the pre-season, he now has a full-blown bad habit.
P2-05:56 Because he is down early again, Sundqvist almost puts this over his shoulder. His re-position here is not as strong as the one I mentioned earlier. Sundqvist takes it off his skate and is rushed. Got away with one here.
P2-04:26 This is a fairly routine save but notice that Demko is ready in his stance when the puck carrier is above the faceoff circles. This is a huge improvement in preshot preparation, which you might remember I have been harping on with Demko for awhile. Still a bit of a spilled rebound, but that's probably due to the backhand - they're quite annoying.
P2-01:30 This PP1 looks good because it's all Horvat and Boeser on the entry, then all the passing is down low. As soon as it goes to Edler he squanders the whole setup by sniping another shinpad.
P3-12:28 Again, why go down before the shot is even taken? Barbashev has basically no angle to shoot. There is no need to block here. Demko fortunate he doesn't get the wrapraround. Also lucky he doesn't put the puck in himself, but that was the move he had to make in that position. Actually a nice edge to facilitate that split but just a problem of his own making overall.
P3-11:14 A really well placed shot from that far away, Demko has to take it off his boot with basically means he can't control this rebound. Very nice re-position where he keeps his head nice and steady....kind of weird that he sprawls to make the final save since he looks like he's in balanced until that moment.
P3-03:41 Lots of stuff here that I like. First, Demko has had issues coming across to his post. Before he would cut straight across the crease (parallel to the goal line). In this case he t-pushes on his feet to get angle and square before he really starts sliding. These are good signs that some of his "laundry list" is getting worked on and he is making progress.
OT - two long-range saves that he made easily.
S01 - I like that he is doing his pre-shot stance here . He had a SO last year where he was still standing when the guy was crossing the hash marks...
S02 - Ok, I he did that stupid standing up until the last second shit against Tarasenko of all people. This is why he's at a weird angle when he makes the save. Tarasenko should've held it and Demko would be at his mercy.
S03 - AGAIN WTF. AND he went down early and out of balance which is why he flops forward, which is why he almost gets beat. When he puts the lead pad down he extends it. Because his weight is now outside his shoulders he loses some speed, and that leads to the extreme blocker reach he ends up resorting to. If you watch Carey Price he will also extend his blocker but no more than 6 inches or so in front of his pad to take away the aerial. This is desperation borne out of the poor decision before this. Demko often locks himself into a physical movement pattern without reading the play. That's his biggest weakness.
S04 - This time Demko is in his stance before the guy reaches the top of the circles. Notice how easy this and the first shootout attempt look and how awkward the other two do.
Also look how cool, efficient, and compact Binnington is on every SO attempt to this point.
S05 - Again on Perron he is ready early, so he gets a good backward flow. But, he puts his left pad down when Perron has MADE NO MOVES. This is what I am talking about, Demko often doesn't let the play come to him. Here he is fortunate the puck slips off of Perron's stick.
S06 - Ready early which is good, but again super lucky because he commits and goes to his knees (Yes Garrett, he does bite, and hard) for basically no reason. Yeah Steen hoods the puck which is often a sign of a 5-hole shot but it's not that great of a fake really. Bad decision by Steen to go to his backhand since this gives Demko time to make the desperation pad stretch. However, Demko does stretch to the post (instead of straight out), which is something he needed to work on and it helped him here.
As for Leivo's SO goal...Binnington bites but notice he only puts down one pad and gets it up very quickly, unlike Demko who locked himself into the butterfly both times he bit. BUT what Leivo did was to curl out and away. This gave him aerial angle on his shot which is why he was able to get it over Binnington. This is the same desperation pad stretch that Demko made but Steen cut towards the net (which is usually a decent idea) so he ran out of angle and Demko got that shot with his pad. Oh and since he was on his backhand it was harder for Steen to elevate the puck and that transition gave Demko time as I mentioned earlier.
As I've said before, this was a development game for Demko. Yeah it was fun for us to stand up to STL but he made a lot of mistakes that the Blues either bailed him out on or he was lucky didn't bite him. I stand by my assessment during the last game. His stances issues are about 75% improved, which has fixed his shot preparation. I don't find him as surprised by shots as we've seen in the past, and all those stupid tics he had before like hitting his blocker into his glove while the puck is in the zone are gone (you can't do that crap and prepare for the shot too). His down early issue is about 20% improved. If the play moves to the middle he gets up quite quickly. But he still over-uses post integration when it's behind the net and he could have given up at least 2-3 additional goals because of that bad habit.
IMO this was an uneven game but we also saw the flashes that make him a special prospect in my opinion. Things are being done to fix his issues, and he has made significant progress from the pre-season to now. I'm glad he's getting a bunch of starts in a row, because IMO Green mismanaged the goalie workload. We should have seen him way before this considering we've faced quite a few weak opponents so far.
P1-07:55 Demko goes down when the rushing attacker has the puck at the hashmarks. This is a brutal idea, and Steen is wide open on his forehand going to the open side of the net. Very lucky Edler blocks the pass. Steen could have shot there and he would have a whole far side open.
P1-05:53 Demko is watching the play in the corner from his knees. Again, a BAD HABIT. Unlike last time, this time he will pay. He actually gets to his feet for the soft feed from the half-boards, but then he does the RVH INSTINCTIVELY again. You can see he does this regardless of what happens to the puck. Eventually the guy is close enough that doing post integration here is acceptable, but I think because he was in this position for so long before he doesn't think to seal the ice. He's looking at the puck but obviously he has no track because he doesn't react at all. This shot goes straight through him, which is inexcusable. The RVH is a blocking technique. If you're not going to seal the ice with it, it's pointless. So after that sloppiness, the shot fortuately hits the post and bounces to the guy in front (who Edler should have). Demko reaches instead of sealing and then sliding because he's in desperation mode. It doesn't work and again goes through him. This is a brutal sequence, an AHL sequence to be honest.
P2-17:13 A straight up whiff. I can only guess that he didn't get a track on this puck but it's from so far out and it goes through him. Not a good goal.
P2-14:15 he's shook.
P2-12:38 poor decision here to slide over. the guy is wide open, one deke and this is a goal. lucky he is bailed out by Barbashev shooting, and even luckier that Barbashev hits the crossbar.
P2-12:00 he really needs this save. it's a pretty good one too but again he can't catch it...
P2- 09:00 a good save here, notice that the difference is that his RVH is solid - he starts with his far pad up but then seals the ice when he sees there's danger. PS how the f*** can we be doing a good job on the PK when we allow two cross-seam passes for good scoring chances?
P2-08:10 Again he is down early. The blues guy behind the net is wayyy more than two stick lengths away. Credit Demko for good track and anticipation as he sees the puck go out to the point. This is a great bit of recovery actually - see how Demko's head doesn't move as he transitions from knees to feet and he gets his glove square? Very nice. Except now he has to telescope because he didn't keep his feet. So he has to get up, then go down to make the save while sliding forward. He actually does a great job, like the rebond Marky gave up in the first or second game it's just in a very awkward spot just above the pads and into the kneepads and/or thigh so despite a really exteme arm cradle he can't control the rebound. Then on the the bank play from behind the goal line, he STARTS a bad habit by initiating a slide to the post. BUT he stops that and regains his feet before going back to the post instead of sliding (which he was doing a lot of the day). IMO this prevents a Tarasenko goal. If he had slid back to the post, he might not get the lean with his upper body to cover the angle and the puck has a chance to go in. Since he goes back on his feet he is able to do the VH with the post pad up which better covers the open net.
P2-07:17 I wish people would stop commenting on "big rebounds". This is perfect rebound control by Demko. He uses his stick to redirect the puck with velocity to the side boards. There's two blues driving the middle, leaving the rebound hot actually makes it harder for them to pick up the rebound rather than giving up a small rebound that is easy for a forward to pounce on. Some elevation would make it even better, but that's a nitpick. Notice at the end of this Demko slides back to his post. So his bad habit came into play again. If he had done this on the previous sequence Tarasenko might have a goal. This is why I harp on doing the right thing. I think that terrible pre-season game broadcast using a potato Auld mentioned that Demko has been "repping out" the post integration so many times with Clark to get it right that he started doing it instinctively. But that is practice. It's Demko's responsibility to use that technique responsibly in the games. And because he stayed on his knees so much in the pre-season, he now has a full-blown bad habit.
P2-05:56 Because he is down early again, Sundqvist almost puts this over his shoulder. His re-position here is not as strong as the one I mentioned earlier. Sundqvist takes it off his skate and is rushed. Got away with one here.
P2-04:26 This is a fairly routine save but notice that Demko is ready in his stance when the puck carrier is above the faceoff circles. This is a huge improvement in preshot preparation, which you might remember I have been harping on with Demko for awhile. Still a bit of a spilled rebound, but that's probably due to the backhand - they're quite annoying.
P2-01:30 This PP1 looks good because it's all Horvat and Boeser on the entry, then all the passing is down low. As soon as it goes to Edler he squanders the whole setup by sniping another shinpad.
P3-12:28 Again, why go down before the shot is even taken? Barbashev has basically no angle to shoot. There is no need to block here. Demko fortunate he doesn't get the wrapraround. Also lucky he doesn't put the puck in himself, but that was the move he had to make in that position. Actually a nice edge to facilitate that split but just a problem of his own making overall.
P3-11:14 A really well placed shot from that far away, Demko has to take it off his boot with basically means he can't control this rebound. Very nice re-position where he keeps his head nice and steady....kind of weird that he sprawls to make the final save since he looks like he's in balanced until that moment.
P3-03:41 Lots of stuff here that I like. First, Demko has had issues coming across to his post. Before he would cut straight across the crease (parallel to the goal line). In this case he t-pushes on his feet to get angle and square before he really starts sliding. These are good signs that some of his "laundry list" is getting worked on and he is making progress.
OT - two long-range saves that he made easily.
S01 - I like that he is doing his pre-shot stance here . He had a SO last year where he was still standing when the guy was crossing the hash marks...
S02 - Ok, I he did that stupid standing up until the last second shit against Tarasenko of all people. This is why he's at a weird angle when he makes the save. Tarasenko should've held it and Demko would be at his mercy.
S03 - AGAIN WTF. AND he went down early and out of balance which is why he flops forward, which is why he almost gets beat. When he puts the lead pad down he extends it. Because his weight is now outside his shoulders he loses some speed, and that leads to the extreme blocker reach he ends up resorting to. If you watch Carey Price he will also extend his blocker but no more than 6 inches or so in front of his pad to take away the aerial. This is desperation borne out of the poor decision before this. Demko often locks himself into a physical movement pattern without reading the play. That's his biggest weakness.
S04 - This time Demko is in his stance before the guy reaches the top of the circles. Notice how easy this and the first shootout attempt look and how awkward the other two do.
Also look how cool, efficient, and compact Binnington is on every SO attempt to this point.
S05 - Again on Perron he is ready early, so he gets a good backward flow. But, he puts his left pad down when Perron has MADE NO MOVES. This is what I am talking about, Demko often doesn't let the play come to him. Here he is fortunate the puck slips off of Perron's stick.
S06 - Ready early which is good, but again super lucky because he commits and goes to his knees (Yes Garrett, he does bite, and hard) for basically no reason. Yeah Steen hoods the puck which is often a sign of a 5-hole shot but it's not that great of a fake really. Bad decision by Steen to go to his backhand since this gives Demko time to make the desperation pad stretch. However, Demko does stretch to the post (instead of straight out), which is something he needed to work on and it helped him here.
As for Leivo's SO goal...Binnington bites but notice he only puts down one pad and gets it up very quickly, unlike Demko who locked himself into the butterfly both times he bit. BUT what Leivo did was to curl out and away. This gave him aerial angle on his shot which is why he was able to get it over Binnington. This is the same desperation pad stretch that Demko made but Steen cut towards the net (which is usually a decent idea) so he ran out of angle and Demko got that shot with his pad. Oh and since he was on his backhand it was harder for Steen to elevate the puck and that transition gave Demko time as I mentioned earlier.
As I've said before, this was a development game for Demko. Yeah it was fun for us to stand up to STL but he made a lot of mistakes that the Blues either bailed him out on or he was lucky didn't bite him. I stand by my assessment during the last game. His stances issues are about 75% improved, which has fixed his shot preparation. I don't find him as surprised by shots as we've seen in the past, and all those stupid tics he had before like hitting his blocker into his glove while the puck is in the zone are gone (you can't do that crap and prepare for the shot too). His down early issue is about 20% improved. If the play moves to the middle he gets up quite quickly. But he still over-uses post integration when it's behind the net and he could have given up at least 2-3 additional goals because of that bad habit.
IMO this was an uneven game but we also saw the flashes that make him a special prospect in my opinion. Things are being done to fix his issues, and he has made significant progress from the pre-season to now. I'm glad he's getting a bunch of starts in a row, because IMO Green mismanaged the goalie workload. We should have seen him way before this considering we've faced quite a few weak opponents so far.
Last edited:
mossey3535
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I know the stats look good and the result was positive but had one or two bounces occurred we could also have been blown out. If I was his goalie coach I would see that as a happy byproduct of a game where he made progress but still showed a lot of holes in his game.
Also, if Demko was in the league 5 years ago he would have gotten away with a lot of the things he does. But this is a different time where the forwards have figured out post integration and are able to exploit it.
Also, if Demko was in the league 5 years ago he would have gotten away with a lot of the things he does. But this is a different time where the forwards have figured out post integration and are able to exploit it.
mossey3535
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I posted my thoughts at the end of the thread, all Demko all the time as usual lololol
thekernel
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- Apr 11, 2011
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Gutsy road win. I liked the overall game, not perfect, but the effort level was there, and I don't feel like we were outplayed by any stretch.
Motte kinda ate his lunch on two of their goals regarding coverage. But he was energetic, making the D miserable, and rang one off the post for an apple. The kind of game that makes people so polarized about him. Wasn't his finest effort, but it was at least an effort.
Penalty kill was ace, huge factor in our start so far. I thought the call that put us down 3v5 was a little cheesy, but we didn't crumble. This was where Demko had his best work; Beagle as well.
Wondering where Demko's reading Pietrangelo's shot. It's a hard play given that the pass wasn't clean, but once it got on Alex's stick he had more than enough of a good look.
Bo Horvat, the broadcast did a pretty good job of illuminating his frustrations. Pucks just weren't cooperating with him, but he still found a way to force the tie. What a move by Petey to beat Binnington, and what a sprawl by Parayko to almost save it. But the second effort from Cap got us there. Bit of a recurring theme with this game. I wonder where that extra minor penalty came from though lol
Pettersson had to deal with a lot of extra hooks and whacks today, seemed a bit much even for St Louis and their hard-nosed D corps, but this is what he's gonna have to expect this year. Any time the puck is on his stick the opponent seems to zone in just a little bit more. This is why depth is so important for this roster. Petey is gonna draw a lot of attention to himself. That's a good thing. Tonight it still seemed like he couldn't control the puck like he wanted. But that move on the 3-3 goal was beautiful. That's what game-breakers do, they find a way to get it done under the toughest conditions.
Sutter's movement looked labored, and now I'm wondering if he just looks like that all the time. Average team speed is up from last year, so maybe it's an optical illusion.
Virtanen and Ferland are interesting cases. I thought they both played with good energy and were responsible, save for that one Virtanen giveaway at their blue line. You can imagine the potential of having those two guys in the playoffs, flying onto the forecheck and bowling guys over. For now, I'm glad Ferland was rewarded for playing "his" game, for what feels like the first time all season.
Boeser is getting there, he didn't have much going, and he didn't exactly help the powerplay, but you can see the cogs turning. I feel like he's gonna have a big game soon.
Leivo isn't making the best of his opportunities so far. I did like his one setup to Horvat, and the shootout move felt like the only way we'd beat Binnington 1v1, but it doesn't look like his stint with the top units will last much longer. Can't really keep up
The D was fantastic again, other than a couple breakdowns that cost us goals. Edler was a bit of a momentum-killer on the powerplay, Myers looked indecisive at times and was brutal on the first goal, but beyond that, nobody was terrible! Quinn's reads were on point, and the way he shakes checkers on the breakout, you can't teach what he's got. Night and day compared to last year...
Motte kinda ate his lunch on two of their goals regarding coverage. But he was energetic, making the D miserable, and rang one off the post for an apple. The kind of game that makes people so polarized about him. Wasn't his finest effort, but it was at least an effort.
Penalty kill was ace, huge factor in our start so far. I thought the call that put us down 3v5 was a little cheesy, but we didn't crumble. This was where Demko had his best work; Beagle as well.
Wondering where Demko's reading Pietrangelo's shot. It's a hard play given that the pass wasn't clean, but once it got on Alex's stick he had more than enough of a good look.
Bo Horvat, the broadcast did a pretty good job of illuminating his frustrations. Pucks just weren't cooperating with him, but he still found a way to force the tie. What a move by Petey to beat Binnington, and what a sprawl by Parayko to almost save it. But the second effort from Cap got us there. Bit of a recurring theme with this game. I wonder where that extra minor penalty came from though lol
Pettersson had to deal with a lot of extra hooks and whacks today, seemed a bit much even for St Louis and their hard-nosed D corps, but this is what he's gonna have to expect this year. Any time the puck is on his stick the opponent seems to zone in just a little bit more. This is why depth is so important for this roster. Petey is gonna draw a lot of attention to himself. That's a good thing. Tonight it still seemed like he couldn't control the puck like he wanted. But that move on the 3-3 goal was beautiful. That's what game-breakers do, they find a way to get it done under the toughest conditions.
Sutter's movement looked labored, and now I'm wondering if he just looks like that all the time. Average team speed is up from last year, so maybe it's an optical illusion.
Virtanen and Ferland are interesting cases. I thought they both played with good energy and were responsible, save for that one Virtanen giveaway at their blue line. You can imagine the potential of having those two guys in the playoffs, flying onto the forecheck and bowling guys over. For now, I'm glad Ferland was rewarded for playing "his" game, for what feels like the first time all season.
Boeser is getting there, he didn't have much going, and he didn't exactly help the powerplay, but you can see the cogs turning. I feel like he's gonna have a big game soon.
Leivo isn't making the best of his opportunities so far. I did like his one setup to Horvat, and the shootout move felt like the only way we'd beat Binnington 1v1, but it doesn't look like his stint with the top units will last much longer. Can't really keep up
The D was fantastic again, other than a couple breakdowns that cost us goals. Edler was a bit of a momentum-killer on the powerplay, Myers looked indecisive at times and was brutal on the first goal, but beyond that, nobody was terrible! Quinn's reads were on point, and the way he shakes checkers on the breakout, you can't teach what he's got. Night and day compared to last year...
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Diversification
Registered User
- Jun 21, 2019
- 3,017
- 3,755
Excellent effort against a fast, heavy and deep Blues team. Our forward depth and versatility really shone through as we were rarely outmatched 5 on 5. That is, other than the 4th line. But that's what you would expect against a team like the Blues. D-corp also held up fairly well. Our top 4 felt the heat all game but kept mistakes to a minimum despite the limited time and space.
One observation on Pettersson: he's going to have to figure out some new strategies against the scrutiny he faced from teams like the Blues. Those hooks, holds and screens are going to be commonplace heading into the playoffs. He's been, admirably, trying to fight through all of it. But that's just not his wheelhouse. He needs to be a bit more elusive and sneakier at times - channel his inner Ales Hemsky or something like that.
At any rate, they're going to see a lot more space coming up next game. If they can keep the same mentality and momentum from tonight, the Devils are going to be in for it next game.
Keep the streak alive. Every point is going to be needed for a playoff spot.
One observation on Pettersson: he's going to have to figure out some new strategies against the scrutiny he faced from teams like the Blues. Those hooks, holds and screens are going to be commonplace heading into the playoffs. He's been, admirably, trying to fight through all of it. But that's just not his wheelhouse. He needs to be a bit more elusive and sneakier at times - channel his inner Ales Hemsky or something like that.
At any rate, they're going to see a lot more space coming up next game. If they can keep the same mentality and momentum from tonight, the Devils are going to be in for it next game.
Keep the streak alive. Every point is going to be needed for a playoff spot.
I found myself noticing a lot of these same things. You take the results now but you hope they’re corrected both on the PK and demko’s positioning.
Found it really strange they were shooting on his glove in the shootout so much.
4 wins and 2 losses and EP, Boeser and Horvat haven’t hit their stride yet. This team is going to be a handful once those three get going. And you know it’s only a matter of time.
The biggest difference from last year is that we have Miller, Pearson and even Sutter carrying the team while the big three struggle. And the Defense has been much much better and with the additions of Hughes and Myers is creating more offense. We are going to need the big three soon though as the PK realistically will fall back a bit.
This is a fun team to watch!
The biggest difference from last year is that we have Miller, Pearson and even Sutter carrying the team while the big three struggle. And the Defense has been much much better and with the additions of Hughes and Myers is creating more offense. We are going to need the big three soon though as the PK realistically will fall back a bit.
This is a fun team to watch!
I thought Demko looked weak and was a major deflation for the team at times. Still though, a win is a win and the team showed great character sticking with it and seeing it through to the end. Not sure we would have seen the same result last year. I'm starting to really like this team.
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All 3 goals scored by 215lb forwards for the Canucks, right in front of the net. For the first time in ages, the forward corps has the size and skill to get to the net and score greasy goals.
And yeah, to be playing this strongly without your elite players at the top of their game bodes very well for the club this season. Going into the year I liked the depth of the group, and after a half dozen games, it appears that much improved depth is up to the task.
And yeah, to be playing this strongly without your elite players at the top of their game bodes very well for the club this season. Going into the year I liked the depth of the group, and after a half dozen games, it appears that much improved depth is up to the task.
Good observation about the type of greasy goals. Aside from Horvat we’ve lacked that net front presence really since Bertuzzi. Having Ferland, Horvat, Miller and Pearson as big forwards all willing to go to the front certainly is a huge plus. You’ll never beat a team like the Blues with Binnington in net playing a perimeter game.
ddawg1950
Registered User
bandwagonesque
I eat Kraft Dinner and I vote
- Mar 5, 2014
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I don't think Edler is terrible on the PP, but he certainly isn't creative. 2 or 3 times a game he just fires a wrist shot into the defender's shinpads and I'm thinking, that can't have been your best option.
I get there is a lot of optimism abound, but Burrows and Kesler were excellent net front presences who were able to score greasy goals.
I read some tweets last night talking about this club like it's the best one in 8 years (6 games in no less) and it cracked me up. I get that 2012/2013 were disappointing, but those were still quality NHL rosters.
I think Newell Brown is incredibly overrated as a PP coach, but it was funny to me watching Steve Ott draw up PP plays for the Blues.....it looked like their players ignored him and came up with their own plays at the faceoff circle.
You see sure see the difference between a team like St. Louis and Detroit.....Canucks 'bend' but don't 'break' and Demko was the difference, along with the penalty kill. But as they say, two points in a hostile building is just as important in October as it is in March.
I'd like to see the Canucks move Motte up the lineup....maybe part of a 'speed-line' with Virtanen and either Sutter or Gaudette in the middle. Unfortunately he's wasted being saddled with Beagle and Schaller on the fourth line.
I'd like to see the Canucks move Motte up the lineup....maybe part of a 'speed-line' with Virtanen and either Sutter or Gaudette in the middle. Unfortunately he's wasted being saddled with Beagle and Schaller on the fourth line.
From the games I've seen Boeser and Petterson pass to each other more than Edler did, and they weren't passed well/set for shot; hence my proposal is if they're going to do this, practice!
John Johnson
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- Apr 11, 2019
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I wouldn't say he's been playing "dreadfully", he has still been one of our better players so far, but I do know what you mean. He has a lot left to give and being PPG while still not having really turned up his play to what he can be is still encouraging.
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