Post-Game Talk: Jets lose 3-0.

[jigglysquishy]

Trouba was our best player, followed by Pavs. He is just on fire. So much confidence. High IQ. And just dominates in our own zone.

Scheifele looked wonderful. Good to see him back at it after a few dead games.

Buff-Enstrom were playing quite well, but Buff had a few defensive gaffs.

Wheeler, where are you?

 

[koth]

I think the coaching staff needs to change the Alternate/Assistant Captains to Bogosian and Kane. I get the veteran leadership thing, but maybe we should give this team over to the young guns that are working their butts off instead of the veterans that aren't playing very well.

Both Kane and Bogosian are going to be wearing the A in the future anyway. Now seems like as good of a time as any.

 

[Positive]

Year 3, and for 3 consecutive years this team is just... the same.

Yeah it's odd. I mean we've replaced a lot of the players that we deemed were due. Antropov, Hainsey, Wellwood, Miettenen. Added some rookies that we were really high on, in Scheif and Trouba. Added some speed and grit in Setoguchi and Frolik. A team that was young and had some upside, has gotten even younger with more upside, IMHO. But still..same results on the scoreboard and in the standings.

Outside of Jokinen, I like what Chevy has done in less than 2 full seasons. Have to keep that in perspective, it's been 137 games since we've had the Jets and not '3 years' as some like to say. And I can't fault the Jokinen signing too much as it seemed like a good idea at the time. The other signings that didn't work out (Mitts, Poni) were low-salary hit, low-risk flyers IMHO, so why not.

But still, we're seeing the same .500 bubblish-looking performance despite the roster being shaken up quite a bit and the core supposedly maturing and peaking.

If this team had dominated 5-of-7 games but were 3-4 in the standings because of a puck-luck or goaltenders standing on their heads, then I'd be fine. But going by performance alone, this team could be 1-6 right now.

I don't think Noel is anywhere near as bad a coach as some say. But I would not flinch if he was let go right now.

 

[peg]

I think the coaching staff needs to change the Alternate/Assistant Captains to Bogosian and Kane. I get the veteran leadership thing, but maybe we should give this team over to the young guns that are working their butts off instead of the veterans that aren't playing very well.

Both Kane and Bogosian are going to be wearing the A in the future anyway. Now seems like as good of a time as any.

Agreed. That should be the first thing that the new coach does.

 

[Positive]

I think the coaching staff needs to change the Alternate/Assistant Captains to Bogosian and Kane. I get the veteran leadership thing, but maybe we should give this team over to the young guns that are working their butts off instead of the veterans that aren't playing very well.

Both Kane and Bogosian are going to be wearing the A in the future anyway. Now seems like as good of a time as any.

Kane I can see wearing an A right now.

IMHO Bogo hasn't been playing well enough to earn an 'A'....not well enough to rip it off of Stuart's chest, who has shown plenty of fight so far. Bogo is Wheeler-esque right now. Both in salary, expectations, and performance. 4th in ice-time amongst D...and modest stats (1a, +2). He's not standing out right now at all. Except for the big gaffe....

 

[Whileee]

Quick thoughts on the game...

I really wish we had a goalie that was as proficient at managing the puck as Price. He manages rebounds so calmly and really helps the defense with his puck-handling. Pavs is still so clumsy with the puck and with rebounds. He didn't "cost" us the game per se, but it would might have been a different game if he stopped one of the two early goals.

For the final 50 minutes it was a strong effort by the Jets, with a couple of exceptions. I was really disappointed in Wheeler, who has been weak in all facets of the game all year (and in the pre-season). He was very passive in his own zone, rarely pressuring Subban or other point men. Very disappointing. I thought that Tangradi was also sluggish, especially in the D zone. If he doesn't keep his feet moving he is a very average player.

Scheifele had his strongest game. I actually like him with Ladd. It is a more organized pace and he gets a lot more of the puck than he does with Kane.

Kane played with a lot of energy, but not much thinking. Beyond the stupid penalties, I wasn't too impressed by his lack of vision on the offensive zone.

Setoguchi played with more spark than I've seen for the most part.

Buff and Enstrom were really strong again. Buff has been pretty elite so far this year.

Little had another strong game. One of my favourites in all facets of the game.

I liked the way the Jets played when they started hitting the Habs. By the second half of the game you could see that the Habs were pretty much spent and hanging on. Price was just so good (and the Jets not so good offensively), that it carried the Habs through.

 

[Whileee]

Kane I can see wearing an A right now.

IMHO Bogo hasn't been playing well enough to earn an 'A'....not well enough to rip it off of Stuart's chest, who has shown plenty of fight so far. Bogo is Wheeler-esque right now. Both in salary, expectations, and performance.

I completely disagree. Bogo is adjusting to rotating D partners and playing the L side, but his skating and physical play and intensity are many levels higher than Wheeler. No comparison, in my opinion.

 

[koth]

True, Bogosian hasn't had the best start to the season, but he has a fire in him that I don't think anyone else can match. I don't think it will be very many more games before he turns it around.

Wheeler on the other hand, I can see taking a longer time to get his game back. He's just too weak on his skates and gets pushed around far too easy.

 

[Positive]

I completely disagree. Bogo is adjusting to rotating D partners and playing the L side, but his skating and physical play and intensity are many levels higher than Wheeler. No comparison, in my opinion.

Well not in their style of play or athletic ability. More like, does Zach Bogosian look like a $36 million dollar defenseman right now? I'd say not really. He just seems..average out there to me. In the same vein Wheeler doesn't look like a $33.6 million dollar man at the moment. He's somewhat Jokinesque.

Trouba on the other hand....

 

[Whileee]

Trouba was our best player, followed by Pavs. He is just on fire. So much confidence. High IQ. And just dominates in our own zone.

Scheifele looked wonderful. Good to see him back at it after a few dead games.

Buff-Enstrom were playing quite well, but Buff had a few defensive gaffs.

Wheeler, where are you?

Buff was almost error-free. I agree that Trouba had another very strong game, but it was his man that tapped the puck in on the first goal.

Pavs wasn't close to being our best player. They scored on two of their 3 or 4 great chances. He doesn't do anything to help the D in handling the puck. His lack of confidence and skill in handing the puck leads him to try to freeze almost any puck that comes his way, leading to a lot of D-zone face-offs. Pavs makes some great saves, but there are a lot of things that he does sub-par compared to top goalies.

I agree that Scheifele was very strong. Maybe the most encouraging game from him yet.

I agree that Wheeler was invisible. He was particularly bad in his own zone, standing around and getting caught in no-mans-land too often. Have a look at a replay of Subban's goal for a perfect illustration of how he has been "drifting" along this year.

 

[Whileee]

Well not in their style of play or athletic ability. More like, does Zach Bogosian look like a $36 million dollar defenseman right now? I'd say not really. He just seems..average out there to me. In the same vein Wheeler doesn't look like a $33.6 million dollar man at the moment. He's somewhat Jokinesque.

Trouba on the other hand....

I agree that Bogo needs to be better, and I expect he will be. He's been jerked around in terms of D partners and positions, which is not easy. I think his play has been quite strong the past few games and that he's been a factor in how well Trouba is developing.

He is in a completely different category than Wheeler in terms of effort and effectiveness.

 

[peg]

I liked the way the Jets played when they started hitting the Habs. By the second half of the game you could see that the Habs were pretty much spent and hanging on. Price was just so good (and the Jets not so good offensively), that it carried the Habs through.

That's the part that I can't figure out. Everyone knew that to compete successfully against the small, very fast Habs, we had to punish them with our size and take their game away. Instead we spent 10 minutes chasing after them until before a lightbulb went off somewhere. That should have been the message going in. "Buff, Kane, Troubs, Gouch, Bogo, make sure in your first shift out you inflict some pain," Simple game. Talented players. Coaching? My gut tells me that the boys were listening to Noel and tried to execute his plan at the beginning of the game. Unfortunately, the plan sucks.

 

[Positive]

The passivity, lack of desperation from the start, is frustrating to watch. I mean being passive and patient, is fine if you're an expert counter-puncher, have astounding defense, and are just technically better than your opponent(s). But if you're not, you have to be aggressive from the get-go. 'BE FIRST' is often the best advice you can get for a fight...that's how I view these things.

 

[Huffer]

I agree that Bogo needs to be better, and I expect he will be. He's been jerked around in terms of D partners and positions, which is not easy. I think his play has been quite strong the past few games and that he's been a factor in how well Trouba is developing.

He is in a completely different category than Wheeler in terms of effort and effectiveness.

I agree with what you are saying here as well.

Not trying to find excuses for him because like you, I think he's played pretty good. But I said earlier that it seems to me like he has some lingering lower body issue. Probably nothing major as it hasn't kept him out of the lineup, but like a minor groin or hamstring issue, etc. Watching him specifically, it didn't seem like he had his regular Bogo level skating ability / stride.

Question, wasn't he injured right at the end of TC? What was that injury?

 

[King Woodballs]

Brian Munz ‏@jetsvoice1290

Injury to Evander Kane (@EKane9JETS) during #NHLJets Practise. Had to be helped to dressing room putting no pressure on right leg

Darrin Bauming ‏@DarrinBauming

#NHLJets official tells us Evander Kane will not return to practice today and will not be made available to speak. Noel will update shortly.

Ted Wyman ‏@Ted_Wyman

Evander Kane will not return to practice and will not be made available today. #NHLJets must have fingers crossed after injury in practice

Well **** right off.
Hope it isnt serious.

 

[Rook37]

Brian Munz ‏@jetsvoice1290 4m

Injury to Evander Kane (@EKane9JETS) during #NHLJets Practise. Had to be helped to dressing room putting no pressure on right leg

OH COME ON FOR **** SAKES

seriously though, that sucks. I really hope it's not serious.

welp, hopefully we get good effort out of the rest of the team on friday, 'cause we're gonna need it.

 

[Huffer]

Brian Munz ‏@jetsvoice1290


Well **** right off.
Hope it isnt serious.

Well, that certainly doesn't help.

 

[YWGinYYZ]

I guess that's one way for Peluso to get into the line-up.



Last thing the Jets need now. Wonder if someone will get the call from the IceCaps?

 

[King Woodballs]

I guess that's one way for Peluso to get into the line-up.



Last thing the Jets need now. Wonder if someone will get the call from the IceCaps?

dood.... haha

Darrin Bauming ‏@DarrinBauming

Hard to discern, but CBC camera footage shows Peluso possibly falling on Kane's right leg. Kane then grasped above his knee. #NHLJets

 

[Warcry]

Kind of an ugly game to see in person. Even after the ugly first ten minutes were up, I didn't think the Jets looked especially good. They played okay defensively after that, but did still give up a few big scoring chances. And offensively they were useless. They put lots of shots on net and had even more that missed, but most of them were from bad angles, fired straight at the goalie with no traffic in front or lasered right at Price's glove hand. Even when the Jets had possession in the Habs' zone they really weren't generating any chances, and I think there were only three or four times in the whole game when I (or the other fans in my section) were on the edge of our seats expecting the Jets to put one in. Price stole a couple, a couple more bobbled off of the Jets' sticks and that was that. Looking at the stats you'd think that Price stood on his head, but it actually looked like an easy night for him.

On the positive side, I thought Pavelec looked really good. He wasn't perfect but he played well enough to pick up a win and would have nine times out of ten if the rest of the team had been playing even average hockey. Not a big fan of the guy, but I've got to give credit where it's due.

Scheifele and Trouba...this was the first time I've seen them live, and I was impressed by both.

On the flip side, Kane made a few dumb plays and had a few "trying to do it all himself" moments that reminded me of his first season as a Jet in a bad way. Wheeler was dogging it all game, or at least it seemed like it. Jokinen seemed like he was trying, but couldn't quite keep up.

Byfuglien misplayed a couple of two-on-ones. On the first it looked like he couldn't decide whether to play the shooter or block the pass and ended up not really doing either effectively. Another time he went down to block a shot and left the puck carrier a clear passing lane, forcing Pavelec to fly across the crease to stop a shot from the trailing Hab. Neither one caused any harm but they easily could have.

Most of the rest of the team was, at least to me, pretty close to invisible.

And while I don't really like complaining about the refs, they were brutal. The players could basically get away with anything as long as it was behind the play, and they knew it. Most of the missed calls were on Habs players (or so says this perfectly unbiased observer ) but once the Jets caught on they took a few liberties too. I half-expected things would turn really ugly by the end of the game, but thankfully they didn't.

 

[ps241]

Good coach, bad coach: doesn't matter much either way if he's getting tuned out, or can't find a way to motivate the players. I wouldn't say I'm an ardent Noel supporter, but I do like the man - I agree that he has to find a way to make this work.

I still believe that this team has enough talent, size and speed to contend for a playoff spot. As positive as I try to remain, if Noel can't do it then a coaching change may be the impetus required for the collected talent to play as they should.

It depends on how Chevy sees it - does he feel he's put together a strong enough roster to compete? Then there's only one other solution. I guess we'll see soon enough. If they continue to chase from the bottom of the standings, I could see something happening to shake things up.

I am of the belief that we do indeed have enough talent on this roster to win. I am also of the belief that there is indeed a disconnect between the coach (Noel) and the players. Something is clearly not working here as we're in year 3. That fact this group cannot start a game like they want to win is telling, and quite frankly very concerning.

If the fit isn't there... it just isn't. You can't force it. This is year 3.

Expanding on what Howard said, the core of the group is in it's third season with Noel at the helm, if what he's telling them and teaching them isn't bringing results and the systems he has implemented are'nt working what choice do the players have but to tune him out, if you don't have faith in the coach the coach has lost the room. IMO

Yea I don't want to over react to a loss and we are 3-4 which on balance isn't terrible. If you watch any team in the NHL for a prolonged period of time they have their ups and downs, good games bad games, highs and lows. Teams aren't mashines and vaiance = reality! I am also aware our team is middle of the pack talent wise at this point.

That being said something feels off to me this season. I feel like the team is tuning Noel out a bit. I know its really early in the season still but its year 3 with no relocation excuse, a full training camp, a preseason, and the same core yet we do not seem to be progressing and we don't look any more cohesive than we did in year 1.

I like coach Noel but coaches are hired to be fired and even the excellant coach's get tuned out by teams at some point. I will remain hopeful because he seems like a great guy but I would not put money on him to survive the season based on my spider senses.

To me it all started with the "show me" minimum extension this past spring. It felt like Chevy the poker player was "calling" at best to see the other guys cards.

Edit: one other concern I had was when I heard a Ladd interview (recap) a few days ago and he was apparently discussing how the championship teams he has played on practiced at a different level of intensity. He was specific when he mentioned Carolina and how right from Day 1 in the season they won the cup the team practiced at a very high level. I don't think Ladd was throwing Coach under the bus directly it was more of a call to arms for the team but still not a great sign.

 

[Jet]

Ah yes, that was this one:

...and he scored that game. I think I only had it for two games - 18 and 19. In celebration, I present my new avatar. <<<<

And, I will dubiously co-claim the honour of getting Wheeler going that year with sipowicz, since I'm sure it made a huge difference in Wheeler's play

You might be my favorite person in the entire world. That avatar. There are no words!

 

[Jet]

Blake is a quirky guy.......he really thrives on confidence and when he lacks it he just doesn't function well. Not sure I understand it but I have seen the movie a few times before and I think I know where we are heading I just wish we would get there soon.

I was hoping he had it figured out though. I remember him talking about it last year and how he felt like a light went on and it all made sense. I was hoping he developed a more consistent confidence. I can really feel his pain though, as I have always had confidence issues playing and I know the wide disparity between my low end and high end.

When you aren't confident sometimes even skating just doesn't feel 'right'. I really envy guys like Kane that are just brimming with inner confidence.

 

[Jet]

dood.... haha

Darrin Bauming ‏@DarrinBauming

Hard to discern, but CBC camera footage shows Peluso possibly falling on Kane's right leg. Kane then grasped above his knee. #NHLJets

Above his knee? Could it be a charley horse? God I hope so, that would be the best case Ontario right now.

 

[ps241]

I was hoping he had it figured out though. I remember him talking about it last year and how he felt like a light went on and it all made sense. I was hoping he developed a more consistent confidence. I can really feel his pain though, as I have always had confidence issues playing and I know the wide disparity between my low end and high end.

When you aren't confident sometimes even skating just doesn't feel 'right'. I really envy guys like Kane that are just brimming with inner confidence.

Blake is just one of those guys......when he is rolling he can take a game over but when he gets down on himself it impacts his game more than most. I know it will come around but time it ticking here.