Post-Game Talk: Monday Night @ 10 P.M. OTT vs VAN - Where The Boys Become Men (watch online, see OP)

[Nac Mac Feegle]

I'm starting to wonder if Batherson bulked up a bit too much, too fast, this summer. Sometimes guys overdo it, and it throws things off just enough for them to kinda "lose" their game for while.

 

[DueDiligence]

Man, Demelo has looked washed this preseason

Yes he does look very clean!

 

[Crosside]

I like Zaitzev so far, big upgraded over Ceci. He seem to have a good chemistry with Chabot. Who scared me is Demelo in the role of shutdown. I hope than Branns with Hainsey play better, in the practice he play verry well together.

 

[Artanis]

Batherson has been pretty disappointing for me personally all pre-season, I think some more AHL time is warranted.

 

[Back in Black]

Payback Wednesday!

 

[NyQuil]

So the highlights showed no Senators goals and the barrage of Vancouver PP goals.

Then in the fine print, I noticed we put 43 shots on Markstrom, and outshot the Canucks?

 

[Silencio]

Hopefully people will get off Batherson's and Balcers backs. Both looked excelled and continually looked better. That Batherson pass to Tierney in the final minute is about as good as it gets. He proccess the game so quickly, much like Mark Stone he is often a step or two ahead mentally.

When all is said and done I've always felt Balcers will be the best piece we get back from the Karlsson trade. His skill level is off the charts, just needs to find consistency.

 

[tardigrade81]

Glad they at least put up a fight, how was Nilsson last night? Stat line was ugly.

 

[BonkTastic]

When all is said and done I've always felt Balcers will be the best piece we get back from the Karlsson trade. His skill level is off the charts, just needs to find consistency.

He needs to play hard through traffic, and try his best to not get hurt while doing so (or quite frankly, just be lucky in that regard, sometimes injuries are just freak luck anyways). I'm not saying he can't do it, either... Just saying that we haven't had a chance to see if he can do it at the NHL level yet.

He's an undersized winger, so he's going to have a target on his back on most nights at the NHL level as a guy who is more likely to cough up the puck if you go hard at him along the boards and in the corners, a guy who might be a weak link in that regard. He's a small rookie - he for sure is going to get tested by the vets in this league.

Balcers clearly has NHL skill, IMO. The make-or-break for him will be how he looks after 40 NHL games, because we know he's going to get physically tested early. How he responds to 3 months of NHL veterans trying to physically pressure the puck off him and target him in his own zone will be the true test of whether he's got a legit NHL career ahead of him, or whether he becomes a "cup of coffee" role player.

Balcers totally could be legit. For sure. I definitely am hoping he is. But IMO that's the last test ahead of him, and if he makes the big team out of camp, there's no way we'll know for sure until Christmas, probably.

 

[Sensmileletsgo]

So the highlights showed no Senators goals and the barrage of Vancouver PP goals.

Then in the fine print, I noticed we put 43 shots on Markstrom, and outshot the Canucks?

Ottawa played pretty well last night. Just took way too many penalties. Especially to start the game, Ottawa had like 9 penalty minutes in the first 10 minutes and were being outshot 16-4.

 

[Sensmileletsgo]

Batherson has been pretty disappointing for me personally all pre-season, I think some more AHL time is warranted.

You can tell management wanted him to have a top 6 spot on the team, but it’s looking like he’s lost it. He’s showed some good flashes but definitely has not been good enough this pre season.

 

[Alf Silfversson]

I only watched the first half of this game but man this group of forwards looks sllooooow. Even some of our better players/prospects like Batherson, Tkachuk and Brown aren't exactly super quick.

The sooner our more athletic prospects like Formenton, Norris, Abramov and Davidsson can be NHL ready the better.

 

[SensFactor]

From the preseason so far, Kelly, Balcers have earned spots on the team. Brown and Batherson fumble the puck way too much for my liking. Maybe it's just the nerves? Brown's skating is also a step behind the rest.

 

[FormentonTheFuture]

From the preseason so far, Kelly, Balcers have earned spots on the team. Brown and Batherson fumble the puck way too much for my liking. Maybe it's just the nerves? Brown's skating is also a step behind the rest.

Brown's skating seems fine to me. When he gets going he is pretty fast for his size.

 

[Sensmileletsgo]

From the preseason so far, Kelly, Balcers have earned spots on the team. Brown and Batherson fumble the puck way too much for my liking. Maybe it's just the nerves? Brown's skating is also a step behind the rest.

Kelly's earned a spot on the AHL team, yes.

 

[bert]

Hopefully people will get off Batherson's and Balcers backs. Both looked excelled and continually looked better. That Batherson pass to Tierney in the final minute is about as good as it gets. He proccess the game so quickly, much like Mark Stone he is often a step or two ahead mentally.

You have a good eye, I think you are correct his best attribute is his ability to process plays at a high level. He would be very good at playing with very good players. He isnt going to drive a line in my opinion but I am not sure if you can find a better complimentary player to an elite star.

I keep reading how people are unhappy with batherson. I am a little confused as he isnt a player that stands out until the team is about to make a play or score he has never been the type of player that grabs your attention all game long.

 

[HSF]

I think we can't read to much into Preseason. Yes spots can be lost in preseason but I also think we are at a point in our rebuild where we have options to send guys down to develop of give them an extended look in the NHL and not have to really worry about 'winning games'

This whole year will be a process with players going up and down and different guys getting nhl playing time.

From last night balcers looked decent

 

[tardigrade81]

Ottawa played pretty well last night. Just took way too many penalties. Especially to start the game, Ottawa had like 9 penalty minutes in the first 10 minutes and were being outshot 16-4.

Penalties will get worked out. That’s not a big concern of mine is pre season. Sucks to see especially when you outplay a team. But it’s a matter of discipline. Hopefully we correct it.

 

[Korpse]

You have a good eye, I think you are correct his best attribute is his ability to process plays at a high level. He would be very good at playing with very good players. He isnt going to drive a line in my opinion but I am not sure if you can find a better complimentary player to an elite star.

I keep reading how people are unhappy with batherson. I am a little confused as he isnt a player that stands out until the team is about to make a play or score he has never been the type of player that grabs your attention all game long.

He’s a perfect complimentary player and perhaps his ability to drive a line gets better with experience but he isn’t the there yet. He’s subtle in a way, he opens up the ice for his line mates so well and you can miss it if you aren’t looking for it.

 

[coladin]

Just finished the game on delay. Few thoughts:

Logan Brown is a weird player as in he looks like he's on the verge of breaking out constantly but somehow flubs the puck and looks like a teenager again. Hard to tell what he's going to end up being but it could either be a top-6 C or an AHLer. My money's on top-6 C though.

The Drake is the most disappointing player so far in preseason. Just doesn't look like himself at all. Doesn't create much of anything though he did fare slightly better tonight than in his last game.

Chabot starting to heat up. He's going to have a great season that much I'm convinced of.

Zaitsev is "fine". He makes a lot of mistakes. Probably shouldn't be on the top pairing EVER, but he will be because the coach loves him.

Anisimov, Bobby and Tierney all had good games as veterans. Tierney still drives me insane though.

Balcers was great. Think he should have a spot on the third line to start the season.

Duclair looks like he could have a breakout year.

That's about it for specific players.

Thought we played a pretty good game overall. Took too many penalties obviously which is what killed us(PK needs work), but otherwise we were solid 5v5 and took it to the Nucks. Looking forward to the next game against them.

Zaitsev made just as many mistakes as Chabot did last night. And I think they will be a definite upgrade from last year.

 

[Icelevel]

Yeah zaitsev looking good so far. Like his quickness. Looks much better than ceci (so far).

 

[Sensmileletsgo]

I thought Tierney looked good. He’s an underrated player around here. It’ll be interesting to see where he ends up in the line up. He’s kind of being written in as the 4C but he’s definitely not going to be getting 4th line minutes. I wonder if they move him to the wing.

 

[Sensmileletsgo]

Also, I know it’s pre season and it’s way to early to say this, but how the hell did we get Anisimov for Smith??

 

[Sensmileletsgo]

Just finished the game on delay. Few thoughts:

Logan Brown is a weird player as in he looks like he's on the verge of breaking out constantly but somehow flubs the puck and looks like a teenager again. Hard to tell what he's going to end up being but it could either be a top-6 C or an AHLer. My money's on top-6 C though.

The Drake is the most disappointing player so far in preseason. Just doesn't look like himself at all. Doesn't create much of anything though he did fare slightly better tonight than in his last game.

Chabot starting to heat up. He's going to have a great season that much I'm convinced of.

Zaitsev is "fine". He makes a lot of mistakes. Probably shouldn't be on the top pairing EVER, but he will be because the coach loves him.

Anisimov, Bobby and Tierney all had good games as veterans. Tierney still drives me insane though.

Balcers was great. Think he should have a spot on the third line to start the season.

Duclair looks like he could have a breakout year.

That's about it for specific players.

Thought we played a pretty good game overall. Took too many penalties obviously which is what killed us(PK needs work), but otherwise we were solid 5v5 and took it to the Nucks. Looking forward to the next game against them.

Good summary. I agree with all of this. I am still open to the Zaitzev-Chabot pairing but I think DeMelo might be a better partner for Chabot.

 

[coladin]

I agree with the coach. I thought 5 on 5 Ottawa was quite good, and I found the group as a whole pushing the play. Not a lot of side to side stuff, just pushing the play forward. It seems to me a definite change in philosophy from last year.

I liked Brann and Demelo as a pairing. Yes, Demelo caught an edge and fell and got a bronx cheer, but that guy is ready to play. That could be a really strong pairing to compliment Chatzev. I think Brannstrom can certainly start up here. He played really well defensively and with poise.

This leads to the quandary, and perhaps...perhaps the unnecessaru acquisition of Hainsey. I know coach says he gets paid to kill penalties, and by all accounts last night he could have been needed. But one of Boro, Hainsey or Jaros would sit...and 2 have letters so...Jaros it is. He is, to me, the most disappointing player so far in camp, and I think he is playing with extreme pressure as he knows the numbers are against him. His passing has been atrocious.

Chatzev has some major potential and they seem to understand each other, and I don't know if anyone else had a hard time watching on their laptops that they seem to have the same helmet hair lol. But the slick Russian is playing really well.

Have to say, I know a lot of people are saying Batherson has been disappointing. But I am seeing little things in his game that tell me he is playing without pressure (unlike Brown and Paul). He looks relaxed and poised when someone can actually get him the puck, which has been very limited. When he gets the puck, something happens, and he looks quicker and more sturdy.

Brown missed a tap-in, and made some supremely skilled passes that basically noother center can make on this team, and maybe only Duchene and Spezza can equal. Bold, yes, but he just has it. He is like a freaking baby Mario. he just needs seasoning and should be in Belleville.

I don't care if he scores 30 later with another team, but enough with Nick Paul. He does not have the mental makeup to play in the NHL. If he does, God bless him, I wish him nothing but the best.

Ennis will be gone soon enough, as is the plan, so we will have to tolerate him until the prospects push him out of the way at some point. Tierney played well but will frustrate. I liked Anisimov and Ryan, and feel Bobby Ryan is a natural fit for Logan Brown.