Post-Game Talk: November 4th: Canucks @ Avs

[avsfan09]

That EJ Thread on the main board is making my head spin. So many people claiming he's a second poring on #2. A blues fan saying he wouldn't trade shatty for him...

I need to learn to stay away from these discussions but I always seem to get sucked in.

 

[hoserthehorrible]

I did see the whole post, I feel like Guenin is sort of "getting a free pass" because Roy said that Fowler was Iginla's man to begin with.

And while that may be the case, it doesn't excuse Guenin's horrendous decision making there.

I think you missed the whole point.

I'm not now, nor have I ever been, trying to make excuses for Guenin. I think that Guenin is a very poor NHL Dman and I believe he should be in the AHL. I think he makes numerous mental mistakes in coverage, I think he makes numerous bad passes, and I think he's afraid to make a mistake (even though he continues to make them over, and over, and over again). On that one particular goal that everyone is focused on Guenin easily could have, and should have, attempted to stop the player from skating to the front of the net and scoring an easy goal.

All that notwithstanding, my point is that the forwards are also playing horribly in the defensive zone as well. I cited three cases but there are numerous cases above and beyond the examples I used.

 

[frog]

avs are gonna lose this game

 

[tigervixxxen]

avs are gonna lose this game

Spoiler alert: they already did

 

[avsfan89]

Has Roy ever publicly criticized Guenin?

If he hasn't already, then he will never. He will silently scratch him or bury him once someone out performs him in front of Patrick.

Kind of funny how Roy called out Mack during a drill today. "you're head is not in colorado, what are you thinking of?"

His hot gf must be taking his mind off hockey haha jk

 

[Avsboy]

Where is everyone getting these practice updates?

 

[hawk30]

Where is everyone getting these practice updates?

Mile High Hockey

 

[Crisp Breakout]

That EJ Thread on the main board is making my head spin. So many people claiming he's a second poring on #2. A blues fan saying he wouldn't trade shatty for him...

I need to learn to stay away from these discussions but I always seem to get sucked in.

If I had Pietrangelo, I wouldn't trade Shattenkirk for EJ either.

 

[CobraAcesS]

If I had Pietrangelo, I wouldn't trade Shattenkirk for EJ either.

Yeah because two big right handed defenders who can play both ends of the ice at a high level is better than one, and another who is defensively suspect?

You'd rather have EJ & Barrie over Pietro and EJ? Which is basically what you're saying.

 

[Pokecheque]

Yeah because two big right handed defenders who can play both ends of the ice at a high level is better than one, and another who is defensively suspect?

You'd rather have EJ & Barrie over Pietro and EJ? Which is basically what you're saying.

Look, EJ was never going to flourish in St. Louis. He would always be "Failed 1st overall pick" Erik Johnson. A guy who just never lived up to his massive promise. Very good player, but not elite by any means.

The one thing Roy did right with him was tell him to start fresh. You could (and still can) see the effect of taking that burden off of him had. That wouldn't be possible in STL.

Shattenkirk is a better fit for St. Louis. Yes, on PAPER, probably would make more sense to have both Pietrangelo and EJ, but in real life, that never would've worked.

 

[Colorado Avalanche]

Where is everyone getting these practice updates?

http://www.milehighhockey.com/2014/11/5/7163449/practice-report-november-5-2014

use the link which was posted earlier, pretty good stuff there.

 

[Freudian]

With Redmond back in I wonder if Roy dares to remove Golden Holden from the PP where he has been invisible at the top of the umbrella, where he was moved when it became apparent that no one would fall for the back door trick.

I also hope Roy asks Tanguay if his brain is in Colorado when he tries a 1 vs 4 zone entry on the PP.

 

[CobraAcesS]

With Redmond back in I wonder if Roy dares to remove Golden Holden from the PP where he has been invisible at the top of the umbrella, where he was moved when it became apparent that no one would fall for the back door trick.

I also hope Roy asks Tanguay if his brain is in Colorado when he tries a 1 vs 4 zone entry on the PP.

It is kind of funny how Tanguay tries that and just completely flubs it up, however EJ looks like a graceful swan gliding through the neutral zone and into the other teams end practically uncontested. (At least it looks that way...)

I've also noticed that over the years, EJ is rarely ever used to carry the puck up the ice on the power play. When he does start out with it. He usually passes it off within our own end.

But... got to see him handle the puck, at least on zone entry last night.

I'll admit he shouldn't be running a power play, but they could use him on zone entries more often.

Edit : My guess is no one wants to get hit by that when hes at full speed. You see players duck and swipe with their sticks most of the time, but I'm not sure I've ever seen anyone attempt to step into him. Or hes just that good at finding the lane, not sure which tbh.

 

[Avs_19]

With Redmond back in I wonder if Roy dares to remove Golden Holden from the PP where he has been invisible at the top of the umbrella, where he was moved when it became apparent that no one would fall for the back door trick.

I also hope Roy asks Tanguay if his brain is in Colorado when he tries a 1 vs 4 zone entry on the PP.

Not a chance. Stop thinking crazy thoughts.

 

[CobraAcesS]

Not a chance. Stop thinking crazy thoughts.

Hey we all wished last night (at probably the same time for many hours) for Roy to make changes to the defensive system, and it happened.

Maybe if we all pick something specific every night, the power of the collective will prevail?

Plus fans are supposed to be a little crazy...

 

[The Mars Volchenkov]

It is kind of funny how Tanguay tries that and just completely flubs it up, however EJ looks like a graceful swan gliding through the neutral zone and into the other teams end practically uncontested. (At least it looks that way...)

I've also noticed that over the years, EJ is rarely ever used to carry the puck up the ice on the power play. When he does start out with it. He usually passes it off within our own end.

But... got to see him handle the puck, at least on zone entry last night.

I'll admit he shouldn't be running a power play, but they could use him on zone entries more often.

Edit : My guess is no one wants to get hit by that when hes at full speed. You see players duck and swipe with their sticks most of the time, but I'm not sure I've ever seen anyone attempt to step into him. Or hes just that good at finding the lane, not sure which tbh.

Why shouldn't EJ be running the PP? He leads the team in points and has more PP points than Barrie right now.

 

[Freudian]

It is kind of funny how Tanguay tries that and just completely flubs it up, however EJ looks like a graceful swan gliding through the neutral zone and into the other teams end practically uncontested. (At least it looks that way...)

I've also noticed that over the years, EJ is rarely ever used to carry the puck up the ice on the power play. When he does start out with it. He usually passes it off within our own end.

But... got to see him handle the puck, at least on zone entry last night.

I'll admit he shouldn't be running a power play, but they could use him on zone entries more often.

Edit : My guess is no one wants to get hit by that when hes at full speed. You see players duck and swipe with their sticks most of the time, but I'm not sure I've ever seen anyone attempt to step into him. Or hes just that good at finding the lane, not sure which tbh.

Both EJ and Barrie are excellent puck rushers. I wouldn't be surprised if they are better at gaining the blue line than most of Avs forwards with the exception of Duchene and possibly MacKinnon.

Both of them also look as fast with the puck on their sticks as without it, which is very impressive.

 

[CobraAcesS]

Why shouldn't EJ be running the PP? He leads the team in points and has more PP points than Barrie right now.

Uh... that's easy to point to right now, and maybe he flipped a switch offensively. However he isn't the smartest offensive D out there, and hes still bad at getting his shot through traffic.

Maybe he should be given a shot at it again, but it has not been a strength in the recent past.


Edit : He never gets used, and this blows my mind (Same with MacK) on the left side half wall for one-timers. At the worlds last year (2013) he was absofreakinglutely awesome at it. MacKinnon also has a sick one-time shot. However neither of them ever get setup for one-timers on the power play.

 

[The Mars Volchenkov]

EJ's looked better than Barrie this year on the point on the PP, at least if you ask me. I don't think this is the EJ from a few years ago, where he couldn't run a PP. He's made serious strides.

I've seen EJ use the one-timer more on the PP this year than last year. The PP isn't set up to run through the point men, though. It seems like Roy wants that down low play.

 

[CobraAcesS]

EJ's looked better than Barrie this year on the point on the PP, at least if you ask me. I don't think this is the EJ from a few years ago, where he couldn't run a PP. He's made serious strides.

I've seen EJ use the one-timer more on the PP this year than last year. The PP isn't set up to run through the point men, though. It seems like Roy wants that down low play.

I think one unit should be through the points, and the other through down low plays.

It does seem like the PP is all about jam the net, or cycle until there is an open pass to the slot though.


Edit : Anything would be better than seeing Tanguay turn it over again and again, until the next unit has to come out.

 

[Crisp Breakout]

Yeah because two big right handed defenders who can play both ends of the ice at a high level is better than one, and another who is defensively suspect?

You'd rather have EJ & Barrie over Pietro and EJ? Which is basically what you're saying.

There's a lot wrong with this post that allows you to mischaracterize mine. Let's start with the suggestion that I'd prefer EJ & Barrie over Pietro and EJ. That's false. First, I take Pietrangelo over EJ in a heartbeat. I prefer the duo that gives me the best defenseman. Second, Shattenkirk is better defensively than Barrie, much better than the Barrie we've seen this year--equating them is unfair to me. And most importantly, if I have two top-pairing defensemen who can play 25 minutes a night against top competition (Pietro and JBo) I'd prefer someone who is actually good on the power play, despite some defensive shortcomings.

 

[InjuredChoker]

Everberg got chewed on hard twice as he failed to support his defensemen in the corner the way Roy wanted. Roy stopped and told him "Do not be afraid to leave him (referring to man in front of the net) to support your D in the corner. You're watching him lose the battle, go help him win it and trust your W to cover the man in front".

yup, there is definitely going to be changes. they are definitely trying to do better job in preventing the other team cycling for decades in our end.

 

[Cousin Eddie]

yup, there is definitely going to be changes. they are definitely trying to do better job in preventing the other team cycling for decades in our end.

Awesome!

 

[RockLobster]

It certainly looks like there will be changes, and that is encouraging, however I would caution that since it looks like they're not completely abandoning the Man-to-Man strategy, rather adapting it and adding some things to it, that it might take some time for the players to "get it".

Roy is preaching that they can't be afraid to leave their man, must trust that another player will pick that man up--that could potentially result in some blown coverages if someone doesn't pick that man up (case in point-Guenin on Fowler)

 

[henchman21]

It certainly looks like there will be changes, and that is encouraging, however I would caution that since it looks like they're not completely abandoning the Man-to-Man strategy, rather adapting it and adding some things to it, that it might take some time for the players to "get it".

Roy is preaching that they can't be afraid to leave their man, must trust that another player will pick that man up--that could potentially result in some blown coverages if someone doesn't pick that man up (case in point-Guenin on Fowler)