GDT: Oilers' Moms vs Tomas' birthday celebration (and Sharks home cooking) 7:30

weastern bias

worst team in the league
Feb 3, 2012
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McDavids points from now and Jumbo's MVP season aren't really comparable. I don't see Mcdavid putting up these point totals in the clutch and grab era.

Thornton wasn't capable of putting up those points in the clutch and grab era either

He won his MVP in 06 when the league averaged 3.08 goals per game, this year the average is 3.07, the scoring environment is entirely comparable to when Thornton hit his apex and McDavid is still eclipsing it

I won't get into the stylistic comparisons as they are mostly immaterial, how players accomplish their feats isn't as important as whether or not they do
 
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Wedontneedroads

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Jul 14, 2008
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San Jose
Weird game.

Felt like everything was going in for the Sharks. Not sure you can count on that too much long term.

Still really disappointed in the goals the Sharks keep giving up. I don't know if I have seen a solid 60 minute defensive effort from this group yet.

Plenty of time to figure it out, but even after a win I'm left worried about our blue line and turnovers in our zone.
 

Pinkfloyd

Registered User
Oct 29, 2006
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Weird game.

Felt like everything was going in for the Sharks. Not sure you can count on that too much long term.

Still really disappointed in the goals the Sharks keep giving up. I don't know if I have seen a solid 60 minute defensive effort from this group yet.

Plenty of time to figure it out, but even after a win I'm left worried about our blue line and turnovers in our zone.

The Nashville game was a very solid 65 minute defensive effort.
 
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Anomie2029

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Oct 10, 2013
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Melbourne, Australia
Weird game.

Felt like everything was going in for the Sharks. Not sure you can count on that too much long term.

Still really disappointed in the goals the Sharks keep giving up. I don't know if I have seen a solid 60 minute defensive effort from this group yet.

Plenty of time to figure it out, but even after a win I'm left worried about our blue line and turnovers in our zone.

Aside from the Nashville game being a good defensive game, here are some reasons to be positive:
  • Edmonton didn't pressure the points as much as other teams. This is because early on you saw Burns and Karlsson both jumping off the blue line in the OZ (look at where Burns scored from, or how EK65 jumping up gave Timo so much time on Goodrow's goal). That change up means the opposition won't be rushing up to the point.
  • EK65 looked good. None of the bad turnovers that we'd been seeing, and positive play with the puck.
  • Burns literally tipped one of their goals in - he has brain farts, but even that was bad from him.
 

Wedontneedroads

Registered User
Jul 14, 2008
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298
San Jose
The Nashville game was a very solid 65 minute defensive effort.

1 game out of 20 played. Not sure I like those odds.

Aside from the Nashville game being a good defensive game, here are some reasons to be positive:
  • Edmonton didn't pressure the points as much as other teams. This is because early on you saw Burns and Karlsson both jumping off the blue line in the OZ (look at where Burns scored from, or how EK65 jumping up gave Timo so much time on Goodrow's goal). That change up means the opposition won't be rushing up to the point.
  • EK65 looked good. None of the bad turnovers that we'd been seeing, and positive play with the puck.
  • Burns literally tipped one of their goals in - he has brain farts, but even that was bad from him.

Edmonton did not look good . Haven't watched too many of their games, but they didn't look like a 1st place team.

EK65 still looks questionable in 1 on 1 defense when someone is skating at him with speed. He got absolutely walked around early in the game because he couldn't transition fast enough from skating backward to getting a stick/body on the winger trying to go around him. His defensive skating ability is still a huge concern for me. He looks fine on the breakout, but I still don't see him playing the defense he used to be capable of.

Silly mistakes might not matter in a game like that, but every mistake matters in the playoffs. Still a long way to go, but those need to be sorted out. You can't give a team more chances than they already earn.

This team looks much better than they did the first 5 games of the season, and they look more like a playoff contender these past 10 games. If we are talking SC aspirations they still have a long way to go.
 

Pinkfloyd

Registered User
Oct 29, 2006
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Folsom
I can hit a golf ball within 1 foot of the pin from 125 yards. I just can't do it consistently ;)

Plenty of time left for the Sharks to find some consistency, but I have not seen enough evidence yet.

They’ve shown significant improvements defensively the past couple weeks. They’re still giving up goals but they’re not giving up as many opportunities overall much less those of the grade A variety. It’ll come.
 

Doctor Soraluce

Registered User
Sep 28, 2017
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Thornton wasn't capable of putting up those points in the clutch and grab era either

He won his MVP in 06 when the league averaged 3.08 goals per game, this year the average is 3.07, the scoring environment is entirely comparable to when Thornton hit his apex and McDavid is still eclipsing it

I won't get into the stylistic comparisons as they are mostly immaterial, how players accomplish their feats isn't as important as whether or not they do
The style of play in the current NHL is dramatically different than when Jumbo won MVP. They may have similar scoring averages but I think you need to look closer at the underlying stats to see where that's coming from. PP, 5 on 5, etc.. Style of play of course matters. Robataile is (or was) the leading goal scorer at his position in NHL history but he scored most on Gretzky's wing. There are a huge number of players at his position (LW?) I would choose before him if given the choice. Obviously over exaggerating for the point. So yeah, saying that whether they do is more important than the how is false.

To me the comparison is similar to the great Avs teams who had Sakic and Forseberg. Both produced at insane rates but Forseberg was the horse that pushed them to multiple cups. He drew the #1 defense & checkers from opposing teams. Sakic of course then took advantage of 2nd tier defenders when they were on different lines. Jumbo is more of a horse and McDavid is the fast player.

Also another difference IMO is that Jumbo didn't have a teammate that rivaled his production without being a product of it. McDavid has Drisital who on some nights seems as good and sometimes better. The sports writers used to say that Jumbo made his wingers rich. Is McDavid doing that? Curious how dominant he is when Drizsital isn't in the lineup. He certainly doesn't look like the best player in the league when he plays the Sharks.

McDavid is great and over time maybe he is better. He's certainly built better for the current NHL which is far more geared toward faster players than back when Jumbo was MVP. But the difference isn't as dramatic as some here make it out to be.

Regardless, obviously we see it differently so to each their own..
 

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