Dipsy Doodle
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- May 28, 2006
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Exactly.I think it's time the club maybe brought in a veteran backup to at least spell Murray if he's struggling. Carrying two unproven kids as his backup isn't looking like the best decision, in retrospect.
Malkin & Kessel have such an interesting dynamic. When they both come in off the rush and resort to swooping around the top of the circles and then our D arrive and then we've got like 4 guys at the point... Not a great situation. And you don't want either of the D to drive the net because we saw what that looks like last night to have Kessel & Malkin be the last 2 guys defending a rush.Never a dull moment when your 2 biggest wild card forwards are on the same line.
I think it's time the club maybe brought in a veteran backup to at least spell Murray if he's struggling. Carrying two unproven kids as his backup isn't looking like the best decision, in retrospect.
Oleksiak looks lost, Maatta looks slow and is struggling with decisions.
I’d prefer to replace them both, but it’s not happening. So you sit the raw guy.
You can't even tell if he's struggling because he's currently getting defensive coverage like it's an All-Star game. I know people want to say "Yeah but 11 goals in 2 games" as if that's the proof in the pudding but, look, we're accustomed to thinking goalies having a .900 SV% is just automatic. It's not. The second your D goes to shit and your forwards don't commit, goals go in. It's happened to Carey Price (and you could imagine how bad that was for him right after they traded Halak). It happened to Patrick Roy.Exactly.
sure, a lot of it is on the team in front of him. But that said, he absolutely needs to make some more big saves like he used to. When is the last time we talked about him winning us a game? I don't want us to rely on that, but it would be nice to have it happen on occasion. His first two seasons, he had some HUGE saves that kept us in games.You can't even tell if he's struggling because he's currently getting defensive coverage like it's an All-Star game. I know people want to say "Yeah but 11 goals in 2 games" as if that's the proof in the pudding but, look, we're accustomed to thinking goalies having a .900 SV% is just automatic. It's not. The second your D goes to **** and your forwards don't commit, goals go in. It's happened to Carey Price (and you could imagine how bad that was for him right after they traded Halak). It happened to Patrick Roy. Murray's not absolved from it.
I'd look into signing Mason to a 1 year deal, especially if he's willing to take near league minimum.
and coming back properly in the first place. Malkin watched his guy score twice last night.For me, step 1 is getting our forwards to committing to not leaving the zone too quickly. We're not taking care of our own end first. Sure, having your forwards cheat on the breakout is going to lead to some nicer looking rushes here and there but turnovers end up being absolutely disastrous!
and coming back properly in the first place. Malkin watched his guy score twice last night.
I don't disagree that Murray's getting absolutely nothing in the way of help from the team in front of him. That being said, he's still struggling mightily. He's the antithesis of the Murray we saw during the back to back Cups--even the second one where our defense was still pretty putrid. He's not calm, he's not relaxed, he's not handling rebounds well, and his fundamentals (angles, squaring up to the shooter, covering posts, etc.) are all over the place. He looks more like Fleury when he was struggling than what we saw from Murray in his first year in the NHL. He's not a bad goalie and he's got all the tools to be one of the best, he's just getting no help defensively (forwards as well as blueliners) and his confidence is absolutely shattered into a trillion pieces--which isn't going to be helped by said team in front of him.
But, he's gotta bounce back and right the ship. At the very least, put together a string of games where he's playing solid hockey. He doesn't have to win games by himself, or stand on his head for a 50-save shutout. He just has to regain his composure, and that cool, calm and collected style. He gave up bad goals when he was at his best, the difference was he shook them off instantly and came back stronger.
Malkin's playing like an 18 year old rookie who still has to learn how to play defense at the NHL level, not like a 32 year old 3-time Stanley Cup veteran who shouldn't be making these mistakes.
He's playing like annoying Geno right now.
Yeah, I just don't agree. He's a big issue. I'm not saying he's playing in perfect conditions, but it's important to call a spade a spade. He's playing awful hockey, and is as big a problem with our team hemorrhaging goals as any one player on this team.Murray is the least of their worries if phase 1 (forwards) and 2 (Defensemen) of their defense is in shambles at the moment. No goalie is going to stop the bleeding if you are not playing right in front of them. It can't be a constant barrage everytime the opposition is in/gaining their own end.
sure, a lot of it is on the team in front of him. But that said, he absolutely needs to make some more big saves like he used to. When is the last time we talked about him winning us a game? I don't want us to rely on that, but it would be nice to have it happen on occasion. His first two seasons, he had some HUGE saves that kept us in games.
I'd have to think the volatility of the team defense in front of him gets into his head. I think the team settling down should help him settle down. Here's hopingWas huge in some of the Philly playoff games. Was also bad in some of them too mind.
Yeah, I just don't agree. He's a big issue. I'm not saying he's playing in perfect conditions, but it's important to call a spade a spade. He's playing awful hockey, and is as big a problem with our team hemorrhaging goals as any one player on this team.
I think a lot of the defense of Murray comes from people afraid to discuss whether or not he's just not as good as we thought at first. There's a real worry that he's gonna turn out to be a flash in the pan, which I don't necessarily agree with and I happen to think he's just struggling mightily with an awful team in front of him, but it's there. He's certainly not doing anything to silence the very vocal, and most of the time justified, critics.
This goes beyond this season. Last year to start he looked off. Then his dad passed and he was hot and cold and then just mediocre and cold. This year he looks so shaky and distracted. His movements are apprehensive, he's just not focused. He needs more time with Buckley and to do that he needs a backup he can rely on.You can't even tell if he's struggling because he's currently getting defensive coverage like it's an All-Star game. I know people want to say "Yeah but 11 goals in 2 games" as if that's the proof in the pudding but, look, we're accustomed to thinking goalies having a .900 SV% is just automatic. It's not. The second your D goes to **** and your forwards don't commit, goals go in. It's happened to Carey Price (and you could imagine how bad that was for him right after they traded Halak). It happened to Patrick Roy.
It's a team effort. One guy doesn't give up this many goals.Here's what I see, I see the team leaving him out to dry just like in the past for MAF. So I can agree he needs to address his own inadequate play, but that's very hard to have that confidence when your team isn't being consistent. Not even close to being consistent other than ignoring defense altogether.
Yeah, I'm not saying he's in a fantastic environment for a young goalie trying to pick his game up off the floor. But to see people constantly putting him off to the side while they (rightfully) go on about the team in front of him doesn't do the entire picture justice, imo. Murray's as much at fault for this team's struggles GA-wise as anyone. Yeah, the defensive effort in front of him is laughable, but he's done well in that scenario before. Realistic or not, fair or not, he's gotta fix his game just as much as any single player on this team does. He's been bad these first couple of games, and while he's not getting help defensively, it's not all the team in front of him either.Here's what I see, I see the team leaving him out to dry just like in the past for MAF. So I can agree he needs to address his own inadequate play, but that's very hard to have that confidence when your team isn't being consistent. Not even close to being consistent other than ignoring defense altogether.
Never a dull moment when your 2 biggest wild card forwards are on the same line.