GDT: Preseason: Leafs at Wings

[NervousPerson]

Ooof. Smith banking it out in front of his net with under a minute - could have done without that.

 

[Mijatovic]

Mrazek did not deserve 3GA tonight. Hes had a fantastic night.

 

[Claypool]

Smith and Green played a lot better than I thought they would. Best pairing tonight.

 

[BinCookin]

Good thing Pulkkinen hasnt showed up tonight. Hopefully this means he won't make the team

I mean actively cheering for certain guys to fail is a little off-putting.

I mean I get it: Some of you want certain players to play.

But if Detroit starts the season with:

Mantha, AA in the AHL.
FRK, Sproul clearing waivers.

This is not the end of the world.

I mean the sad news for pulkkinen is, if he is not scoring points, he pretty much provides the team with nothing. Do I feel like Pulks should get 10-20 more NHL games to try to produce? Yes.
Same for Jurco. But they are both nearing the end of their ropes.

 

[Flowah]

I mean the sad news for pulkkinen is, if he is not scoring points, he pretty much provides the team with nothing. Do I feel like Pulks should get 10-20 more NHL games to try to produce? Yes.
Same for Jurco. But they are both nearing the end of their ropes.

Jurco can be useful besides just scoring. Pulkkinen is absolutely useless unless he is.

 

[The Zetterberg Era]

The pre-season is just the pre-season. But between the World Cup and our games I am a little disappointed that Larkin continues to go to the sin bin as much as he does. Was hoping he would cut down some on that this year.

 

[HIFE]

The pre-season is just the pre-season. But between the World Cup and our games I am a little disappointed that Larkin continues to go to the sin bin as much as he does. Was hoping he would cut down some on that this year.

It's from his over-exuberance I'm sure Larkin can correct it. The young guy does not want to lose a battle. In the same way players take a lot of bad penalties on the PP, it's extra frustrating to lose the puck setting up with a man advantage.

 

[JPE123]

I think sometimes Larkin tries to put the entire game on his shoulders. As he matures he will get better and better

 

[Yemack]

He's getting called for stuffs what everyone else does and what his opponent does to him. But there are time and place where those will get called. Like JPE123 said, he's very competitive and we can see it frustrates him but his reaction can be misunderstood by officials or other guys. It sure doesn't help himself I think.

 

[Yemack]

Overall I'm very curious how this system works throughout this season. I like it because it allows the players to play with the puck more and allow them to skate faster which make them think faster. This would translate well to PP as well.

I'm bit concerned that it is going to be a rope a dope game pretty much every season. They really press hard and overload on puck when defending and it can leave some areas of ice somewhat bare especially front of the net. Also it Wings have D so deep in O zone sometimes players are placed in wrong spot for a duration of time. This wouldn't so bad if this is not really weak against counter attack. F covering for D have to be really aware of who is sneaking behind them. Opponents will sneak behind / able skate past coverage throughout the season and our goalies have to be really sharp. This is where I see Jimmy H having trouble a bit. I always thought he played his best when things are less chaotic around him and with more controlled D where he can expect things.

However, I see it inevitable that game will be played this way. I saw even Babcock's leafs are using somewhat of this system. I didnt see how Penguins played last playoff but that must have had a big impact on the game.