GDT: Tanks @ Sens: Free hamburger Edition

[BankStreetParade]

Meh, I don't think there's a massive difference between Neil and a guy like Chiasson, at least as far as their effectiveness on the 4th line is concerned. Maybe you get a bit more from Chiasson, but the difference between the two will never be the difference between a win and a loss.

I'm not saying I'm advocating for Neil over Chiasson, just saying that it's really inconsequential, and not worth worrying about.

As for Phillips, again, I think Boro is better, but the difference between Boro's 14 managed mins and Phillips's 14 managed mins isn't a massive deal. The problem with Phillips is that you need to worry that hell not be taking Boro's 14 minutes, but instead be taking 18-20+ on the 2nd pair.

I'd be intereated in seeing what each player's hockey VORP would be, if such a stat existed... and if it were at all reliable.

Maybe not right now. But giving Chiasson the development time, even if his current effect on the outcome is identical to Neil's, is more valuable to this team. Because as it stands right now and going in to the future, Chiasson will be a member of this team while Neil's time is running out.

 

[BonkTastic]

I see what you're saying, but I guess the point of my post was that, even if the difference seems inconsequential, I don't think it is.

Boro is just solid in the role he's playing. Chiasson has an element of skill that Neil doesn't have obviously.

When you have just 1 defenseman and 1 forward on your team that are black holes that makes things die and who can't move around the ice properly, it makes a huge difference. Just my opinion

No weak links = no weaknesses. A chain is no stronger than its weakest link

Fair enough, I guess.

I just think there are far bigger issues going forward than who is playing low end 4th line minutes, and which no-offence defenceman is taking lay-up shifts against bottom 6 lines on our 3rd pairing.

The day those are the biggest issues we have to gripe about, is the day I fully expect to be able to look at the standings and see us with a division lead and a top-3 seed in the conferene.

 

[WhiteLight*]

Fair enough, I guess.

I just think there are far bigger issues going forward than who is playing low end 4th line minutes, and which no-offence defenceman is taking lay-up shifts against bottom 6 lines on our 3rd pairing.

The day those are the biggest issues we have to gripe about, is the day I fully expect to be able to look at the standings and see us with a division lead and a top-3 seed in the conferene.

I don't see other issues really.

Goalies: #1 Anderson, Vezina candidate Hammond, struggling but lots of potential Lehner. That's a deep net.

D: Norris and sidekick. Ceci = solid. Wiercioch, awesome skill with top pair advanced stats. Boro and Gryba = beastly 3rd pair. Nice defence.

Forwards: Two pretty good scoring lines. When MacArthur comes back, he and Michalek can make a decent 6-7 forward punch. Pageau, Lazar and Condra = perfect kind of bottom 6 forwards, love it. Sprinkle in some vet in Legwand. Beautiful mon ami.


I don't see holes. I like it. Would this team be better off if with an 80 point Turris and a fast skating Wiercioch? Sure, but there still aren't any holes. I think the biggest worry is actually having Phillips and Neil in the lineup; it's literally my biggest concern

 

[WhiteLight*]

Ryan
Turris
Stone
Zibanejad
Hoffman
________

MacArthur
Michalek
________

Pageau
Condra
Lazar
________

Legwand
Chiasson


Karlsson
________

Methot
Ceci
(Wiercioch)
________

(Wiercioch)
Borowiecki
Gryba


Hamburglar


Beautiful

 

[MakeOttawaGreatAgain]

I don't see other issues really.

Goalies: #1 Anderson, Vezina candidate Hammond, struggling but lots of potential Lehner. That's a deep net.

D: Norris and sidekick. Ceci = solid. Wiercioch, awesome skill with top pair advanced stats. Boro and Gryba = beastly 3rd pair. Nice defence.

Forwards: Two pretty good scoring lines. When MacArthur comes back, he and Michalek can make a decent 6-7 forward punch. Pageau, Lazar and Condra = perfect kind of bottom 6 forwards, love it. Sprinkle in some vet in Legwand. Beautiful mon ami.


I don't see holes. I like it. Would this team be better off if with an 80 point Turris and a fast skating Wiercioch? Sure, but there still aren't any holes. I think the biggest worry is actually having Phillips and Neil in the lineup; it's literally my biggest concern

I agree. I think we don't have any holes, either... we could just use little upgrades here and there, but because our guys are so young, we might as well ride them out and see where they take us.

 

[bert]

I'm happy Michalek is having a great second part of the season. He's always been a hard working player but to see him get some points is nice. Both top lines are working great at this point. Obviously Hoffman-Zibby-Ryan has been phenomenal but Michalek-Turris-Stone has been almost as good. Turris and Stone have been on fire and Michalek has been doing a good job. The way he's playing lately he deserves his 4M.

I thought he had a tough game last night but I agree he is a hard working player that rarely takes shifts off. I am looking forward to MacArthur coming back though, Milan just didnt have the skill to make a few plays last night.

I thought last night was going to be a tough game, great resolve to the team for battling back in a hard game coming off the road trip. They wouldnt have won that game a month ago I dont think.

Its unbelievable the difference in this team now that they dont have anyone wasting possession its literally the difference between winning and losing all the one goal games they lost for most of the season.

Wiercioch is looking like the D man we thought he was going to be. When he plays with confidence like this he is a real difference maker.

Thought Boro and Gryba had another really good game. Both are moving the puck really well. Boro made one cross ice back hand pass to the far blue line that was a thing of beauty.

 

[Icelevel]

Really liked Hoffman's game last night. This guy has so much confidence with the puck. Starting to make some really nice passes.

Agree. Huge part of the team success.
Must be re-signed, must not be traded.

 

[Do Make Say Think]

Missed the game but am very happy that the team rallied after a rough start and that Hammond also did after allowing meh goals to start the game

Resilience is so much more valuable than pure skill

 

[alfie follower]

Loving what Hammond has done, but if Anderson is ready then he needs to go on Sunday. Never mind riding the hot goalie, this is about playoffs now. If Cameron doesn't want to make the switch then Hammond needs to find a way to bow out on Sunday. Best thing for the Sens down the stretch is a hot, healthy Anderson. Get him back between the pipes.

I don't agree... Anderson's rusty as hell... has shown no confidence in the hand based on intervoiews yesterday. I don't want him in the net if his head is on his hand and not in the friggin game. If I was coach Hammonds my guy till Anderson says he's 100%. I'd ask him that directly too., d say ARE YOU 100% ?, cause it doesn't sound like he wants to play injured at all.

 

[alfie follower]

Been saying that for 5 years. It is going to be interesting to see Cameron tell both those guys to stay away from the locker room (politely).
NHL commentators have been grossly overvaluing their "leadership" contributions for years. Guys like Lazar, Karlsson, Hoffman, etc. have demonstrated that they are more than capable of leading themselves. They contribute absolutely nothing to this team.

id add Methot to that group in a big way... I have no doubt he's showing some leadership in that room

 

[Do Make Say Think]

I don't agree... Anderson's rusty as hell... has shown no confidence in the hand based on intervoiews yesterday. I don't want him in the net if his head is on his hand and not in the friggin game. If I was coach Hammonds my guy till Anderson says he's 100%. I'd ask him that directly too., d say ARE YOU 100% ?, cause it doesn't sound like he wants to play injured at all.

Do you work for the Ottawa Sun by any chance?

 

[Super Cake]

I don't agree... Anderson's rusty as hell... has shown no confidence in the hand based on intervoiews yesterday. I don't want him in the net if his head is on his hand and not in the friggin game. If I was coach Hammonds my guy till Anderson says he's 100%. I'd ask him that directly too., d say ARE YOU 100% ?, cause it doesn't sound like he wants to play injured at all.

I don't agree that the Sens should keep on playing Hammond being that that is the quickest road to burning him out. Even Cameron himself is worried that Hammond and fatigue.

If Anderson is ready to go Sunday, he is going to play. Hammond needs a break after starting 8 straight games in a row.

 

[Vesa Awesaka]

I don't agree... Anderson's rusty as hell... has shown no confidence in the hand based on intervoiews yesterday. I don't want him in the net if his head is on his hand and not in the friggin game. If I was coach Hammonds my guy till Anderson says he's 100%. I'd ask him that directly too., d say ARE YOU 100% ?, cause it doesn't sound like he wants to play injured at all.

Who can blame anderson if hes reluctant to play injured. Last time he played injured through a large number of games his team was terrible and wouldnt give a contract. People ended up saying he quit on the team. I'm not worried about putting anderson in after a break though. He was one of the best backups in the league in florida. He's probably pretty use to time off then starting. He destroyed the habs after coming off that injury in the shortened season

 

[ReginKarlssonLehner]

I don't see holes. I like it. Would this team be better off if with an 80 point Turris and a fast skating Wiercioch? Sure, but there still aren't any holes. I think the biggest worry is actually having Phillips and Neil in the lineup; it's literally my biggest concern

I agree. I think we don't have any holes, either... we could just use little upgrades here and there, but because our guys are so young, we might as well ride them out and see where they take us.

Word, boys.

I believe our only weakness is just top-end skill in the place of:

Michalek
Wiercioch

Everything else looks excellent(barring Hoffman and Stone don't regress).

Say we get O'Reilly/Boychuk/Martin

Hoffman-Zibanejad-Ryan
O'Reilly-Turris-Stone
MacArthur-Legwand/DaCosta-Chiasson
Condra-Pageau-Lazar

Meth-Karlsson
Boychuk-Ceci
Boro-Gryba/Vikstrand

Dat's a team who can go tough and nail with any team in the league, not to mention Zibanejad and Ceci progressing.

Now don't get me wrong, Puempel/Prince and Wiercioch/Cowen could perhaps be those assets like the ones I mentioned above.

Patience.

I love Puempel's game, I think he'll be a great asset.

 

[alfie follower]

Do you work for the Ottawa Sun by any chance?

nope , but based on yesterdays interviews with the Sun/Anderson "we're trying everything we can to get it right' = hand aint right... so Hammond keeps playing unless we're gonna give Driedger or another AHL guy a start... I say Hammond starts Sunday , and it gives Anderson till Tuesday to see if he's ' got it figured out' yet. cause Hammond does need a break, and hey, I'm all for Anderson coming back in and keeping this roll going, but he just don't sound too confident at the moment.

 

[alfie follower]

Zibby's playing out of his mind right now, really clutch, showing what he's got.... Ryan's leading like a horse out there, taking a beating , but back at it next shift, Methot's doing his steady stay at home thing(minus that beauty rush...nice to see) Ceci's steady. Weircoch is showing potential yet again, doing some rushes, but I'd like to see him hit the net or pass it to the right guy once he's in their zone.... such an enigma, and I still dislike him in our end.... Stone is playing great... Hoff isn't just scoring he's making some pretty passes too, the kind I'd like to see Weir do... I didn't see much of Conda and Lazar last night.... I wanna see Lazar hit , night after night....

 

[Do Make Say Think]

nope , but based on yesterdays interviews with the Sun/Anderson "we're trying everything we can to get it right' = hand aint right... so Hammond keeps playing unless we're gonna give Driedger or another AHL guy a start... I say Hammond starts Sunday , and it gives Anderson till Tuesday to see if he's ' got it figured out' yet. cause Hammond does need a break, and hey, I'm all for Anderson coming back in and keeping this roll going, but he just don't sound too confident at the moment.

Maybe he woke up today and the hand feels fine? If not today, maybe tomorrow?

 

[DrEasy]

Meh, I don't think there's a massive difference between Neil and a guy like Chiasson, at least as far as their effectiveness on the 4th line is concerned. Maybe you get a bit more from Chiasson, but the difference between the two will never be the difference between a win and a loss.

I'm not saying I'm advocating for Neil over Chiasson, just saying that it's really inconsequential, and not worth worrying about.

As for Phillips, again, I think Boro is better, but the difference between Boro's 14 managed mins and Phillips's 14 managed mins isn't a massive deal. The problem with Phillips is that you need to worry that hell not be taking Boro's 14 minutes, but instead be taking 18-20+ on the 2nd pair.

I'd be interested in seeing what each player's hockey VORP would be, if such a stat existed... and if it were at all reliable.

The problem was that we had BOTH Chiasson and Neil in our line-up. Worse: Chiasson was on our top 6, and Neil was used in the crucial phases of the game, e.g., as a shutdown guy in the last minutes of tight games. Meanwhile, we (ok, not "we", but a guy with a nice mustache) scratched Condra. And good people here defended this stuff!

Same problem with Phillips. He was used as a top 4, if not a top 2, when in reality he's a #6/7 now.

The problem was usage more than the players in question. The injuries have taken care of the problem, so it would be interesting to see how Cameron will deal with these guys when they're back and healthy. We've already seen he has no qualms scratching Phillips, so the signs are good.

I'll say this in Phillips' defense: I think he'll be a much better player in Cameron's system.

 

[alfie follower]

Maybe he woke up today and the hand feels fine? If not today, maybe tomorrow?

maybe ... Cameron says he has to go talk to him again and see whats up, cause they have 13 games in 24 days, with back to back this week, so he needs someone to share the load with Hammond..... or 16 in 29 days if you include the last 3games Hammond played

 

[BonkTastic]

The problem was that we had BOTH Chiasson and Neil in our line-up. Worse: Chiasson was on our top 6, and Neil was used in the crucial phases of the game, e.g., as a shutdown guy in the last minutes of tight games. Meanwhile, we (ok, not "we", but a guy with a nice mustache) scratched Condra. And good people here defended this stuff!

Same problem with Phillips. He was used as a top 4, if not a top 2, when in reality he's a #6/7 now.

The problem was usage more than the players in question. The injuries have taken care of the problem, so it would be interesting to see how Cameron will deal with these guys when they're back and healthy. We've already seen he has no qualms scratching Phillips, so the signs are good.

I'll say this in Phillips' defense: I think he'll be a much better player in Cameron's system.

Yep, agree with all of this.

 

[Ice-Tray]

meanie

 

[WhiteLight*]

Can't wait until MAK19 turns MAK20 and then I can reinstate him from my ignore list...

What?

When that happens, I'll make sure not to tip you as you're serving me hors d'oeuvres off ice trays.