Pre-Game Talk: The West Coast Road Trip Thread

[cat400]

From Haggerty's Nov. 30th column looks like we will be seeing more not less of Campbell / Paille / Gagne.

http://www.csnne.com/boston-bruins/julien-its-matter-time-fourth-line



This season’s edition of the fourth line hasn’t lived up to that billing, but Claude Julien said he’s seen evidence they are starting to turn things around.

“I think it’s starting to come,” said Julien. “They’ve got a new player on their line, and that player is a different player than [Shawn Thornton]. Thorny would love to flip pucks into [Paille’s] corner, and Danny would know where he was going. There’s no doubt you can see a lot more plays. I see it a lot more in practice.

“There’s a lot more skill on that line, and they’re finding each other a little bit better. I think it’s a matter of time, and the last few games I’ve been giving them a little bit more against top lines because they’re starting to be a little more reliable.”

 

[LouJersey]

Or it could be that Khoko was -2 in 24 minutes of ice over 3 games with 1 shot on net. That could be it.

Why must we pretend that putting in a youngster with supposed skill in the minors is a better option than a veteran who knows the system and is more reliable in his own end? Where's the proof that these guys are a better option and somehow turns a 4th line into a 3rd line?

This just seems like a few folks have decided they have their little axe to grind with the coach and now every young kid who does nothing with his ice time is just the victim of a close-minded Jack Adams and Cup winner. A coach who apparently would prefer to play lesser players for some completely inexplicable and illogical reason.

And all the while a kid like Pastrnak comes up, puts 7 shots on net in two games and not only gets more ice time but also gets promoted to the Bergeron line. Huh....I wonder why that happened? Let me connect the dots.

Well with Pasta in the top nine, you know there is no room for a Koko.. Coach hedges his bet with Gagne and a more "seasoned" player in Fraser. Clode has another three years, you would think he could experiment a little vs teams where there are no dangers of a 3 pt game in conference.

 

[cat400]

Hopefully this is a prognostication from you that's incorrect?

Joe Haggerty @HackswithHaggs
· 58m 58 minutes ago
Looks like Seth Griffith & Craig Cunningham will be scratches tonight vs Ducks as they stayed on for extra skating this morning #BruinsTalk

 

[A Healthy Kelly*]

Joe Haggerty @HackswithHaggs
· 58m 58 minutes ago
Looks like Seth Griffith & Craig Cunningham will be scratches tonight vs Ducks as they stayed on for extra skating this morning #BruinsTalk

 

[LouJersey]

Joe Haggerty @HackswithHaggs
· 58m 58 minutes ago
Looks like Seth Griffith & Craig Cunningham will be scratches tonight vs Ducks as they stayed on for extra skating this morning #BruinsTalk

Lets get it to a shoot out boys!

 

[bp13]

Well with Pasta in the top nine, you know there is no room for a Koko.. Coach hedges his bet with Gagne and a more "seasoned" player in Fraser. Clode has another three years, you would think he could experiment a little vs teams where there are no dangers of a 3 pt game in conference.

He's paid to win and just like any player he's not just gonna screw around any given game because he has a contract.

As a coach if I had the choice between a guy who would do next to nothing offensively but someone with years of experience and whom I've had in practice for dozens of hours vs. a kid with supposed skill whose shown me next to nothing in limited time and with whom I've spent fewer than a handful of hours in practice, I play the vet 100% of the time. And if the GM doesn't like it or really wants me to give him more time then he can press me to do it or limit my options, but if I have the options, I'm taking the vet every time and I think 100% of coaches on non-rebuilding teams would do the same.

As a fan, I'd love to see Khoko over half this roster tonight but that's because I want to be entertained. Claude only wants to win. That's his job. Why would we expect him to screw around for our entertainment value?

 

[Saxon Eric]

Lets get it to a shoot out boys!

0-0 win!

 

[LouJersey]

He's paid to win and just like any player he's not just gonna screw around any given game because he has a contract.

As a coach if I had the choice between a guy who would do next to nothing offensively but someone with years of experience and whom I've had in practice for dozens of hours vs. a kid with supposed skill whose shown me next to nothing in limited time and with whom I've spent fewer than a handful of hours in practice, I play the vet 100% of the time. And if the GM doesn't like it or really wants me to give him more time then he can press me to do it or limit my options, but if I have the options, I'm taking the vet every time and I think 100% of coaches on non-rebuilding teams would do the same.

As a fan, I'd love to see Khoko over half this roster tonight but that's because I want to be entertained. Claude only wants to win. That's his job. Why would we expect him to screw around for our entertainment value?

Because it's not about December, it's about June? Maybe Koko or whomever prove to be the better player in 4 months, but we will never know. Claude is Mr Safety..I'd rather be at 1-1 going into OT, not taking a chance to win 2-1 in regulation. How do kids ever get the chance to prove anything if not given a chance? Gagne is easily replaceable ..

 

[bp13]

Because it's not about December, it's about June? Maybe Koko or whomever prove to be the better player in 4 months, but we will never know. Claude is Mr Safety..I'd rather be at 1-1 going into OT, not taking a chance to win 2-1 in regulation. How do kids ever get the chance to prove anything if not given a chance? Gagne is easily replaceable ..

The same "Mr. Safety" who plays a full forward line in OT against Conference opponents? The man prefers veterans whom he trusts over kids who show him nothing. Hardly the most damning criticism. And when kids actually show him something, for the most part, they get ice.

For crying out loud he has this team winning games without his best defensive player and his best offensive player and we're whining because we don't get to see Khoko do nothing again tonight? I'm about as excited to watch Gagne and Fraser as I am for my next rectal exam (insert joke here), but if he thinks he has a better chance to win than playing some kid whose done nothing for him then I'm fine with it. I like to watch them win. And I'll enjoy watching him roll Pasta over the boards with Bergeron because unlike the other kids back in Providence, he's actually done something with his minutes.

 

[member 96824]

I like to think I follow the rest of the league pretty closely, I don't know any other teams that healthy scratch a player tied for the team lead in goals. Especially when that said team is in the bottom 3rd for offense.

 

[bp13]

I like to think I follow the rest of the league pretty closely, I don't know any other teams that healthy scratch a player tied for the team lead in goals. Especially when that said team is in the bottom 3rd for offense.

Griffith is a head scratcher for me too and has been since it happened. But a theory that the coach who almost immediately gave him a first line role, and kept him in it while he wasn't doing all that much, all of a sudden decided he didn't want goals and preferred guys like Gagne over him doesn't fly with me. There is clearly something else going on there.

But the calls to see more Khoko and more Spooner and the total exaggeration of Claude's "tendencies" bothers me. We should be jumping for joy we can win with this roster let alone wondering how we can get more rookies in the lineup, let alone the ones who have been invisible.

 

[Gee Wally]

Joe Haggerty @HackswithHaggs
· 58m 58 minutes ago
Looks like Seth Griffith & Craig Cunningham will be scratches tonight vs Ducks as they stayed on for extra skating this morning #BruinsTalk

Well. That sucks.

 

[LouJersey]

The same "Mr. Safety" who plays a full forward line in OT against Conference opponents? The man prefers veterans whom he trusts over kids who show him nothing. Hardly the most damning criticism. And when kids actually show him something, for the most part, they get ice.

For crying out loud he has this team winning games without his best defensive player and his best offensive player and we're whining because we don't get to see Khoko do nothing again tonight? I'm about as excited to watch Gagne and Fraser as I am for my next rectal exam (insert joke here), but if he thinks he has a better chance to win than playing some kid whose done nothing for him then I'm fine with it. I like to watch them win. And I'll enjoy watching him roll Pasta over the boards with Bergeron because unlike the other kids back in Providence, he's actually done something with his minutes.

Again, I don't care about December all that much. You know what you have in Gagne. Nothing. So when DK gets hurt, or Bergeron in April, we will just slot Kelly up to center and render that line offensively useless, giving us two useless lines.

I don't know, we will see.

 

[ashnathan]

Can I just say, as we're playing at Honda Centre tonight, its a good opportunity to point out that Honda's official twitter has been hacked by none other than Skeletor himself...and its hilarious

https://twitter.com/Honda

 

[TMac21]

Don't mind seeing Fras in there, good to have his size against bigger teams.

 

[ashnathan]

Don't mind seeing Fras in there, good to have his size against bigger teams.

Yeah....i'd agree if he used his size. Kid is soft as butter. We need a big body like that throwing hits, winning pucks and with his shot, scoring goals. Not being knocked off his skates, mashed into the boards and just skating around like a ghost. He needs to produce tonight.

 

[Sheppy]

Don't mind seeing Fras in there, good to have his size against bigger teams.