Injury Report: Zaitsev Back For Game 3

[RoadWarrior]

It was a bit depressing to see Don Cherry rip into Zaitsev last night. Something like "what are all the guys on the Marlies thinking about them giving HIM! a 7 year contract". I've always liked Don but this was just too much. Also really odd to see him use +- numbers to back up his POV as of late, I remember years ago when he was explaining in detail why it's not a good idea to judge players by +- and now ... oh well, I guess he's forgotten. That old saying about "he's forgotten more about hockey than you'll ever know" comes to mind - if his forgotten knowledge hasn't surpassed my current knowledge by now, I guess it's getting pretty close.

Zaitsev was brutal in the first 10 minutes then calmed down.

I think most people realize that his plus minus is adversely affected by the quality of competition in his top pairing minutes.

Shattenkirk has been the one d man who has been badly exposed in this series. He just can't handle strong forechecking.

 

[Gary Nylund]

Yeah Cherry's comments were ridiculous
There was also another comment about "not the Canadian way" or something along those lines.

That was about not showing up your opponents - I agree with that. I don't know about it being the "Canadian way" though, it's just about good sportsmanship which isn't exclusive to Canadians. But that tirade about Zaitsev and his +- was Cherry at his absolute worst. I've always stuck up for him and always liked him and was just stunned by his comments. He was just way off, period. I'm not even sure why I was so upset, it's not the first time he's been way off (drafting Nylander was mistake according to him IIRC) but man, he just seemed to be really angry at the very idea of a 7 year deal for Zaitsev like it was a personal affront to him I mean WTF?

 

[Cor]

Looked more comfortable as the game went on.

I think Game 4 he'll look 100%

 

[zeke]

no surprise to see him 3 steps behind to start his first playoff game, with the rest of the guys having a 2 game head start.

That being said, the 2nd goal wasn't exactly a bad play.

 

[Wendelstache]

terrible the first few shifts but we didn't hear much from him after ... which is a good thing for a defenseman.

he'll be up to speed for 60min+ in game 4 (hopefully).

 

[fahad203]

no surprise to see him 3 steps behind to start his first playoff game, with the rest of the guys having a 2 game head start.

That being said, the 2nd goal wasn't exactly a bad play.

Essentially just that. He was caught off guard completely with the speed and intensity

 

[Gary Nylund]

no surprise to see him 3 steps behind to start his first playoff game, with the rest of the guys having a 2 game head start.

That being said, the 2nd goal wasn't exactly a bad play.

Yes being a bit behind at the start is both understandable and excusable and for Cherry to show a couple of clips from the first period back from an injury, berate the guy to the point where he's almost yelling at him and then rail at the idea of a 7 year deal for him based on that is just ridiculous.

 

[zeke]

I mean, cherry is an old man ranting at clouds. He's adorable.

 

[Erndog]

Don't worry. Next year he'll be a plus player and Cherry will say "now he's doing *this* and *that* instead."

 

[Walshy7]

Don't worry. Next year he'll be a plus player and Cherry will say "now he's doing *this* and *that* instead."

he absolutely will not say a word. Cherry has said numerous times +- is meaningless when it has come to Canadian dmen now a Russian player's is bad its a legit stat. Cherry is a washed up old fool who disrespects players more than kuznetsov disrespects them. Deliberately messing up a persons name is much worse than waving your arms after a goal

 

[The Iceman]

People not liking Don Cherry.
Is maple syrup, 2-4's, Tim Hortons, and Walter Gretzky all bad too?

 

[swint]

People not liking Don Cherry.
Is maple syrup, 2-4's, Tim Hortons, and Walter Gretzky all bad too?

Cherry is a Canadian pop-culture icon, but his hockey expertise has faltered over the years as the game has changed and Don.... well he hasn't.

The guy just doesn't provide anything in terms of good hockey insight anymore and Coach's Corner has become more of a gimmick than anything.

Though I agree with some of the things he says, he also has the tendency to make some absurdly bad comments which do nothing but negatively impact his credibility in my eyes.

 

[Gary Nylund]

People not liking Don Cherry.
Is maple syrup, 2-4's, Tim Hortons, and Walter Gretzky all bad too?

Nah I still like him, like Zeke said, he's adorable.

 

[phillipmike]

It was a bit depressing to see Don Cherry rip into Zaitsev last night. Something like "what are all the guys on the Marlies thinking about them giving HIM! a 7 year contract". I've always liked Don but this was just too much. Also really odd to see him use +- numbers to back up his POV as of late, I remember years ago when he was explaining in detail why it's not a good idea to judge players by +- and now ... oh well, I guess he's forgotten. That old saying about "he's forgotten more about hockey than you'll ever know" comes to mind - if his forgotten knowledge hasn't surpassed my current knowledge by now, I guess it's getting pretty close.

It is very sad that Cherry is still on the air.

Plus/minus has more to do with the team you play on and the competition you face than anything else.

Gardiner was -23 and a -15 the last two seasons. Now he is +24; doesnt mean he learned how to play D over night. Zaitsev had the highest percentage of D-zone starts out of all of our defensmen - expect that to increase with Polak out. Zaitsev's +/- in the KHL prior to this season were +21 and +27. So its not like he forgot how to play.

Good Canadian boy Rielly is a -20. Don didnt rip into him.

 

[biotk]

Don Cherry is an entertainer. He is a caricature of the idea of an "old-time" rock'em sock'em hockey expert and cheerleader for the Canadian style of hockey that many hockey fans were looking for when they were nervous that the Soviet style of hockey was giving their style a run for dominance (such as the 8-1 thumping that the Canadians took in the championship game of the 1981 Canada Cup). From 1972 through the early 80s many people wondered what was wrong with the Canadian game. Cherry answered loudly "nothing!"

No in the Leafs management gives a damn what Cherry has to say about Zaitsev, nor should they.

 

[Wendelstache]

If Z was Canadian, this would have been Cherry's narrative.

"good ole Canadian boy came back from concussion, what a warrior... got up to speed after a few shift and played 20+ minutes and shutting down OV/Kuz ... not bad and way to go Nick Zachary".

Love listening to the old guy but sometimes he's in the deep end with his Xenophobic\Nationalistic comments.

 

[Faltorvo]

Cherry is a Canadian pop-culture icon, but his hockey expertise has faltered over the years as the game has changed and Don.... well he hasn't.

The guy just doesn't provide anything in terms of good hockey insight anymore and Coach's Corner has become more of a gimmick than anything.

Though I agree with some of the things he says, he also has the tendency to make some absurdly bad comments which do nothing but negatively impact his credibility in my eyes.

naw can't back on that part

the ole man has earned the rite to be offside , time to time

 

[Faltorvo]

If Z was Canadian, this would have been Cherry's narrative.

"good ole Canadian boy came back from concussion, what a warrior... got up to speed after a few shift and played 20+ minutes and shutting down OV/Kuz ... not bad and way to go Nick Zachary".

Love listening to the old guy but sometimes he's in the deep end with his Xenophobic\Nationalistic comments.

and i friggen love that

It's "hockey night in CANADA" after all

nice to see some american style homer-ism for a change

you won't hear it from anyone else in this sjw/pc world.

backing our cops and soilders

the precious snowflakes own the rest of the air time on all channels