Pre-Season: Gm's #4 & 5- OTT vs. MTL

DashRiprock wrote:That Foligno goal will be on the highlights tomorrow.

Wonder when the excuses by Habs fans will start rolling in...

"We had Denis in nets..."

"We were without _____"

"The refs were brutal"

"It's only pre-season"

Well, they DID have Marc Denis in net, we DID beat up the baby Habs (they were without Kovalev, A. Kostitsyn, Plekanec, Koivu, Tanguay, Higgins, Markov, Hamrlik, and Price!), AND it was just pre-season.

The truth is that, while we played a good second period and that Ruutu-Bass-Neil line looks awesome, there's not too much to be excited about after that game. In fact, I find it much more disconcerting that we iced essentially our full roster (minus Fisher, Vermette, and Scubert) and didn't completely destroy them. I'm hoping some of the guys (especially Heatley and Spezza) are just a little wiped after so many games and practices so quick, because otherwise I'm wondering were our offence went.

rooneypoo wrote:

DashRiprock wrote:That Foligno goal will be on the highlights tomorrow.

Wonder when the excuses by Habs fans will start rolling in...

"We had Denis in nets..."

"We were without _____"

"The refs were brutal"

"It's only pre-season"

Well, they DID have Marc Denis in net, we DID beat up the baby Habs (they were without Kovalev, A. Kostitsyn, Plekanec, Koivu, Tanguay, Higgins, Markov, Hamrlik, and Price!), AND it was just pre-season.

The truth is that, while we played a good second period and that Ruutu-Bass-Neil line looks awesome, there's not too much to be excited about after that game. In fact, I find it much more disconcerting that we iced essentially our full roster (minus Fisher, Vermette, and Scubert) and didn't completely destroy them. I'm hoping some of the guys (especially Heatley and Spezza) are just a little wiped after so many games and practices so quick, because otherwise I'm wondering were our offence went.

We looked really sloppy, but so do most other teams. We're gonna start seeing the top nine of

Heater - Spezza - Winchester
Vermette - Folgino - Alfredsson
Ruutu - Fisher - Neil

Which need some time to click, put is fairly potent. Watching the pre-season I would say we wont hit 260 again this year, but 245-50 isn't that big a stretch.

And now I don't think we need a puck-mover, now I think we need a PP specialist. But, if Murray makes no more moves, and the lines start clicking and cleaning up the turnovers, we should give up 40 less goes, so it really evens out in the end. More practice for the boys, then tighten up and score on the PP. That's the mandate.

I really think the guys are just thinking ahead to going to Europe. I know if I was in that situation, that's where my head would be at.

PKC wrote:I really think the guys are just thinking ahead to going to Europe. I know if I was in that situation, that's where my head would be at.

I never really thought about that, that's probably quite true.

I like our forward lines a lot. A lot tougher to play against. Just please....for my health, cut down on the turnover...

Yeah the turnovers have been a bit out of hand in the preseason; but, that's what they have it for. So guys can get their legs going, coaches can get a look at some of the young guys and figure out line combinations, so that some of the vets can get some of that confidence back, and so that the coaching staff can work on ironing out any kinks in the overall game plan.

PKC wrote:Yeah the turnovers have been a bit out of hand in the preseason; but, that's what they have it for. So guys can get their legs going, coaches can get a look at some of the young guys and figure out line combinations, so that some of the vets can get some of that confidence back, and so that the coaching staff can work on ironing out any kinks in the overall game plan.

Yeah for sure, now let's go to Sweden, tighten up a little and start this Diddle!

I'll be pretty pumped when the regular season starts. I find myself having trouble getting excited for this preseason rubbish. It is hockey and all that and its been a long time since there was any being played, but its just so amateur, with all these makeshift lineups, and so on.

PKC wrote:I'll be pretty pumped when the regular season starts. I find myself having trouble getting excited for this preseason rubbish. It is hockey and all that and its been a long time since there was any being played, but its just so amateur, with all these makeshift lineups, and so on.

I don't think that the turnovers we are seeing are a "preseason" thing. I think they are a "new team" thing. As such, we should all get used to them. We've added a lot of new players, and those players are going to have to take some time to get used to each other. We have almost completely remade our defense (3 of 6 players), and almost every line is playing with new teammates. I still say we won't really know what kind of team we have until we are about 20-25 games into the season.

This is, folks, a rebuilding year. If we're fortunate, we will make the playoffs in the 7 or 8 slot, and then grind out a few series wins. Which would make it much better than last year, but also just about the best we can realistically hope for.

Overall, though, despite that "rebuilding" label, you have to be fairly encouraged by a few things:

- Alfie is still Alfie.
- Heatley says he wants to be a leader - that his role needs to expand (he talks the talk, now walk the walk)
- Foligno looks ready to rock. Summer was good to him.
- Winchester may fit on the top line. If not, then Foligno. Or Foligno might even be the better choice. Good dilemma.
- Neil is back. And the third line in general is going to be hellish for other teams to play against.
- In the games they played, our shutdown tandem seem to have returned to form (Big Rig and A-train)
- Smith looks like he will continue to be a shot-blocking wrecking ball in the back end, even if he is slow. Expect 175/175.
- Lee, Picard, and Kuba all look comfortable and not out of place on the big club, with the first two showing sparks of what they still could develop into a year or two down the road.
- And most importantly, Gerber doesn't look too bad (so far)

We may not score 260, or even 240, but we won't be in the bottom third in GAA, or even shots against.

7th or even 6th isn't out of the question. 3rd as an outside shot.

Acrobat wrote:- And most importantly, Gerber doesn't look too bad (so far)

After the first shot...



What is up with that?