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Dawg's Wife wrote:The_Dude wrote:Somebody must have sliped something in beer last night.
I watched this game kind of off and on, Watched pretty much the whole third period aside from the back to back goals. And I thought the Sens played alright. I was expecting to log onto this site this morning and reading some dissapointed yet positve posts. I don't know what the shot count was, but it seems that we played pretty much the whole third period in there zone. Healty go robed on a Massive one timer. Had he scored on that play, it would have been a totaly different game.
I think most of you are frustrated that we lost an other, but the overall play of the team was not terrible, not Boo Worthy IMO.
So I went to the game and sat with Dawg...he was brought in to scout either Atlanta or Ottawa, seeing as he was in town for the holidays. Anyways..we sat up in the pressbox and rather than just watch the game I had him explain to me what he was doing. He explained how he doesn't really see much of a game, more that he concentrates on key people on each team. 1/2 way through the game I keyed on 3 players (mostly because they were on different lines). I watched Spezza, Neil and Picard. I'll say this much Neil was by far the best player of the three followed by Picard and then Spezza.
I haven't really watched Spezza that much, more I watch the line and the game, but if what I saw last night is what he's like then trade him now. I realize that 100 point centres don't grow on trees, but his effort last night was brutal and if that's what his regular contribution is to this team then I say let him go.
For instance, in one shift I watched him dump the puck in and although he was the player on Ottawa closest to the puck at the time waited and let Alfie forecheck. This allowed Atlanta's D plenty of time to retrieve the puck and then evaluate the best way to break out of their end. Further rather than move over to cover the right winger (which Heatley should have been on but had to leave because he went to the centre of the ice because Alfie had to forecheck) he sat back and that gave Atlanta a way to get out of their end and break the forecheck plan that Ottawa was trying all night.
Next with Atlanta breaking up the ice now on a 3-3, Spezza coasted over his blueline letting the trailing Thrasher have a clear unobstructed line to the slot and a great scoring chance. When the puck went into the corner Ottawa's D-man went in to get it but was over matched by the two Thrashers and Spezza being the first forward back should have gone in to support the puck, instead he went for the Thrashers D-man who was just entering the zone and covereed the point, thus forcing Heatley to skate all the way from the blueline into the corner to help out.
Now I don't know if Hartsburg doesn't want Spezza involved defensively down low, but if he does and he isn't responding then trade him now for Horton and Florida's first. Hell at this rate that would mean Ottawa would end up with 2 of the first 4 or 5 picks...
That was the worst 2.5 hours of my life last night.
Dawg's Wife
you nailed one thing thgat I've been noticing for the past month. Heatley is the one that goes into the defensive zone corners to battle for the puck and covers the centre. I saw it a couple of times over a few games and it appears to be the game plan. I does make sense as Heater's bigger and knocks people over easier than Spezza...BUUUUUT I don't like the fact that in order to do this, the other team's centre isn't being covered 100% as, at some point, Spez and Heater have to switch dZone roles???
