Game Day - Minnesota @ Ottawa, 7:30PM, Tuesday, October 11, 2011

^ Ha, I missed that. Good call.

SpezDispenser wrote:^ Ha, I missed that. Good call.

Thanks! I didn't say in a shootout though...I'll have to try harder next time

SpezDispenser wrote:In other news, boy do the Wild ever suck.

There D seemed pretty bad. Backstrom is awesome (apparently not in the shootout though), and they have some offensive threats. They aren't that bad overall.

I predicted Mika would get his first goal....

now I'm predicting as well that he'll be sent back to sweden in the next 3-4 games. Good opportunity and will get to play in world jrs.

although would be sick if he can stay and play in the ahl.

Michallica wrote:I predicted Mika would get his first goal....

now I'm predicting as well that he'll be sent back to sweden in the next 3-4 games. Good opportunity and will get to play in world jrs.

although would be sick if he can stay and play in the ahl.

I dunno...he looks pretty good out there. If he puts some points up in the next few games, he might just stick around...hard to say at this point.

tim1_2 wrote:

SpezDispenser wrote:In other news, boy do the Wild ever suck.

There D seemed pretty bad. Backstrom is awesome (apparently not in the shootout though), and they have some offensive threats. They aren't that bad overall.

Hmmm...between their non existent D and their one line wonder, I'm not positive I like their chances for not finishing at the bottom of the West. Although, yes, I've always really liked Backstrom, but I'm not sure he can save them.

Watching them reminded me of watching the Sens before we tore it all down. They think they might be okay, but they're fooling themselves. We'll see I guess...

Michallica wrote:I predicted Mika would get his first goal....

now I'm predicting as well that he'll be sent back to sweden in the next 3-4 games. Good opportunity and will get to play in world jrs.

although would be sick if he can stay and play in the ahl.

Still too early to say though. From watching him live last night, I'd say he skates like a pro, has the snap shot of a pro, the body that is perfect for NHL play, tenacity, grit - so if he's just lacking puck handling/passing skills at this level and MacLean and co. think they can slowly get him up to speed there, he might get the benefit of the doubt and stay in NA.

My vote right now is the SEL - but we still have 6 games + practices.

SpezDispenser wrote:

tim1_2 wrote:

SpezDispenser wrote:In other news, boy do the Wild ever suck.

There D seemed pretty bad. Backstrom is awesome (apparently not in the shootout though), and they have some offensive threats. They aren't that bad overall.

Hmmm...between their non existent D and their one line wonder, I'm not positive I like their chances for not finishing at the bottom of the West. Although, yes, I've always really liked Backstrom, but I'm not sure he can save them.

Watching them reminded me of watching the Sens before we tore it all down. They think they might be okay, but they're fooling themselves. We'll see I guess...

No PMB last night, remember. When healthy they have Koivu, Heatley, Seto, Cullen (still like him a lot), PMB, Latendresse, Clutterbuck, Brodziak. Which isn't quite Washington's line-up but which isn't that bad. But losing Burns hurts like hell. Zanon and Zidlicky are two pretty good d-men and Schultz and Scandella are nice pieces to have but over-all that blue-line is awful. It's gotta be one of the worst in the league (not that we can claim any kind of superiority yet, although ours is certainly far more talented).

NEELY wrote:

tim1_2 wrote:

NEELY wrote:Well, a few things from last night.
3. Spezza needs to be waaaaaay better. Trying to do way too much and is losing way too many draws.
5. Anderson looks shaky, seems he doesn't do well with a low shot count.

Spezza went 55% (15-12) on faceoffs.
Anderson played pretty well I thought. A couple shaky moments, but he also made a few good saves at important times to hold us in the game.

And yes, Neil was definitely the difference in this game. He was great.

I think that's the home ice stats to be honest. I thought Spezza was beaten pretty clearly on th draws he lost and he was given the win on the ties.

I think Anderson looked shaky, I don't blame the goals on him but you can tell he is playing without the confidence he had last year right now. I think this win will help him going forward. Like I said though, I think he is a goalie who looks better facing a ton of shots.

He was winning everything in the third. He started taking the draws by dropping to one knee and he was unbeatable.

Gonchar improved in the third? I thought he sucked uniformly for 65 minutes. He's a little embarrassing now.

wprager wrote:

NEELY wrote:

tim1_2 wrote:

NEELY wrote:Well, a few things from last night.
3. Spezza needs to be waaaaaay better. Trying to do way too much and is losing way too many draws.
5. Anderson looks shaky, seems he doesn't do well with a low shot count.

Spezza went 55% (15-12) on faceoffs.
Anderson played pretty well I thought. A couple shaky moments, but he also made a few good saves at important times to hold us in the game.

And yes, Neil was definitely the difference in this game. He was great.

I think that's the home ice stats to be honest. I thought Spezza was beaten pretty clearly on th draws he lost and he was given the win on the ties.

I think Anderson looked shaky, I don't blame the goals on him but you can tell he is playing without the confidence he had last year right now. I think this win will help him going forward. Like I said though, I think he is a goalie who looks better facing a ton of shots.

He was winning everything in the third. He started taking the draws by dropping to one knee and he was unbeatable.

That was one of the weirdest things I've ever seen. I guess I can't knock results though.

asq2 wrote:
No PMB last night, remember. When healthy they have Koivu, Heatley, Seto, Cullen (still like him a lot), PMB, Latendresse, Clutterbuck, Brodziak. Which isn't quite Washington's line-up but which isn't that bad. But losing Burns hurts like hell. Zanon and Zidlicky are two pretty good d-men and Schultz and Scandella are nice pieces to have but over-all that blue-line is awful. It's gotta be one of the worst in the league (not that we can claim any kind of superiority yet, although ours is certainly far more talented).

Never really been overly fond of PMB, but if Latendresse can match some of the totals when he was first traded over, he's a nice piece.

Zanon's really good for what he is, but he won't be moving the puck much, I guess assuming healthy Zidlicky can still move it though.

From what I saw yesterday, the Wild are in for a lot of very long nights. Not only is their offense pretty average, but their D is gonna struggle in a big way. Backstrom can keep them in most games, I hold him in high regard, but when the chips fall at the end of the year, I see similarities between the Wild and the Sens - and that's obviously not a compliment to the Wild right now.

wprager wrote:Gonchar improved in the third? I thought he sucked uniformly for 65 minutes. He's a little embarrassing now.

I thought he got better, the whole team got better really. I could be wrong though, there's a lot going on and you're just hoping that they don't crap themselves again.

Gonchar tends to look fine when he has time...it's when things get dicey that he seems to turn the puck over or make poor choices.

tim1_2 wrote:Gonchar tends to look fine when he has time...it's when things get dicey that he seems to turn the puck over or make poor choices.

But when he has time, he just takes it. A few times last night he stick-handled while gliding slowly in the general direction of the other team's zone, then passed it off. He looked like he didn't know what to do and he certainly didn't look like he wanted to carry the puck out of his zone.

tim1_2 wrote:Gonchar tends to look fine when he has time...it's when things get dicey that he seems to turn the puck over or make poor choices.

Same for Kuba... under pressure he seems to panic and then make a boneheaded pass... happened many times last night... I'm sure Anderson is hoping those get under control sooner than later.

I gotta tell you though that I'm not in love at all with the boo'ing of Gonchar. People have to get a Cussing grip. Turning into a damn habs crowd

EDIT : I should've read from the top of the page; this point was already covered but it really angered me.

Even the vets need time to learn and feel comfortable in a new system. This team will surpass expectations (not that they were high to begin with) because of a very clear message from the coach, a strong work ethic, and smart hockey players.

Like it or not and people may not like GOnchar or Kuba, but you don't play for a decade in the NHL being a stupid or lack luster hockey player.

Once things start clicking (at times they have) things will be very exciting in Ottawa.

Besides the Detroit game where they were going blow for blow the first 15 and last 15 mins of that game, they have dominated larg portions of the other 2 games. BAd teams hang in, they don't dominate. The Sens are a decent to good team.