Big Ev wrote: Vandelay wrote: La Femme wrote:I don't think the defense got better or worse, the difference between today and thursday is just that Colorado skates faster and forechecks harder than Washington.
We had a lot of time setting up the transition from the back end I find.
I do agree with this statement....that said, I also thought the young guys did a great job with the extra ice time. Again, I think a lot of credit has to be given to Phillips. It goes unnoticed but he does a lot to stabilize the back end. Karlsson also had a heck of a game. Like you said, the caps sat back after getting the lead, unlike the avs but I do think all of our defensemen skated very well. If the development continues like this, our transition is going to be full speed by mid-season. It's gonna be close for Rundblad- whether he sticks around or not by game 9....although, I think he stays.
There is no 9 game limit for Rundblad. Has nothing to do with him, he's a professional hockey player, he has no ties to Sweden or juniors.
Right...thanks for that. Either way, point being that I think the argument can be made for both sides. I look at a game like yesterday, where, as Neely pointed out, he's playing with Phillips who's done a great job of calming him down and because of that, he seemed to take a few steps forward from the few steps back he seemed to make in the first few games.
One characteristic that is clearly evident in a guy like Rundblad and Da Costa that I have yet to see in Zibby and also didn't see in Filatov is that ability to settle down, not over-think the game and just play it. We know it's not going to be the case, but if Phillips can continue to guide Rundblad along, playing together from game to game, this kid is gonna be something special by next season. There will, of course, be hurdles and big steps back along the way, but our defensive game yesterday was very encouraging.
He's also not the same player as Karlsson which is good. They're both very offensive minded, of course, but you can see that Rundblad has a lot more confidence to step up and throw a hit...nothing huge yet, but he just missed someone yesterday- would have been an open ice beauty...something that Karlsson isn't going to do, for obvious reasons.