GAME DAY: Ottawa Senators @ New Jersey Devils :: 7:30pm ET :: Wed. Dec. 18th, 2013

SpezDispenser wrote:

wprager wrote:

SpezDispenser wrote:

wprager wrote:

SpezDispenser wrote:Meh, he's competitive, but he'll play tonight, so he can take out his unhappiness on the Florida Panthers.

Ryan also didn't sound happy about having the 8th highest ice time over a couple games, recently.  He kind of went back and re-stated what he said to make it sound more palatable, but the first quotes I read weren't very positive.

Yeah, because he should be playing the most icetime of any player -  with the exception of Karlsson.  I don't blame him.  Not on PP1, not getting enough ES time.  He should be upset.

Not in public, though.

Maybe not, but Diddle it, he's being misused and like everyone else is frustrated.

wprager wrote:Two years ago, when Spezza was 4th in the league in scoring, he had 84 points in 80 games, playing an average of 19:55 per game.  That's 3.16 points per 60 minutes.  This year he's averaging 18:53 and has 28 after 35 games, which works out to 2.54 points per 60 minutes, or 20% off his pace two years ago.  That's not a Cheechoo-esque drop off and, besides, at least some of that has to be attributed to Michalek's demise.

By the way, someone mentioned that Karlsson gives way more than he takes.  Did you know that Karlsson, who leads the team in scoring, by the way, is -8 on the year?  He is also getting almost half his points on the PP (kinda goes hand in hand with the +/- being on the negative despite leading the team).  Last full season he was only getting 1/3 of his point on the PP.  That's not a small change.

wprager wrote:Two years ago, when Spezza was 4th in the league in scoring, he had 84 points in 80 games, playing an average of 19:55 per game.  That's 3.16 points per 60 minutes.  This year he's averaging 18:53 and has 28 after 35 games, which works out to 2.54 points per 60 minutes, or 20% off his pace two years ago.  That's not a Cheechoo-esque drop off and, besides, at least some of that has to be attributed to Michalek's demise.

By the way, someone mentioned that Karlsson gives way more than he takes.  Did you know that Karlsson, who leads the team in scoring, by the way, is -8 on the year?  He is also getting almost half his points on the PP (kinda goes hand in hand with the +/- being on the negative despite leading the team).  Last full season he was only getting 1/3 of his point on the PP.  That's not a small change.

wprager wrote:

SpezDispenser wrote:

wprager wrote:

SpezDispenser wrote:

wprager wrote:

SpezDispenser wrote:Meh, he's competitive, but he'll play tonight, so he can take out his unhappiness on the Florida Panthers.

Ryan also didn't sound happy about having the 8th highest ice time over a couple games, recently.  He kind of went back and re-stated what he said to make it sound more palatable, but the first quotes I read weren't very positive.

Yeah, because he should be playing the most icetime of any player -  with the exception of Karlsson.  I don't blame him.  Not on PP1, not getting enough ES time.  He should be upset.

Not in public, though.

Maybe not, but Diddle it, he's being misused and like everyone else is frustrated.

I don't blame him, I blame PMac.  There's lots of blame to go all around.

Sophomore coach jinx?

NEELY wrote:Michalek hasn't even looked that bad lately.  His skating better, getting more chances on his own... basically since he stopped playing with Spezza lol.  His -2049 is nasty though.  Last night was a nice little example that Michalek can actually create and contribute on offense.

Spezza hasn't been God awful on the ice, he's been ok but he's the captain of a struggling team that reflects exactly how his game is defined.  Sometimes the best player (team) on the ice, inconsistent, lazy, doesn't battle, and refuses to adjust to what the coaches wants.  The Ottawa Senators right now are Jason Spezza, best way to put it.

You can quote me all the stats you want but the only one that matters are wins and loses.  You need to score more goals than the other team to win the game... Spezza is the cause of a lot more negativity on the ice than positives.

SpezDispenser wrote:

wprager wrote:Two years ago, when Spezza was 4th in the league in scoring, he had 84 points in 80 games, playing an average of 19:55 per game.  That's 3.16 points per 60 minutes.  This year he's averaging 18:53 and has 28 after 35 games, which works out to 2.54 points per 60 minutes, or 20% off his pace two years ago.  That's not a Cheechoo-esque drop off and, besides, at least some of that has to be attributed to Michalek's demise.

By the way, someone mentioned that Karlsson gives way more than he takes.  Did you know that Karlsson, who leads the team in scoring, by the way, is -8 on the year?  He is also getting almost half his points on the PP (kinda goes hand in hand with the +/- being on the negative despite leading the team).  Last full season he was only getting 1/3 of his point on the PP.  That's not a small change.

Dude....Karlsson controls the game more than Spezza could dream of right now.  He plays 25+ minutes a game, he's gonna give the puck away and he's gonna be a -8 with Anderson crapping the bed.

There's no comparison between Karlsson and Spezza - at all.

Great line from a former GM. "I want a coach, not a quote" When sarcasm rules the day. Players tune out quickly!!!

wprager wrote:

NEELY wrote:Michalek hasn't even looked that bad lately.  His skating better, getting more chances on his own... basically since he stopped playing with Spezza lol.  His -2049 is nasty though.  Last night was a nice little example that Michalek can actually create and contribute on offense.

Spezza hasn't been God awful on the ice, he's been ok but he's the captain of a struggling team that reflects exactly how his game is defined.  Sometimes the best player (team) on the ice, inconsistent, lazy, doesn't battle, and refuses to adjust to what the coaches wants.  The Ottawa Senators right now are Jason Spezza, best way to put it.

You can quote me all the stats you want but the only one that matters are wins and loses.  You need to score more goals than the other team to win the game... Spezza is the cause of a lot more negativity on the ice than positives.

Yep, he's skating faster because he's not with Spezza.  Wow.  Half the time when on Spezza's wing he was slower coming out of the zone.  Spezza, as slow as he's been, was leading the rush and waiting for Milo to catch up.  

I agree he's skating better, but maybe that has more to do with some lingering effects from the knee injury and not who his center is.

SpezDispenser wrote:

wprager wrote:

SpezDispenser wrote:

wprager wrote:

SpezDispenser wrote:

wprager wrote:

SpezDispenser wrote:Meh, he's competitive, but he'll play tonight, so he can take out his unhappiness on the Florida Panthers.

Ryan also didn't sound happy about having the 8th highest ice time over a couple games, recently.  He kind of went back and re-stated what he said to make it sound more palatable, but the first quotes I read weren't very positive.

Yeah, because he should be playing the most icetime of any player -  with the exception of Karlsson.  I don't blame him.  Not on PP1, not getting enough ES time.  He should be upset.

Not in public, though.

Maybe not, but Diddle it, he's being misused and like everyone else is frustrated.

I don't blame him, I blame PMac.  There's lots of blame to go all around.

Sophomore coach jinx?

In his 3rd year? He should be using Bobby Ryan to the max. Don't know what the Diddle he's thinking. A monkey could in-game coach better than him right now.

"Hi Kyle, Mac and Ryan. Can you play 20 minutes for me on a nightly basis?"

"Diddle yeah coach!"

"Great. And you will, providing you continue to work hard out there."

"Will do."

Such an easy conversation to say to your 3 best forwards.

wprager wrote:Michalek didn't do a lot of chasing.