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SingnBluesOnBroadway
Retired
Thirty One
Safe is safe.
- Dec 28, 2003
- 28,981
- 24,357
He played more minutes because the game was out of hand. Why burn McDonagh/Girardi out in a 3 goal deficit?
SingnBluesOnBroadway
Retired
SingnBluesOnBroadway
Retired
because it was still a somewhat close game, stu comes on gives them a 1 goal lead then gets rewarded by playing what felt like every other shift
Thirty One
Safe is safe.
- Dec 28, 2003
- 28,981
- 24,357
Krams
Registered User
- Feb 13, 2012
- 8,042
- 1,982
AHL is being kind. ECHL is more like it. Either McIlrath or Eminger need to take his spot. Hell, I'd even take Gilroy at this point.
eco's bones
Registered User
Blaming our poor start on our #6 d-man is a bit ridiculous. He made an extremely poor read on the Kennedy goal last night. The team as a whole has been playing like **** though. Staal was on for every goal against by the Bruins on Saturday.We don't have a thread devoted to that. It's easier to hate on Bickel rather than to try to look at the whole team objectively.
Inferno
Registered User
That play was very disheartening, it totally killed any and all momentum we had and shifted everything in pittsburghs favor. was it the reason we lost? maybe, maybe not, but he didn't help the team last night, thats for damn sure.
Krams
Registered User
- Feb 13, 2012
- 8,042
- 1,982
Nobody is blaming the poor start on Bickel. He's simply a piece of the puzzle. He's an obvious weakness that must be eliminated and that can be done fairly easily.
SingnBluesOnBroadway
Retired
Gardner McKay
RIP, Jimmy.
Not trying to find a scapegoat. Most are just citing the painfully obvious, Bickel has been bad. I have been one of his biggest supporters and again I think he has been BAD.
Now for those who are almost entirely blaming Bickel on our 0-2 start
For those who think Bickel's bad play isn't at all responsible for our 0-2 start
The team as a whole has just sucked (hence why we are 0-2). Bickel has just been a notch worse.
Plenty of blame to go around Hags, Kreider, Gabby, Boyle, Steps...not only Bickel
GregSirico
KakkoSZN
can we call up McIlrath? Can't be any worse than how Stu is playing ... I like his character but he looks overwhelmed on the ice.
JimmyG89
Registered User
- May 1, 2010
- 10,122
- 8,994
Not trying to find a scapegoat. Most are just citing the painfully obvious, Bickel has been bad. I have been one of his biggest supporters and again I think he has been BAD.
Now for those who are almost entirely blaming Bickel on our 0-2 start
For those who think Bickel's bad play isn't at all responsible for our 0-2 start
The team as a whole has just sucked (hence why we are 0-2). Bickel has just been a notch worse.
The issue with Stu is that I do not see him getting better. I want to see someone that at least has some knowledge on what to do with the puck. I'd rather see Gilroy or Eminger at this point. At least they can skate. Bickel is not a good skater. That is the reason he is not doing well.
Let's get rid of the obvious mistakes at this point, and move forward to figure out who needs to go where after that. Bickel coming out of the lineup is the easier of the choices to make.
At some point, you have to think that Miller is going to come up and try and provide a spark. Hagelin did it last season, Kreider did it in the playoffs. I expect that to be something they explore.
Not trying to find a scapegoat. Most are just citing the painfully obvious, Bickel has been bad. I have been one of his biggest supporters and again I think he has been BAD.
Now for those who are almost entirely blaming Bickel on our 0-2 start
For those who think Bickel's bad play isn't at all responsible for our 0-2 start
The team as a whole has just sucked (hence why we are 0-2). Bickel has just been a notch worse.
It's typical behavior of this board. Single out the guy who is perceived to be the weak link, and start directing the frustration at him.
Hell, half of the people who are harping on him for the Kennedy goal can't even remember how the play developed. Vitale blew by Bickel because he misread his gap and thought he could close him out on the wall. Hank made the initial stop and it should have ended there. However, between Kreider being slow on the backcheck and Del Zotto standing around in front of the net not covering anyone, Kennedy had an easy look at the net. That play was a **** show all the way around.
Seems like few people around here can analyze a hockey play anymore. It's kind of alarming.
Callafan24
Registered User
Bickel brings an element of toughness that Torts likes to have in the back. Sauer used to play with that edge but unfortunately we're without him this year. With a decent amount of tougher teams in our conference, I don't know that Rupp and Asham can handle the entire load. Not that we have a soft team but it's clear that Stu's toughness is keeping him in the lineup. Replacing him with Eminger should be an easy fix considering he's had a few good stretches with this team, but we do lose that element in exchange.
I don't give two ***** about bickel's toughness or ability to fight because his ability to be a hockey player, or lack thereof, cost us the momentum we had going last night and imo the game. He can't skate. He let an average NHLer at best, blow by him and turn the game around. I know, I know, there are other guys playing poorly or not up to standards, but those guys will turn it around because they have the skill and ability to play in this league. Bickel does not. He is not an NHL defenseman and with his poor skating ability he'd be lucky to survive in the AHL.
Don't give me this crap that the east is tough and we need bickel's toughness. We had fights in both games, two in boston. We lost both games. We didn't lose because of a lack of toughness. We lost because our defense was weak. Bickel did not play good in either game. Put eminger, heck put Gilroy in, at least he can skate and keep up. Like I said last night, if this is the type of play were going to have to be subjected to then put McIlrath in. At least he has promise and potential and more size. I can't watch Bickel anymore. Last night was it for me. Watching Vitale blow by him was maddening. The rangers tied that game and were playing strong carrying the momentum. Bickel killed all of that momentum.
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Nobody is using him as an excuse for the ghost of Gab or Hank spreading his legs like the Czech prosititute I hired last night to apparently drug me and steal my wallet but we have all consistently seen him be the same bad player when (Here's the biggest key I think to why people are so frustrated with him) there are better alternatives. I think that's what this convo is about being annoyed that we aren't using a better alternative here. There are severeal issues that require time to resolve themselves...this is not one of them
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Who? The guys the coaches sat in the press box the last two games? If they were really better options, wouldn't they have been in the lineup after the Boston game where Bickel played less than 6 minutes?
People have selective memory. Some just choose to forget how badly Gilroy played during his stint here, and how many people were screaming for someone to replace Eminger.
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