GDT: Canes @ Caps 10/10/13 7PM: A Night at the Movies

[bleedgreen]

Harrison is overcompensating for Murphy. If you don't trust your partner to take the defensive heat, you're going to take some penalties and you're going to try to do too much. It's the nature of the position and the nature of a partnership. It has to work both ways. There aren't a lot of people you could put with Murphy at this stage and have them look competent defensively. That's why nobody else is doing it. That's why Harrison hasn't been benched for Komisarek.

I've actually been surprised by Murphy's level of defensive play. He's been far more effective than I thought he would be, and surprisingly physical. I agree Harrison is a good partner for him, but I don't think the job has been THAT difficult. You know I'm in the send Murphy down to develop camp by nature, so I wouldn't say I'm blindly defending him. Harrison doesn't get enough credit. Him on the pp over hainsey is stupid though. Not saying hainsey is in any way an offensive dynamo, just that he seems to have a lot more poise with the puck and a more natural two way slant to his game.

As for Faulk, I don't disagree about his style of play and that's actually my bigger point with Faulk as this higher level guy. He isn't an above average skill guy to me. He skates pretty well and has an aggressive attitude. He's just more Don Sweeney irreplaceable glue guy than Ray Bourque run the show guy. No I'm not saying he has to be Bourque to be a number one or Norris guy. It's just Norris and number ones to me rarely lack a modicum of natural offensive ability. Murphy DOES belong out there over Faulk, but the big development in faulks game that would sell me in what everyone here believes will be him being such a take charge guy he finds a way to make himself important enough to be legit on the first pp. Murphy is an underdeveloped kid. Steal his job even if it isn't a "natural" part of your game.

Yes Scott Stevens achieved his heights without true offensive skill, but he was good enough to put out there when needed. Even stick swinging thugs like Pronger could run the pp. Suter can do it just fine without weber. We want to talk about Faulk being a potential Norris guy, he has to be better than suter, petro, karlson, subban, etc....

To me his defense can maybe get there, his tenacity is there, his skating while choppy has potential. It's his overall play with the puck. It isn't enough to charge forward and throw an aggressive pass to an open forward. It's hitting the open man tape to tape giving him time and space almost every single time. It's always finding the right outlet to relieve pressure. It's using your skating to deceive forecheckers into getting sucked in before beating them with a pass instead of just sprinting away from trouble then figuring out what you want to do. It's being a competent pp qb, even if you're more of quick shot guy vs a decisive pass guy. Top guys like we want Faulk to be have a higher hockey iq, they can adapt. They make it work and are so valuable you put them out there on the pp1 just because they make the guys around them better.

If we are going to have crazy talk about Faulk and his upside, I just think that's the goal. Maybe he can get there, we'll see. For now the smurf has a job I'd like to see Faulk steal.

 

[cptjeff]

Faulk's defense is already there- he's flatly exceptional at it. But it's smart, positional defense. It's not hit guys really hard and shovel them out of the crease defense. In the bread and butter role for a defenseman of playing positional defense without the puck, I believe that he absolutely is up there with the Subbans, Karlssons, Webers and whatnot. I've seen him control games fairly regularly with spectacular defensive work that looks effortless, good transition work, and sometimes even decent offensive chances. Which should manifest themselves more this season, since in previous years, he was told by the coaching staff to hold himself back, but he still did well within the limited role he was asked to hold himself to.

I have a hard time believing you and I are watching the same player.

 

[Joe McGrath]

I actually watched it in both feeds, no one went anywhere near him or said anything. Of course I'm not down there but it's usually pretty obvious when someone is saying something. Winning is the most important thing, no doubt. This is hockey. It's rough and mean. Playoffs are brutal. Is this how we are going to get through that? I see some of the little things. I said we don't do enough. The bigger incidents have predominantly gone without any apparent response. There's nothing "perceived" about our lack of gumption. It hasn't been there. You keep pigeon holing my attitude into I want them taking bad penalties so they "look tough" over winning. That's ridiculous. I want to see someone just even acknowledge these incidents when they happen. Honestly to not do anything in this game IS a little cowardly and I would prefer someone going a little overboard from time to time just show someone cares, but what I'm looking for is the mere acknowledgement of "hey....don't pop my guy in the face".

"Don't slash my goalies arm"
"Don't face wash the little dude"

You know, baby steps towards the idea of sandpaper. Not "slap shot".

I'm not saying that you want them to take bad penalties at all. I'm saying that you are missing the times when they are stepping up for one another and picking out one instance where they didn't do anything. If there's ever a time in a game to ignore what happened, that's the time. Over the past several years have they been largely absent in that regard? Absolutely. I'm saying I've seen them stick up for one another so far this year, the Ovechkin play not withstanding. We obviously just have a difference of opinion on whether or not anything is warranted in that situation and that's fine.

 

[bleedgreen]

I'm not saying that you want them to take bad penalties at all. I'm saying that you are missing the times when they are stepping up for one another and picking out one instance where they didn't do anything. If there's ever a time in a game to ignore what happened, that's the time. Over the past several years have they been largely absent in that regard? Absolutely. I'm saying I've seen them stick up for one another so far this year, the Ovechkin play not withstanding. We obviously just have a difference of opinion on whether or not anything is warranted in that situation and that's fine.

I absolutely saw the times we did. I've said that, I'm saying I don't see it enough. I don't see it some of the most important times. Agree to disagree.

 

[bleedgreen]

Faulk's defense is already there- he's flatly exceptional at it. But it's smart, positional defense. It's not hit guys really hard and shovel them out of the crease defense. In the bread and butter role for a defenseman of playing positional defense without the puck, I believe that he absolutely is up there with the Subbans, Karlssons, Webers and whatnot. I've seen him control games fairly regularly with spectacular defensive work that looks effortless, good transition work, and sometimes even decent offensive chances. Which should manifest themselves more this season, since in previous years, he was told by the coaching staff to hold himself back, but he still did well within the limited role he was asked to hold himself to.

I have a hard time believing you and I are watching the same player.

Well I've said I think the d is close. As far as the rest, yes.... Maybe we are watching different players. I like him a lot, I'm just not seeing a Norris candidate yet. He's getting closer to a number one.