GDT: FSC Presents: Canes at Leafs

[Carolina]

The reason he "sat there like a stone" was that he had (foolishly) assumed that Corvo was going to have some kind of role in the play, and therefore hadn't moved out to challenge the shooter. When Lupul skated right around the defender in a split-second, Peters had no chance at getting into proper position to play it as a 1-on-1 situation.

Being that far back in his crease, and having no chance at a poke check, he did the only thing he COULD do and dropped to deny an initial shot. Lupul, having all the time and space in the world AND his own choice of speed AND being on his forehand, did the smart thing and cut across the crease NHL94-style to the wide-open, undefended, gaping net on the far side. Peters made a token attempt at kicking his pad out, but at that point the play was all but over.

There's a reason that penalty shots begin from a standstill at center ice. Giving a player 200 feet of momentum and having the goalie stand flat-footed till the puck is at the faceoff circle is all but a guaranteed goal. The idea that Peters "should" make that stop and that every other NHL goalie would have, I'm sorry, but that's completely ridiculous. The one goalie who was ever good at that kind of stop was Hasek, and that's because he had that ridiculous roll-over blocker save going for him.

I'll take your word for it that the goal wasn't as bad as it looked. It just looked to me that Peters could have done more. It doesn't matter now anyway. Most teams aren't going to win many games with both their goalies out, especially when you already have a terrible defense.

 

[Finlandia WOAT]

His contract, his health issues, and his recent play means he'd get far less than what JR would determine acceptable.

He'd be worth a good second-pair d-man right now, but not a young one. I can't believe any GM would watch tape of him for the last 20 games and think he was a guy they wanted to hitch their wagon to.

oh I agree but even if he started playing better, I'd try to trade him in the offseason. I don't think he works for this team anymore. I know he's still really young but he's prone to concussions, awful defensively and is just not the offensive force he needs to be.

trade skinner?

you guys are nuts. whiny little wee nancy or not we are as tied to him as we are the staals. regardless, he could be an amazing player when he grows up. thats the downside to riding an 18 year old because he has the skills. doesnt mean he has the head. all the growing pains he wouldve gone through in more juniors or the ahl is playing out in front of us.

this isnt his fault regardless. if your team needs two 20 year olds to win you arent a winning team.

Seriously? Trade Skinner because he's not what this team needs? I agree with Bleedgreen, Skinner isn't the problem here.

This board is incapable of discussing Ruutu without someone chiming in about how terrible a trade it was for us, how Ruutu is useless and Andrew Ladd is awesome, how we gave up on Ladd too early and he turned into exactly what was projected (30-30 power forwards).

And now we want to do the exact same thing with Jeff Skinner? Give up on a player we drafted while he's still young. Let's do it again, after it worked so well the first time!!

I wonder how long it would take for the people who called to trade Skinner to call for JR's head once he finds success elsewhere.

 

[tarheelhockey]

I'll take your word for it that the goal wasn't as bad as it looked. It just looked to me that Peters could have done more. It doesn't matter now anyway. Most teams aren't going to win many games with both their goalies out, especially when you already have a terrible defense.

I agree. The goalie situation sucks right now, but it just is what it is.

Nevertheless, a little surprised and disappointed that Muller threw Peters under the bus like that. Holy cow.

 

[Zombie Mike Murphy]

And now we want to do the exact same thing with Jeff Skinner? Give up on a player we drafted while he's still young. Let's do it again, after it worked so well the first time!!

Exception being that Ladd didn't have two major concussions.

 

[Carolina]

Muller threw Peters under the bus in his presser: "The bottom line is we didn't get the saves. We didn't get the saves at the right time and it cost us."

I bet he was talking about that 4th goal Seriously though, I actually feel bad for Peters.

 

[Finlandia WOAT]

I try not to give myself to emotion, and tonight was a game that we despite decent play after the first, rather than a slump (as BB put it earlier, you lose games even when you're hot).


But if we lose to the 'Peg, assuming Ellis and Faulk are back, it's hard to see this team making the playoffs. Only the mediocrity of the Jets, Rangers, Islanders and Caps are keeping us in.


I am still shocked about how a complete 180 this team has done in the past two weeks. We go from the best 4 periods of the season to a 7 game skid at the worst possible time.

 

[Zombie Mike Murphy]

Someone has to take the hit, and when the other 20 guys show up more than they have in 2 weeks you can't really put it on them too much, not unless you want to destroy the entire lockerroom, instead of just 1 guy

 

[Identity404]

I really don't understand how calling Peters out like that helps our team at all. I think Muller is starting to feel the heat a little bit and is looking to pass the torch.

 

[Carolina]

I agree. The goalie situation sucks right now, but it just is what it is.

Nevertheless, a little surprised and disappointed that Muller threw Peters under the bus like that. Holy cow.

Yeah, you have to imagine that Muller is feeling a little pressure. I don't think that calling out your goaltender (a 3rd stringer) is going to be very helpful at all.

 

[Anton Babchuk]

Clearly Muller has no idea what he's talking about. Peters was the only reason the Leafs didn't score 34 goals tonight. All of his saves were ROBBERIES.

 

[Identity404]

Lindy Ruff to Canes (E4)

 

[Finlandia WOAT]

Exception being that Ladd didn't have two major concussions.

I call ********, it has as much to do with his recent play as the "so called" injury concerns.

Skinner's play isn't indicative that he is suffering the aftereffects of a concussion. He is still forechecking, still using his speed and going to the dirty areas at the same frequency he did before. And you know what the best part is? He hasn't been clobbered once since he has gotten back.

Calling to trade the best forward drafted and developed by this franchise since Eric Staal because he has a 10 game cold streak? Talk about overreaction.

 

[tarheelhockey]

Someone has to take the hit, and when the other 20 guys show up more than they have in 2 weeks you can't really put it on them too much, not unless you want to destroy the entire lockerroom, instead of just 1 guy

Why put it on any one guy? What does that accomplish? Just say it was a team effort that fell short, better but still not good enough. And then move on. Why mind-**** your struggling AHL-level goalie going into what amounts to an elimination game?

It's getting to the point that this is starting to feel like something we'll remember as "Muller's rookie year".

 

[Finlandia WOAT]

Peters is what you get. He will make the saves he should most of the time, but I have yet to see him make a save that he shouldn't have made, like Ellis and Ward can pull with some consistency.

He can't bail you out for the game, or on any play. Muller didn't have to throw him under the bus, but better for the team to believe it's his fault than to slip back to previous showings (though that is indicative of MAJOR confidence/work ethic issues).

 

[sticknpuck]

I see a lot of people disagreeing with those saying "trade skinner" and I was one of the first to say something about his performance after the game. However, that's not me saying we should trade him. I was simply commenting on his lazy playing and his inability to share the puck. I don't say trade skinner, but I do say mismatch/lack of chemistry on the 2nd line.

 

[tarheelhockey]

I don't think we should trade him, but he should be demoted to the third line until he commits to doing things to help this team other than shoot the puck every time he gets it.

 

[Citizen Cane]

I agree. The goalie situation sucks right now, but it just is what it is.

Nevertheless, a little surprised and disappointed that Muller threw Peters under the bus like that. Holy cow.

Agree. Peters did about what I thought he would tonight. He is what he is. He could have been better, sure, but he wasn't the reason for the L.

 

[Anton Dubinchuk]

This team has lost 7 games in a row in absolutely embarrassing fashion (although we DID score more than one goal tonight, color me impressed). Why does ANYONE think that trading Skinner, whether a good idea or a bad one, could possibly improve this team to the point where it could win a hockey game?

This team doesn't need any kind of trade, any roster shakeup, nothing. It just needs to wake up and get back to what it was doing at the beginning of the season.


(Oh, and for the record, trading Skinner would be a monumental mistake, kid's gonna be too good for us to freak out and trade him over a 7-game losing streak. I feel like we forget he's 20 years old sometimes, 20-year old goal scorers do NOT grow on trees, and it's not like we can afford to score any less goals.)

 

[DaleCooper]

My initial reaction was why the **** are you throwing the 3rd string goalie under the bus after that game, but maybe (or maybe I'm grasping at straws here) it was a calculated move by Muller to get the rest of the team fired up. Of course, that could backfire. Either they get angry at themselves for letting Peters down and watching him take the heat, or they get angry at Muller...

Also, while my Skinner for Staal post was reactionary and half in jest, getting a d-man like that would certainly solve a lot of problems, and we'd better hope Skinner develops into the kind of player he has shown glimpses that he can be, because whether he does or doesn't he's going to be getting paid $6 million a year. Right now it seems like the coaching staff is letting him do whatever the hell he wants, and that's not the best thing for his development.

 

[rocky7]

There have been some saying Skinner should be traded and some opposed to the notion. I said before this skid that he should be traded and stand by that still. I had a bit of a rant as to why but for those that agree, it's obvious. For those that disagree, that's their opinion as well. It can of course be seen as a difficult choice. To me it isn't. I have thought from the beginning of the year that his real best value is trade bait. I still think they could get a good and needed return for him.

 

[Scion]

The Canes were outshot and outchanced badly tonight, if not for Peters the game would have been over after the first period...

 

[tarheelhockey]

My initial reaction was why the **** are you throwing the 3rd string goalie under the bus after that game, but maybe (or maybe I'm grasping at straws here) it was a calculated move by Muller to get the rest of the team fired up. Of course, that could backfire. Either they get angry at themselves for letting Peters down and watching him take the heat, or they get angry at Muller...

... or they take him at his word and don't get angry at all. After all, coach says they did what he wanted, and it was that scrub goalie's fault they lost. Screw that guy. Now we might miss the playoffs and it's his fault.

Meanwhile, Peters gets to sit there and do a slow burn for 48 hours heading into an even more pressure-filled environment.

 

[Carolina]

Guys remember when the team was playing well? Skinner was a big part of that. Even though he's slumping now and has missed 5 games, he's still 3rd in goals. I don't see how trading him would benefit the team. We may get better defensively, but who'd replace his offensive talent?

 

[Finlandia WOAT]

... or they take him at his word and don't get angry at all. After all, coach says they did what he wanted, and it was that scrub goalie's fault they lost. Screw that guy. Now we might miss the playoffs and it's his fault.

Meanwhile, Peters gets to sit there and do a slow burn for 48 hours heading into an even more pressure-filled environment.

I really, really doubt that Muller makes those comments unless he is backed by the knowledge that Ellis will most likely get the start on Saturday.

That would be a disastrous mistake.

 

[rocky7]

What pisses me off about Skinner is that instead of the coach sending a message that his play is unacceptable, he double shifts him. On what planet does that make any sense.

Some of you guys question and jump on me for raising concerns about Muller. To me he doesn't know what to do and takes zero responsibility, in a nut shell. It's high time he should be called out by fans and management. The above quote is merely one small example of the WTF with the great Capt. Kirk IMO.