Now THAT was a fun hockey game!!! Shine and Watson presence felt big time. 5 goals in the 1st period lmfao. They've scores 5 goals in a game once in the past month
They were sustaining better and longer zone pressure tonight much better than I feel I've seen of late
4th line got PP time at the end and actually made something solid of it lol
Got cooked after the 1st period so I had to grind though periods 2 and 3. Think I extracted what I could as best I could lol
My 3 stars:
1) Lombardi
2) Danielson
3) Becher
Lines:
Snively - Danielson - Watson
Lombardi - Dries - Shine
Finnie - Becher - Gettinger
Bantle - Seger - Johannes
Wallinder - Tuomisto
Buium - Johansson
Knyzhov - Didier
Cossa
Danielson: A+
• Goal - Wasn't doing much in period 1 until he absolutely WIRED it from the left side faceoff dot top corner right where mama hides the excess liquor that won't fit in the cabinet. 2 on 1 with Watson I'm glad he's getting selfish cause his shot is wicked
2nd goal! Buries the breakaway 5-hole. 100% shooting percentage tonight lol
Assist - Credit to him for the shot block as it bounced to Shine and he sent Becher on a B-way who squeaked though the pads for the 6-2 goal
He does very detailed stuff that keeps possession. Tied up a Hogs stick at the perfect time to keep the Hogs from intercepting their pass in the NZ, Watson taps it to Snively who enters zone and then the Griffins sustain some extended zone time as a result
Bats down a fluttering short pass, controls, then dangles and slides it off the goalie where Watson tried to battle and bang it home but no dice
Created space for himself on a teammate's shoot in where he has a step in between the defender and the puck, impedes the D off him and separates the man of the puck even more, takes the puck off the boards, give and go with Watson, then dispy doodles the half-wall defender, sends a quick, buttery saucer to Johansson jumping in from the right point. His shot is stopped
Cossa: B+
• Very good rebound control tonight. Pretty good game that a box score likely won't tell you about
1st goal he stops the wraparound but a man coming down the middle easily gets a backhand chip as Snively was absolutely sleeping at the wheel again
2nd goal Hogs on the PP moving the puck had GR running around and Mayhew was in the slot making no mistake on that shot
3rd goal, Cossa passes to Johansson along the boards but the pass gets picked off handily and a quick pass to the slot where Cossa gets sniped
Lombardi: A+
• Goal! Wired a shot home 12 seconds into the PP
Assist - Late 1st give and go with Shine he slips a pass between the two Hogs D and Shine in tight taps it over the crossbar somehow... Like 10 seconds later Lombardi catches the puck streaking towards the net, corrals it, spins and passes across the crease to Shine and it goes off his skate. Makes no mistake that time lmao
Very good defensively today. Reads, stickwork and effort all prominent
Getting physical on the boards and establishing body position to win pucks on the forecheck
Takings routes through the OZ crease area when team is in possession of the puck
Created lots of offense just by maneuvering in tight spaces and making smart plays. Looked like an absolute wizard out there casting spells and shit
Oh yes once again he's a dog on the puck but with excellent timing, gets the body position on his backhand exiting the goal line and evades the Hog checker on the wall and cuts in to feed the blueline and keep pressure going
Dries on a breakaway, saved, but Lombardi grabs the loose puck and then fires a cross-ice pass to Dries again but the Griffins are denied
Wallinder: A-
• He's gaining confidence in his offense, especially in the OZ. When he's carrying up ice for a rush, he can make some moves but runs himself out of a play quite a bit. He needs to see the ice a bit better and use his teammates. That, or get it deep
Still think he's gotta reign in how aggressive his challenges can be sometimes
Buium: A
• Assist on the Lombardi goal. Just give the puck to Ammo lol
Evades forechecker behind his goal line and fires a pass up ice, Griffins gain zone and get a whistle
Excellent escapability once again, then moves the puck quick
Tuomisto: A+
• Assist - fired it up the boards near the end of a PK and it bounced to Shine who finds Watson for the 2 on 1 SHG
Assist - sick read and patience to stop the 2 on 1, and immediately then catch Rockford sleeping. Firing a hard pass to Snively and he sends Danielson who cashes in on the breakaway
Good pinches to keep the puck in the OZ to sustain pressure. Aggressive in the NZ to get to loose pucks and send play back up the ice
Quick, accurate D to D passing inside the OZ blueline
Stretch pass accuracy wasn't where they needed to be tonight
Excellent, calculated reads to cover for when his partner gets beat, especially using his stick and reach
Becher: A+
• Goal!! Takes a stretch pass from Shine and goes under the pad as it trickles in
Assist - 2nd goal he got almost suicide pass from Buium but makes quick work of it- evades the hit and slips it to Finnie who enters, little dish to Gettinger who has his 2nd goal in as many games
Love how he's fit in this season. His numbers are becoming comparable to Lombardi's of last season both in regards to their AHL rookie age 20 seasons.
Becher's in and just misses the net on a partial 2 on 1, save by Hogs tendy. That same shift GR keeps zone, Becher gets the puck off the boards with a little deft pass to Buium, gets it back already positioned himself to catch and pass to Johansson standing wide open at the point. The takes the moving puck off the AnJo shot around the boards and does some crazy 3rd eye shit and backhand spinning pass right on Dries tape who's wide open in the slot but just misses the net off the one-time attempt
Attempts to go inside-outside down the right wing and Grabko makes the save
Friggen turning and burning and evading his man even as he's in possession of the puck, then makes a smart play
Showed some chemistry with Finnie today I thought
Johansson: C
• Hogs 3rd goal, Cossa passes to him along the boards but the pass gets picked off handily and a quick pass to the slot where Cossa gets sniped
Dear Lord he got absolutely WALKED as he crossed over and the Hogs forward went right in but Cossa comes up big
Definitely struggles with his defensive engagement. He makes ill-advised commitments and it costs him position. Once as well pushed his man into Cossa as the guy wasn't driving through the crease waiting for a pass and he couldn't maintain position
Finnie: A-
• First AHL point! Got the pass from Becher, little dish to Gettinger and he buries it from the right dot. Finnie drives down the middle taking 1 and arguably 2 Hogs defensemen with him allowing Getts all that space to shoot. Veteran play by the kid
Getting to the net and the dirty areas. Picking up loose pucks off the boards in support and making possession plays from them
Excellent support again taking Didier's benchfront pass at the red line with a head of stream, gathers control, feeds Becher who's in and just misses the net on a partial 2 on 1, save by Hogs tendy. That same shift GR keeps zone, Becher gets the puck off the boards
Sharp angle shot almost squeaks in
