Post-Game Talk: Jackets @ Sens October 18 | Bob Cole: The Lucky Buddha

[Vesa Awesaka]

I thought Gryba and Boro were quite good tonight.

They were okay. Gryba had a few turnover and when they were paired with the zibby line the wouldget hemmed in their zone. Love Boro though. Guy is hard to play against.

I liked legawand on the right point on the PP. He showed a lot of poise and good decision making

 

[Vesa Awesaka]

What I'm failing to understand is why the hell doesn't PMac put Cowen out there in Gryba's place? don't you think he would do a much better job in a limited role than Gryba? or because he can't handle playing with Karlsson,1st pairing minutes against freaking Stamkos he deserves to sit while freakin Gryba has the same puck handling,mental mistakes..or is it the manlish beard putting him over the top?

I dont think Cowen has any experience playing the right side with the sens

 

[Novak Djokovic]

I've only been saying this for like 3 years... We need a puck-moving defenseman badly. Methot will help but we need one more. Here's hoping Ceci can get to that level ASAP. Except for Karlsson, the only way (mostly) we get out of the zone is by banking off the glass, which often results in turnovers.

 

[Dysentery]

Enough on the Zibanejad crap. The criticism is way off base. That whole line was a bit off last night. I'm loving Zibanejads game!!

There is no way in hell he gets scratched. Also scratching him my have a negative impact.

 

[Alex1234]

bring pageau up between ryan and chiasson
Hes gone provide speed and passing for those two big bear


And put zib on the wing until he comes back from burgerland

Meaning scratching michalek who play like a healthy scratch ghost

 

[Xspyrit]

I think you're overrating our D if you believe we're an average blue-line.

Agree to disagree, I suppose.

Actually, I think it's not far from the truth

Karlsson is better than most #1 (but still has to find a way to be less risky)
Methot is actually a decent #2 (a #3 on contenders)
Ceci is developing at a very fast rate, already very good on the 2nd pairing, I have no problem comparing him vs other teams #3
Cowen, despite what people think, is efficient as a #4
Phillips in a good physical shape like now is at least a good #5
Borowiecki looks to be a solid #6
Wiercioch and Gryba are not perfect but which teams has a #7-8 like that?

Very underrated blue-line just because of results last year and the fact that they were 27th for GA. But the preceding year, they were 2nd overall

I know a certain poster (like always) spread the idea like propaganda that the SV% was the ONLY reason the Sens were 2nd OA in GA in 2012-13 but it's not entirely accurate (and people bought it like gospel). It's a LOT more complicated than that and I don't have all the time in the world to explain things over and over again so I'll just say : system efficiency, forwards not cheating, focus on team defense FIRST.

They are a very young inexperienced team (been saying that for like 2 years but now someone posted NHL games per team as evidence), of course sometimes they look disorganized but the number of shots against has a lot to do with the system and positioning they play. It's also a team who likes to trade chances (a bit like run and gun) but they exaggerated way too much last year (going all in on offense too often), and were getting outscored because other goalies were "outdueling" ours and teams were more composed and structured (experience being a big reason for that). Still managed to get 88 pts on a crappy year.

Difference so far is responsibility for TEAM DEFENSE, some players might have "disappointing" stats for some, but it's defense first, no more cheating. Sens are actually 9th in GA with 2.00; I'm not sure they will stay top-10 all season but I'm pretty much certain they will adjust from last year and prove to culprits that they are not "terrible". I know I'm going to have a lot of fun with this, watching people cursing at defense all year just to show that the stats are far from bad.

But oh yeah, it's only the goalies... I believe we have one of the best duos in the league. Problem last year is they both had a long bad stretch (about 18 games each), but if you play compact defense like 2012-13 and so far this year, you're going to make them look good. It's a bit like Elliott in St-Louis except that he plays for Hitchcock (more experienced coach) and behind a more experienced team. His stats are inflated by the composure of the team in front of him. Sens can do that a bit, as evidenced in the past, just more inexperienced and with a bigger number of shots against boxing out to the perimeter)

* Lehner's rebound control is also a big factor why teams shoot a lot against him...

Here's for the facts that I can think of right now

 

[Alex1234]

We seem to forget even I do but turris is doing a magnificient job at first center

He plays against the top center on the other team
Often a guy that puts up 30-40 more points than turris himself

 

[c_mak]

Happy we are winning. Four lines rolling and brat goaltending is keeping us in games. The defence needs to be addressed. Phillips can't continue to play heavy minutes. Only Ceci and Karlson are playing well. 2 1/2 men is a show not a recipe for defending in the NHL

 

[Karl Eriksson]

Enough on the Zibanejad crap. The criticism is way off base. That whole line was a bit off last night. I'm loving Zibanejads game!!

There is no way in hell he gets scratched. Also scratching him my have a negative impact.

Zibby needs to contribute on offense, period. He is an offensively minded player whose asset is his shot and ability to make space for himself. I think the criticism is more than fair man. Anything short of a 45-50 point year will be an unequivocal failure no matter how solid other aspects of his game are.

He needs another few games of solid minutes to produce, then a demotion in playing time if he doesn't.

 

[StefanW]

We don't have the roster spots to bring up another C, which means there is no chance of seeing Pageau before we start making some trades or Lazar is sent down (if that happens).

 

[guyzeur]

Overall:
I'm happy we're 4-1 but we were a bit lucky the schedule:

Flo: we escaped with 1-0 win vs a bad team
TB: 3-2, Lehner had a great game and we got timely scoring
Avs: 5-3, they're a mess right now and their goalies weren't good
CLB: 3-2, ok game, just enough to win. I'm glad coach took a timeout.
TOR: ???

There's always a kid than standout each game: Lazar, Hoffman, Ceci, Stone

How much of a difference Jason Smith make as a coach?

The difference this year: making less mistakes that were turning in goals last year and having Chiasson, Lazar and Legwand scoring garbage goals.


Forwards:

Enough on the Zibanejad crap. The criticism is way off base. That whole line was a bit off last night. I'm loving Zibanejads game!!

There is no way in hell he gets scratched. Also scratching him my have a negative impact.

If you remove Zibanejad's name and re-read the comments and think about it for a second, it looks like a Greening description.

I expect Lazar to sit a game every 2nd week until mid-season.

Legwand has 2 goals in 3 shots!!!

Goaltending:
I still have more confidence in Anderson than Lehner.

They've played good not great, their SV% could be misleading with the amount of shots we're not blocking.

Defense:
Phillips = Kuba no2 when is playing with EK and I'm ok with that. I would be afraid if he would be paired with anyone else.

Sens seem to develop Ceci the right way, he will be the second coming of Éric Desjardins.

Could we work out a trade with Nashville for Josi?

 

[SlapJack]

Zibby needs to contribute on offense, period. He is an offensively minded player whose asset is his shot and ability to make space for himself. I think the criticism is more than fair man. Anything short of a 45-50 point year will be an unequivocal failure no matter how solid other aspects of his game are.

He needs another few games of solid minutes to produce, then a demotion in playing time if he doesn't.

Unequivocal failure? There were only seven players 21 or under that notched 45 points last year in the NHL, and only 2 of them are still on their entry level deal. The others are all being rewarded quite handsomely in their bridge deals.

Every year the same things happen with good starts or bad starts to a season - people jump to conclusions. If a player or team has a bad run in the middle of the season, it doesn't get dissected to the same degree as it would at the very beginning.

Zibanejad is 21 and centering a line with a new player on one side and a guy playing his off wing on the other. Maybe the chemistry needs time to build or maybe something else should be tried. Saying that he needs to start producing or else is panicking for no good reason since the team has just won 4 straight games.

The fact that he hasn't contributed much so far is actually promising because that leaves room for the team to improve when he does. He has also been 62.5% in the faceoff dot the last 3 games. That's exceptional for a young centre.

 

[Karl Eriksson]

Unequivocal failure? There were only seven players 21 or under that notched 45 points last year in the NHL, and only 2 of them are still on their entry level deal. The others are all being rewarded quite handsomely in their bridge deals.

Every year the same things happen with good starts or bad starts to a season - people jump to conclusions. If a player or team has a bad run in the middle of the season, it doesn't get dissected to the same degree as it would at the very beginning.

Zibanejad is 21 and centering a line with a new player on one side and a guy playing his off wing on the other. Maybe the chemistry needs time to build or maybe something else should be tried. Saying that he needs to start producing or else is panicking for no good reason since the team has just won 4 straight games.

The fact that he hasn't contributed much so far is actually promising because that leaves room for the team to improve when he does. He has also been 62.5% in the faceoff dot the last 3 games. That's exceptional for a young centre.

He was on a 39 pt pace last year over 82 games. If he can't improve to the tune of 6 pts with an extra year of experience and hopefully a team that is no worse, than yes that is failure. Winning faceoffs is not why he is here. He isn't even really a playmaker, he is a goal scorer. His linemates need to get him the puck and he needs to finish. I would think that most of us will be disappointed if he doesn't notch 20. A 20 goal 25 assist season is the standard I hold him up to.

 

[CanadianHockey]

Hoffman goal was pretty. I thought the team played pretty well. Think people are overselling criticisms. A bad bounce and a second goal shortly after deflated what had been a pretty good performance. Sens rebounded in the third.

 

[Burrowsaurus]

Enough on the Zibanejad crap. The criticism is way off base. That whole line was a bit off last night. I'm loving Zibanejads game!!

There is no way in hell he gets scratched. Also scratching him my have a negative impact.

Don't say you love his game. Not much to love. He has been reliable out there. No glaring mistakes.
What I do think is it's time to put Ryan back up with Turris and Mac. We need Ryan going way more than we need stone going. I wanna see Hoffman legwand stone.

 

[coladin]

Ryan - Lazar - Chiasson
Hoffman-Zibanejad- Michalek

If Zibby is struggling, just move him down until he works his way through and go with the guy that is making things happen.

What I like so far: everyone is playing a part in the victories. One night it is Lazar, one night it is Ryan, one night it is Hoffman, another it is the Turris line, another win is Anderson etc...there is no dominant player but we are getting wins by committee which is the way it is going to be this year.

Not a bad thing.

 

[Holdurbreathe]

We have other options though, so unless he picks it up next week, it'll be time to let him watch a few games from the rafters. Maybe eat a few salads too.

Sitting Zibanejad is just nonsense IMO.

Z's play has been solid considering he is playing with two new line mates (one on his off wing) and in the second line role.

His line is also getting an inordinate number of D-Zone starts as well.

It is only 5 games into the season, just a little early to pass judgment on any of the young players.

 

[BigBush*]

Ya agree sitting Zbad is none sense. Give him until the 10- 15 game mark to see how he does with that line. Hopefully he gets a little bit quicker Cus he does seem a step behind

 

[ChocolateLeclaire]

We don't have the roster spots to bring up another C, which means there is no chance of seeing Pageau before we start making some trades or Lazar is sent down (if that happens).

Zbad can still be sent down without passing waivers can't he?

 

[costermonger]

More stats of interest:

-Karlsson is leading the team in blocked shots with 8.
-Karlsson is also leading the team in missed shots with 9.
-Stone has 8 takeaways (leading the team) and 0 giveaways.
-Zibanejad and Legwand are tied for most face-off wins with 47 and both have 54% FOW
-Lazar has a 58% FOW with 11 wins
-Turris is struggling with a 38.8% FOW and I wonder how much of that is the defensive units assigned to him on the road
-Karlsson has 24 shots, Mac is the next highest at 14

-Giveaways are a funny stat - Los Angeles leads with a whopping 61 while Ottawa has 34 and St. Louis has 13. Clearly some inconsistency out there in measuring.

It's not hard to love what Stone brings to the team. That's a singlehanded improvement in our possession game.

 

[Burrowsaurus]

bring pageau up between ryan and chiasson
Hes gone provide speed and passing for those two big bear


And put zib on the wing until he comes back from burgerland

Meaning scratching michalek who play like a healthy scratch ghost

Lmao burger land.

 

[SensFactor]

The best forwards this year have been Stone, MacArthur and Turris. This should be a our top line until they show otherwise.

Michalek has been terrible, never liked him resigning. He has 0pts in 5 games and only 3 SHOTS ON GOAL! WTF! All this for 4 mill/year...

 

[Burrowsaurus]

We seem to forget even I do but turris is doing a magnificient job at first center

He plays against the top center on the other team
Often a guy that puts up 30-40 more points than turris himself

He didn't get a point last night. Not a PPG center.
Joking. I really like his game (not last night) but even when he doesn't have it going offensively he takes care of business in our zone. And the guy is a joe Sakic clone.

 

[Burrowsaurus]

Unequivocal failure? There were only seven players 21 or under that notched 45 points last year in the NHL, and only 2 of them are still on their entry level deal. The others are all being rewarded quite handsomely in their bridge deals.

Every year the same things happen with good starts or bad starts to a season - people jump to conclusions. If a player or team has a bad run in the middle of the season, it doesn't get dissected to the same degree as it would at the very beginning.

Zibanejad is 21 and centering a line with a new player on one side and a guy playing his off wing on the other. Maybe the chemistry needs time to build or maybe something else should be tried. Saying that he needs to start producing or else is panicking for no good reason since the team has just won 4 straight games.

The fact that he hasn't contributed much so far is actually promising because that leaves room for the team to improve when he does. He has also been 62.5% in the faceoff dot the last 3 games. That's exceptional for a young centre.

This is what makes me a little mad. Zibanenites ripped apart people who didn't think he'd come in this year and dominate as second line center/1b center. Yet now that he's got off to slow start there's this "well what did you expect!? He's young?!" Uh yeah. Exactly our point. He is young. And not ready for this. And yes. It is an absolute failure relative to the expectations that have been set for him by some people on this board. For me. If he has a 40 point season while being strong defensively that's a huge deal for me. Because of the expectations that I have set for him. But when I expressed those expectations there was this "well he's already a dominant 20-20 guy, how could you say he won't be a 30-30 guy this year?!" Depends on your expectations.

 

[Neiler]

Michalek has been terrible, never liked him resigning. He has 0pts in 5 games and only 3 SHOTS ON GOAL! WTF! All this for 4 mill/year...

Murray is a genius. Resigning MM to help Pavel Zacha settle into the organization after he drafts him this coming June will prove to be a positive move for the Sens.