The delay of game was fluky. The other was a dumb penalty on his part, even though I understand he was trying to prevent a 2 on 1.
Got to ride your horses.
Observations, Part IX
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The delay of game was fluky. The other was a dumb penalty on his part, even though I understand he was trying to prevent a 2 on 1.
Got to ride your horses.
glenngineer
Registered User
That could be a contributor, but there was a 6 minute disparity with Ellis, so I would think it a minor one (no pun intended, lol).
Roman Yoshi
#164303
The bolded I agree with.
I thought Peks played a great game. Thought Neal and RyJo were our best forwards on the ice. Forsberg looked good but once again, tried to do to much to the detriment of his linemates.
Arvidsson has more business being at this level than Fiala does. At least Arvidsson tried to play defense and always (and I do mean always) covered for pinching defensemen, something Fiala has not done.
We don't miss Seth Jones. We missed Ekholm and Josi carrying the puck in because St. Louis was bottle necking us at the red line. Doesn't help Ekholm was in the box for a while last night either.
More than just Colin Wilson, this team misses someone in front of the net. In order to make the playoffs, we are going to need to make adjustments up front. Jarnkrok and Arvidsson/Fiala aren't getting it done. Getting Wilson + another forward would significantly improve our team.
With Jones out there, Lavy had a mobile puck carrier on each pair. In that sense, they miss Jones. Jones contributed positively to the team. At the moment, I expect the team hasn't yet fully adjusted to Jones' departure (I hope).
Having said that, yes they've got to be better about breaking through the neutral zone. Not unexpectedly, the Forsberg-Johansen-Neal was the best as they generally had either Ekholm or Josi on the ice with then, Forsberg and Johansen can both bring the puck up as well, and all three forwards can win a puck battle if they had to dump and chase.
A Wilson-Ribs-Smith line should be decently effective at that as well.
Pred303
Registered User
a few quick observations;
..a game where we legitimately had single digit scoring chances
..other than the ellis shot in the low slot the best scoring chances we did have all night were on shots that missed the net. we had at least three mid-low slot shots sent high and wide. killed us.
..Forsberg. first line play died on his stick many times last night. 6 official giveaways, and 2-3 times a guy was credited with a takeaway off his stickhandling. the top line got 22 shifts. 9 of those 22 times the shift ended with a turnover from Forsberg. it killed us.
..defensively the grnaberg-jackman line isn't hurting us. despite them often having trouble clearing the puck from the zone because they have no puckhandler. with no ability to exit the zone though offensively any time that pair is out there we aren't going to generate any offense.
..despite how heartbreaking that loss was, we are a more dangerous team when we focus on our strength, defense and try to keep the score low rather than our weak area, offense when we try to play wide open hockey.
..Forsberg helped stop the first line last night with the turnovers: jarnkrok's lack of offensive skill and ribs turnovers stopped the second; fisher's age, arvidsson being knocked off the puck killed the third; gaustad being a offensive black hole stops the fourth. so that pretty much summed up our offensive struggle.
..a game where we legitimately had single digit scoring chances
..other than the ellis shot in the low slot the best scoring chances we did have all night were on shots that missed the net. we had at least three mid-low slot shots sent high and wide. killed us.
..Forsberg. first line play died on his stick many times last night. 6 official giveaways, and 2-3 times a guy was credited with a takeaway off his stickhandling. the top line got 22 shifts. 9 of those 22 times the shift ended with a turnover from Forsberg. it killed us.
..defensively the grnaberg-jackman line isn't hurting us. despite them often having trouble clearing the puck from the zone because they have no puckhandler. with no ability to exit the zone though offensively any time that pair is out there we aren't going to generate any offense.
..despite how heartbreaking that loss was, we are a more dangerous team when we focus on our strength, defense and try to keep the score low rather than our weak area, offense when we try to play wide open hockey.
..Forsberg helped stop the first line last night with the turnovers: jarnkrok's lack of offensive skill and ribs turnovers stopped the second; fisher's age, arvidsson being knocked off the puck killed the third; gaustad being a offensive black hole stops the fourth. so that pretty much summed up our offensive struggle.
Roman Yoshi
#164303
Pretty much spot on here.
I would like to add, however, Granberg had two horrific turnovers last night leading to GRADE A scoring chances for the Blues. Not a great showing from him last night, certainly isn't the reason we lost though.
Can someone explain to me why Jarkrok is given so many opportunities? What exactly does he contribute besides face off wins?
Agree with the Granberg/Jackman line. They are an ideal pairing for the first PK unit (last night, Josi and Weber each got about a minute more on the PK) and then to send out against a 3rd or 4th line. They probably get about 2-3 minutes too much at ES right now and about 1 minute too little on the PK.
Forsberg had some good moments too. He hasn't gotten to play with Johansen and Neal too much yet. I think he'll grow out of that. Ok, I hope he does once he realizes he doesn't have to do too much on that line as it has real talent at every position.
Pred303
Registered User
now on the positive side. defense.
last night was the 5th game in a row we have allowed only one goal. that's the first time in our entire history we have ever done that (allow 0 or 1 goal for 5 straight games). in years past we have had a (very) few 5 game stretches where we allowed 5 goals in 5 games, but always had at least allowed 2 goals in one or more of those.
Jan 2011, had a stretch of allowing only one or less goals in 5 of 6 games
Mar 2008, had a stretch of 4 straight one goal or less games
Mar 2006, had a stretch of allowing 1 or less in 4 of 5 (and only 4 total in that 5 game stretch)
but. this stretch of defense and goaltending shouldn't be overlooked simply because of last night's disappointment.
and to take it a little further, we have now allowed only 9 goals total in our last 7 games (4 of which were Chicago and one of which was an empty netter).
rinne, hutton and the defense need to be recognized for this.
last night was the 5th game in a row we have allowed only one goal. that's the first time in our entire history we have ever done that (allow 0 or 1 goal for 5 straight games). in years past we have had a (very) few 5 game stretches where we allowed 5 goals in 5 games, but always had at least allowed 2 goals in one or more of those.
Jan 2011, had a stretch of allowing only one or less goals in 5 of 6 games
Mar 2008, had a stretch of 4 straight one goal or less games
Mar 2006, had a stretch of allowing 1 or less in 4 of 5 (and only 4 total in that 5 game stretch)
but. this stretch of defense and goaltending shouldn't be overlooked simply because of last night's disappointment.
and to take it a little further, we have now allowed only 9 goals total in our last 7 games (4 of which were Chicago and one of which was an empty netter).
rinne, hutton and the defense need to be recognized for this.
He's a very intelligent player overall with great defensive positioning. So, he's a good shutdown player and PKer that can occasionally chip in a goal.
He's a great asset to this team- in the right role. Injuries and lack of depth have him out of his best role at times.
Pred303
Registered User
that's the thing about Forsberg. every few shifts all the stickhandling magic and overhandling the puck results in a great scoring chance, like last night when he held the puck in and hit johansen down low for a great chance. that sorta hides all the times he turns it over. it's very difficult to measure whether all the puck handling and giveaways outweigh or are outweighted by the really great plays at times. the nights we bury those few great chances he creates everything looks rosy, on nights we don't it just highlights all the failures.
Roman Yoshi
#164303
I get that, but he isn't strong enough and he looks more like a tweener than a staple on the team. He get's out muscled often and isn't built for a shutdown role.
I'd be happy with him playing minutes on the PK and the fourth line, but anything more than that is asking for trouble.
glenngineer
Registered User
When did Granberg and Jackman play on the same pairing last night other than pairing changes that didn't get both guys on and off the ice? Last night Ekholm was with Granberg and Ellis with Jackman except for a few shifts where Ellis and Jackman were paired together.
lol. No doubt.
I kinda look at that particularly issue as #4 or #5 on the list for the Predators and I need to focus on one issue at a time for my feeble mind.
deanwormer
Registered User
This team is not struggling because of Hook, or because Arvy is up playing 3rd line minutes. and while Ekholm is having some struggles being the primary puck-handler on his pairing with granberg, we've given up 5 goals in 5 games - it's not the D.
We're struggling because Flip has been, for most of the year, mediocre at best. We're struggling because father-time clearly has caught up with Fish. We're struggling because - until a few games ago - Ribs was a passenger with effort about 2 shifts a night. and we miss Willy, cause even if he can't buy a goal, he still digs pucks, takes up space, occasionally screens in front, still handles the puck reliably and makes a good pass - so basically, his line performs better, even if it seems he can't put the puck in an empty net from 10 feet. Without Willy, we juggle around a lotta' guys trying to find rolls that work.
And lastly, we're struggling because Goose isn't Goose anymore - he's been an offensive blackhole for his years here, but he was a leader on the PK, a monster on the dot, and played a decently physical game. Except - not anymore. Lavy has decreased his role on the PK and he still can't quite get in the lane or out to the point, he's beyond a blackhole on O and can't even manage to keep a puck tied up in the corner anymore, and he doesn't win the big FO for us anymore - and it's time Lavy gives someone else that role and sits Goose up next to his buddy Ny.
We're struggling because Flip has been, for most of the year, mediocre at best. We're struggling because father-time clearly has caught up with Fish. We're struggling because - until a few games ago - Ribs was a passenger with effort about 2 shifts a night. and we miss Willy, cause even if he can't buy a goal, he still digs pucks, takes up space, occasionally screens in front, still handles the puck reliably and makes a good pass - so basically, his line performs better, even if it seems he can't put the puck in an empty net from 10 feet. Without Willy, we juggle around a lotta' guys trying to find rolls that work.
And lastly, we're struggling because Goose isn't Goose anymore - he's been an offensive blackhole for his years here, but he was a leader on the PK, a monster on the dot, and played a decently physical game. Except - not anymore. Lavy has decreased his role on the PK and he still can't quite get in the lane or out to the point, he's beyond a blackhole on O and can't even manage to keep a puck tied up in the corner anymore, and he doesn't win the big FO for us anymore - and it's time Lavy gives someone else that role and sits Goose up next to his buddy Ny.
Pred303
Registered User
you're right glenn, they had them split up most all night except a few overlapping shift seconds.
I'm amazed we got Josi off ice on a shift change in the middle of that goal allowed fiasco (after :39 seconds) but couldn't get any forwards changed. definitely cost us the game. Jarnkrok, Fisher, Weber all with failed chances to clear those last 26 disaster seconds.
Pred303
Registered User
I agree with your point dean. our real problem is we have a bunch of role players that are adequate if played solely in that type role. what we aren't is highly flexible with our personnel. because of that we are much more fragile as a team than we should be just looking at individuals. when someone gets hurt or isn't performing we don't have enough skilled depth to just move guys up a line and remain good enough. we have entirely too many 3rd/4th line type role players. when we have all 6 top guys healthy we can usually overcome one or two or even three of them struggling or going cold. but we just don't have the depth to do it with anyone injured.
nomorekids
The original, baby
The silver lining last night and for the last few games is that the penalty kill has been very good.
The copious black around that silver lining is that it's directly associated with Nystrom being out, and eventually he's going to be placed back into the lineup.
The copious black around that silver lining is that it's directly associated with Nystrom being out, and eventually he's going to be placed back into the lineup.
NSH615
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Not really, that may be part of why it has continued, but Nystrom has missed 2 1/2 games while the streak goes back to the 2nd period of the game where we lost at the Jets in OT on 1/14/16. That's a streak of 7 1/2 games.
I still like the trade and it's what we needed, but just because it was a good trade doesn't mean we don't miss the presence of Jones. No one in their right mind would take Granberg or Bitetto over him and while I hope one of those two can convincingly take over the spot that opened when he left, having Jones there would be a more versatile and better option than either guy we've got now.
Roman Yoshi
#164303
While I get that, the stats don't lie. Granberg and Bitetto are holding their own. It may not be pretty all the time, but it's not like they are getting scored on every other shift.
Jones wasn't and isn't our problem. Forwards not going to the front of the net, poor offensive depth and goaltending have been our issues.
wadesworld
Registered User
While I was upset about the result, I didn't think we played a bad game. STL has simply had our number this year, so the ending was not unexpected.
Pred303
Registered User
wow. 20 game suspension for wideman. that's a fine of 565k bucks for him. actually thought they would make it only 10 or so, but can't say I blame them for 20
If they judged it intentional, then the rule book laid out 20 games as the punishment. I figured it would be 10 if they decided he legitimately just didn't see the ref and skated into him, or 20 if they thought he did it on purpose. It sounds like they think he meant to do it.
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