Observations XXI

[Scoresberg]

I agree that the team needs another top-end forward. I think they were hoping Tolvenen was going to be that guy. He may be in the future but not right now. We have relied so heavily on defensemen scoring that when it isn't happening it just shows how thin we are in top 6 forwards. We could lose 1 top 6 guy and be OK but losing 2 of them for any length of time and this is the team we had last night.

But do our forwards look bad offensively BECAUSE we rely on our defensemen to bring the offense? That's the system they play, just like the powerplay, and teams have had a really easy time defending us in the offensive zone. Seems like all of our goals come from off the rush or a blast from the point that somehow goes in.

I mean, yes you could bring in a guy like Stone or Simmonds, and I would be totally on board with it but what good are they gonna do, if they're gonna pass the puck back to the blueline the second they get it deep in the O-zone?

The point being, we have talented forwards but I think more variations to our offensive strategies wouldn't be a bad thing before acquiring another high-priced piece. We lost 1st, 2nd, 4th, Ejdsell, Girard and Kamenev last year already to offensive help and here we are again. At what point do you look at the system, and say, it just doesn't work as well as it could?

 

[triggrman]

But do our forwards look bad offensively BECAUSE we rely on our defensemen to bring the offense? That's the system they play, just like the powerplay, and teams have had a really easy time defending us in the offensive zone. Seems like all of our goals come from off the rush or a blast from the point that somehow goes in.

I mean, yes you could bring in a guy like Stone or Simmonds, and I would be totally on board with it but what good are they gonna do, if they're gonna pass the puck back to the blueline the second they get it deep in the O-zone?

The point being, we have talented forwards but I think more variations to our offensive strategies wouldn't be a bad thing before acquiring another high-priced piece. We lost 1st, 2nd, 4th, Ejdsell, Girard and Kamenev last year already to offensive help and here we are again. At what point do you look at the system, and say, it just doesn't work as well as it could?

There's some truth to this and I think on the powerplay, we've started making that adjustment.

 

[Flgatorguy87]

We need Subban back badly and we need an upgrade over our 6th defenseman.

... that's in addition to our need for a top 6 forward.

 

[triggrman]

I don't know why we continue to role them as a pairing. They have the same issues defensively. I'd rather mix it up and have Josi with Subban and Ellis with Ekholm. That gives us a physically stronger guy on each line.



Ekholm make everyone better that he plays with btw.

 

[Bringer of Jollity]

Please, please put the brothers E back together.

 

[Bringer of Jollity]

I don't know why we continue to role them as a pairing. They have the same issues defensively. I'd rather mix it up and have Josi with Subban and Ellis with Ekholm. That gives us a physically stronger guy on each line.



Ekholm make everyone better that he plays with btw.

How much of a raise does he deserve in a few years? More than Josi does, that's for sure.

 

[triggrman]

How much of a raise does he deserve in a few years? More than Josi does, that's for sure.

Can’t disagree

 

[Gh24]

I don't know why we continue to role them as a pairing. They have the same issues defensively. I'd rather mix it up and have Josi with Subban and Ellis with Ekholm. That gives us a physically stronger guy on each line.



Ekholm make everyone better that he plays with btw.

I understand that Lavi wants to have his two best puck moving defensemen on separate pairings, but I agree, I'd rather see our two best defensive defensemen on separate pairings.

 

[Pred303]

sometimes you have to just step back and enjoy each win. emotion won't carry you forever in this daily grind and they might not come as often as we wish.

 

[triggrman]

Going to tough with so many top players out

 

[TitansVolsPreds615]

Talked more trash tonight than I have in a long time. I forgot how bad their fans are.

 

[NoNecksCurse]

Talked more trash tonight than I have in a long time. I forgot how bad their fans are.

they are the worst in the league, hands down.

 

[wadesworld]

What a backhander by Tolvanen. He didn't look at all out of place tonight and did good things both offensively and defensively.

He'll go back down I'm sure to continue his development once we're a bit more healthy, but it will be cool to see what he can accomplish while he's here.

 

[sparkle twin]

Talked more trash tonight than I have in a long time. I forgot how bad their fans are.

they are the worst in the league, hands down.

I still hate their fans. And after listening to this girl behind me run her mouth about the "white trash Preds fans", it was nice to watch her run away after Watson scored the empty net goal.




Also, I sat next to 4 guys from New York (devils fans). They're here for the titans/jets game, but they wanted to come see a Preds game. They absolutely loved everything about the game, the arena and the crowd!

 

[FossilFndr]

10 total penalties in the game, 8 of those on one play and 5 on one player. Makes me wonder how many itemized infractions can be called on the same player same play.

Per	Time	Plyr	Len	Infraction
1	7:18	D.KEITH	2	Roughing
1	7:18	D.KEITH	5	Fighting (maj)
1	7:18	D.KEITH	10	Misconduct (10 min)
1	7:18	D.KEITH	10	Game Misconduct
1	7:18	D.KEITH	2	Instigator

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

 

[hockey diva]

It was my first Preds/Hawks game in over 2 seasons. I refused to go cause I had trouble controlling my temper around their fans. Thankfully, the couple of fans I had around me were decent. And I am recovering from laryngitis. I also noticed there was no cheering during the National Anthem.

The Hawks are a shell of what they used to be. We were great in spurts but they were awful.

 

[Pred303]

I have to admit, the current injury situation has dramatically altered my hopes/expectations of what I want to see this season.

 

[101st_fan]

Beating the bottom dwellers and playing competitive hockey against the better teams while this depleted does keep us in a decent position for the run to the playoffs ... assuming we ever get healthy.

 

[adsfan]

It was my first Preds/Hawks game in over 2 seasons. I refused to go cause I had trouble controlling my temper around their fans. Thankfully, the couple of fans I had around me were decent. And I am recovering from laryngitis. I also noticed there was no cheering during the National Anthem.

The Hawks are a shell of what they used to be. We were great in spurts but they were awful.

I hope that you are getting over your illness.

People from Chicago have finally learned they are the weirdos in this matter and that everybody else in the USA considers it DISRESPECTFUL.

I started listening to that in 1997 or so, when Chicago Wolves fans started coming up to Milwaukee for Admirals games. It died out a number of years ago (2002?, 2012?) when 3 bus loads of Wolves fans caused problems. One lady sitting in the Wolves fan group got arrested half way through the game when she stood up and threw a plastic beer bottle onto the ice during a stoppage in play.

Wolves fans starting fighting with Admirals fans on the SE plaza outside the Bradley Center after the game. About a dozen Milwaukee Police officers showed up to stop it. This never got reported by the local media even though the newspaper was diagonally across the street. The Wolves organized fan group never came back after that day. Perhaps they were disinvited by the Admirals and the Police for their drunken misconduct.

 

[FossilFndr]

Thought this was an interesting way of looking at scoring, makes Josi's offensive lack of success even more dramatic, leads team with 102 shots on goal, with only 5 goals and only 4.9% shot percentage.

(EDIT, Josi has 6 Primary assists, I don't know how many were deflections, but somehow that should be part of the story)

not to mention
Ellis, 55 sog, 1 goal and 1.7 shot % ... he can't buy a goal

(EDIT, Ellis has 7 Primary assists, I don't know how many were deflections...)

 

[Gh24]

At some point during last game they showed a shots leaderboard for this season. Josi #7 league wise, trailing Seguin (111 SOG) by only 12 shots (99 SOG before last game).

 

[sparkle twin]

What it's considered a realistic shooting percentage for a player?

I don't know if realistic is the word I am looking for, maybe just what's an average shooting percentage? Or what number shows a player is shooting something unsustainable?

 

[Gh24]

I'd say anything over ~12-13% is usually unsustainable on a long run. Few career shooting% examples:
Laine 18.5%
Ovechkin 12.5%
Tavares 13.1%
Pavelski 12.2%
Forsberg 12.9%
Crosby 14.6%
McDavid 14%
Kane 12.1%
Benn 13.5%



So when you see William Karlsson score 43 goals with a shooting% of 23.4%, you can make a pretty safe assumption that number is going down....hard.

 

[Pred303]

"normal" shooting percentages tend to be around 5% for defensemen and around 11% for forwards.

so josi is fairly close to his career shooting % of 6.4%.
subban this year at 4.3%, career 6.2%
ellis 1.8%, career an exceptionally high 7.2%
ekholm 7.3% versus a career 5.8% only dman we have shooting slightly higher than their career % so far.

 

[Gh24]

Some dmen numbers for comparison. Again, career s%:
Burns 7%
Faulk 5.9%
Weber 8.2%
Hedman 6.9%
Karlsson 6.6%
Pietrangelo 5.8%
Giordano 7.3%
Golikoski 6.3%
Doughty 6.1%
Chara 6.4%
Vlasic 5%
Boychuk 3.6%
Seabrook 5.3%