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Official 2011-2012 NHL Regular Season Thread; Second Period

#401
basstotheface said:
Darn, was hoping the Sabres won. But the Jets played great.

In other news Stamkos could hit 60 goals this season and that's pretty cool if superficial. IF he hits 60 or TB makes playoffs he could beat out Malkin for the Hart. Even though Malkin is a better player I think the voters could go with Stammer. Heard a Rangers fan call him a modern day Brett Hull at the game last week.
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Sorry but Datsyuk is still the best two way player in the game this season. The real proof is watching the Wings without him. With him they are legit cup contenders, without him they are barely a playoff team. He not only is a tremendous threat offensively, he shuts down the other teams top threat.

The Wings seem to be getting the injury bug. They're playing this week without Datsyuk, Lidstrom, Howard, Kindl, and Ericson. So far the only serious injury looks to be Ericson, although he's still back in a month.

Sadly, Injuries are the most important facet of the game right now. All a GM can do because of the Salary cap is get a team in the hunt. There is no way to guarantee success with the lack of depth.
 
#404
jp58 said:
Link Removed

Great read.
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Not too bad a read.

What I disagree with is that she doesn't take into account that there were many, many changes early in the game to make it more playable and bring it from the ponds and lakes and bring it indoors. Then there was a time when the changes became very minor tweaks. What long time hockey fans are objecting to now is what are viewed as major overhauls to the game that seem to be taking away from the game and not adding to it. That seems to be taking away from what is hockey.

Yes, there are changes that are needed to protect players from concussions as well as some other injuries, but this is a sport with some risk. There are big bodies out there travelling at high speeds with a frozen piece of rubber and sharp blades and pipes and side 'boards', etc... And players do need to protect each other.
 
#406
Broadstbully22 said:
I agree, the only thing he was really good at during a penalty was short handed goals.
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And the reason he had so many short-handed goals is because he is very effective at pressuring the points and blocking shots.

Don't get me wrong--I think that the Richards trade was a clear winner for the Flyers, and I don't really miss Richards in any other aspect of the game. But the Flyers' PK is currently ranked 22nd out of 30 teams, and that's a big concern for a team that takes as many penalties as the Flyers do.
 
#408
I think the Flyers PK woes can be chalked up to bad goaltending. To borrow a cliche; you goaltender has to be your best penalty killer and both goaltender's lackluster play is likely the biggest contributor to that.

Could also be the rookies that are leaned on for PK duties might be wearing out as a result of not being used to such a long grinding season.

The first part of the season our PK was really impressive. I remember a few games where the PK actually generated momentum for the team. Guys like Coots Reader and Talbot would be really aggressive on the forecheck and make such smart decisions with the puck,....IE skate the puck into the offensive zone,...and pass back into the neutral zone for a D man to casually move around the D-Zone and then clear it to kill time. I saw glimpses of that tactic from PK units on Richards era Flyers teams,...but this team seemed to be leaning on it in the early parts of the season.

Also really good at tying up players in the offensive zone after a dump in. Just never saw a Flyers team in resent memory that were so tenacious on the puck.

That said over the past few weeks I've noticed that that system or at least the work ethic has changed a bit and the opposing power plays are getting more looks than earlier in the season. PPs are gonna get pucks through,...that when the goalies need to step up and frankly,...that's only really starting to come around.

RE: Richards trade. I won't say that I don't miss the guy,....but the Flyers have tentatively the most Goals For and the highest Goals Per Game average which leads to being the 1st ranked offense (arguably?) in the league. I'm sorry Mike who? Jeff who? There was all this worry about where the offense would come from? Simmonds and Talbot are having career years and they weren't here last year. Hartnell is having a career year as a result of not being caught in the cauldron of Richards and Carter shenanigans. Giroux has emerged. The only thing keeping the Flyers from running away with their offense is Danny B and JVR having off years (granted JVR has been sidelined for going on 17 games now).

That said,...I'm glad to see the Flyers string back to back wins together. They've been a .500 hockey team since mid January. Here is hoping for three in a row against DET tonight. Also the Flyers are making a big deal (deservedly so) about retiring Mark Howe's number tonight. No more Flyers #2's. I didn't follow hockey when Howe played for the Flyers so,...it's kinda not that big a deal to me,...but I'm sure some older Flyers fans have some memories of Gordie's boy.
 
#409
burk48237 said:
Sorry but Datsyuk is still the best two way player in the game this season. The real proof is watching the Wings without him. With him they are legit cup contenders, without him they are barely a playoff team. He not only is a tremendous threat offensively, he shuts down the other teams top threat.
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Datsyuk is awesome too! I love watching his game. So smooth.

He, Malkin and Stammer are all great talents.

EDIT: Above post reminded me of Giroux. While not in the same tier as the above guys, I think he is an amazing playmaker and would love him on a team I root for.
 
#411
basstotheface said:
Datsyuk is awesome too! I love watching his game. So smooth.

He, Malkin and Stammer are all great talents.

EDIT: Above post reminded me of Giroux. While not in the same tier as the above guys, I think he is an amazing playmaker and would love him on a team I root for.
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Giroux has a few things to work on,...but he is IMO an elite player in this league. Maybe not yet to Malkian and Datsyukian heights of superstardom.

He came out on fire and has cooled off a bit on goal scoring,...but he is in the mix for the Hart (in reality I think Malkin will get it this year) as he continues to put up points in the form of assists. The playoffs will make or break Giroux Superstar status. I think for now he is a little frustrated with himself and just needs to relax and loosen his grip on the stick. I've seen a number of open net opportunities get shanked wide because he is trying a little too hard.

Giroux is definitely my favorite Flyer and I've singing his praises since his rookie year so I'll admit I'm biased ;) He fits the Flyers mold better than Richards did IMO. I think he is a potential future captain of this team (although I caution the Flyers to be careful in naming him too soon like I think they did with Richards).
 
#412
Gman is starting to really come into his own. I love his game, he can score when he wants, but hes not a scorer, hes a passer and a over all player. The one thing I really like about him is i think hes one of the best skaters in the league. Plus hes young, this is his first year as the market player for a team and hes not even captain yet. He is young and has tons of promise and time to be one of the best.
 
#414
The only thing I forgot to mention I think G needs to get better on his defensive game and puck management. I've seen some cutesy high risk plays result in turnovers that lead to scoring chances (and a few goals) for opposing teams.

The most obvious lapse is his blown coverage of Brad Richards on the GWG of the Winter Classic.
 
#415
Giroux is ready to captain this team. Richards never was. Giroux has the maturity the the OCC could never get a sniff of. Giroux works hard and welcomed the challenge when the weight of the team was thrust upon him this year when they jetisoned Richards and Carter. He never sulked and sullied away from the press after a bad game and/or a loss. He backs up his teamates on the ice and won't stand around while others get roughed up wondering if he might break a nail or something. Giroux will chirp at the refs and argue calls on the ice. He'll battle back when slashed at, he'll get mad, he'll take notes, he'll wait for his shot. He's not out and about with the college party crowd. He's got business to take care of.
 
#418
warwick.hoy said:
The only thing I forgot to mention I think G needs to get better on his defensive game and puck management. I've seen some cutesy high risk plays result in turnovers that lead to scoring chances (and a few goals) for opposing teams.

The most obvious lapse is his blown coverage of Brad Richards on the GWG of the Winter Classic.
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That's funny because I always admired his game on D.
 

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