Nucks Game

I really liked how physical they were. Finally, they stand up for
their goalie. I've been waiting to see them do that for years now.
Also, did Murray give that punk a nice shiner?

Also give great praise for their game plan. Late in the game they
still were fore-checking hard, and the D pinched in a number of times
to try to keep pucks in the opponents zone when a free puck came to
the half boards. Normally this would give me a heart attack, but with
this team it's the only way to go.

What made the games so far pretty much unwatchable was the fact that
the offense wasn't playing together at all. This is just plain
inexplicable. It would be conceivable if there were a bunch of new
guys on the team, playing on new lines. But come on, these guys have
been playing together for years now, yet they play like they just met
in a pick-up game.

When passes go to nowhere, guys are not in sync, not coordinated, not
communicating, whatever. When guys put lazy drop passes and no one is
there...not in sync, etc.. When a team is offsides over and over and
over, they are not in sync, not communicating, etc.. When you have a 2
on 1, and the guy with the puck isn't even aware of the other
guy...repeat the mantra.When guys run into each other, etc. etc. etc..
The offense is just plain awful. They had a training camp, right? And
practices, and a pre-season?

Hey I have a super-radical idea. Put Michalek back on Joe's line. You
know, like they did last year when they won like the last 25 games in
a row, and the two of them scored like 50 points.

On Oct 16, 12:39 pm, "Mr. T" <ted.peder... DeleteThis @gmail.com> wrote:
> I really liked how physical they were. Finally, they stand up for
> their goalie. I've been waiting to see them do that for years now.
> Also, did Murray give that punk a nice shiner?
>
> Also give great praise for their game plan. Late in the game they
> still were fore-checking hard, and the D pinched in a number of times
> to try to keep pucks in the opponents zone when a free puck came to
> the half boards. Normally this would give me a heart attack, but with
> this team it's the only way to go.
>
> What made the games so far pretty much unwatchable was the fact that
> the offense wasn't playing together at all. This is just plain
> inexplicable. It would be conceivable if there were a bunch of new
> guys on the team, playing on new lines. But come on, these guys have
> been playing together for years now, yet they play like they just met
> in a pick-up game.
>
> When passes go to nowhere, guys are not in sync, not coordinated, not
> communicating, whatever. When guys put lazy drop passes and no one is
> there...not in sync, etc.. When a team is offsides over and over and
> over, they are not in sync, not communicating, etc.. When you have a 2
> on 1, and the guy with the puck isn't even aware of the other
> guy...repeat the mantra.When guys run into each other, etc. etc. etc..
> The offense is just plain awful. They had a training camp, right? And
> practices, and a pre-season?
>
> Hey I have a super-radical idea. Put Michalek back on Joe's line. You
> know, like they did last year when they won like the last 25 games in
> a row, and the two of them scored like 50 points.

Kudos, especially, to the refs for that sissy call on Cooke that
resulted in our second goal and changed the whole game. The obvious
intention of the league to take all contact out of the game sickens
me, but I guess I'll just have to like this pond hockey, or no hockey,
at all. They only need boards to keep the puck in play. Beyond that,
they might as well be made of paper mache.

The Sharks, as usual, looked like two different teams out there. When
they got inspired in the late second period and third period, they
looked fast, passed well and took the play to Vancouver. Prior to
that, they looked lost out there.

Ahem.....there have been plenty of posts, from time to time, on what a
stupid move it was to lock up Nabokov in a long-term contract at the
price. Well, there are some bums making as much or more than he does,
who couldn't fill his skates. Nabby is playing very well, really on
top of his game, making key saves last night that kept the team in the
game. His positioning and reflexes are so good that he often makes it
look easier than it is. This is shades of the Nabokov that we saw
when he first came into the light. The Sharks are lucky to have him,
IMHO.

The Sharks still need to do a much better job of shooting quicker and
getting them on goal. So many flubs that it's almost expected at this
point. And, often times, they move the puck all around, then,
finally, pass it to the one guy that all that passing successfully
left wide open. What does that guy do? He stands there, like he's
waiting for permission to shoot the puck, and by the time he does, the
gap to the net has closed up. Get more aggressive!

Was good to win the game and dominate in the third period while doing
it, but it did also look to me as if Vancouver became deflated and
mailed it in after our couple quick goals. The Sharks still need more
toughness and consistent play, if they're going to string together
wins.