As far as Mike Sillinger was concerned, the giveaway and the breakaway that led to Philadelphia’s first two goals in a 3-2 win last night at Wachovia Center didn’t matter so much. The Flyers are a good team that crashes the net, and they’re going to get their share of goals. For Sillinger, the reason the Islanders aren’t in first place in the Atlantic Division this morning boiled down to the ineptitude of a power play that went 0-for-4 and gave up Mike Richards’ gamewinner on a short-handed goal early in the third period.
Philadelphia doesn’t actually have the best penalty-killing unit in the NHL as Sillinger asserted, but the Flyers have been strong in that area lately, killing 29 of their past 31 short-handed situations, and Richards now leads the league with three short-handed goals. What happened at the end, when Josef Vasicek lost control of a puck near the blue line and Marc-Andre Bergeron failed to control the right point, bordered on the inevitable in Sillinger’s view.
“The one mistake was on our power play,” Sillinger said. “We know the Flyers come up. We talked about it before the game. We said they test you, they want to go on the offense, and they’re aggressive. When you have an aggressive penalty kill, the only way to beat it is to establish a point shot and go to the net. When you establish the point shot, wherever the rebounds go, that’s when you catch them out of position, and we did not get one rebound tonight.”
Defenseman Chris Campoli was the only Islander back to defend against the Flyers’ two-on-one rush, and he made the right move by allowing Richards to shoot coming down the left wing. Goaltender Rick DiPietro went down to stop the initial shot, but Campoli also went down, leaving no one to tie up Richards in front to prevent him from getting to the rebound.
“I just played a two-on-one,” said Campoli, who has played well enough at both ends lately to earn the praise of coach Ted Nolan as having the potential to become a “top-end” puck mover. “I didn’t want the pass to get across, and that’s why I went down. He shot it. I stuck my stick out. I was getting up, and the puck bounced right back to him. He had another whack. I didn’t even see the puck, to be honest with you. It’s unfortunate. It was a mistake, and they capitalized on it. It’s a lesson to be learned for our team.”
In general, the Islanders played a solid defensive game, yielding only 17 shots on goal to the Flyers. But Richards’ game-ending rush wasn’t the only one the Flyers got against an Isles power play that got too cute with the puck, often making touch passes that were easily picked off in traffic in front of the net.
“We gave up too many odd-man rushes on power plays,” DiPietro said, “and it ended up costing us.”
The Islanders had one last power play at 15:54 in the third period and a chance to tie the game for the third time, but they failed to get even one shot on Flyers goaltender Martin Biron.
“The way you work it, is you keep it simple,” said Sillinger, who delivered that message to his teammates loudly after the game. “You get the puck back, and you shoot the puck. It’s the forwards’ job to get to the net. If we’re not getting that point shot, you have to establish it. Once you establish it, I don’t care what penalty kill you play against in the league, that’s when they start running around. The reason they were effective is because we moved the puck around and let them stay in place. It’s pretty simple.”
The answer to the problem seems fairly simple, too. Defenseman Bryan Berard, who has been successful quarterbacking the power play this season, is just about ready to come off the injury list for Thursday night's game in Pittsburgh. “If he’s cleared, he’ll be back in,” Nolan said. “We need a power play guy.” Bergeron was that guy at the end of last season, but his struggles this season have been costly and seem likely to result in a return to the press box as a healthy scratch.
Comments (52)
Bergeron cost us the game...as simple as that.
1) He couldn't get a shot off or make a clean pass during the power plays....
2) When he would shoot he wasn't even shooting on net..Biron made glove saves 1 foot off the net
3) His poor judgement to pinch was the reason they had a shorthanded opportunity. (He does this alot)
As much as he was an asset last year...I just don't know if he is going to work out with this team....we're better off putting out another offenseman on the power play. I think he's tradeable.
I agree with Troy, Bergeron seems like a week link, we'll see what happens when Berard comes back. I am a little worried about putting all of our eggs in Berards basket though, he is not a spring chicken.
Did anyone else think that DP seemed a little off? I found myself holding my breath everytime he made a save.
Gotta love Park, my new favorite work horse!
Claire
I agree in part and disagree in part.
MAB's decision making was questionable last night. He needs to learn when to press and when to sit back and allow the play to come to him. However, MAB was pretty well covered last night and had very few opportunities to shoot on the PP. He tried to force the issue at one point, but blasted a Flyer forward right in the shin.
In my opinion, the real cuprit last night was Mike Silinger. Greg, please get a message across to Ted Nolan to REMOVE SILINGER FROM THE POWER PLAY.
He has not been winnging faceoffs and constantly turns the puck over when the Isles have the man advantage.
During the last PP with 4 minutes remaining, Silinger made a lazy pass and the Flyers were able to clear. As the Isles attempted one final rush, Silinger misplayed a pass and turned the puck over in the neutral zone.
Silinger is a checking line center and a penalty killer, NOT A PP CENTER! Not his fault however that his coach puts him out there, heck everyone wants to play on the power play.
http://blueorangeblood.blogspot.com/
I agree that DP seemed a bit off lastnight.
Don't know if MAB can ever learn to make smarter decisions. He seems one dimensional...He's always covered becasue they know all he is going to do is shoot.
I agree that Berard is a short term solution, and we need to prepare someone else to back him up.
MAB played bad but he did not cost us the game:
1-bruno tripped up on upshaws skate leading to the breakaway
2-campoli couldnt stop the rebound shot b/c he did not see it
3-vasicek gave up the puck in on the power play and MAB pinched.
4-vasicek and comrie were both guilty of passing the puck softly leading to take aways
5- we let up two soft goals
6-it was team effort in the loss. but MAB is not #1 on line for the loss last night
I understand MAB, that everyone know he was shooting it and the ones he got through were not on net
It is easy to blame MAB but he was not the major part for the loss and it is the worse we have seen him play since the benching.
Berard please play on Thursday. Maybe the Meyer pick will be key
Steady: here you go JoeMcDonald@nysportsday.com
???
Re: discussion in the last thread about Sean Avery. Wanted to ask you Icelander fans something. Avery is a jerk, no doubt. But you guys are vilifying him as if he's the worst person in the world, yet your guy who swung his hockey stick like a baseball bat into Ryan Hollweg's face gets re-signed (a slap in the face to the Rangers and to every hockey fan who truly loves the game, in my opinion) is a hero. Could you please explain? Thanks, and have a nice day.
Thanks MJ....to all Isles fans wanting to know what this is all about, go read my post on the Rangers blog. Went there to read about Avery and found this article from a guy I worked with for a few years. One of the Rangers bloggers posted it! He and I fought Rangers ~ Isles while working together on wall street. Small world!
Now he writes for the Rangers....Mook if I can hook you up with tickets or anyhting I will let you know. This horse aint going to the garden :) !!!
No interest in talking Rag Hockey on this site, especially when it comes to Avery...you have to be half stupid as a player to be instigated by him and half stupid as a fan to talk about him.
MJ,
I understand what your saying and all losses are team losses...but when it comes to special teams, this team needs to capitalize...MAB did not get it done or even give us a chance.
How can you blame Vasicek for falling down...Bergeron should only pinch if he can recover...but he can't becasue he's too slow.
Bottom Line is that he will be out of the lineup next game. He's out there to be productive on power play and to not be a defensive liability...Unfortunately he was one and not the other.
Alan: he has intentionally run at goalies for ex. DP and has been noticed in the league for doing it. So its like the simon incident but different means. Coming down with an elbow on the goalie that you know had a concussion goes hand in hand and it was on purpose they are both not right Simon or Avery.
If he did say this, it it worse than a racist comment but it seems Avery is trying to cover himself by filing libel and there was reason Sather did not let him speak. We are making no excuses for Simon but it was last year and now its this year.
So we sign Simon. so what , he has played with Nolan in the past.Bertuzzi etc.. you can name a dozen of people..Avery has burned every bridge in the league and will get his,, whether he is wearing nail polish or not. I am not sure if he wears on home games only. Seems like he is going to be target every game
this story is not confirmed yet so end of story till we here more
I certainly hope that was not a dig at me Troy.
Troy: i agree we have to figure something out for him, he will be sitting agreed and Nolan knows we need BB back asap. He should not have pinched but since he did he should of went for the body as well.
Vasicek gave up 2-3 soft passes, if you remember leading to 3 on 2's and 2 on 1's
MAB is an issue and everyone knows he is going to shoot on the PP but last night i know he was at fault for mistakes but what i am saying he is not the main reason just a part of it.
Thank you. If he replies and has connections I will get us all into MSG in a suite and we can have a Battle Royale! :)
Does anyone remember when Blake hit Tucker in the eye at the face off circle a couple of years back??? Tucker went psycho and you could clearly read his lips "I am going to Kill You ! "
I hate Avery as does many in the league, but who is Mother Tucker to talk about Etiquette ?
The way to deal with them is the same way to deal with the trolls trying to ruin hockey talk.....Ignore Ignore Ignore !!!!
NYR -- I should probably not respond because I don't want to start a boring repetition of all the Simon-Hollweg discussion on this board. I'll just say this: There are two reasons why Simon does not deserve to be vilified: (1) He was severely concussed after Hollweg hit him, so much so that he could not fly to Toronto for his hearing, it had to be held in NY. In the immediate wake of a severe concussion, his judgment was impaired and he swung the stick. But he did not even swing the stick hard enough to cause serious injury and Hollweg was able to return for his next shift(!). That is a far cry from, say, what Jesse Boulerice did, and Boulerice was fully in possession of his faculties. (2) Hollweg hit Simon from behind, head-first into the boards hard enough to concuss him. In other words, what Hollweg did was far more dangerous and injurious than what Simon did, and Hollweg was not impaired when he did it. It is not enough to mechanically say, "swinging the stick is worse than hitting someone's melon into the boards from behind." It depends on how hard you do it. I know the NHL suspended Simon for 25 games but, while I generally agree with the strict policy on stick-swinging incidents, I don't think it should have been applied that way in this case. I also fault the Islanders for not trying to defend Simon on the grounds I just stated. It says a lot that Hollweg is hated around the league as a dirty player, while Simon (if you saw the recent Sport Illustrated profile), is appreciated as a great teammate by everyone he's played with.
If you're too blinded by Ranger loyalty to see the merit in what I am saying, I suggest you (i) talk to a doctor about the incident and tell him Simon was severely concussed when he swung the stick, and (ii) read the SI piece on Simon.
The Isles have enough depth at D that MAB needs to be dealt, sent down or thrown in the luxury boxes (oooh, do you have some dip for these chips???). He gave the Isles a needed PP point man last year when we desperately needed it but w/ Berard and Campy's continued development, MAB is now 3rd best for that role. His defense is putrid ... what else can you say? Unfortunately, other teams will notice this so I can't see MAB having much trade value. We'll see though.
Nick and others who were talking about Eric Nystrom -- I too love the idea of having 2d-generation Islanders on the team. If I were alone in a room with Lord Stanley's Cup and I rubbed it and the Genie of the Cup emerged and granted me One Hockey Wish (TM), my wish would be for Zach Parise to be an Islander.
alan,
re:Avery
I'll bite
" Wanted to ask you Icelander fans something. Avery is a jerk, no doubt."
Alan, do you always enter into what is perceived as an honest and forthright discussion area with an insult to the hosts? (Icelanders?)
Or is that something you learned from Avery?
But I do agree with you, Avery is a jerk.
"But you guys are vilifying him as if he's the worst person in the world, yet your guy who swung his hockey stick like a baseball bat into Ryan Hollweg's face gets re-signed (a slap in the face to the Rangers and to every hockey fan who truly loves the game, in my opinion) is a hero."
I am not gonna say that Simon is a hero. And I don't think any knowlegeable hockey fan, Islander or Ranger or otherwise, is going to categorize him as a hero. You are making an assumption that is way off base. He fulfills a "role" on the Islanders that is the same role that many other players in the league fulfill for their teams.
Yes he made a mistake with the Holewig (there's my INSULT) incident and he was the first to admit it and apologize for it.
No real hockey fan has bestowed heroic accolades on Simon for what happened.
"Could you please explain?"
Simply put, Simon's behavior was a REACTION to what he perceived (rightly or wrongly) was a cheap shot.
Again, emphasis on the word REACTION. Simon rarely "starts" anything.
Avery on the hand is an INSTIGATOR.
Consistently.
With his mouth and with unnecessary cheap physical shots that have been a hallmark of his entire career regardless of where he has played. And the sad thing about Avery?
He consistently "turtles up" when a team's enforcer (Simon type) challenges him to back up his words and his actions.
Pure and simple.
For those reasons, Avery is villified not just by Isles fans but by many hockey fans throughout the league.
" Thanks, and have a nice day."
You too.
need to get the power play back on track
too many wasted opportunities lately
505 -- Once again, great minds think alike!
By the way, to be more specific about it, Simon had a Grade II concussion, according to SI.
KH/505: good posts
KH: i agree with Parise..i want him on our team asap. i am not sure if he signed an extension yet but if he didnt we should take a note from Lowes book and throw an offer sheet out to him at the end of the year
Candyman:
Mike Sillinger has a 55% faceoff win percentage...he's winning draws, including important ones in his own zone late in one-goal games. I agree he probably should not see as much PP time as he does, but I'd hardly say he was the reason the Isles lost last night. He's also on the second PP unit, so the fact that he's been out there so much is also a comment on the first unit's inability to get it done...
Wrt MAB, I just disagree that he's had some sort of breaking out since being benched. I've simply stopped counting the amount of times he gets outmuscled along the boards, steps up in his own zone but does not take the body so he gets caught flat-footed, pinches in the offensive zone when he shouldn't, abandons his man in his own zone to follow the puck, tries to skate through three guys in the neutral zone when no one is covering behind him...just because these don't always result in goals against, doesn't mean he's been doing a spectacular job back there. It seems to me that he just has no defensive instincts. Is it all really worth it for a hard shot that hits the net once every three games?
Regardless, though...I thought there were many more positives than negatives last night...particularly the 5 on 5 play, which was a problem earlier in the year. They played a pretty good road game...just not good enough. Let's see what they bring to Pittsburgh.
Man, I have been a consistent Bergeron supporter for a long time. Mostly because of what he brings to the pp. Just being on the ice takes a defender out of the defense mix for the other team.
BUT, after reading these blogs, I am not sure what to say.
I caught the 1st period last night and saw some major gaffes by the boy that he was lucky he didn't get burned on.
Seemed to me he was getting more 5 on 5 ice time than usual and I too, started, to cringe when he had the puck in 5 on 5's.
From what I am reading, I guess it got worse.
Not sure what the solution is other than carrying 7dmen when Berard comes back and giving MAB a designated PP position and that's all.
Or else......, don't know.
MJ: I'd have to argue that MAB was the main reason, and Gervais tripping, or Comrie making a bad pass, etc. were peripheral contributing factors. Imo, this game was lost because the PP could not convert (and gave up a goal against), and the driving factor behind the PP's ineffectiveness was that the "go-to guy" on it had no idea what to do when he got the puck, so he settled on shooting it into skates.
Isles Fan: i understand that. he looked lost on the PP and delayed and everyone knew he was going to shoot it but it seemed as the whole PP was out of it as well and did move well. Which could rely on MAB having to many ideas in his head. I know he is the weakest link right now on our team but what i was getting at was that the whole loss was not solely based just on his performance when as in the past a loss has been solely MAB;s fault
KH: they signed parise to a 4 yr deal this summer.so i guess we need to trade Kyle for him but why did we draft Nilsson over him ...which is a question a lot of other fans must be asking as well for there teams
"but why did we draft Nilsson over him ..."
Survey says...MIKE MILBURY, top answer with 96% :)
MJ, the announcers when that draft was televised were absolutely stunned that the Islanders didn't take Parise when he was still available for them. Then they said someone was going to get a steal by taking him, and if I remember, I think the Devils traded up to the next pick and took him.
Isles fan: my next question what do we trade to get him?
and what would we trade for Nystrom?
NYR#1: i was at the game simon had his back to him and hollweg ran into his back..Clearly seen.....Check Hollwegs hits....they are all from behind which is why i question is sexuality like Avery. We recongnize he was wrong ..a year suspension..try he got what he deserved with 25games..
Well, Nystrom is 24 now, so something similar to the Nokelainen/Ben Walter deal might work for him. I'd look into moving Jeremy Colliton for him, and possibly expanding the deal to include another Calgary prospect - David Van der Gulik. He's a former captain at my alma mater and led the AHL in plus/minus last year for the Quad City Flames. Maybe Colliton and a 2nd/3rd round pick for Nystrom and Van der Gulik?
Or what about "First Base" Hilbert instead of the draft pick? Oh man, that's too wonderful to even contemplate...
MJ/Nick: I haven't really seen Nystrom play that much...other than to notice that he chose the number 23...so I couldn't really guess what players would have to be moved (talent level), and overall I have no idea what the Flames are looking for. Maybe they need a "power play specialist with an amazing slapshot," ha.
I doubt the Devils would trade w/ the Isles - same division and all. They also wouldn't trade Parise, but rather build around him when Sutter tells Lou what he needs to make the system work. But just for fun, let's say Parise demanded a trade and they were willing to deal with the Isles. It would have to start with a top prospect (Okposo), someone to help them shore up their D (Witt or Marty?), and some sort of second-line offensive player that would fit into Sutter's scheme...which I don't think the Isles have...short of that maybe a mobile D man (Campoli or Gervais?). Don't think that'd really make sense for either team, though!
I would say Okposo, which i would have no problem trading him for Parise...first round pick (we are use to giving those away) and the guy who has a wicked slap shot sometimes.lol
Midnight~Mookie~Slick:
Are either of you going to the Rangers vs. Isles on Monday? I do not think I can make it, but that writer (Joe McDonald) will be there doing his job. He called me right after I e mailed him. Such a small world !!!!
Anyway he told me that he is in the writers section where the green seats meet the blue seats???? What ever that means. Been awhile since I have been to MSG. If you are there stop by and say hello to him. Maybe he can get you in the locke room!!!
Ask him about Avery! Told me some funny stuff. He actually likes him a lot as a person to interview!
I have his cell phone which I will obviously not give out, but I can tell him you are stopping by. He also writes for Mets inside pitch! I will be getting in on those tickets!!!! :) :)
*************************************************************************
Back to the Islanders. I am sorry guys, but you have got to go watch the video tape of last nights game again if you think that MAB is not to blame......You will easily see 4 odd man rushes due to his lack od judgment. He is 100% to blame. Also look at some of his passes that almost got two forwards killed. Looked like a Chad pass over the middle.
MAB for President!!! ..... of France. give him something else to do ... get him outta here.
Alright, I am feeling a nick-name contest for MAB emerging from all of this and will start the ball rolling with "Press Box."
This is what happens when Avery plays with the big boys
http://youtube.com/watch?v=pAcONzlueC4
MAB: i call him "Fulton" from the mighty ducks movie ..he is good for 1 out of 5 shots that will make it on the net.
MAB can collect the ice that the ice girls pick up as a part time job
I had high hopes for him this year but it looks like its not gonna work out ....so what do you think we get for him. a couple pucks and some extra sticks?
M.A.B = Moving Around Badly !!!
MAB = Move Aside for Berard!!!
BLOG THREAD:
MAB has improved (hard to believe). In their set and shoot PP scheme (like volleyball)... sometimes the setter has to take on some responsibility. In this case it's the whole PP unit that is really to blame, with maybe MAB taking on a little more.
First of all, as 505 pointed out, his presence takes a PKer out of the rotation, becasue they have to dedicate one skater to pressure the right point. Instead of moving the puck, and rotating positionally to create space the Isles looked like Bobby Orr Hockey players last night. There was more than one instance where the team, IMO, left MAB out to dry. It's a simple trap that is easy to use when you KNOW that where the play will eventually flow to. Sometimes it is a chess match played by simple people. You need to be creative and flexible on the PP, and employ multiple options. Also... everybody needs to be on the same page, so they can all be decisive. In a game dictated by mobile geometry, a stationary point has no place.
I like a Berard/campoli point pairing, in that it puts two mobile and resourceful "D" at the pont that can rotate and flow. That is much more valuable than a cannon shot that rarely hits the net. But I'm not ready to crucify MAB. He has looked better 5-on-5... and will be valuable down the road with the fragile personnel the corp employs.
I thought it was a pretty good game by our guys. I also agree with the point that a fellow poster made about Silly on the PP. He is really the fifth center option on the PP (IMO). He has enough responsibility defensively and taking important draws. I would rather have vasicek, park or even walter out there ahead of him.
Let's hope BB is back for Pitt. MAB gets another few games in the PB, and this team can continue the roll it was on at home.
Simon:
KH...EXCELLENT POST. I was making the very same argument on this blog from march 9th on. I think Chris has been a stand up guy throughout his career, and especially on this team. He is also a pretty good hockey player who's been cast in that "enforcer" role. There are very few teams that have a guy who will mix it up in the heavyweight division, and play the wing on the PP... or be designated for 10+ minutes of ice time in important games. He was doing that last year before march 8th... when the notorious Ryan "hit from behind" Hollewig initiated that incident.
As far as Avery goes, he's a pretty good second or third line player. He has defintiely helped the Rangers. But unlike a lot of other NHL tough guys who instigate and agitate (and can play the game)... Avery is less a YAPPER... and more a PUNK. If spearing guys in the sack is "Standing up for your teammates" I must have missed that chapter in the hockey for dummies book. By most accounts, before he was reunited with his only buddy, shanahan, everybody hated him... even his own teammates. But the rangers love him.
See... theo "the crackhead" fluery... and Matt "the smiling punching bag" Barnaby and Dale "drool cup" Puritan... Maybe there is just a tolerance level for the mentally unstable at the garden that is unequaled anywhere else in sports (except maybe the Oakland raiders).
Bottom Line:
MAB is, and will continue to be a valuable asset to this team. If nothing else he can order at Montreal restaurants when Bruno is otherwise engaged. Maybe they can get Bouchard back.
Avery is an annoying punk.. Hopefully somebody will drop him AGAIN... you know... live by the sword, die by the completely legal hit by a 230 pound defenseman running you like a freight train... (I HOPE SUTTON FEELS THE SAME WAY)...
JP
I'm still liking the Berard/MAB option on the backline of the PP.
Having a "Mad bomber" like MAB opposite Berard is gonna open up a whole world of opportunities for a quarterback like Berard (who also has a helluva shot from the point).
Let's remember something here as well folks, the Isle PP was #1 in the league before Berard's groin and most of Berard's shifts were with MAB.
I have REALLY liked that MAB has been taking more wrist shots from the back line (apparently not last night?-I dunno), and the fact that he is not afraid (ok, maybe sometimes he SHOULD be) to step up into the play in front of the net.
You want people to take an aggressive chance on a PP from time to time.
His defense? Well, what can I say about that.
He looked pretty good in the Jersey game as well as the Ranger game.
I guess he sucked last night.
He ain't goin anywhere folks, let's give Nolan a chance to sort it out.
Let's not push panic buttons after a close loss.
Hey,
It's a good sign when all the conversation here is about this player and that player etc. while on the Ranger board all the talk is about Surfboard Avery and whether he warrants a suspension or not.
Hope he enjoyed his flight to Toronto today.
I am sure Renney loves the distraction.
M.A.B = Moron At Blueline.....
Sorry guys, but the guy has done nothing to warrant any more chances. Nolan has had two years with this guy. He had the SAME exact reputation with his former team!
Let's not forget the ONLY reason he is playing is b/c Berard got hurt. He was benched. So if you do not want to take it from me, take it from Nolan and Snow!
The guy is not a Nolan type player. He is way too stuborn to change. All he cares about is unleashing the famous slap shot that is never on net.
YES, last night was just one game. Yet in my opinion it was a big game. It was against the Flyers who are undefeated at home. It was the start of a HUGE road trip in terms of confidence for the rest of the year. We now go face a Pitt team that will be more than ready. Then the Devils who feel they owe us. Then the bleeping Rangers who I cannot see losing three in a row to us. Then on to an early game against the Bruins after eating Turkey all night.........This road trip scares the he^^ out of me. Which is why I would sign on the dotted line for .500 !
Just my opinion!
Steady: If they play the way they played last night other then the couple of mistakes & lack of PP production they will play 500 on this road trip and stay above 500 in the standings. Pitt has it's own issues and are very fragile right now. The Devils this year are a team we should feel we can beat. This is not the Devils of years past. The Rangers; what can I say; they want revenge for the two losses. However; if we can survive the first 10 minutes of the first period and establish our game we have a good chance of winning yet again.
MAB has value. Look, he had value to us last year, and this year when a team that is competing is desperate to fill a void on their PP a guy like MAB will be of value and will probably land us a second round pick or maybe a guy who is a year away from cracking the NHL lineup. Unfortunately he is going to have to play to increase his value to get to that level but maybe a handful of games in the press box will gain his focus again.
We should have won that game last night. A + instead of the - on the special teams would have got a point or two and we would all be talking about the great road game the Islanders played last night.
steady, Steady
"Nolan has had two years with this guy."
23 games last year, plus 5 playoff games and 11 games this year do not make 2 years. Barely more than 1/2 of 1 year.
"He had the SAME exact reputation with his former team!"
The only "reputation" that Nolan should be concerned with is whether MAB can provide offensive punch from the blue line that's expected from him. He is clearly not a 'defensive" defenseman.
There is plenty of room on the TEAM roster for a much needed offensive Defenseman until Denis Potvin reincarnates to do both again.
"So if you do not want to take it from me, take it from Nolan and Snow!"
If Nolan and Snow start benching every guy who has a bad game or a even a couple, you're gonna have everyone playing with one eye over his shoulder. Thank goodness Satan wasn't benched earlier.
"The guy is not a Nolan type player."
Explain to me how well you know Nolan.
"He is way too stuborn to change."
Explain to me how well you know Bergeron.
"All he cares about is unleashing the famous slap shot that is never on net."
That's not what I saw in the last 3 home games.
More wrist shots than slap shots that were pretty consistently on net.
"This road trip scares the he^^ out of me."
And benching MAB is gonna make you feel better?
What if DP has another bad night in Pitt?
Bench him too?
What if Sillinger continues his trend of late and loses faceoffs consistently down the stretch?
Bench him too?
At what point do you want to simply call up the Sound Tigers?
"It was the start of a HUGE road trip in terms of confidence for the rest of the year"
Wanna quit now after one loss?
Call it a season?
Or suck it up and show a little confidence in your teammates?
"Just my opinion!"
And I could be wrong.
I am sitting here watching the Blues/Wings.
Blues overcame a 2-0 deficit in the last 10 minutes of the 2nd period with 4 goals and chased Hasek.
Couple of the goals could be called "soft" but fact of the matter is that the Blues started skating rings around the Wings.
Was not Hasek's best performance, but hey, even the great ones suck at times.
I bet Hasek starts the next game and I doubt that Detroit will be shopping him around for a 2nd round draft pick, a player to be named later and an undisclosed amount of cash.
NOW, I am not putting MAB in the same category as Hasek as an NHL player, but my point is.....IT'S A TEAM GAME FOLKS.
Individuals make mistakes.
What makes GREAT TEAMS are teams that work and play to correct mistakes made by individuals.
Had an old baseball coach who emphasized...
"SHUT THE HELL UP and CORRECT or IMPROVE the mistake!!!"
ROFLMAO
Headline on Yahoo...
"Avery prepares to file libel suit"
Great move Surfboard.
Take the Toronto reporter and WFAN to court over a he said/ she said issue.
Parade your teammates up to the stand to swear before God that they did not "leak the comment" about cancer.
Oh to be a fly on the wall of the Ranger locker room these days.
Who wants to bet me that Avery gets traded before MAB?
505.....
Sorry but I feel I am right.
As for Nolan, YES I do know the type of players he likes.
Why did Nolan sit MAB????....He sat for I think three straight games and was not asked back on the ice, until Berard got hurt.
In no way am I saying you bench every player that has a bad game. MAB has 4 bad games to every 1 decent game.
To compare Satan and Sillenger, two proven veterans with nothing but numbers to back them up, to MAB is comical. MAB had ONE GOOD YEAR.
As for his past reputation.....Facts are Facts....Go to TSN.CA and read what Canada thought of him!!!
Do you not remember how he played down the stretch at the blue line for us??? He gave away more shorties last year than I care to remember.
Tigers do not change their stripes!
p.s If you think the Rangers would ever trade Avery you are lost. You have a better chance of seeing Sather trade the whole team before he would trade Avery. Did you not see what this pest does for them. He is the heart and soul of their team!
Sathers Quote "If I could have a team full of Averys and Tuckers I would in a second. They are a must on every team!" This was made during the HOF game the other night!
Steady,
Look, at the risk of backtracking, everything you say about MAB is valid.
I simply like the idea of having a booming slapshot on the blueline for the PP.
The question is......at what point does Nolan determine that it is a strength with a diminshed return? I.E. at what point does MAB's mistakes outweigh his value to the PP?
We shall see.
I trust Nolan's judgement.
As far as Avery getting traded?
I'm not talking about his hockey ability here.
Steady, if Avery follows through with this threatened libel lawsuit against the hockey paparazzi, and his Blueshirt teammates start getting paraded through a courtroom swearing that they didn't leak the story....well....that goes beyond
"distraction" in this old coaches mind.
The fact that he is even CONSIDERING a lawsuit over this would make me as a teammate careful about what I said to him off and ON the ice about ANYTHING.
That does not conribute to team chemistry.
The thought of filing lawsuits against hockey paparazzi tells me that Avery is spending way too much time on Hollywood Red Carpets and manicure salons.
What's next?
Sean Penn'ing a photographer trying to get a picture of his nails?
Lot's of interesting thoughts on MAB but all in all, I strongly agree with the "masses" and see him sitting. Steady's points are bang on and the tirade against the MAB is really enforcing my original prediction on him. My thoughts were based on watching a lot of late Saturday night games on HNIC and the commentary that followed him around. Yes, he'd serve a purpose in French restaurants but that too can be corrected by just lettting Bruno order for all. I say keep him sipping press box coffee and with any luck he can do a "Best of Pressbox Coffee" collectors edition for Xmas shoppers.