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I... will... CRUSH YOU.
Well, probably not with my defense, but I challenge you to find a better goaltending rating than... 95.
Good luck, rest of the fake teams - here's hoping for a Cup!
Friday, December 11, 2009
Thursday, December 10, 2009
I question some people's sanity.
Last night's Thrashers game was a prime example of what happens when a tremendous lack of effort causes a team to perform short of expectations. The top 2 defensive pairings and Hedberg again were fairly solid. Offensively and 3rd pairing, the defense was absent. Lines were switched... nothing really seemed to get the Thrashers' butts in gear, except for the last five minutes of the game where we suddenly realized that we had to score. Then, of course, we go great guns.
We were in the middle of putting pressure on Kipper and creating scoring chances when, with the net empty, Kovalchuk turns the puck over and causes the ENG. What does he do? Stand there and look pissed. This is pretty indicative of his problematic defense recently - it just hasn't be that good.
So, what do some Thrashers fans do in response? Call for him to be traded.
Yeah, pick your jaws up now. Based on a couple of weeks of off play, probably due to the fact that his foot is, I don't know, still broken, they want the face of our franchise shipped out for young pieces, and they want the weight of the franchise to fall on Bogosian, Kane, and Little. A 19 year old, an 18 year old, and someone who has scored 3 goals all season. Perfect.
Is he not still wearing the boot on the broken foot? He came back from injury about three weeks sooner than he should have - does no one see the problem that this could cause?
He's not going to dog it if he wants to shop himself around, and he's not going to dog it if he's trying to get more money out of Atlanta. He's also not the only person on the team playing off of their game - Armstrong, Little and White have all been guilty of standing around and doing neither jack nor squat (though Little's woken up quite a bit more). The 3rd pairing on defense has been responsible for quite a few goals recently. We can't play a full 60 minutes - we do well to play a full 10. It's not just Kovy, it's the whole team. Once a mood or an atmosphere begins to take over the play on the ice, it impacts everyone. I'm convinced this is a combo of the team being in a slump and him not generally being 100%.
But to say that contract talks have broken down, he's not worth the money, inferior, and saying that it's someone else's team is a bit presumptuous based on about 5 games play out of 82 total. Everyone worshiped the ground he walked on when he came back and went on a tear, and now people want him banished to Narnia? Good lord, over-react much? Teams (and players) get into funks once in a while. Back away from the ledge and breathe. The Rangers have lost 5 out of their last 6. Saying to dump Kovy because of his poor play is like saying they need to dump Lundqvist because he hasn't been doing so well recently.
Wednesday, December 09, 2009
CONKBLOCKED.
3-0-1 against Detroit this season. 1-0 shutout. 42 saves. Sometimes, just sometimes, this team gives me hope.
Interesting note.
Copied and pasted from my new post over at Hendrick's Hockey because this chair is making my back cramp (and I want to watch MST3K before the Blues play Detroit), and in honor of Moose Hedberg starting tonight, a fun fact:
Hoo! Best of luck tonight - I want to see your name at the top of one of those columns tomorrow, Moose.
Speaking of Moose, a quick look at the league leaderboard for goalies puts him second in the league with a .933SV% - it's possible that he could be number one in the league if he turns in a good performance tonight and Miller doesn't. He's also 5th in GAA with a 2.16 - again, the league leader Miller has a 1.90. Hedberg has never lead the league in both categories at once this far into the season. He's having an outstanding year, getting lots of playing time, and is making the case for an extension on that contract. Honestly, if we dump Kari and MacIntyre isn't ready to come up next season, I would not pitch a fit if we re-sign the Moose.
Line-up changes for tonight's Thrashers game
Wednesday, 09 December 2009
Read more...
Wednesday, 09 December 2009
Tuesday, December 08, 2009
Monday and hockey don't mix.
Honest to goodness, what was up with everyone last night? Almost shut out by Toskala, blanked by Budaj. Unpleasant. The Blues lost at home again... there's something about playing in front of the Scottrade crowd that just sucks the life out of the team. This isn't the same problem that the Thrashers have - we don't have as many people in the seats as we should here. We have a fanbase that's extremely loyal, but small (we're the ones who don't sit around and watch football, Antro - thanks for that last night, BTW), but come on - playing for 8000 people who love ya versus 20,000 people who do... or even 10,000 that do and 10,000 who got the tickets from their boss... the cellphone chatter in the ACC last night could have been louder than the stands during the last home game. The Thrashers (usually) play better on the road because they have people to play to, and they feed off that noise. The Blues also feed off of the opposition crowd. Both teams have outstanding road records (9-3-1 for the Thrash, 7-2-3 for the Blues), presumably because they like to make other fanbases wallow in the misery that their own have been subjected to in recent years.
But the Blues have fans in the stands. I don't get it... are these the bandwagon fans that hopped on during our playoff push? Bandwagon fans can suck the life out of an arena. They only cheer when a good, obvious play happens. Anyone make a smart defensive move? Silence. Trying to set up for a shot during the power play? They scream at you because you're cycling the puck. Guys that sit in the stands, call out individual players, and then sit silent when they do something productive - gosh, I'm describing the people who sit behind me at games again, aren't I?
Anywho, maybe that's it at Scottrade. Maybe Jackman's tired of taking the ire in Brewer's absence. Maybe the team just really wants some people in the stands to actually back off in sending out the bad vibes. Who knows, but homecomings for the Blues and Thrashers are oftentimes not happy.
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