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AK


brobin

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I have been thinking about AK and what is wrong with him. While he has had a few better shifts, he really is not showing signs of recovery, imo.

I believe the issue is that our 2nd line has changed significantly. Kovy ruled that line and he played a slow, puck control game. He drew players to him, giving Pleks and AK all kinds of both room, and time. Kovy is gone. That line has to play differently. Pleks has gone back to a style he can play, which is a "hard skating, get it deep, outwork the other line" style.

I think they problem is AK can't play that way. How many times have we seen Pleks working his tail off, only to find AK floating around waiting for some pretty pass (which Kovy would give him). How many times have we seen Pleks drive the play in, only to find AK coasting in rather then driving hard to the net to give Pleks an option.

I am not sure that AK is going to get better because I am not convinced he can play the style of game that line needs to now that Pleks is the driver, not Kovy.

Maybe AK would be better with Gomez since Gomez is more of a puck possession player then Pleks, but I am not convinced. It is very possible that Kovy made AK look better then he really is. I could see AK doing decent with the right guy, but I don't think we have that guy anymore.

Add in his little brother's shit attitude effecting AKs effort, and I think we are seeing all we are going to get from him, which is not much.

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IMO; he's not offensively cycling well right now and he's dishing the puck off too much. He has skill and he should be more greedy with it. He's also out of position. Technically he has good position but where he happens to be won't lead to getting the puck. His confidence might be low.

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IMO; he's not offensively cycling well right now and he's dishing the puck off too much. He has skill and he should be more greedy with it. He's also out of position. Technically he has good position but where he happens to be won't lead to getting the puck. His confidence might be low.

I always said that AKosts shouldnt play with Kovy for that exact reason. AKosts has a wicked shot but he's gotten used to feeding his sniper vet idol Kovy who is no longer here. Hell I even think Plex was doing similar trying to pass to Kovy in the Atl game. Plex had several great cross the crease passes to nobody but thats where Kovy used to camp out.

AKosts did look a lot better in the Atl game, at least he started releasing the puck faster. For some silly reason this year he seems to always stop the puck before he shoots it. He needs to just release the puck as fast as he can because it catches the goalie off guard. When he stops the puck 1st the goalie has time to set and knows a shot is coming. AKosts quick release is what makes his shots really dangerous so he needs to start shooting more on the move, using other teams dmen as screens, etc and not stopping the puck before he shoots. AKosts clearly doesnt need to have the puck set to be able to blast it but he keeps doing that almost every time he shoots.

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IMO; he's not offensively cycling well right now

Yes. Well. Not a single Canadien knows much about a real cycle. Go look at the Habs teams of the mi-80's to early 90's. That was a REAL cycle. Complete puck possession in the corner for a minute at a stretch. "Cycle" today from our boys means marginal possession for 15 seconds. And that's when people applaud and say they're doing well.

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Kosty HAS been improving, so I'm not going to get too frustrated about him...yet. I get the sense that Pleks is really taking charge with him - as strange as it is to combine the words 'Pleks' and 'taking charge' in the same sentence.

As for him 'doing better' under Kovalev, geez Louise, the guy had 41 points last year. If he's missing the linemate who brought him THAT then we're in deeper trouble than I thought. ^_^

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Players like Kostitsyn are frustrating because they play by instincts/imagination first and foremost. Double-edged sword. Can pull out incredible highlight-reel moves or make incredibly dumb mistakes. High-risk, high-reward.

The reason why Kostitsyn is improving lately is because his game is becoming more structured. Instead of relying solely on his instincts, he's starting to make the "smart" plays. Like dumping the puck on the boards on zone entry instead of trying to deke through 5 players, for example. He's also coming down much lower in the defensive zone, almost to the corners. Before he wouldnt go any lower than the top of the faceoff circles. He's also using his body alot more, especially without the puck. Before he was invisible unless he touched the puck. Now you see him fight for loose pucks or finish his checks. He's also shooting more. Doesnt matter if it's crap shots, players with shots that good needs to use it as often as possible, from anywhere on the ice.

At least, it shows he's listening to the coaches. The kid's got a tons of talent, no doubt, but he'll need to start to play up to it. Right now, he's just a tease that's starting to remind me of Danius Zubrus, another player with talent to take games over but that never achieved 10% of what he was capable of.

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AKosts did look a lot better in the Atl game

:o:blink: REALLY? I was at the game and paid close attention to AK46...and I was thoroughly disappointed with his lack of effort. He just doesn't seem to care!

The bottom line he doesn't hustle or play with any heart. He needs to start there.

Agreed!

Edited by Habsfan
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You guys can guess all you want, style of play, linemates, whatever.

The bottom line he doesn't hustle or play with any heart. He needs to start there.

I guess that is my point. With Kovy he didn't need to hustle, because Kovy slowed down the entire play, given AK time to float out to the open. Pleks is now playing a hard north south game, and AK is still dangling around by the blue line wondering where he went...

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I find it baffling how people criticize snipers for 'floating'. You can't score many goals from the corner. If your job is to score goals, especially if you snipe from the slot, you're supposed to keep yourself open and wait for a pass or a loose puck. That's not armchair speculation, that's how snipers are told to play.

Have any of you ever watched Ovechkin play outside of TSN highlight reels? He's constantly hovering just outside the play, waiting to be sprung.

Edited by ForumGhost
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I find it baffling how people criticize snipers for 'floating'. You can't score many goals from the corner. If your job is to score goals, especially if you snipe from the slot, you're supposed to keep yourself open and wait for a pass or a loose puck. That's not armchair speculation, that's how snipers are told to play.

Have any of you ever watched Ovechkin play outside of TSN highlight reels? He's constantly hovering just outside the play, waiting to be sprung.

Personally, when I hear people talk about floating, I tend to think of how they play in the defensive zone. To me, a floater is a guy who doesn't help very much in his own zone, "floating" around waiting for his team to get the puck so he can go up ice. It's one thing to put yourself into a good position for such a breakout, but another if it's hurting defensive zone coverage. Plus, Ovechkin will never be called a floater, because floaters don't hit people like Ovie does.

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Ovechkin goes into the offensive zone like a beast on a mission though. He is determined that he will not be stopped. He will do anything, whatever it takes to get the puck and create a scoring chance. He will skate as hard as he possibly can, hit anyone as hard as he can and take as many hits as he has too. Anything to get that puck and score.

Kostitsyn waits for someone to do the work and get him the puck. I would love to see Andrei go into the zone like Ovechkin does.

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Floating is expecting the puck to hit you in the tape so you can get off a good shot. A top-notch sniper moves constantly to get open and stay open. That's why Kovy is and will always be a second class player. Ooodles of skill, but no heart to make it worthwhile. How many times have we heard that he could very well be one of the top skilled guys in the game? No heart to get the job done. Kosty has learned well from Kovy. He floats - doesn't put in second effort. He needs to learn from Cammi. You wanna score goals? Get your ass open and KEEP MOVING.

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he is improving so lets trade him while his value is high... -_-

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This guy is my favourite player... but he's also a player I love to hate. I love watching him when he skates hard and using his mass for the entire shift. When his legs stop moving is when I wonder just how into the game he really is. He CAN BE DOMINANT!!!!! anyhow... why not use this guy at the point on power plays since our defense have a hard time getting the puck through... He does have an AWESOME shot.

For the record I believe in this guy... my general feeling is that he may have not been brought into the team with proper care. Perhaps neglected in a sense. He even still has problems speaking english let alone french.

I'd love to see this guy fool us all and show what he can really bring to the table. If not, it wouldn't surprise me if he is traded. I'd prefer him on my team skating on all cylinders.

Go AK

Matts

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:o:blink: REALLY? I was at the game and paid close attention to AK46...and I was thoroughly disappointed with his lack of effort. He just doesn't seem to care!

The Atl game was the 1st game I didnt see AKosts stop the puck on his stick before releasing it, so thats definitely a great sign.

Watch the elite snipers, none of them stop the puck on their stick before shooting, and they all shoot on the move etc, and AKosts simply hasnt been doing that until the Atl game.

Think aboot it: How many high light reel goal have you seen Ovie shoot on the move and shoot through the defenders legs using them as screens? I've seen Ovie do that probably 20 times, and thats just in Wash vs Habs games. How many times have you seen AKosts do that? None.

The key to most of the elite snipers shots is their quick release, they can get a shot off on the move etc and startle the goalie because they cant telegraph the shot coming. Every time AKosts stops the puck and sets for a shot the goalie knows a shot is coming and is set for it. Thats why AKosts isnt scoring, all the goalies completely know when he is aboot to shoot. AKosts needs to be releasing the puck in .1 seconds, and not stop the puck 1st taking 1.1+ seconds. AKosts is giving the goalies to much time to react.

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The Atl game was the 1st game I didnt see AKosts stop the puck on his stick before releasing it, so thats definitely a great sign.

Watch the elite snipers, none of them stop the puck on their stick before shooting, and they all shoot on the move etc, and AKosts simply hasnt been doing that until the Atl game.

Think aboot it: How many high light reel goal have you seen Ovie shoot on the move and shoot through the defenders legs using them as screens? I've seen Ovie do that probably 20 times, and thats just in Wash vs Habs games. How many times have you seen AKosts do that? None.

The key to most of the elite snipers shots is their quick release, they can get a shot off on the move etc and startle the goalie because they cant telegraph the shot coming. Every time AKosts stops the puck and sets for a shot the goalie knows a shot is coming and is set for it. Thats why AKosts isnt scoring, all the goalies completely know when he is aboot to shoot. AKosts needs to be releasing the puck in .1 seconds, and not stop the puck 1st taking 1.1+ seconds. AKosts is giving the goalies to much time to react.

You're right about his shooting...but what I'm talking about was his lack of effort...he was floating around for most of the game...no hustle!! That's what i thought was disappointing about AK46.

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