jackp Posted February 22, 2010 Share Posted February 22, 2010 Canada again struggling to score goals. Can't tell me they couldnt have used skilled game-breakers/pressure players like Green, St-Louis, Stamkos, Richards, Lecavalier, Carter, etc. instead of glorified grinders & notorious chokers like Morrow, Marleau, Perry, Thornton. Again, Team Canada putting too much stock in size over talent is killing them. 100% Kozed, 100%. Unbelievable. This team can't score, just like last time. I thought the Swiss game was just an aberration, but this game clinches it. You can count all the shots you want but the quality scoring chances are few and far between. I daresay that our last 2 World championship teams, made up of players who didn't make the playoffs, has looked better. They were at least able to put a few plays together, instead of blindly shooting at the net, hoping for a rebound. Or trying to pass to a guy who's completely covered. Hail Mary shots and Hail Mary passes. And Brodeur is done. Can't blame him - he's 37. Even though he tends to choke, they need to ride Luongo the rest of the way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bar Posted February 22, 2010 Share Posted February 22, 2010 Haha slip of the fingers...by habs I obviously meant Canada haha. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brobin Posted February 22, 2010 Share Posted February 22, 2010 Sigh... reminds me of the Jr. game.. clearly needed to pull our goalie in the 1st, but didn't. Brodeur just doesn't have it right now. Time for the youth movement. I still can't believe Iginla looks at a goalie laying on his face, and puts it along the ice. A simple wrist shot high and he scores. I hope this is like 2002 and the team rally's for the win. Not looking forward to playing the russians who are getting their act together. They will absolutely destroy Pronger. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lazy26 Posted February 22, 2010 Share Posted February 22, 2010 (edited) Hopefully one more game against the Germans will let the boys gel a little bit better and build some confidence. If I'm Babcock, I'm strongly considering ushering in the age of Luongo. Edited February 22, 2010 by lazy26 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bar Posted February 22, 2010 Share Posted February 22, 2010 Unless they work some PP magic, the lack of a true PP QB will hurt this team. They should even think about putting a forward back there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sakiqc Posted February 22, 2010 Share Posted February 22, 2010 I never saw Doughty play before the Olympics. Wow is he GOOD! Very impressive for a 20 y.o. kid. I'm not worried about the "lack of offense". We did managed to get a tons of shots and great scoring opportunities. Miller was unbelievable on many occasions. Unfortunately, bad penalties cost us lot of tempo in the 3rd and Brodeur was shaky out of his nets all night. In the interview after the game, he still looked shaky, which is not his naturel-self, always "in-control". Good news is we have another "practice" against the German to continue to work our game, and maybe to get Luongo loose and ready for the game against the Russians. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fanpuck33 Posted February 22, 2010 Share Posted February 22, 2010 Where was the goalie interference call on that last American goal. Did the refs think Brodeur fell on his own?!! He was outside the top of the crease anyway. Man, what a great effort on the empty netter by Kesler. I totally didn't see that one coming. Rafalski is the freaking man. 4 goals in a row (end of last game and beginning of this one) and took the shot on a deflected goal. Miller came up big, which is great since he had been starting to struggle in Buffalo recently. Getting the extra day off is huge, as that was a tiring game for both sides. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jetsniper Posted February 22, 2010 Share Posted February 22, 2010 Hopefully one more game against the Germans will let the boys gel a little bit better and build some confidence. If I'm Babcock, I'm strongly considering ushering in the age of Luongo. Honestly, Brodeur had better be sitting next to Stevie Y for the rest of the tourney. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoeLassister Posted February 22, 2010 Author Share Posted February 22, 2010 I hate blaming a goalie in a team sport, but when 2 of your useless risky moves allow 2 goals to your opponent, it is tough to not blame him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rafikz Posted February 22, 2010 Share Posted February 22, 2010 (edited) A team with the SJ Sharks line is going nowhere Edited February 22, 2010 by rafikz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sakiqc Posted February 22, 2010 Share Posted February 22, 2010 He was outside the top of the crease anyway. Man, what a great effort on the empty netter by Kesler. I totally didn't see that one coming. Rafalski is the freaking man. 4 goals in a row (end of last game and beginning of this one) and took the shot on a deflected goal. Miller came up big, which is great since he had been starting to struggle in Buffalo recently. Getting the extra day off is huge, as that was a tiring game for both sides. Kudos to Kesler on that goal.. probably the most important and best empty netter I've ever seen, and he risked his life too. His face seemed awfully close to the dman's skates when he felt down. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KoZed Posted February 22, 2010 Share Posted February 22, 2010 Heatley is ok, but Marleau and Thornton are notorious for not getting the job done when it matters. I'm not buying into the Miller praise. A lot of shots were on him, and aside from the Crosby and Staal lines there's not much going on offensively for Canada. And Morrow. Yeah, nice player to have on an NHL... but what an horrible selection when it means leaving a dozen guys who could have single-handedly change the game with one shift. I also dont get the benching of Patrice Bergeron. Especially when Getzlaf decided to not show up. And Corry Perry got schooled by Kesler. What the Hell is Corry Freaking Perry doing on the ice with the goalie pulled and the game on the line! But hey, this is Team Western Conference, so no wonder... A team with the SJ Sharks line is going nowhere Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BCHabnut Posted February 22, 2010 Share Posted February 22, 2010 I found that teh slow positional expertise of Miller was just too much and the reactionary efforts of Marty couldn't match it. Haha, just kidding Jackp. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BCHabnut Posted February 22, 2010 Share Posted February 22, 2010 Heatley is ok, but Marleau and Thornton are notorious for not getting the job done when it matters. I'm not buying into the Miller praise. A lot of shots were on him, and aside from the Crosby and Staal lines there's not much going on offensively for Canada. And Morrow. Yeah, nice player to have on an NHL... but what an horrible selection when it means leaving a dozen guys who could have single-handedly change the game with one shift. I also dont get the benching of Patrice Bergeron. Especially when Getzlaf decided to not show up. And Corry Perry got schooled by Kesler. What the Hell is Corry Freaking Perry doing on the ice with the goalie pulled and the game on the line! But hey, this is Team Western Conference, so no wonder... Kozed, I said to myself as soon as Marleau and especially Thornton were named the the team that this team was in trouble. I'm sorry, but I have no faith in this guy when it really matters. How many times has he been a favourite to carry the cup. I just have no faith in Thornton at all. I hope he doesn't curse the rest of the team. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoeLassister Posted February 22, 2010 Author Share Posted February 22, 2010 I thought Marleau was the best on his line tonight. Thornton really sucked though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ForumGhost Posted February 22, 2010 Share Posted February 22, 2010 (edited) Marleau and Heatley played great games. Thorton needs to be more of a force though. Miller made many highlight reel saves... MANY. If this was against a lesser goalie, we would have run up the score by the end of the second. Well, if you are gunna get beat, it may as well be by the Vezina favourite. So does anyone know what our schedule looks like from here on out? I'm assuming another lose and we are out of the gold running? Edited February 22, 2010 by ForumGhost Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jackp Posted February 22, 2010 Share Posted February 22, 2010 I'm not buying into the Miller praise. A lot of shots were on him, and aside from the Crosby and Staal lines there's not much going on offensively for Canada. And Morrow. Yeah, nice player to have on an NHL... but what an horrible selection when it means leaving a dozen guys who could have single-handedly change the game with one shift. Yeah, they were saying the same bullshit about the Swiss goalie. WE ARE NOT GETTING QUALITY CHANCES, well not many, anyway. They DO have the capability - note the ton of good chances against Norway but, as I said before, attempted wrap-arounds and shots from impossible angles (all of which count as shots on goal BTW) are not gonna get the job done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jackp Posted February 22, 2010 Share Posted February 22, 2010 I found that teh slow positional expertise of Miller was just too much and the reactionary efforts of Marty couldn't match it. Haha, just kidding Jackp. Wish I could laugh, but that game last night still has me ticked. I told everyone in the Habs thread that our goaltending was surprisingly weak and last night it came back to bite us in the ...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prime Minister Koivu Posted February 22, 2010 Share Posted February 22, 2010 Marleau and Heatley played great games. Thorton needs to be more of a force though. Miller made many highlight reel saves... MANY. If this was against a lesser goalie, we would have run up the score by the end of the second. Well, if you are gunna get beat, it may as well be by the Vezina favourite. So does anyone know what our schedule looks like from here on out? I'm assuming another lose and we are out of the gold running? Any losses from here on out and we are done. We play Germany on Tuesday and Russia on Wednesday. -Luongo should have replaced Marty in the first and had better be playing for the rest of the games. -Babcock needs to shorten the bench. Too much parity in the number of minutes each guy is getting. -Canada looked best in the second when they were hitting machines and the defense was pinching. Why did that stop in the third. -Miller was good but where were the corner shots? Everything was shot low. -Great coaching by Wilson. They really exploited Marty and Pronger. -What was Perry doing on that empty netter? I hope to see some line changes for the Germany game. We need more Heatly, Crosby and Toews. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Easy Ryder Posted February 22, 2010 Share Posted February 22, 2010 Germany would be a gimmy with any team but i will watch it with apprehension. After that it's the Russians. Ouch. If they had won it would have been Gimme- BIO or Switz. Can say they are taking the easy road. I'd say break the Nash-Crosby duo, the SJ line. Play the guys who really want to win. Richards- Crosby - Heatley Marleau - Toews - Nash Bergeron- Staal- Iginla Perry- Getzlaf- Morrow extra Thornton. AND Luongo. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Posted February 22, 2010 Share Posted February 22, 2010 I'm sure if Price wasn't in nets Canada would have won. I blame price, Halak would have shut them out Yes, that's sarcasm. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlueKross Posted February 22, 2010 Share Posted February 22, 2010 Miller played well. Canada had all kinds of opportunies. Brodeur, Pronger, Niedermayer and Crosby were the suspects. I think 95% of the shots from the point either missed the net or were blocked. I cut down on the big slappers and get the shots through to the net. Release the puck quicker from point would probably been the difference. Forwards realize that puck is coming as soon as it is in defensemans stick. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fanpuck33 Posted February 22, 2010 Share Posted February 22, 2010 I can understand them thinking it would be a good idea chemistry-wise to put the Sharks line together, but I think that kept them from putting together the best line Canada has had in recent years. Anyone remember the 2008 World Championships? Since I'm in the US I didn't see any of it, but I still remember reading about how awesome the Nash-Getzlaf-Heatley line was. They combined for something like 45 points in 8 games. I don't think Canada should be panicking quite yet, though. I thought they dominated much of the game and easily could have won. I agree that ice time distribution needs to change. I think Crosby only played like 16 or 17 minutes. Despite the bashing he's taken for not being a good choice, I thought Morrow played has played well in the minimal ice time he's gotten. I think the real mistake Canada made with it's selections was choosing too many natural centers. Richards and Marleau, I think maybe Staal too, have little to no experience playing on the wing. Yes, the transition from center to wing is easier than the other way around, but when you have the type of talent Canada has, why would you ever choose a team where you force yourself to not use guys in their preferred position? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ForumGhost Posted February 22, 2010 Share Posted February 22, 2010 Am I the only one wanting to see the Heatly - Getzlaf - Nash line reunited? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoeLassister Posted February 22, 2010 Author Share Posted February 22, 2010 I can understand them thinking it would be a good idea chemistry-wise to put the Sharks line together, but I think that kept them from putting together the best line Canada has had in recent years. Anyone remember the 2008 World Championships? Since I'm in the US I didn't see any of it, but I still remember reading about how awesome the Nash-Getzlaf-Heatley line was. They combined for something like 45 points in 8 games. Are you talking about this tournament where Canada and Russia will always win no matter what cuz half of Sweden still play with the Wings in the SC final ?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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