Bulldogs vs Marlies (Dec 1st game)

[Tony]

I don't know who else caught this game on Sportsnet last night but man what a game.

It was a good game, better than some Habs games I saw all year.

Here are some quick notes for those who didn't see it (and are curious ). Just a heads up, I only caught the 2nd and 3rd period.

Jaroslav Halak - Got tested a few times. Didn't see much of him but looked VERY weak of the 2nd and 3rd goals. The announcers kept emphasizing how he pretty much came out of no where from the 2003 draft and is dominating the AHL right now in goaltending.

Defense - Oh boy, Habs really need to work on that defensive depth. Nothing stand out except J-P Cote and Mathieu Roy (who belongs to Edmonton). Cote had the best scoring chances of the night but was robbed by J-F Racine each times. The announcers said Don Lever loves O'Byrne and plays him whenever he can. Supposedly Jancevski and Roy are one of defencemen in plus-minus ratings in the league.

Powerplay - Wow, Bulldogs are WEAK on the powerplay. They had 8 powerplays last night and they sucked hard on each one. At one point when the game was about to end, it was a 6 on 4 (empty net for the Bulldogs) and one Marlies guy kept the puck in the Bulldogs zone WITH 4 BULLDOGS TRYING TO GET THE PUCK FROM HIM!

Shorthanded - Aside the winning goal (who was weak and Halak missed the boat on that one) and the other powerplay goal in the 1st period I didn't see, Bulldogs looked good on the PK. A little sloppy sometimes but they got the job done.

Kyle Chipchura - WOW. All I can say. Chipchura is so solid defensively it's scary. Skates very good. Solid on the PK. Reminds me of Radek Bonk but with speed. During the PK when he had the puck, he'd go on some offensive rushes and attract 1-2 Marlies around him and made a nice nifty pass (I think to J-P Cote) and created a great scoring opportunity. He also knew how to fight for the pucks off the corners. Like the announcers were saying, this guy is a sure NHLer. His potentiel is great and I can only see him getting better and better.

Matt D'Agostini - This guy is a surprise. This guy is FAST. Very FAST. I think he out-skated a couple of Leafs regular a bunch of times (Jay Harrison and Carlo Colaiacovo). For a AHL rookie he racks up plenty of ice time. Plays on the PK, PP and from the looks of it on the 2nd line. Either way, he racks up plenty of time. Only bad thing is that he likes to shoot too much when he should be passing. Knows how to get the pucks from the corners.

Maxim Lapierre - Didn't get too see much from him but from what I saw, it was good stuff. Isn't afraid to get his nose dirty. When he had the puck, you knew he was doing all he could to score. He did a nice nifty move near the end of the 3rd to score a goal but I think he missed the net. He basically went from near the boards and got ride of 2 Marlies players to get a shoot from the slot area not so far from the net. Good intensity.

Duncan Milroy - Man, this guy is all over the ice! PP, SH and from what the announcers were saying in one of the best first lines in the league with Grabovski and Kostitsyn. That line scored all the goals (a little deceived from their PP performance) but he's fast and does it all. He got 2 assists and if I remember right, he set up Grabovski for the 2nd goal with a pass in front of the net to which Grabovski made it look easy.

Mikhail Grabovski - Fast. Very fast. Has a good shot, and made a nice pass to Kostitsyn (well, the pass wasn't meant for him but Kostitsyn picked up the puck, shot it and picked up his own rebound to score). Either way, the first line looked very dangerous on the ice.

Andrei Kostitsyn - Man, he's fast too. No wonder his line is so lethal in the league, they (Milroy and Grabovski) all fly right through everyone! He had a nice goal and showed from effort. His line racks up crazy minutes. The announcers kept emphasizing that Kostitsyn is one of the most explosive and dangerous players in the league. They also mentioned that since he returned from Montreal, he's been on a roll with five goals and two assists in his last six AHL games (since he was sent down).

http://habsprospects.hockeyhq.net/hamilton.html to see each player stats broken down game to game.

[Psycing]

Great recap mahn! I'm hearing nothing but good things about Kostitsyn and Grabovsky, seems they really play well together. Ditto for Milroy who's finaly waken up.

[davey17]

Just a comment on the critique of D'agostini "Only bad thing is that he likes to shoot too much when he should be passing". I think he's got the "passing" part down pretty good, he led the Guelph Storm in assists last year, feeding two pretty good goal scorers(Kelsey Wilson and Ryan Callahan). Just an observation!

I don't know who else caught this game on Sportsnet last night but man what a game.

It was a good game, better than some Habs games I saw all year.

Here are some quick notes for those who didn't see it (and are curious ). Just a heads up, I only caught the 2nd and 3rd period.

Jaroslav Halak - Got tested a few times. Didn't see much of him but looked VERY weak of the 2nd and 3rd goals. The announcers kept emphasizing how he pretty much came out of no where from the 2003 draft and is dominating the AHL right now in goaltending.

Defense - Oh boy, Habs really need to work on that defensive depth. Nothing stand out except J-P Cote and Mathieu Roy (who belongs to Edmonton). Cote had the best scoring chances of the night but was robbed by J-F Racine each times. The announcers said Don Lever loves O'Byrne and plays him whenever he can. Supposedly Jancevski and Roy are one of defencemen in plus-minus ratings in the league.

Powerplay - Wow, Bulldogs are WEAK on the powerplay. They had 8 powerplays last night and they sucked hard on each one. At one point when the game was about to end, it was a 6 on 4 (empty net for the Bulldogs) and one Marlies guy kept the puck in the Bulldogs zone WITH 4 BULLDOGS TRYING TO GET THE PUCK FROM HIM!

Shorthanded - Aside the winning goal (who was weak and Halak missed the boat on that one) and the other powerplay goal in the 1st period I didn't see, Bulldogs looked good on the PK. A little sloppy sometimes but they got the job done.

Kyle Chipchura - WOW. All I can say. Chipchura is so solid defensively it's scary. Skates very good. Solid on the PK. Reminds me of Radek Bonk but with speed. During the PK when he had the puck, he'd go on some offensive rushes and attract 1-2 Marlies around him and made a nice nifty pass (I think to J-P Cote) and created a great scoring opportunity. He also knew how to fight for the pucks off the corners. Like the announcers were saying, this guy is a sure NHLer. His potentiel is great and I can only see him getting better and better.

Matt D'Agostini - This guy is a surprise. This guy is FAST. Very FAST. I think he out-skated a couple of Leafs regular a bunch of times (Jay Harrison and Carlo Colaiacovo). For a AHL rookie he racks up plenty of ice time. Plays on the PK, PP and from the looks of it on the 2nd line. Either way, he racks up plenty of time. Only bad thing is that he likes to shoot too much when he should be passing. Knows how to get the pucks from the corners.

Maxim Lapierre - Didn't get too see much from him but from what I saw, it was good stuff. Isn't afraid to get his nose dirty. When he had the puck, you knew he was doing all he could to score. He did a nice nifty move near the end of the 3rd to score a goal but I think he missed the net. He basically went from near the boards and got ride of 2 Marlies players to get a shoot from the slot area not so far from the net. Good intensity.

Duncan Milroy - Man, this guy is all over the ice! PP, SH and from what the announcers were saying in one of the best first lines in the league with Grabovski and Kostitsyn. That line scored all the goals (a little deceived from their PP performance) but he's fast and does it all. He got 2 assists and if I remember right, he set up Grabovski for the 2nd goal with a pass in front of the net to which Grabovski made it look easy.

Mikhail Grabovski - Fast. Very fast. Has a good shot, and made a nice pass to Kostitsyn (well, the pass wasn't meant for him but Kostitsyn picked up the puck, shot it and picked up his own rebound to score). Either way, the first line looked very dangerous on the ice.

Andrei Kostitsyn - Man, he's fast too. No wonder his line is so lethal in the league, they (Milroy and Grabovski) all fly right through everyone! He had a nice goal and showed from effort. His line racks up crazy minutes. The announcers kept emphasizing that Kostitsyn is one of the most explosive and dangerous players in the league. They also mentioned that since he returned from Montreal, he's been on a roll with five goals and two assists in his last six AHL games (since he was sent down).

http://habsprospects.hockeyhq.net/hamilton.html to see each player stats broken down game to game.

[Psycing]

Hey davey17! Welcome to the boards mahn.

You don't have to quote the entire message though, maybe edit it? Seeing as that's your first post, I suspect you clicked the "Reply" tab rather than the "Add Reply" Tab at the bottom of the page. That would cause the quote.

Anyway, you'll get used to it, not the end of the world or anything.

[Tony]

Welcome to the boards Davey!

For sure Matt D'Agostini can pass. I guess I should have elaborated he should have passed on those plays where Racine closed his angles very well. Either way, I like what I see in him.

[davey17]

Thanks for the help.

[JMMR]

Excellent post I watched the game as well. Halak did struggle on those 2 but he has been playing some amazing hockey.

Too add to what you said about Grabovski he is also a player not afraid of the danger zones. He is not a perimeter players he likes to mix it up in the corner and drive the net.