I'll spare you all the stoplight for this one and cut right to the chase.
Raise your hand if you thought we'd win this one after failing to score on that 5 on 3?
The Jackets outplayed the Coyotes in every area except.....drum roll please.....special teams......and its certainly no shocker they lost a 3-2 game tonight despite outshooting, outhitting, outchancing, outfaceoffing and outplaying them. Its been their achilles heal all season and its starting to catch up with them.
The Jackets had all the momentum after coming back to tie the game 1 minute into the 3rd. They drew 4 penalties after that including the aforementioned extended 5 on 3 and came up with nothing....again. Its unacceptable... the PP has to win this game for them...they have to score in the 3rd and close out this game.... plain and simple... no excuses. Instead they allow the 'yotes to hang around and they make a late play to win it.
I don't want to hear that Tellqvist was sharp or that the 'yotes blocked a ton of shots.....or that we had a lot of shots on the PP and controlled it for spurts... or that its Mason's fault for allowing that last goal... its all BS... The PP is ranked 30th for a reason and this stuff has been happening all season. The Jackets lost this game b/c they couldn't convert on special teams and it starts and ends with the lack of skill on the blueline.
We can't get shots through... we can't back off their PK... we turn it over.. we can't keep pucks in... there is no movement.. decisions aren't made quick enough... we can't skate the puck out of trouble... we can't gain the blueline....its a wreck. All good PPs are generated from the backend -- just watch one of the top PPs in the league... hell, watch the top 15 PPs in the league and you'll see this instantly...
They have to find a way to score with 4 man advantages in the 3rd period of a tie game. All good teams do. Heck...we haven't even scored on a 5 on 3 yet this season (that should have been noted as a choke).
Howson has got to make a move.... we can't give points away like we did tonight... this is a team we will be battling for one of those final playoff spots and we just gave this game to them tonight b/c of our lack of execution a man up. Heck they've taken 6 of 6 points from us thus far.
Its a damn shame too b/c the Jackets overall played a helluva game. There were lots of players who played their asses off and no doubt they are even more frustrated than the fans watching.
Huselius was all over the place... that entire line with Nash and Brass was a beast. Umberger was extremely effective... Chimera was real active... Voracek came alive.... the 'D' didn't give up much... the team was physical as hell... Mason was beat on a couple of deflections but this game isn't on him...
I'm done with experimenting w/ this PP.... its over 20 games now and its time to call a spade a spade. Howson has to make a move here... call up somebody or work the phones and bring someone in... no more sitting on your hands and crossing fingers that we'll catch lightning in a bottle.
We aren't going to the playoffs with a 30th ranked PP. It absolutely must be better.
Its time for a move.
Detroit is next on Friday. Just sit back and watch how a PP is executed b/c believe me, if we take 4 penalties in the 3rd against them in a tie game...its lights out.
-LTL
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Power outage
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I had a great seat three rows directly behind Lundqvist (two periods). He was hammered all night... we have a knack for making other goalies look great. I can't say why; there were a few shots that went smack into his chest protector but there many that didn't. If a lucky break was going to happen, it would go their way. Having said that, I agree whole-heartedly with your assessment of the game and the team. Nobody gets to the playoffs with the 30th ranked PP. However, I think that the special teams coach may have something to do with this lack of performance, too.
man... i cant stop shakking my head in disgust it makes me sick ... how can we really be THIS BAD on the PP... seriously... how i mean i know we dont have the best offensive minded forwards i get that... but cmon... it seems like our guys are AFRAID to shoot unless its the absolute perfect passing play that touches 4 players before we can shoot...
SHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOT
even if its just a knuckle ball ( see carcillo's goal ) it has a chance to be tipped... its too late.... it really is... its in thier heads now ... im sure of it... the only way around this is DRASTIC change...
dorsett's gonna IR probably ( broken finger ) so maybe we can call up WILSON or RUSSELL ... somethings gotta give here... its evident that we dont have what it takes to convert on a simple power play let alone a 5 on 3 for over a minute in thier zone...
at this point teams are gonna start believing we cant convert either and take penalties ( NBA hack a shaq stlye ) just to ice the puck and kill time on us...
this is just SICK
i dont wanna overblow this loss i know it was close and we should have won but...
i think PAUL COFFEY is a free agent...
According to Puck-rakers it looks like Howson isn't waiting around (thankfully)... Russell is on his way back up to replace an injured Dorsett.
He won't give us a booming shot we need but he'll at least be able to skate and move the puck better than what we've got....
I hope he gets a longer leash this time around.
-LTL
Wow, I work until 9 and rush home to catch about 10 minutes left in the 3rd., and what I do I see. More Power Play ineptness, then the inevitable game winner from the opposing squad who outlasted us failing to seize the opportunity and take advantage of from what sounds like a game we had control of mostly. Watching us pass the puck around over and over on that 5 on 3 was like watching them play hot potato with each other! So frustrating.
Anxious and yet petrified to see what the weekend has in store for Columbus. Detroit as u said, will give us a lesson right on the ice on how an efficient power play may be run, and after his hat trick tonight, I am not feeling to psyched about seeing Ovechkin on a hot streak Saturday. Idk, maybe we can call Al MacInnis or Iafrate to help give us that "cannon" shot we need from the blueline, at least it will make the opposing teams maybe think twice about blocking so many of our shots!
The power play needs help, I agree with your concerns, but that is not what lost this last night. If we finish a few of the great chances we worked for, we win easily. How many posts and crossbars can a team hit, and how many other shots went just wide or high with the goaltender beat. Now down the road, this power play as it stands will lose us games, but last night it was missed chances.
That does it...I'm a jinx! Every home game I've gone too since opener against Nashville has been a loss! It's sad how we can possess the puck in their zone on the pp but have absolutely no threat of getting shots through! I thought it looked like we totally ran out of gas in the third. We were checking everything that moved in the first but by the 3rd we seemed to be chasing the play when we weren't cycling the puck. Once again no presence in front of the net to clean up all the garbage that was there begging to be slammed home!!! Most of the D looked great, save the usual whipping boy!!! I don't care who goes in trade but get us some right hand shots now & throw Backman out with the bath water!!!
Interesting.
You read here and think that the PP did nothing the whole night. That last 5-3 and the 0-fer left a lasting impression.
They generated chances. Got quite a few on net. Actually kept the puck in the zone. Did a better job entering the zone.
However how much traffic did you see in front of the goalie? How many people were there for rebounds? Most goalies will make that first.
Methot? He'll get more wristers on net. And it will most likely end up as a faceoff, which we will promptly lose.
Frankly I was more upset with the PP goal we let in. I knew it was a goal about 5 seconds before it went it.
And for the guy yelling shoot. It's about as useful here as it at the game. We got plenty of shots on net. 40. Doesn't matter if you shoot it when the other 4 guys are all to the outside. Our 3 highest shot total games, in the month of November, have all been losses.
Hey, LTL, how much longer of a leash should Methot get? He admitted that he would have sent himself down. Maybe, perhaps, just a thought. Perhaps, you just didn't see the bad play?
Nice try again C trying to deflect the blame of the 30th ranked PP in the league onto something like the PK that allowed ONE goal off a deflected shot.
Not taking the bait no matter the spin.
Could they have played it better..of course, but that goal certainly isn't the reason we lost that game.
...so now its traffic, rebounds and more excuses for the PP. The bottom line is they aren't scoring with a man advantage, especially at crtical stages of the game, and its catching up with them.
I think its skill on the blueline you apparently think its traffic and rebounds.. doesn't really matter to me..what matters to me is that its fixed and contributing.
Teams can certainly make the playoffs with a bottom half PP...7 of 16 did last season, but the worst team still converted at 14.1%... we are at 10.8% which is not nearly good enough.
It seems I am not alone in that line of thinking judging by 65% response rate on the latest poll which I'm sure you will blindly discard.
..and where is this Methot quote...got a link?
-LTL
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