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On April 18 2013 00:50 QuanticHawk wrote:
short season variance/luck + a pretty good offense + reimer/scrivens playing much better are the reason they are where they are now
all advanced stats point to leafs being one of the more lucky teams in the league this year.
Oh hell no. Reimer has been solid since the first time I've seen him practice with the team. I remember when he came in as a back-up and I was watching him practice. I told everyone he would be the starting goaltender for them soon. Remove the concussion and Gionta hit from the equation and all the goalie coach antics. He's a good goalie. The question now becomes what he can do in the playoffs. Like I told you before Hawk, there have been a lot of changes to the line-up during the season.
With that said, I don't know how many games we've actually outshot the opponent, but in early March there were some alarms going off in my head because our puck possession was pretty bad and we're always getting out shot for many reasons. Some guys like Phaneuf have a really hard time finding the lane and boom, blocked shot. Kessel is one of the league leaders for shots, but we know his story. Not a lot of quality chances. So other than the blocked shots or missing the net entirely or your name is not Phil Kessel. The scoring chances we get that are on the net more often than not go in. So I guess that isn't bad, but when it comes to sustaining pressure in the neutral zone to create turnovers for ourselves or getting in on the forecheck we miss the mark. With that said, I do think this team is built for the playoffs and we might be able to take a round.
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reimer was good in limited time as a rookie but he was pretty meh last year (probably due to concussion and a crappy team but still)
it is kind of hard to tell what his skill level is because he has never played more than 35 games in a season over three years which is a real small sample size. but yeah even in limited time, it is fair to say hes got talent after posting 920s in 2 of 3 seasons
i think if they get a favorable match up they can take a series. boston aint it though ahha. they need someone who plays an open game that allows them to capitalize, not a tight checking team like boston, montreal, etc
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On April 18 2013 02:55 QuanticHawk wrote:
reimer was good in limited time as a rookie but he was pretty meh last year (probably due to concussion and a crappy team but still)
it is kind of hard to tell what his skill level is because he has never played more than 35 games in a season over three years which is a real small sample size. but yeah even in limited time, it is fair to say hes got talent after posting 920s in 2 of 3 seasons
i think if they get a favorable match up they can take a series. boston aint it though ahha. they need someone who plays an open game that allows them to capitalize, not a tight checking team like boston, montreal, etc
He was good before he took that hit to the head from Gionta. I'm not just talking about his rookie season. I've been watching him for a number of years. People will always complain about his glove hand. I'm sure we could come up with all sorts of reasons as to why the Maple Luffs stunk up the place last year. You could pick everything from the in-house coaching to the fact they were playing a run and gun style last year. Sounds familiar, doesn't it? Poor Loilers. Run and gun style has never been effective. Anyway, there are quite a few things the Leafs can fix, but there are a few things I do like such as leading the league in hits, fights (and holding our own in them), 3rd best PK compared to 27th last year, good mobility (when they use it) and we do have a lot of weapons. Next year will be a totally different story seeing how we have a lot of free agents and there is no way you'll be able to keep everyone happy. I wouldn't be surprised if our roster is really different next year as well.
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In his defense, he's won like a hundred Stanley Cups.
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If it were me I'd clear their entire front office. Instead look who enters the fold again. Mr. Craig MacTavish. The cycle repeats itself.
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I guess the Oilers are kind of like the Hawks where when the old man owned the team. Until Katz dies, they will suck.
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On April 18 2013 05:46 Sub40APM wrote:
I guess the Oilers are kind of like the Hawks where when the old man owned the team. Until Katz dies, they will suck.
Yep. Certianly looks that way. I'll give MacT a 3 year period to show what hes capable of as a GM because he was a pretty good coach. If we make the playoffs next year then I might not be angry though I really believe this organization needs 2013 hockey people not 1986 hockey people
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Yeah, while the current Oilers make-up is a hell of a mess, we have to trick ourselves into being optimistic given a few things. One, that hopefully Tambellini actually was in charge and it wasn't - as many always seemed to believe - actually Kevin Lowe pulling the strings for the team.
What's useful to remember is that Kevin Lowe, at least for a while, was actually a very good general manager. In the four or five years that he ran the team following Sather's move to NY, the Oilers improved by a fair margin. The team routinely finished the season with more points, and a better GF/GA differential. This, despite the way the team was forced to operate - by removing any 'star' players the moment they earned a good pay day and replacing them with unknown talent. Kevin Lowe always managed to get fair value in these trades and the team remained competitive while icing a team on the cheap. And he had a masterful 2005/2006 - adding Pronger, Peca, Spacek, Roloson, et al. He made good trades and filled holes on a team that was better than their record would have suggested (thanks to the Markkanen/Conklin shitshow) and created a real contender.
Of course, then it all fell apart. I don't fault Lowe for the Pronger trade - you can never 'win' a trade when you're moving a franchise player, especially when he wants out and you have no leverage. But his failing was, at that moment, not realizing that the team could no longer compete. He spent the next few years attempting to keep things afloat through bizarre tactics - the Vanek offer sheet, the Penner offer sheet, and rewarding every marginal player who had something to do with the improbable run in 2006 with suffocating contracts. He had his taste of incredible success and wasn't willing to let it go, even if it meant ruining the next decade of the team to do so. That was his failing.
But in looking at the Tambellini years - the hiring of his 'friends' from Vancouver into the revolving door of the Oilers coaching room - few of the decisions seem 'Lowe-esque'. For example, Look at all of the face-punchers-who-can't-play-hockey that have come and gone in Edmonton in such a short period of time. Mike Brown is the latest, but you had Eager, McIntyre, and a couple more. Kevin Lowe never signed this type of player. So this allows me to think, comfortably, that Steve Tambellini did actually have a fair amount of control over the team and that things may change. That's all I'm willing to concede. And by 'change', I'm not implying that things will get better...
And for Oilers fans and also people who appreciate the game from a technical standpoint, this post from Derek Zona is quite interesting:
http://www.coppernblue.com/2013/4/17/4230198/oilers-struggles-centre-systemic-slumps-ralph-malph
In it, he examines the strange system that the Oilers have employed this year and how it relates to the mammoth struggles of every centerman in the line-up. It's very hard to disagree with and it makes me sad because I like Ralph Krueger - though he seems to be using a system better suited for international ice surfaces. Shit.
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On April 18 2013 02:32 StarStruck wrote:
[Oh hell no. Reimer has been solid since the first time I've seen him practice with the team.
I can agree that Reimer certainly has the ability to be a good goaltender. I'm really happy to see him having a 'bounce-back' year as last year got me concerned that he was going to go all Steve Mason on us after a strong rookie season.
I watched him play a ton in the WHL and it's nice to see him having some success. He played on probably three of the worst Rebels teams that have ever been iced. So it was a natural fit when Toronto drafted him.
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On April 17 2013 22:49 QuanticHawk wrote:
i dont think he is hart level (as much as i think it is bs that goalies hardly ever get the hard, sit was playing out of his damn mind) but probably bezina. in my mind, his closest competitors are schneidder, rask, hank and maybe niemi. All of those dudes have at least above average to great teams. columbus is pretty clearly bringing up the rear as far as talent level, and bobrovsky has better stats than everyone else.
if anderson played maybe 7-10 more games i could consider him. crawford played too little as well, plus I also think he's got a little bit of the MAF 'ho hum goalie on an insane team' thing going on as well
Who deserves the Hart more than him? Schneider and Rask both have the benefit of an extremely strong defensive team. Lundqvist is almost always a candidate and Niemi's had a good season, but both play on much better teams than Bobrovsky and have worse stats. I mean, look at the team he has playing in front of him.
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awww yeahh mothafuckin blue jackets. seriously rooting so hard for these guys right now
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Bobrovsky takes home another win, busting Columbus into a playoff spot. :D
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On April 18 2013 13:28 GolemMadness wrote:Show nested quote +On April 17 2013 22:49 QuanticHawk wrote:
i dont think he is hart level (as much as i think it is bs that goalies hardly ever get the hard, sit was playing out of his damn mind) but probably bezina. in my mind, his closest competitors are schneidder, rask, hank and maybe niemi. All of those dudes have at least above average to great teams. columbus is pretty clearly bringing up the rear as far as talent level, and bobrovsky has better stats than everyone else.
if anderson played maybe 7-10 more games i could consider him. crawford played too little as well, plus I also think he's got a little bit of the MAF 'ho hum goalie on an insane team' thing going on as well Who deserves the Hart more than him? Schneider and Rask both have the benefit of an extremely strong defensive team. Lundqvist is almost always a candidate and Niemi's had a good season, but both play on much better teams than Bobrovsky and have worse stats. I mean, look at the team he has playing in front of him.
I wholeheartedly agree. Bobrovsky is carrying his entire shitty team on his back. The only other guy who is kind of close is Ovechkin because the Caps were in the gutter prior to March as were his stats. But the difference is, Ovie plays in a soft division and only for 20 minutes max. Bob plays 60 minutes, and has almost no support. Crosby and Toews play on good teams that are having great years. Crosby went down and the Pens kept on playing. Toews could go down and the same thing would happen in Chicago.
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On April 18 2013 00:58 QuanticHawk wrote:
Sorry, I only rank goalies with Cup rings and lots of wins
Chris Osgood top 10 goalie all time then heh.
Edit: NM I don't think you meant ranking goalies based ONLY on those 2 things.
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I also think he was being just a touch sarcastic ;-)
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On April 18 2013 13:28 GolemMadness wrote:Show nested quote +On April 17 2013 22:49 QuanticHawk wrote:
i dont think he is hart level (as much as i think it is bs that goalies hardly ever get the hard, sit was playing out of his damn mind) but probably bezina. in my mind, his closest competitors are schneidder, rask, hank and maybe niemi. All of those dudes have at least above average to great teams. columbus is pretty clearly bringing up the rear as far as talent level, and bobrovsky has better stats than everyone else.
if anderson played maybe 7-10 more games i could consider him. crawford played too little as well, plus I also think he's got a little bit of the MAF 'ho hum goalie on an insane team' thing going on as well Who deserves the Hart more than him? Schneider and Rask both have the benefit of an extremely strong defensive team. Lundqvist is almost always a candidate and Niemi's had a good season, but both play on much better teams than Bobrovsky and have worse stats. I mean, look at the team he has playing in front of him.
Definitely none of the other goalies. As much as I dislike him, Sid was playing out of his mid dominant, and has enough games prior to injury that I think it is his award to lose. If he does lose it, I think it should go to Office Bobrovsky. I really can't think of anyone else that has domianted the way those two have.
I think Bob should have the vezina all but locked up though. Worst team out of all the goalies in that race, and some of the best stats.
The Hart is a different story though. It's almost impossible for goalies to win that thing (which is silly imo).
Basically, if Timmy Thomas couldnt get it in 10-11 when he had 35 wins, 2gaa, a .938 (!) and 9 shutouts and lost to Perry who had 50 goals and 98 pts, then I don't think Bobs get this. Thomas' season that year was probably the best by a goalie since Hasek won the Hart (Theordore had a very good season that one year, but his win was more a product of Jarmoe Igilna being the only other worthy candidate)
On April 18 2013 23:23 Flaccid wrote:
I also think he was being just a touch sarcastic ;-)
HOW CAN SOMEONE BE A GOOD PLAYER IF THEY DON'T HAVE W's and RINGS
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Brodeur FINALLY off 666 wins. Philly gets mad after game is over, trololol.
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Crosby has been out for a couple of weeks now, his team is exactly the same. scoring lots of goals, MAF letting in lots of softies. I get that Hart is heavily biased for scorers because people are dumb but it will be ridiculous if a guy who carries one of the worst teams in the NHL into the playoffs, in a year that essentially is a rebuild year just like every other year, gets beaten out by someone on a team that isnt even missing him. Its one thing for the NHL to go full press promoting crosby, and all canadians getting teary eyed because he scored the magical goal that shouldnt have even mattered had Luongo not let in a sofite, or even that he undoubtedly was going to win the Richard at the pace he was going, but what Bob is doing in Columbus is the very definition of MVP.
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Crosby's obviously the best player in the league, but he can't win the Hart. He'll have missed a quarter of the season, and his team is still dominating without him. Yeah, it's hard for goalies to win it, but that doesn't mean that Bobrovsky's not clearly deserving of it. I expect that we'll get something stupid like Ovechkin winning it, though.
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EPT
