Hockey Trash Talk & BS thread

I'm not suggesting that the Wild in that slump were the true benchmark of the Wild. However, I do believe that stretch showed that they were far more vulnerable to lower seats than their records would indicate.

 

Um, no.

The team that scores more goals than are scored against them wins. Point being straight up defense doesn't win hockey games. Not in this era. Babcock's systems are all common in that they rely on effective transitions in the defensive and neutral zones, something LA cannot do to save their life with the team they have. If you want to learn more maybe read the article. Babcock just hasn't won a few cups/awards. He's won in the CIS, he finished runner up 2 times in the WHL in 8 years, he won a cup with the Wings plus visited the finals 3 times in 6 years, and he's set most of the records for wins at the international level. A good coach like Larry Robinson looks good when he finds a team that can play his system. A great coach like Babcock can adapt his system to work with any team. At the end of the day Babcock always runs a puck procession type system but he adapts to his new environment where ever he goes. His record speaks for itself and taking the Leafs from 30th to playoffs in one year had a lot to do with him.

 

You make some good points and I'm not totally disagreeing with you, but I disagree to some extent. The Wild have a problem scoring. They put up a ton of shots but so many of them were perimeter shots. Yes, Allen played great but those shot totals were somewhat misleading, as far as I'm concerned. I know Bruce thinks his team was the better team (along with some analysts) but I disagree. Minn didn't put a ton of pressure on in the offensive-zone...at least not as much as the numbers may show.

 

A lucky/hot Pollock ... and then the luck wore out.

Yes, good defense wins championships.

True, I noticed that all year. Some lines worse than others while trying to get the young guns on board. This was one of LA's greatest strengths just a few years ago. Transition out of your zone and puck possession is the very core of a great defense. Every team strives for the same thing, I guess the new bottom line is you HAVE to have the right players to execute and probably the right cheer leader (coach) to get everyone to buy in.

 

Shit, Toronto media starting another crazy rumor. Why won't they just leave Nylander be?

http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/video/will-the-leafs-have-their-eye-on-doughty-this-offseason~1108439

 

Well that's just not true. They were second in the league in scoring for the year lol

And they put tons of pressure on for basically the entire series. There was maybe one or two periods out of the five games where more time was spent in the Wild end than the Blues end. Allen made save after save after save that easily could've gone in. And the one game where he wasn't totally on top of his game Minnesota scored a couple on him and shut the Blues out.

 

I see your point but you are missing mine. I know stats say that they put up shots in the series and in theory they score goals. But I just see that team and don't see a roster with clutch guys that can score. I don't think going into the playoffs other teams were worried about shutting down the Wild's offensive attack. To a lesser degree, a lot of Columbus' offensive numbers from the regular season were skewed by them getting hot. At the end of the day, no one was sweating that offense and it showed itself in the playoffs. Same difference.

 

Agree ...DD is going nowhere and should really probably be the Captain.

 

I'm saying I watched all the periods of every game except the last, which I listened to, and regardless of shot numbers, it was clear that the Wild was putting far more pressure on the blues than vice versa. Sure they don't have one pure goal scorer, but clearly that wasn't too much of an issue all year long. The Wild use their speed and depth to generate offense, and there was multiple games where their speed generated guys in all alone. And Allen managed to stop every single one. That not the norm.

 

That's your opinion and that is fine. Maybe my view was skewed since I thought all year that the team was a bit of a mirage. Like I said, their 2nd in GF totals means absolutely nothing to me, as I don't see them as an offensively gifted team. TB finished in the middle of the road in GF and I think they are top 3 most dangerous offenses. As far as the Wild series, Allen played great, no doubt but I do think a lot of the Wild's 'pressure' was perimeter possession and low-quality shots. You have to think Yeo knows how to curb that team and it looked to me that he was able to do just that.

 

I don't understand how you take stats from the whole season and dismiss them as "nothing to you." There's obviously some skewed numbers and it could be adjusted by every individual but...really? However, I only watched the elimination game in that series.

...but I enjoy this mild mannered discussion.

 

Yeah I guess if a team that was top 10 in goals scored, goals allowed, power play, penalty kill, shots for, shots against, save percentage, and most importantly, points, is a "mirage" your views are skewed lol

 

And what happened? Are they still playing? Same thing with Columbus, they put tons of shots up on us and they weren't really in any of the games. They were top 5 in GF in regular season and no one sweats that offense.

 

Indeed, that's what I always strive for ... it's refreshing.

 

http://www.espn.com/nhl/story/_/id/19235832/john-stevens-believes-small-changes-big-la-kings

I'm not sold that LA wasn't driving to the net enough, was the problem ... we'll see how long this guy lasts.

 

So does Anderson auto-win the Masterton? I think so. Sorry Cogs.

 

And let me say this. The Hawks played like crap. Like a of shit. They should have lost. That being said best of luck to your teams that are still in the playoff chase.

 

Tough call for me. While I think Anderson has a pretty great story Derek Ryan does too. I think I somewhat under appreciate Anderson for the award compared to everyone else. While we've all lost someone to cancer I'm not sure the award should go to him for playing an amazing season while taking time off to be with his dying wife. Emotionally, yeah, he is an amazing person for keeping it together but does that show his dedication to hockey like the award states? The award is given to the player who exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to hockey. For me, that's Derek Ryan who basically played 10 seasons outside of the NHL including a stint in the CIS before landing a role in the NHL.

Anderson will probably win though. He does deserve it if, and I would assume his leave was because it was that bad, he thought he was going to lose his wife several times this year but kept playing through it. I guess that will be up for someone closer to the situation to decide.