SDS Posted June 2, 2006 Report Posted June 2, 2006 We scored 2 goals. 1 fluke goal by a forward and one by an AHL defenseman who wouldn't have been on the ice if not for the injuries.... Maybe it wouldn't have come to this, but if everyone was back for this one game - we are still left with the question of who was going to score....
matter2003 Posted June 2, 2006 Report Posted June 2, 2006 WE wouldn't have been playing in a game 7... We would have been resting up for the Oilers
SDS Posted June 2, 2006 Author Report Posted June 2, 2006 SDS - Do us a favor and go to bed. no thanks. not tired.
The Goat Posted June 2, 2006 Report Posted June 2, 2006 SDS - Do us a favor and go to bed. Yes, go to bed SDS. Twoline isn't a fan of objective analysis. Now if you want to whine about injuries and talk about how crappy the Canes are, he's your man. The Goat
Kevbeau Posted June 2, 2006 Report Posted June 2, 2006 We scored 2 goals. 1 fluke goal by a forward and one by an AHL defenseman who wouldn't have been on the ice if not for the injuries.... Maybe it wouldn't have come to this, but if everyone was back for this one game - we are still left with the question of who was going to score.... I think with an experienced D-man on the PK, that puck gets cleared before Brind'Amour can get that shot off. He came in all the way from the blue line while Rory atared at the jugs on the chick in the second row. JK...Rory did allright, but that was a painful goal to watch. In fact I would say Weight's goal was the only pretty goal of the game.
shrader Posted June 2, 2006 Report Posted June 2, 2006 Tim Connolly was the biggest loss. I think he's what makes the powerplay click. If he's out there, Briere isn't on the point is gets to work the puck around down low instead.
ncsabre Posted June 2, 2006 Report Posted June 2, 2006 We would of won in 5 games 6 at the most if we were 100 percent healthy. Carolina should be lucky the hand they drew.
SDS Posted June 2, 2006 Author Report Posted June 2, 2006 Yes, go to bed SDS. Twoline isn't a fan of objective analysis. Now if you want to whine about injuries and talk about how crappy the Canes are, he's your man. The Goat We keep talking about our injuries, but what I saw was really 3 goals, not an unreasonable amount to overcome. Danny Briere didn't even register a single shot on goal for pete's sake. We lost this game because our forwards didn't create enough scoring chances and then bury them. Our defense set us up for a historic game, it's a shame our forwards didn't hold up their end of the bargain.
twolinepass Posted June 2, 2006 Report Posted June 2, 2006 Yes, go to bed SDS. Twoline isn't a fan of objective analysis. Now if you want to whine about injuries and talk about how crappy the Canes are, he's your man. The Goat Whine about injuries? What the hell are you smoking?
SDS Posted June 2, 2006 Author Report Posted June 2, 2006 I think with an experienced D-man on the PK, that puck gets cleared before Brind'Amour can get that shot off. He came in all the way from the blue line while Rory atared at the jugs on the chick in the second row. JK...Rory did allright, but that was a painful goal to watch. In fact I would say Weight's goal was the only pretty goal of the game. Well, that is one goal out of three... that would have given us a tie, but then again we wouldn't have Janik's goal either...
Orange Seats Posted June 2, 2006 Report Posted June 2, 2006 Connolly's presence and any 2 of the 4 defenders that were out would have sealed this in 6.
Kevbeau Posted June 2, 2006 Report Posted June 2, 2006 Well, that is one goal out of three... that would have given us a tie, but then again we wouldn't have Janik's goal either... Without the AHL D-men, the offense can take more chances. Our breakouts were very basic tonight and we didn't have anything close to a two line pass, because Ruff wanted to minimize turnover opportunities in the neutral zone. It's true the forawrds didn't generate enough chances, but you have to remember that wasn't the intent of the gameplan. Laviolette got the Brind'Amour line against our greenest guys and they flat out dominated, but previously were pretty quiet.
Stoner Posted June 2, 2006 Report Posted June 2, 2006 SDS, this isn't football, where offense and defense are separate units. A big reason we struggled offensively at times was the loss of defensemen who started the attack from the back end with mobility and precision passing and who were big parts of our power play. I love you man, but, yes, hit the hay. Things will make more sense in the morning.
SDS Posted June 2, 2006 Author Report Posted June 2, 2006 Connolly's presence and any 2 of the 4 defenders that were out would have sealed this in 6. Of course, I said "this game", but many are just choosing to ignore that... I guess you are confident that having McKee and Tallinder would have given Briere not only several shots on goal, but actual points too. The point of this post was to make everyone look up at the scoreboard and see the "2" and note that the 2 goals were a fluke tip and a shot from a guy no one wanted on the ice.
shrader Posted June 2, 2006 Report Posted June 2, 2006 McKee and Tallinder are probably the most effective of the defensemen at pinching in to keep the puck in the zone. There's another factor that would help the offense. Speculation sucks, but what else can we do now?
Done Posted June 2, 2006 Report Posted June 2, 2006 We keep talking about our injuries, but what I saw was really 3 goals, not an unreasonable amount to overcome. Danny Briere didn't even register a single shot on goal for pete's sake. We lost this game because our forwards didn't create enough scoring chances and then bury them. Our defense set us up for a historic game, it's a shame our forwards didn't hold up their end of the bargain. I'll give them credit for scoring chances....we had 6 or 7 fat rebounds come out, but nobody there to bury one. I think the Briere line wasn't the problem...believe it or not, Greir and Drury had the jitters to me and were trying too hard. How about that Paesch kid though? I don't follow the Amerks like I should, but that kid has some stones to go with his talent. If we let Teppo and McKee walk, we have him and Janik to jump up. At the begining of the year I thought of Campbell and Tallinder as soft 7th D-men.....just let these kids do their thing and maybe focus on a finisher or two up front.
SDS Posted June 2, 2006 Author Report Posted June 2, 2006 SDS, this isn't football, where offense and defense are separate units. A big reason we struggled offensively at times was the loss of defensemen who started the attack from the back end with mobility and precision passing and who were big parts of our power play. I love you man, but, yes, hit the hay. Things will make more sense in the morning. that's fine, but this was game seven and Chris Drury missed an open net. Danny Briere did not have a single shot on goal. Our PP at the end of the game was terrible. I hate the fact that our defense spilled their guts to keep us in this game, in fact they gave us the go ahead goal, and there were 12 forwards who didn't step up...
Stoner Posted June 2, 2006 Report Posted June 2, 2006 Again, it's not like there are 12 forwards who play "offense" and six defensemen who play "defense." We missed Teppo badly on the power play. If he's healthy, we get a couple more power play goals here and there, and we have the series. I'm sorry, I just can't use phrases like "didn't step up" to describe this team.
X. Benedict Posted June 2, 2006 Report Posted June 2, 2006 There is no way to say it without sounding like sour grapes. Having Fitzpatrick playing because of Kalinen's injury scared the hell out of me. Yes, I think I will always believe that without the injuries this would have been a Buffalo series. The Buffalo offense starts in their own zone. Anyone who watched Buffalo all season knows that. But the playoffs are just that, they are as much a test of endurance as they are of talent. Carolina won that much. They had a little more endurance but were matched in talent. The real question is how did Buffalo go as far as they did?
twolinepass Posted June 2, 2006 Report Posted June 2, 2006 The real question is how did Buffalo go as far as they did? The Hockey Sherpa helped.
jad1 Posted June 2, 2006 Report Posted June 2, 2006 that's fine, but this was game seven and Chris Drury missed an open net. Danny Briere did not have a single shot on goal. Our PP at the end of the game was terrible. I hate the fact that our defense spilled their guts to keep us in this game, in fact they gave us the go ahead goal, and there were 12 forwards who didn't step up... You think only the defense was protecting the goal? The Sabres collapsed 5 guys in front of Miller. Forwards were back checking all night and broke up several odd-man rushes. They did miss opportunites, but so did the Canes. Tallinder was incredible at breaking the team out of the zone the entire playoffs. Numminem also excelled at making the pass out of the zone. Those plays are crucial to Buffalo's attack, let's not forget that they knocked Ottawa out of the playoffs in large part to the transition game, and that they won the first game in Carolina the same way. With the team holding back, protecting the rooks, it eliminated the transition game. On the power play, the defense is instrumental in pinching on shoot-arounds. Tallinder was key at maintining possesion in the offensive zone. Ruff moved Briere to the point to make up for the loss, but the power play is really more effective with Danny playing down low. Not to mention, if they have Tallinder and Numminem, they probably hold the two goal lead they had in game 5.
cgang Posted June 2, 2006 Report Posted June 2, 2006 To answer your question, SDS, yes. We would have won, hands down, with our regular personnel. The d played the best they could tonight but when you consider everything (a forest through the trees perspective), having the regular personnel absolutely changes the dynamics. Even inserting Mckee into the equation changes the outcome. Yes, the Sabres were lucky on at least 1 goal, but the Canes were too (a double deflection? f-you hockey gods!). This is not sour grapes btw. The Canes showed incredible character and resolve to win tonight, coming back from a 2-1 deficit. But they had to come back to win it against a hobbled Sabres team. The Canes did not change one iota from their original line up in game 1. The Sabres assembled a MASH unit. Everyone else may disagree, but I really believe we would have won with our regular players. No excuses. Good luck Canes in the finals. But it is what it is.
nfreeman Posted June 2, 2006 Report Posted June 2, 2006 SDS -- I agree that the patchwork defense held up its end, and it's certainly disappointing that neither Briere nor Drury was a factor on offense. However, as to the point of whether the injuries made a difference: it's worth noting that Connolly was having a HUGE playoffs when he got hurt (I think he was leading or in the top 3 in scoring). I don't think it's a coincidence that our overall scoring dropped significantly as soon as he went out. He was a major part of the power play, both passing and shooting. He also was the playmaker that both Max and Kotalik need to work with. Tallinder, Numminen and Kalinin were also significant contributors to our power play, which was pretty substandard all series (including, as you noted, at the end of tonight's game). Also, maybe if we have at least 2 of our FOUR injured defensemen in, maybe Campbell isn't so tired and doesn't make the mental mistake of shooting the puck into the stands, resulting in the power play on which Brind'amour scored. It's all water under the bridge. Even injury-depleted, we could've beaten them, but we didn't get the outstanding goaltending we needed (Miller was good, but not great, IMHO) and they made a couple more plays than we did. In any case, there's no point in dwelling on what might have been. It was a great series and a great season. Next year hopefully Connolly will remember not to fly through the middle with his head down, we won't get a freakish run of injuries during the playoffs and then we'll find out the answer to the question. Go Sabres.
ddaryl Posted June 2, 2006 Report Posted June 2, 2006 If we had our full D corps back I fully believe we would have won thay series in 6. The fact that we made to 7 games speaks volumes about the heart of this club. We have a lot to look forward to as long as Darcy can bring back the majority of our FA's and maybe get us a FA or 2. We're a young team with playoff experience, and we should definitely be able to get better.
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