DON'T BLAME ONE PLAYER

NEWFIEHABSFAN · Senior Member

DON'T BLAME ONE PLAYER

barry33 · Guru

NEWFIEHABSFAN wrote:

how can we single out one player when basically the whole team sucked over the last three games! if you were to put blame on someone, blame gainey. how can a team find unity on each line , when gainey is changing the lines around each game! we need to stick to a line-up that the players can get a feel for each other and know where their teammates will be on the ice, with gainey changing the lines every game, there WILL NOT be any chemistry for this team= losing more games than winning!

Personal bias aside, it is apparent to anyone who knows the game, that coaching was not the issue this season. The blame lies exactly where I have said it lies all season..in the dressingroom. I agree with you Newfie. All this line changing and juggling is simply a desperate measure to find success. If it were me I would go back to the lines we had in October (ie ZED, Koivu,Kovalev) and hope for the best. Nothing to lose at this stage.

plouf · Guru

Just going by our personnel I've always argued for 4 rolling lines on this team. But now I'm starting to see the value of just going with a top line when the team is in an offensive funk.

But maybe our top line would have Higgins on it instead of Zednik? Higgins has no points in 5 games ,but he's showing a lot out there, and he makes up for Kovalev's lack of defensive responsibility. Also Zednik's a bit of a puck hog himself, and you don't want two on the same line.

A third option would be Perezhogin. I know this guy has been very up and down (maybe mostly down), but he seemed to play great with Koivu and Kovalev early this season.

I feel bad for Ryder. I like this guy but he is in the worst funk of anyone, since he isn't yet an all-around winger and needs to score to help the team. I have no idea the solution there. Just pray he gets it back I guess. He has scored some big goals for this team over the past two seasons.

rwp2le · Guru

I am sorry, but in last nights game there is only one player who can be blamed. The rest of the team played well. And at the NHL level when you hold your opponents to 10 shots and are in a 4-4 tie, it says all goalie. Not bad though, Theo for a guy who is just as good. Time for Abby to take the seat and see what Huet could do when faced with only 23 shots. That is the reason for only 1 player being blamed.

plouf · Guru

rwp2le wrote:

I am sorry, but in last nights game there is only one player who can be blamed. The rest of the team played well. And at the NHL level when you hold your opponents to 10 shots and are in a 4-4 tie, it says all goalie. Not bad though, Theo for a guy who is just as good. Time for Abby to take the seat and see what Huet could do when faced with only 23 shots. That is the reason for only 1 player being blamed.

Loss was more Aebischer's fault than anyone else by far. But that doesn't mean we give up on him just yet. A lot of people pointed out that Huet sucked at first too. My gut feeling is that now is a bad time to be experimenting with goalies though. Let's give Huet a chance to get us a few more games ahead of Atlanta and then mess around with Aebischer.

rwp2le · Guru

I understand not giving up on him, but we are currently on the bubble of missing the playoffs because Gainey waited to long to give up on Theo. Now is not the time to build a goalies confidence, we have possibly the hottest goalie in the league, it time to put points up and make the playoffs. If Gainey can sign Abby for the league minumum with bonuses then I say dont give up on him, but I don't see that happening, I think he was brought in to dump Theo's salary. I am not saying to give up on the guy, but I am saying make the playoffs. Go with the guy who has been winning, and been winning player of the week. Quenneville (sp) said how hot and cold Abby was in Colorado, we don't need hot and cold right now. We need hot, and that is Huet. Just like the fans asked for Saturday. Huet is going to bring us to the post season, not 4 goals on 10 shot, and 6 rebounds on 6 saves.

24 Rings · Guru

Gotta agree. They are fighting for their lives right now and you have to go with your top man. We can't wait for Abby to get his game together. Huet needs to play and play well. We can't gamble on dropping another "easy game", like Washington.

Desi · Senior Member

You make a good point, Plouffer. At this point, I think Higgins is three times the player that Zeds is. Zeds is past his prime and he shows it in lack of speed and zero playmaking. Higgins goes all out and works for scoring chances. I'd give himn all the ice time he can handle.

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