OffThePost.org

Ode to a classic character here. SIlver would focus on the numbers and past comparisons.. Im only asking for general thoughts on the 1/4 poll.... but Silver is more than welcome to return and bring the numbers back....

I was thinking about this too. All I've seen are highlights and even then I've missed some - I tend to not watch the lowlights...anyway
Sedins - look bloody dangerous to me, haven't put up quite the numbers you'd be hoping for but still they're getting the top checking line no? .....the most frustrating thing about them for me is that they just don't have those moves, they have lots of plays.... it's a team game so usually that's fine but if we're going to be paying them big bucks I'd want some kind of game breaking skill, I want at least one of them in the shootout with regular success. There will be at least 10 points up for grabs that way, not to mention the opportunities in regular play.

Most pleasant surprise thus far...wellwood, he may have been going to the geoff sanderson school of fitness but damn if he doesn't have the hands.

Biggest dissapointment Bernier, and maybe Pyatt, - don't see the games so you guys would know better then I would cause they aren't on many highlights.

Biggest relief - Lui playing so well with the C

Other - pretty happy about Demitra thus far, aside from his play he says all the right (positive) things to the press, hopefully he's like that in the dressing room as well. Having money up our sleeve and being in first, pretty hard to argue with Gillis moves thus far, it's still way early but at this point if nothing else the chemistry seems heaps better or at least the team performances seem to point that way.

I've been very pleasantly surprised this year. I thought this past summer that Gillis was going to manage the team straight into the sewer and that the lone rider of the Apocalypse was going to burn donuts around GM Place all season long.



However, many things are syncing nicely right now:

Wellwood

PhD Line

Loooooo!

Burrows

So no sign of the lone rider right now!

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GO CANUCKS GO!

Oh God...is that Apocalypse from Raising Arizona!? Hahahaha!

PhD line...nice. Well I did say in another thread the Sedins need a truly elite finisher. They have one in Pavol.

Yeah, the Demitra/Sedin line sounds terrible but look pretty damned good. Although it is a bit disturbing that they're suddenly defensively suspect. More thoughts at the quarter pole mark later...

Check.

Check.

Fixed.

Might have underestimated BXA - which is a good thing.

Check. On the other hand, who would have thought that Demitra might be the missing Triplet?

-1 and riding the pine.

Wha?

Actually, secondary scoring has been a pleasant surprise overall, beginning with Wellwood, and of course, the Kesler/Hansen/Burrows line.



Actually, Hordy hasn't been the problem - it's the lazy offensive zone penalties from Henrik that are annoying as hell to see...

Well, hopefully, he won't be out for too long.

tcl, im beginning to think your a jinx!!

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"if your parachute doesn't open up while skydiving, don't worry, you have the rest of your life to figure it out"

The biggest suprise is the overall team offence. They have 7-8 guys on pace for 20 goals. They have the best offence in the division.

Kyle Wellwood has to be a nominee for best suprise in the NHL so far , 30 teams and alot of fans didnt think he was NHL worthy. He's on pace for a 35 goal season at this rate and this is without having to freeload with the Sedins.. he's doing this on his own.

Even though he caught fire in the last 5-6 games.. Demitra suddenly looking like he did in St,Louis is a pleasant suprise. He seriously looks like an elite player again and not a slovak version of Naslund.

Burrows has been a suprise to , I expected him to be a solid checker and agitator , was not expecting a 20 goal man and clutch play.

Shane Obrien to a certain degree also has been a nice suprise in that he actually can play.

Biggest disappointment.. Im not saying he is caz i emphasize I think he's playing very well for himself but the Bernier project as a whole not working out as projected is a little deflating.

I'm not quite giving up on Bernier, yet. I think Wellfed might be able to do some good being the spam in a Bernier/Pyatt sandwich - Wellfed is notoriously soft, so having some big guys around him to get him the puck might work out in the long-term. Pyatt is defensively-responsible, and Bernier has the wheels (not that those are a necessity playing with Wellfed). But in the long-term though, I think they need to find a better spot for MayRay than the fourth line which to me means that one of Pyatt or MayRay may be trade-bait.

Besides the Wellfed and Burrows surprises, I'm also very pleased with the fit of Hansen on that third line. They're doing a good job defending against opposing teams' top lines, and chipping in offensively.

Also, despite the Luongo injury, I'm very impressed with the way they played on this very tough road trip. With the team and Schneider playing so well, it's a good time (if there was ever one) to bring him up and give him some playing time.

Bernier and Pyatt may be big but neither strikes me as particularly tough...not sure I can buy into your sandwich theory, though at the very mention of the word I'm sure you'll have Wellwood's attention.

With all due respect to the Silver Fox...

2007/08, after 21 games: 11-8-2
2008/09, after 21 games: 13-6-2

So essentially, this year's edition is just two games ahead of last season's pace at this time. Of course, last year we know what happened - Luongo around this point got a rib injury which kept him out of a few games; then the cascade of injuries to the d.

I'm quite worried that Luongo will be out for a significant amount of time (20+ games) and re-habbing a groin injury for a goalie can be a tricky thing - didn't Hasek struggle to regain his form after his groin injury? On the other hand, I think Sanford is a very capable backup, and Schneider looks ready to get some starts in the big leagues. Also, I think the team will respond and be more cognizant of their defensive responsibilities now that Luongo isn't back there to bail them out. (UPDATE: He's now listed as "week-to-week" which is worse than being listed "day-to-day" but at least it's been reported as a strain and not a tear...).

http://www.canada.com/theprovince/news/ ... 86d7ad8fcb

Basically, a big difference in these first 20+ games this season compared to last season's is the offensive contribution from the back end - the Cannots currently stand 8th in the league for offence from defensemen, with 48 points, whereas this time last season, the d contributed a measly 28 points. Having a healthy BXA and Salo help tremendously, as does a more experienced Edler, and Mitchell has also been chipping in. Generally, I think the defense has been more active, and a lot of that confidence has to do with their relative health IMO.

It's going to be interesting to see how they fair over these next 20 games - I think that if they keep playing well defensively and being disciplined as they were against Detroit and Pittsburgh, they stand a better chance of surviving w/o Luongo, vs. being without two or three of their Top 5 defensemen for that period.

I found the first six pages of this to be fascinating - CalPuck heads grudgingly admit that the Cannots are for real. After that it degenerates into some discussion about math, though...

It looks like a sexy bra,And thank you for that ,But I know what you mean and Fuck you for that

Didn't we miss the playoffs by 3 points last season?

It's hard to imagine the team struggling like last year again isn't it?
Anyway great start to the season

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Zack Kassian for Cody Hodgson = Gillis on CRACK

Excellent point... I think all of them were against the Kings, too...

Anyway, as for razz-colored glasses, I'm sure razz would be the first to recognize them... The point was, it was the Phlegms fans saying those things, not us. I was reading this article this morning, and thought - another typical fluff piece from a Province or Sun writer - then I realized it was being written by Calgary's own Bruce Dowbiggen(he sounds a little like the Phlegms' Gallagher, though). I can't say I agree that this team was entirely built by GMMG - most of the core was there already, to re-use razz' thesis. And I take issue with his characterization of the Cannots' game as "up-tempo, puck possession hockey"; they may aspire to play like the Wings but they don't have the skill through their lineup to play that way for 60 minutes; at their core, I think the Cannots remain more or less a trapping team - the difference has been that they have more speed through their lineup and their d has remained pretty healthy relatively speaking; I don't think a leopard who has played this way for two seasons now, can change his spots in less than a season.