congratulations! you have been promoted to captain! jk.



thanks for being positive. it helps to keep a better perspective.
- BluemanGuruu

Thanks for the promotion. I might have to change my pic now......

He went for a hard around from behind the net and Hoffman was just barely able to stop it at the point. It was a 6 on 4 situation with the penalty and the empty net so I'm not sure what you can really expect there. If it was Petro he maybe could have gone up the middle but most guys are going to make the safe play around the boards. Petro was in the box and J bo was gassed having killed the previous minute plus. He and Shatty had just given up an even better chance just before the goal but Allen made the save.
- fattyboubatty

Ok so I tried to find a video that would go back far enough and couldn't....

From what I recall, the face off win is clean back to him going behind the net. Rather than curling around the net and taking a quick look, he quickly hammers the puck around the boards, hoping he can get the puck out before the far side D can get over to the wall. This is a play that repeats itself in games. When you have a 6 on 4, the rim around is not nearly as successful as the extra skater allows for them to more easily protect against this.

On this particular play, I believe he had time to take a stride and look to see where best to place the clear. He didn't take any time, just choosing to rim it around and hope to beat the far D to the wall. Other teams D are taught to sprint to that wall to cut the play off which is I would much prefer for him to take a quick look and decide when he can. Of course, for this to work well his teammates must be talking to him (letting him know if he has time or not) and the recognition must be practiced and quick.

On a play like this, the D has various options - rimming it around (like he did), playing it off the wall on an angle both using the glass or lower on the wall (you can change the angle to be upward or not), and playing it through space not using the wall at all, just to name a few.

I wish he would have taken a second to take a look and decide what to do, rather than automatically rim it around. Just my preference.

Thanks for the promotion. I might have to change my pic now......



- carcus

Well he is smiling in your current avatar....

Gomer just signed in Ottawa. There goes our secret weapon.

Gomer just signed in Ottawa. There goes our secret weapon.
- Blue Clam

he was a UFA anyway

No loss there

Ok so I tried to find a video that would go back far enough and couldn't....

From what I recall, the face off win is clean back to him going behind the net. Rather than curling around the net and taking a quick look, he quickly hammers the puck around the boards, hoping he can get the puck out before the far side D can get over to the wall. This is a play that repeats itself in games. When you have a 6 on 4, the rim around is not nearly as successful as the extra skater allows for them to more easily protect against this.

On this particular play, I believe he had time to take a stride and look to see where best to place the clear. He didn't take any time, just choosing to rim it around and hope to beat the far D to the wall. Other teams D are taught to sprint to that wall to cut the play off which is I would much prefer for him to take a quick look and decide when he can. Of course, for this to work well his teammates must be talking to him (letting him know if he has time or not) and the recognition must be practiced and quick.

On a play like this, the D has various options - rimming it around (like he did), playing it off the wall on an angle both using the glass or lower on the wall (you can change the angle to be upward or not), and playing it through space not using the wall at all, just to name a few.

I wish he would have taken a second to take a look and decide what to do, rather than automatically rim it around. Just my preference.
- stljam

I didn't see the play but what you are describing is what most teams try to do. It is the composed D that take that second and find the opening usually right up the middle.

In that situation I would much rather Gunnar, like you, take a moment and listen to his mates

Just a bad break for the blues

I didn't like the ending thought two clean points were there

I didn't see the play but what you are describing is what most teams try to do. It is the composed D that take that second and find the opening usually right up the middle.

In that situation I would much rather Gunnar, like you, take a moment and listen to his mates

Just a bad break for the blues

I didn't like the ending thought two clean points were there
- sycsam

The rim around is the simplest and easiest which is why I think it is used the most. It's just not nearly as effective against an extra attacker situation.

The rim around is the simplest and easiest which is why I think it is used the most. It's just not nearly as effective against an extra attacker situation.
- stljam

Not at all

With the extra attacker you usually see a player cheating to that side anyway to protect from that exact play

Thanks for the promotion. I might have to change my pic now......



- carcus

I hope not. This one's my favorite so far.

Ok so I tried to find a video that would go back far enough and couldn't....

From what I recall, the face off win is clean back to him going behind the net. Rather than curling around the net and taking a quick look, he quickly hammers the puck around the boards, hoping he can get the puck out before the far side D can get over to the wall. This is a play that repeats itself in games. When you have a 6 on 4, the rim around is not nearly as successful as the extra skater allows for them to more easily protect against this.

On this particular play, I believe he had time to take a stride and look to see where best to place the clear. He didn't take any time, just choosing to rim it around and hope to beat the far D to the wall. Other teams D are taught to sprint to that wall to cut the play off which is I would much prefer for him to take a quick look and decide when he can. Of course, for this to work well his teammates must be talking to him (letting him know if he has time or not) and the recognition must be practiced and quick.

On a play like this, the D has various options - rimming it around (like he did), playing it off the wall on an angle both using the glass or lower on the wall (you can change the angle to be upward or not), and playing it through space not using the wall at all, just to name a few.

I wish he would have taken a second to take a look and decide what to do, rather than automatically rim it around. Just my preference.
- stljam

There was also an Ottawa player cutting hard behind the net on the other side, so if Gunnar delayed he could have been picked off right there or body checked. If anything, I think the guys were probably yelling at him to get rid of it quickly. The hard around is not usually your go-to play but when it's 6 on 4 there are a lot of bodies around and not a lot of options. It at least gets the puck away from the net safely and has the possibility of clearing the zone.

Coughing up the lead really falls on Allen. It was that terrible bad angle goal that got them back in the game and gave them the momentum.

There was also an Ottawa player cutting hard behind the net on the other side, so if Gunnar delayed he could have been picked off right there or body checked. If anything, I think the guys were probably yelling at him to get rid of it quickly. The hard around is not usually your go-to play but when it's 6 on 4 there are a lot of bodies around and not a lot of options. It at least gets the puck away from the net safely and has the possibility of clearing the zone.

Coughing up the lead really falls on Allen. It was that terrible bad angle goal that got them back in the game and gave them the momentum.
- fattyboubatty

I wish I had the game dvred but alas I did not. I don't remember the guy cutting hard to go behind the net but that would definitely complicate things.

How in the world does Vlasic make the first cut? Same with Jeff Carter?

Armstrong took Vlasic early over Pietrangelo?????

How in the world does Vlasic make the first cut? Same with Jeff Carter?

Armstrong took Vlasic early over Pietrangelo?????
- stljam

Pietrangelo, Bouwmeester, Statsny, Backes, Shattenkirk... lot of Blues players who were in the Olympics not selected today. Pietrangelo & Bouwmeester by their own GM, who did take Vlasic?

At least it's not like Yzerman snubbed one of his own players then had it sour the relationship to the point he asked for a trade. You know, when he was Canada's GM for the Olympics. Oh, wait.

Blues need to fire Armstrong before this comes back to bite them in the butt.

Ok so I tried to find a video that would go back far enough and couldn't....

From what I recall, the face off win is clean back to him going behind the net. Rather than curling around the net and taking a quick look, he quickly hammers the puck around the boards, hoping he can get the puck out before the far side D can get over to the wall. This is a play that repeats itself in games. When you have a 6 on 4, the rim around is not nearly as successful as the extra skater allows for them to more easily protect against this.

On this particular play, I believe he had time to take a stride and look to see where best to place the clear. He didn't take any time, just choosing to rim it around and hope to beat the far D to the wall. Other teams D are taught to sprint to that wall to cut the play off which is I would much prefer for him to take a quick look and decide when he can. Of course, for this to work well his teammates must be talking to him (letting him know if he has time or not) and the recognition must be practiced and quick.

On a play like this, the D has various options - rimming it around (like he did), playing it off the wall on an angle both using the glass or lower on the wall (you can change the angle to be upward or not), and playing it through space not using the wall at all, just to name a few.

I wish he would have taken a second to take a look and decide what to do, rather than automatically rim it around. Just my preference.
- stljam

i started to watch the game earlier in the day got a bit into the second then had to get back to work.

gunnar up until then was having a really good game. he even made a step up hit.

The rim around is the simplest and easiest which is why I think it is used the most. It's just not nearly as effective against an extra attacker situation.
- stljam

before icing rule changes and even then it was taught to you since you were a kid.

I wish I had the game dvred but alas I did not. I don't remember the guy cutting hard to go behind the net but that would definitely complicate things.
- stljam

i will watch it and describe exactly what the tv allows me to see.

Pietrangelo, Bouwmeester, Statsny, Backes, Shattenkirk... lot of Blues players who were in the Olympics not selected today. Pietrangelo & Bouwmeester by their own GM, who did take Vlasic?

At least it's not like Yzerman snubbed one of his own players then had it sour the relationship to the point he asked for a trade. You know, when he was Canada's GM for the Olympics. Oh, wait.

Blues need to fire Armstrong before this comes back to bite them in the butt.
- Antilles

maybe the player asked out?

otherwise yeah what in the hell is he thinkng? i go back to my thing of you should not have an important job or in his case jobs for a team and then also take on another job from a different employer.

or maybe he knows he is going to get fored soon?

what a joke.

then again who cars about the world cup? it would be a great idea if they did not ruin it with crap like an underage north american team or european team.

maybe the player asked out?

otherwise yeah what in the hell is he thinkng? i go back to my thing of you should not have an important job or in his case jobs for a team and then also take on another job from a different employer.

or maybe he knows he is going to get fored soon?

what a joke.

then again who cars about the world cup? it would be a great idea if they did not ruin it with crap like an underage north american team or european team.
- BluemanGuruu

hey armstrong i do not like guys trying to give me handies,
Juggling both jobs has been tough but Armstrong feels the Team Canada responsibilities, which has included him seeing games in person that he might not have otherwise seen, have helped him dealing with the Blues.

"I've found my experiences during these years just heightens the job that you do on your day-to-day job" he said. "A lot of years, you spend a lot of time just with your own team. But working with this other responsibility, and having Marty Brodeur on our staff now has really made a huge difference for us. The comfort level of having Marty travel with the team and be the eyes and ears for myself when I'm away, it frees me up to do certain things. I think that's only going to increase the next few years as Marty gets comfortable ... he'll take a bigger and bigger role, which is going to allow us both to expand our horizons than maybe it was before he was with the group.

"You're watching all these games and you watch the games now with multi-purposes. I was out in Anaheim and I saw Calgary play a couple of games last week and we had a really good feel for what they were doing going into the (trade) deadline. I saw them play against Anaheim and LA. So you see these teams that were moving players yesterday and I felt I had a really good feel. You can watch them on video, but you pick up different nuances seeing them live."

what a crock of crap.

hey armstrong i do not like guys trying to give me handies,
Juggling both jobs has been tough but Armstrong feels the Team Canada responsibilities, which has included him seeing games in person that he might not have otherwise seen, have helped him dealing with the Blues.

"I've found my experiences during these years just heightens the job that you do on your day-to-day job" he said. "A lot of years, you spend a lot of time just with your own team. But working with this other responsibility, and having Marty Brodeur on our staff now has really made a huge difference for us. The comfort level of having Marty travel with the team and be the eyes and ears for myself when I'm away, it frees me up to do certain things. I think that's only going to increase the next few years as Marty gets comfortable ... he'll take a bigger and bigger role, which is going to allow us both to expand our horizons than maybe it was before he was with the group.

"You're watching all these games and you watch the games now with multi-purposes. I was out in Anaheim and I saw Calgary play a couple of games last week and we had a really good feel for what they were doing going into the (trade) deadline. I saw them play against Anaheim and LA. So you see these teams that were moving players yesterday and I felt I had a really good feel. You can watch them on video, but you pick up different nuances seeing them live."

what a crock of crap.
- BluemanGuruu

he chose shea weber over petro




oh boy he can shoot and cross check and...nothing else well. not a good first pass breakout player, josi does the heavy lifting there and he does not skate well.

put them at the same age in the same draft knowing what we know now and i take petro over weber everyday all day and twice on sunday.

he chose shea weber over petro




oh boy he can shoot and cross check and...nothing else well. not a good first pass breakout player, josi does the heavy lifting there and he does not skate well.

put them at the same age in the same draft knowing what we know now and i take petro over weber everyday all day and twice on sunday.
- BluemanGuruu

Doesn't seem right. Doughty and Keith are clearly one-two but I'd put Petro third behind him, no disrespect to Vlassic who is also a good player.

I'll say this, it looks like he's assembling pairings with his nominations and I would not be surprised to see both Petro and J bo eventually named. While Petro is probably good enough to make the first cut, J bo is not.

I take Canada in that tournament with Sweeden a close second.

I wish I had the game dvred but alas I did not. I don't remember the guy cutting hard to go behind the net but that would definitely complicate things.
- stljam

I still had it recorded and went back and looked. I guess you'll have to take my word for it but Bobby Ryan was already crossing the goal line by the time Gunnarson shot the puck. Petro is one of the few guys in the league who can consistently slow that play down and make a safe clear up the ice.

I still had it recorded and went back and looked. I guess you'll have to take my word for it but Bobby Ryan was already crossing the goal line by the time Gunnarson shot the puck. Petro is one of the few guys in the league who can consistently slow that play down and make a safe clear up the ice.
- fattyboubatty

No reason not to take your word. I was just frustrated that I couldn't find it online because it happened so far before the goal but still contributed to it. It was probably compounded because Stastny's failed clear attempt a minute or so before Carl's. Good thing is they got the 2 points.

The bold is an illustration of the type of things that differentiate players a lot but are often very subtle and not necessarily obvious. I don't think some players get enough credit for these type of plays from the fans as they often don't show up on the stat sheet or advanced metrics.

No reason not to take your word. I was just frustrated that I couldn't find it online because it happened so far before the goal but still contributed to it. It was probably compounded because Stastny's failed clear attempt a minute or so before Carl's. Good thing is they got the 2 points.

The bold is an illustration of the type of things that differentiate players a lot but are often very subtle and not necessarily obvious. I don't think some players get enough credit for these type of plays from the fans as they often don't show up on the stat sheet or advanced metrics.
- stljam

petro is amazing at being able to create space period. if he were a forward he might be considered one the best players because of this. but the ability to do so under pressure in your end so that you can get the puck out of the zone and with possession and possibly leading to offense is incredible.

he started doing this last season at another level and this year he has taken it to yet a higher one. he still has growth in his game which is impressive.

this is a big reason why i rank him above shatty. i think petro could become the best all around dman in the league and could be in the argument now.

How in the world does Vlasic make the first cut? Same with Jeff Carter?

Armstrong took Vlasic early over Pietrangelo?????
- stljam

The only thing that I can think of is that he doesn't want to put wear and tear on his own guy...

Seems odd though.

The only thing that I can think of is that he doesn't want to put wear and tear on his own guy...

Seems odd though.
- eggsegan

I was like Vlasic is a strange way of spelling Pietrangelo

If he is leaving Pietro off for wear and tear for the blues than he should resign as Team Canada GM

He has to separate jobs and this is why I agree with Guru

He should not be the GM for both Team Canada and the Blues