Post, Post, Everywhere Post
I had to work until a little past 2:30 a.m. Tuesday, and was too wired to fall asleep right away. I reckon I finally got to bed by around 4 a.m., and then after about 3.5 hours of sleep, it was back to work.
(And fortunately, I got the afternoon off, which was spent running some errands, picking up kids, etc. No rest for the weary dad/husband.)
And I had a fair bit of work in the morning, so even though I had the Leafs-Preds game on, I couldn't give it the full attention that I normally reserve for my Toronto teams.
And I guess it was better for my mental health/mood that I couldn't, because we ended up losing 4-0 on home ice.
This was our second 4-0 loss at home in four games, after that dismal performance against the Isles. The big difference was at least we put in some decent work against an opponent that's far better than the Islanders. But, well, it's still a 4-0 loss.
Yup, no goal highlight to post. Tough one, indeed.
My takes
Matthews Hits 2 Posts, Gets 1 Called Back
Matthews was buzzing all game. Hit a couple of posts, including one on a rare slapshot (Haven't seen him take one in a long time, maybe first time this season at least in games that I've watched).
But the toughest break for him came in the second period, He scored a beauty after a nice feed by Johnsson, but the Preds bench challenged the offside call on Nylander and got it overturned. That goal would have tied the score at 1-1.
Amazing how confident the Predators seemed that Nylander was ahead of the puck at the blue line; they challenged almost immediately. It's difficult enough to see it on replays. But to be able to detect it real time (or at least get a sense that this was going to go their way) and take that challenge... those video guys deserve a lot of credit.
That was a devastating blow, because P.K. scored on a slapper from the point for a 2-0 lead. The way Rinne was playing, I honestly didn't think we could come back from that deficit.
Kapanen also hit a post on a wide open chance. It was just one of those days.
Our fourth line again put in an honest day's work, but there is a problem when three forwards who play under 10 minutes form your best line.
(BTW, after he scored, Subban was getting booed every time he touched the puck. The guy's from Toronto. I don't know what he's done to earn the ire of our fans. Poor guy, and his parents were in the stands, too. Well, I guess fans don't boo visiting players unless they're good and they can do damage against the home team.)
I don't have advanced stats with me, but some old school eye test tells me we often have issues with the simple act of getting the puck out of our own zone. And that goes for both when we're trying to make a stretch pass to start something offensively, and when we're trying to clear the rubber out of harm's way to alleviate some pressure with our back against the wall.
I thought we were supposed to have enough puck-moving D-men. Rielly is one, Dermott has potential. Not sure Zaitsev is where the brass expected him to be at this stage in his career. Hainsey logs heavy minutes but he wouldn't be a top-4 defenseman on a few teams.
Going to be an interesting trade deadline, Kyle Dubas' first as GM.
(And fortunately, I got the afternoon off, which was spent running some errands, picking up kids, etc. No rest for the weary dad/husband.)
And I had a fair bit of work in the morning, so even though I had the Leafs-Preds game on, I couldn't give it the full attention that I normally reserve for my Toronto teams.
And I guess it was better for my mental health/mood that I couldn't, because we ended up losing 4-0 on home ice.
This was our second 4-0 loss at home in four games, after that dismal performance against the Isles. The big difference was at least we put in some decent work against an opponent that's far better than the Islanders. But, well, it's still a 4-0 loss.
Yup, no goal highlight to post. Tough one, indeed.
My takes
Matthews Hits 2 Posts, Gets 1 Called Back
Matthews was buzzing all game. Hit a couple of posts, including one on a rare slapshot (Haven't seen him take one in a long time, maybe first time this season at least in games that I've watched).
But the toughest break for him came in the second period, He scored a beauty after a nice feed by Johnsson, but the Preds bench challenged the offside call on Nylander and got it overturned. That goal would have tied the score at 1-1.
Amazing how confident the Predators seemed that Nylander was ahead of the puck at the blue line; they challenged almost immediately. It's difficult enough to see it on replays. But to be able to detect it real time (or at least get a sense that this was going to go their way) and take that challenge... those video guys deserve a lot of credit.
That was a devastating blow, because P.K. scored on a slapper from the point for a 2-0 lead. The way Rinne was playing, I honestly didn't think we could come back from that deficit.
Kapanen also hit a post on a wide open chance. It was just one of those days.
Our fourth line again put in an honest day's work, but there is a problem when three forwards who play under 10 minutes form your best line.
(BTW, after he scored, Subban was getting booed every time he touched the puck. The guy's from Toronto. I don't know what he's done to earn the ire of our fans. Poor guy, and his parents were in the stands, too. Well, I guess fans don't boo visiting players unless they're good and they can do damage against the home team.)
I don't have advanced stats with me, but some old school eye test tells me we often have issues with the simple act of getting the puck out of our own zone. And that goes for both when we're trying to make a stretch pass to start something offensively, and when we're trying to clear the rubber out of harm's way to alleviate some pressure with our back against the wall.
I thought we were supposed to have enough puck-moving D-men. Rielly is one, Dermott has potential. Not sure Zaitsev is where the brass expected him to be at this stage in his career. Hainsey logs heavy minutes but he wouldn't be a top-4 defenseman on a few teams.
Going to be an interesting trade deadline, Kyle Dubas' first as GM.
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