First Weekend and Questions

[jz597]

So there were some positives to take away from the first weekend and some areas that I found concerning.

On the positive front, we outshot both opponents, both in shots on goal and total attempts. I'm not sure that happened in both games in a weekend at all last year. I thought our defensive positioning was much better, minus the Clarkson skater who got free for their 3rd goal, and I don't remember so many odd man rushes against us. I also thought we stuck to the game plan more than last year after some setbacks, minus things denigrating in the 3rd on Saturday as Puckhead pointed out. The penalty kill was solid both nights and didn't give Clarkson a shot after their 1st opportunity, according to the box score.

My concerns are a lack of offense. Even the 5 on 3s we had Saturday didn't seem all that threatening. The same is true of the great zone time we got in the 2nd on Saturday night. Our zone exits looked a little rough on Friday but seemed to improve on Saturday. Also, Mel talked of wanting possession through the neutral zone, and it seemed we struggled with that.

My questions for the board are to what extent are our problems fixable by coaching vs the physical limitations of our guys? Also, was the seeming improvement in defense due to something we did or two offensively challenged opponents?

 

[Capt28]

I don't have answers other than to say I suspect "physical limitations of our guys" is more the reason for the negatives you observed. But remember, the coaching staff has only had 1 week of full practices with the players, now they will have 2 weeks of full practices before our next games.

To add my own question: Does anyone know why we haven't seen Sam Piazza or Mike Pastujov so far, in either the exhibition game or games last weekend? Piazza in particular, he is our best (returning) puck moving D-Man and Mel has said we need quicker and better puck movement out of our own zone.

 

[jz597]

Piazza was held out of the exhibition due to illness and apparently it didn't resolve in time for him to play last weekend. I thought I heard that Pastujov was dinged up, but I don't know for sure.

The two weeks between games was the main reason for my question. If the issues are coachable, it seems like a great chance to make some strides.

 

[alfadriver]

Interesting to hear about Piazza- we missed the game due to vacation, and could tell he wasn't out there over this past weekend. Hope he's ok.

As for the burning questions....

I'm not so worried about our offensive change from Friday to Saturday- it was pretty clear that Clarkson's game is to block shots all the time. We controlled the puck for long stretches in the 2nd period only to not get any decent shots on the net. So Clarkson figured out how to prevent goals that way. And it was very deflating to the team for that 3rd goal to be scored so "easily" after so much time in the offensive zone.

The D is clearly better- other than the beginning of the St Lawrence game, we didn't panic or look bad while the opposing team was attacking. The controlled, and even though the break out still need work- there was no real panic. Two of the 3 Clarkson goals where on the transition, and the other one was when we were on the PK, and thanks to a possible injury, it was 5 on 3- opening a very clear lane for that shooter.

Sure, the PP that looked good Friday was very gone on Saturday, but it's hard to judge on a sample of 2.

I do think (somewhat sadly) that the goalie competition may be over. We will see if LaFontaine can keep up what he did on Friday, but Lavigne letting in 3 of 16 shots, some of which could have been saved isn't positive for him getting a lot more playing time.

Anyway, I think we are in pretty good shape.

 

[Bob Miller]

October hockey will always be disjointed as teams are getting re-familiarized with each other over the initial practices of the season.

This is a more experienced team than last season and that factor will likely be one of the main reasons for improvement. I do expect the coaching to matter as well - sense of urgency.

No doubt Lafontaine has played better to date, but over such a small sample size that I expect Lavigne to get more opportunities. Don't discount practice performance as a factor in who plays in net.