Quote:
Originally Posted by HighLifeMan
1. I disagree completely, and even if he doesnt then he sure as hell is not doing a good enough job adjusting his players to the oppositions changes. We are a completely different team when we have the lead, it's fairly obvious.
2. Sven is not a lower end player, and was called up for a reason. We were on home ice, Brent had the ability to manipulate the matchups to his own liking. Instead he chose to rotate Desbiens and Horak in place of Sven in the 2nd period.
3. Sven is not ready to play against the oppositions best players? then why was he out there in overtime against Joe Thornton and Patrick Marleau?
I heard from day one from Devils fans that we should prepare ourselves for a ton of blown leads, and that has certainly been the case this season. By knows means am I intending to derail this thread, but was simply pointing out my confusion over the ever changing utilization of Sven's role within the lineup. Yes, I know it is extremely early and it could have simply been a feeling out process between the coach and the player. These are just some things I openly question to myself, and others. I may be completely out to lunch, but I enjoy hearing different perspectives.
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I'm only going to comment on 2 and 3.
Horak is one of our best defensive players in the bottom 6. We were hemmed in our zone. Do you really want Sven out in that situation? I'd rather wait until we have some momentum back and the team as a whole is back on it's toes. The only thing putting him out in that situation will do is hurt his confidence as he gets scored on. Desbiens is a player that while not skilled, is probably still better at moving the puck north, dumping, and getting off than Sven at this point in time. I fully expect that to change, but Baertchi's not exactly a proven NHL, or even AHL performer yet. If the team as a whole kept their foot on the gas, Sven would be out there more often IMO.
Sven is not ready to be out there against the other teams best playesr, especially when they start in the defensive zone at 5v5 ES. With a neutral zone or offensive zone start, he can probably be trusted out there, but not in his own zone. That's why he was out there 4v4 and not 5v5. 4v4 it's a lot easier to move the puck down the ice as there is a lot more room to manoeuvre which suits his strengths really well, and minimizes his weaknesses. It's also harder to maintain pressure 4v4 so it's significantly less likely either team will be stuck in their own zone for extended periods of time. Instead, more goals are scored on the rush and again, Baertchi's speed and skill makes him ideally suited to this resulting in the coaches feeling he deserved 4 on 4 time, but didn't trust him to be good enough without the puck to be playing when the team is on it's heels. Of course, having one point already in the bag doesn't hurt either.