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Originally Posted by Locke
Holy crap! I didnt realize that Duchene was the best player in the world who scored goals at will, with or without the help of his teammates or the interference of pesky opposition players!!!
If we had such a colossus available its insane that we didnt use him! Coach Babcock must be keeping him reserve for far greater battles! The Great Duchene mustn't be wasted against such vastly inferior opposition!
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He brings an element that no one else on the team has. No one we have has his speed, and no one in the tourney has that speed combined with his hands. So yeah, very possible that he's the X factor today that breaks through the Latvian defensive structure.
If nothing else, it's another high-caliber offensive player who might have been a source for goals. The same argument could be made that the brass could have picked Giroux, dammit.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Textcritic
Duchene helps, but I don't think he makes this game a blow out. I agree about puck-placement, but is that really a coaching problem? I think that is more on the players. Besides, some of these issues appeared to me to be diminishing as the game wore on. I thought Canada looked much, much better in the third period.
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I don't think he does either, but he may have scored or created a goal for us, very conceivably. Goals change games particularly when you're playing a team that would have had a hell of a time coming back from 2-0, and even if it had been 2-1 earlier may have opened up enough to pot a few more. So yeah, I do think it makes a difference.
But the question was simply "what could they have done differently to improve our game today", and IMO, Duchene in the lineup very probably improves our team on the ice.
As for puck placement, of course that's something the coaches can address. They dictate our offensive strategy. If they want players barging to the net on every play, that's what we'll do. If they want us cycling down low, that's what we'll do. If they want pucks in skates to create chaos... etc. I dunno about things getting better as the game went on though. I thought we were better in the first than the second, and there was some frustration creeping into the play in the third, though it was offset a bit by a hint of desperation to get another one before OT.