The first half of this season has been very free wheeling. A lot of skill players are going to hit career highs and we have seen a lot of games played at a very fast pace.
I imagine things are going to tighten up a lot in the second half and especially in the playoffs and the game will get a lot heavier and likely slower.
I'm hoping that when the game slows down a bit, Neal will be more effective a player.
I know there is the argument that Neal played on one of the fastest teams last year in Vegas and had success, but the difference is that Vegas was the fast team and everyone else was still playing a slower game. This year, everyone has taken Vegas blueprint and ALL the teams are playing with a quicker pace and you can really notice the players who are not as fleet of foot.
I'm not going to harp on Neal too much, but I expect and am hoping that he will be a significant contributor down the stretch and in the playoffs (if they make it).
__________________
Calgary Flames, PLEASE GO TO THE NET! AND SHOOT THE PUCK! GENERATING OFFENSE IS NOT DIFFICULT! SKATE HARD, SHOOT HARD, CRASH THE NET HARD!
|