[OOT] March 26, just two games.

[hwy19man]

Busy day so here is the late OOT.

Game began at 1730h on Centre Ice


at


In the third period, the Canucks lead 5-2 and keep their slim playoff hopes alive.
________________________________________________

Game began at 1800h


on in the USA and


simulcast on across Canada

and on in french


at

After two periods it is 2-0 Rangers.
It is rivalry night and these division rivals
are battling it out for second and third place
in the Metropolitan Division. The winner will
pad its lead on the wildcard chasing teams.

[Hockey]

Booth with 3 goals in his past 2 games. Daniel bumps his 23 game goalless drought.


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[hwy19man]

The Canucks win 5-2 and are now just four points back of the Coyotes for the final playoff spot.

The Rangers now lead 3-0 on the Flyers as the third goal just squeaked through Mason's legs and crossed the goal line.

[direwolf]

Goddammit, the Canucks won again? That's not good for anybody. They need to be stopped immediately.

[Hockey]

Originally Posted by direwolf

Goddammit, the Canucks won again? That's not good for anybody. They need to be stopped immediately.

Still a big mountain to climb. Probably gonna finish a few points out of a playoff spot and get a worse pick. Exactly what you guys want.


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[Tsawwassen]

The Rangers get the big 3-1 win over the Flyers. Voracek spoiled Lundqvist's shutout bid with under 2 minutes left in the game. The Flyers played hard after that but it was too little too late. The Rangers are now 6 points up on the 4 teams tied for the 2 wild card spots. The Flyers better be careful, as they're just 3 points up. The Canucks win their 3rd in a row as they beat the Wild 5-2. Booth with 2 goals and I was surprised that Kuemper was pulled after the 2nd period. The 3 goals scored on him were not easy shots, I was surprised Bryzgalov took over. Bad decision there.

[19Yzerman19]

Originally Posted by direwolf

Goddammit, the Canucks won again? That's not good for anybody. They need to be stopped immediately.

Don't worry, all they're doing is making absolutely sure they finish no worse than 10th.

[PeteMoss]

Not regarding last night's games but this Phaneuf article was interesting: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/sport...&click=dlvr.it

What’s important to note about Phaneuf’s career year in Calgary isn’t necessarily the production. What was starkly different was actually the fact he wasn’t relied on to be all things in all situations.

He split time playing with Anders Eriksson and Adrian Aucoin on a type of sheltered, offence-first second unit while stay-at-homers Robyn Regehr and Cory Sarich drew the defensive zone faceoffs and first-line assignments.

They didn’t trust Phaneuf to do the heavy lifting. And it makes you wonder how much he’s been miscast in Toronto.

Under Leafs coach Randy Carlyle, Phaneuf starts a higher percentage of his shifts in the defensive zone than any defenceman in the NHL. He faces a higher quality of competition than any other defenceman, including getting pummelled by David Backes’s big line in Tuesday’s loss.

He is, in short, in the Chris Pronger role without being Chris Pronger, and if you look at the over all results, they’re not always pretty.

Toronto, a team outshot by an extreme 8.3 shots per game, has been outshot 1039-811 with Phaneuf on the ice this season – or nearly 40 per cent of that ugly shot differential.

(Perhaps unsurprisingly, he’s also last in the league in penalty differential, with 26 more minors taken than he has drawn.)

[19Yzerman19]

See, I don't agree with the implication the writer is making there. He says Phaneuf on-ice is responsible for 40% of the Leafs' negative shot differential. 40% of 60 minutes is 24 minutes. Phaneuf averages 23:51 per game in ice time.

All that says to me is that he's responsible for exactly his fair share of the Leafs' possession woes - despite "starting a higher percentage of his shifts in the defensive zone than any other defenceman in the NHL" and facing the highest QOC in the league.

That suggests to me that he's actually doing pretty okay at keeping the ship afloat... particularly since he's not the only guy on the ice.

[nik-]

Originally Posted by 19Yzerman19

See, I don't agree with the implication the writer is making there. He says Phaneuf on-ice is responsible for 40% of the Leafs' negative shot differential. 40% of 60 minutes is 24 minutes. Phaneuf averages 23:51 per game in ice time.

All that says to me is that he's responsible for exactly his fair share of the Leafs' possession woes - despite "starting a higher percentage of his shifts in the defensive zone than any other defenceman in the NHL" and facing the highest QOC in the league.

That suggests to me that he's actually doing pretty okay at keeping the ship afloat... particularly since he's not the only guy on the ice.

I would look at it as your 7 million dollar defenceman and captain isn't doing any better than any other of your defensive pairings. I agree with what you're saying in general, and yes he gets harder matchups, but your top guy has to be better that the rest, not just fall in line with them.

[19Yzerman19]

I would argue that if he's pulling tougher responsibilities than everyone else in the league and is being buried in his zone starts, he IS better than the rest of them. Basically, by putting Dion Phaneuf in those situations for 24 minutes a game, you've got 36 minutes where 4 other defensemen can be put in a better situation, and they should be the ones generating the offensive chances.

I'm not saying Phaneuf's worth 7 million bucks or that he's even particularly well suited to the role he's being put in. I'm saying that on the facts that that writer is giving us, the conclusion to be drawn isn't "Phaneuf is the problem". It's "everyone else is the problem".