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jeremywilhelm · 02-18-2010, 10:40 PM

Neidermeyer should not be the Captain. Crosby is by far the most impact player on the team.

Iginla was not injured. Babcock just does not seem to like him. I can't believe there isn't more outrage in the media over this.

I have a tough time believing this team will win gold if Babcock continues to run the team the way he is. I am getting strong impressions of a WJC 2010 situation happening at this olympics.

valo403 · 02-18-2010, 10:53 PM

Just watched it on DVR (well most of it, NBC decided the first 15 minutes weren't important) and was generally unimpressed with the urgency of the team. When they were up by 2 the killer instinct wasn't there, and there were ample opportunities to finish the game. In the defensive zone there seemed to be a lot of disorganization, which lead to a lot of Swiss pressure. You guys have covered most of my thoughts on the coaching decisions, really wasn't a fan of riding the sharks foursome (Boyle looked especially lost at times I thought).

That said, the result doesn't really change much at all. If Canada beats the US they still win the group. The only consequence could be the seeding amongst the 4 teams that go straight through.

Hopefully this game can be used as a learning experience, remember the 02 team got beat in their first game, a little adversity can be a very good thing.

calgARI · 02-18-2010, 11:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jeremywilhelm

Neidermeyer should not be the Captain. Crosby is by far the most impact player on the team.

No doubt about it. No one has been even close to Crosby through two games and no one is close to Crosby on Team Canada during the 09-10 NHL season either. Niedermayer's effort against Calgary last Saturday was pathetic and there have been many occasions over the years when he has appeared to be pretty unengaged and a little too loose. Not exactly the guy I would look to as a leader.

zamler · 02-18-2010, 11:05 PM

Man you guys are making me feel less and less confident about this team.

jeremywilhelm · 02-18-2010, 11:10 PM

Right now I have no confidence in Babcock.

zamler · 02-18-2010, 11:12 PM

What exactly is Babcock trying to prove? Get your lines set, and roll them out on cue. What's so hard about that? Mix things up when you need to, otherwise let the players decide their own fate.

Is he trying to prove his coaching chops? I think he might have lost his marbles.

henriksedin33 · 02-18-2010, 11:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by calgARI

No doubt about it. No one has been even close to Crosby through two games and no one is close to Crosby on Team Canada during the 09-10 NHL season either. Niedermayer's effort against Calgary last Saturday was pathetic and there have been many occasions over the years when he has appeared to be pretty unengaged and a little too loose. Not exactly the guy I would look to as a leader.

Niedermayer has always been a quiet leader and theres no doubt that he is one of the most respected members of the team. I guess less vocal can come off as "unengaged" but the guy is a winner and a leader.

Leeman4Gilmour · 02-18-2010, 11:14 PM

If this continues, Iginla should be quite motivated during the upcoming games against Detroit to show Babcock why benching him was a mistake.

But I really hope they were just being cautious because of the hit. I mean, who benches the guy who netted you a hat trick the game before. Whether it's Iginla or anyone it would be a questionable move.

zamler · 02-18-2010, 11:14 PM

nm wrong thread.

flylock shox · 02-18-2010, 11:15 PM

That was a fun game. Very impressed by the Swiss, although without Hiller's heroics it would have been a 3 goal margin IMO.

The best part of that game was seeing a points system (3 point games) that actually makes sense. NHL: take notice.

OzSome · 02-18-2010, 11:18 PM

Give Jonas the Swiss credit. He was awesome tonight and he's the reason the Swiss went into overtime. With Canada almost losing the game I can see the Canuck fans and Vancouver media demanding Luongo starting the game vs USA on Sunday.

I am not particularly happy with the coaching decisions from the start. The Sharks line and Ducks line seems to be playing a lot. Only reason Iginla played more on the first game was because of the power play goal. Otherwise he would be stuck playing less minutes with Toews, Richard or Morrow. Tonight, they didn't even play him on OT. They played Perry more when the guy hasn't really done much over Toews or Iggy.

Pronger and Niedermayer is a joke. Pronger especially cost Canada a goal by trying to take his revenge rather than watching his guy. Doughty made one mistake and got benched. The kid is awesome. Sid the Kid is a force there. I am very impressed with the guy especially his determination. I saw a couple of times that he wants to win the game so bad. The first one was when he got hit and no penalty. He was so ticked off that he almost scored the winning goal on the regular period. Then the second one was his second shootout try.

I hope Babcock put Iggy-Sid-Nash together again vs USA. He can keep the Sharks line but I would change the 3rd line with Getzlaf playing with Toews and Richard. I like Morrow on the energy line with Perry/Bergeron and Staal probably.

valo403 · 02-18-2010, 11:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by OzSome

Give Jonas the Swiss credit. He was awesome tonight and he's the reason the Swiss went into overtime. With Canada almost losing the game I can see the Canuck fans and Vancouver media demanding Luongo starting the game vs USA on Sunday.

I am not particularly happy with the coaching decisions from the start. The Sharks line and Ducks line seems to be playing a lot. Only reason Iginla played more on the first game was because of the power play goal. Otherwise he would be stuck playing less minutes with Toews, Richard or Morrow. Tonight, they didn't even play him on OT. They played Perry more when the guy hasn't really done much over Toews or Iggy.

Pronger and Niedermayer is a joke. Pronger especially cost Canada a goal by trying to take his revenge rather than watching his guy. Doughty made one mistake and got benched. The kid is awesome. Sid the Kid is a force there. I am very impressed with the guy especially his determination. I saw a couple of times that he wants to win the game so bad. The first one was when he got hit and no penalty. He was so ticked off that he almost scored the winning goal on the regular period. Then the second one was his second shootout try.

I hope Babcock put Iggy-Sid-Nash together again vs USA. He can keep the Sharks line but I would change the 3rd line with Getzlaf playing with Toews and Richard. I like Morrow on the energy line with Perry/Bergeron and Staal probably.

Stupid penalty for sure, but unless Marleau was Pronger's guy I'm not sure what he was supposed to do on that goal. He had a man all tied up in front.

CGY12 · 02-18-2010, 11:22 PM

I haven't been impressed with Crosby's play either. Tonight he was a known factor and I would hope he could score in a shootout on his 2nd attempt. The real hero tonight was Brodeur. The sharks trio have been the best players to this point. Remember folks the captain isn't always the best player, all though I do think Niedermayer has been absolute garbage.

jeremywilhelm · 02-18-2010, 11:24 PM

Something stinks. And not just Babcocks coaching.

Ark2 · 02-18-2010, 11:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CGY12

I haven't been impressed with Crosby's play either. Tonight he was a known factor and I would hope he could score in a shootout on his 2nd attempt. The real hero tonight was Brodeur. The sharks trio have been the best players to this point. Remember folks the captain isn't always the best player, all though I do think Niedermayer has been absolute garbage.

He's been good, but I think people are going to exaggerate his performance given that he scored the winning shootout goal. I would hope that he could score given that he got a second crack at it. Other than that, he was not really a difference maker. That isn't to say that he was bad or anything like that, but I don't think he should be crowned king just yet.

jeremywilhelm · 02-18-2010, 11:30 PM

If you can't see that Crosby is the best player on the ice tonight, you judging of hockey talent is very suspect.

He is probably the only forward that didn't constantly turn over the puck. Getzlaf, thorton, Richards and Bergeron were all turnovers machines tonight.

Kaine · 02-18-2010, 11:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by valo403

Stupid penalty for sure, but unless Marleau was Pronger's guy I'm not sure what he was supposed to do on that goal. He had a man all tied up in front.

A simple argument could be made that there wouldn't have been a sixth skater on the ice if Pronger hadn't taken a stupid selfish penalty.

KootenayFlamesFan · 02-18-2010, 11:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by henriksedin33

Niedermayer has always been a quiet leader and theres no doubt that he is one of the most respected members of the team. I guess less vocal can come off as "unengaged" but the guy is a winner and a leader.

Yep.

Being a captain is definitely not all about what happens on the ice. Yes, part of it is to show leadership on the ice and setting an example, but a big part of it is what happens off-ice. None of us have any clue what Niedermayer says in the dressing room or how he motivates his teammates, or how much respect he demands.

It's not all about who is more dynamic on the ice. A captain is much more than that.

Ark2 · 02-18-2010, 11:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jeremywilhelm

If you can't see that Crosby is the best player on the ice tonight, you judging of hockey talent is very suspect.

He is probably the only forward that didn't constantly turn over the puck. Getzlaf, thorton, Richards and Bergeron were all turnovers machines tonight.

I think my ability of judging hockey talent is just fine. Was he the best player for Canada tonight? Most likely, but that doesn't mean that he was great or that he willed this team to victory like so many will now proclaim. He was good. That's it. If by your standards, not turning over the puck equals a great performance, then I would have to question your ability to judge "hockey talent".

jeremywilhelm · 02-18-2010, 11:39 PM

He did will this team to victory, he was the only player out of 4 superstar players to score on Hiller.

Crosby is a player that has time and time again come up big for his teams, he plays big minutes because he can handle them and has produced. Yet Babcock gives all the ice time to a trio of forwards that are the definition of "anti-clutch".

You want Crosby to win you a game, give him ice time.