Defenseman pinched and forwards didnt rotate back to cover. Forwards came back but defenseman took incorrect angles. Forwards came back, defenseman took correct angles, plays were made, then the team would turn the puck right back over.
This was a train wreck of a game, burn the friggin tape and forget it ever happened. Just take the 2 points and run like crazy.
Marc Staal had perhaps his worst game in a Ranger uniform by a country mile. He was just putrid out there. Turnovers, misreads, poorly timed pinches, bad passes, just nothing was working for him. I wonder how much of it has to do with him wearing down. Last year he played a full year and a full playoff schedule in the OHL averaging something like 35 minutes a game. But I’ll bet you the 16-22 minutes he plays now are twice as taxing as the 35 minutes he played in the OHL. His total games played last year was 74. This year hes already up to 64, with a long way to go. Maybe it would be a good time to sit him a game or 2 when Mara comes back, just to help him recuperate. Who knows, maybe I am way off base with this. I guess we will see, if his game further deteriorates, then we know why. If he comes back around, then it was probably a combination of just having a few bad games, and adjusting to new defensive partners every few games.
On a total side note, I just saw this picture on the HFBoards and had to post it for you guys…
I said it in the offseason, Briere just doesn’t seem to be the kind of player that would thrive in Philly, his soft style won’t go over well with those fans for long. I think he would have been better suited for Montreal, Carolina, or Tampa Bay. Hindsight is of course 20/20 in this situation.
Getting back to the game, I don’t blame Henrik at all for the first 3 goals. The 3rd one was definitely saveable (unlike the first 2), but it was also on a breakaway, where were the defenseman?!
Burn the damn tape, and pretend this game never happened, we just showed up against the Flyers and got 2 points. That’s all I want to remember about todays game.
