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Post by UberCranky on Nov 2, 2015 18:50:14 GMT -5
If not, please justify your traitorous behaviour!
I was dreaming the other night and besides squirrels trying to steal my nuts and me trying to defend them with a hockey stick, my thoughts turned to how good this defence is compared to the rest of the league and......gulp....our old Ministry of Defence.
We have no Big Bird. nobody in the league has anyone comparable, but arguably, this defence is as good as anyone in the league now and if Paternyn can move to top 5 while Beau becomes Markov Jr, then not only are we best now, we are within a Big Bird feathers of Ministry of Defence V2.
Nod in agreement.....
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Post by franko on Nov 2, 2015 19:53:52 GMT -5
who are you and what have you done with our Cranky?
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Post by blny on Nov 2, 2015 19:54:37 GMT -5
Certainly the most mobile. That is increasingly important. When you watch Petry skate you see more and more that he's likely the smoothest skater on the team, if not the fastest. His stride is effortless, and he can skate backwards on the line better than anyone on the team. He's playing like a first pair, and would be on a lot of teams.
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Post by CentreHice on Nov 2, 2015 20:46:48 GMT -5
Tampa…Rangers…Chicago…there are 3 who are arguably better. Safe to say we're among the top several in the league.
Emelin and Gilbert can be an adventure, though….and Markov's not getting any younger…
Best we've had in quite some time.
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Post by UberCranky on Nov 2, 2015 21:01:55 GMT -5
Tampa…Rangers…Chicago…there are 3 who are arguably better. Safe to say we're among the top several in the league. Emelin and Gilbert can be an adventure, though….and Markov's not getting any younger… Best we've had in quite some time. Pateryn would of ate Gilberts lunch but he's kept on the back burner as a go too for injuries. He's already better then Gilbert in my opinion. Tinordi should of sent Emelin packing but he's stalled. I don't know if he's going to be top four on a decent team. He's starting to remind me of Komi and how the monster we dreamed of became a porous pigeon pot pie. Skating and brains beats brawn....unless of course the refs put away the whistles....
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Post by UberCranky on Nov 2, 2015 21:04:19 GMT -5
who are you and what have you done with our Cranky? Extensive therapy at Wandas Pleasure Palace does wonders.....
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Post by blny on Nov 2, 2015 22:13:04 GMT -5
Rangers have Staal, Yandle, Boyle, McDonagh, Giradi, Klein and McIlrath. Their strength is in size and shutdown ability. Yandle has done better outside of being 'the guy', but he's dangerous in his own end. Boyle is REALLY showing his age. McD is a hybrid between offense and shutdown, leaning more towards shutdown. Staal, Giradi, and Klein aren't great movers or movers of the puck.
Hawks have Keith, Seabrook, Hjalmarsson, Daley, van Riemsdyk, Svedberg, Runblad and Gustafsson. It's no secret they want to add to defense. After Keith, Seabrook and Hjalmarsson things fall off dramatically. Daley is okay. The bottom pairing is a huge issue for them.
We could stand to add the 'tower of power', but our mobility is second to none, and the depth is good too. I put our top three against the others every night of the week and feel good. Our top 4 too. Petry is lightening Markov's load. Andrei will hopefully be fresher for the playoffs. Beaulieu moves from 2nd to 3rd pair, and vice versa, easily. I'd like to upgrade Gilbert, but before we do would like to see Pateryn or Tinordi get a few games. As a six/seven man unit, I don't think the Rangers or Hawks can top us.
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Post by seventeen on Nov 2, 2015 23:26:50 GMT -5
Nashville may have the best, though I haven't seen them play.
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Post by BadCompany on Nov 3, 2015 8:36:50 GMT -5
I think St. Louis is up there as well. Having said that, we're definitely in the mix for best defense in the league, and I won't quibble with any argument that says we are number one. Which makes my heart sing with the gusto of a thousand birds, my eyes shine like a mirrored lake at dawn, and my soul soar like a thousand birds singing on a mirrored lake at dawn. How long have I been pleading for more defensemen? By hook, crook, or arrow? A good blueline can hide a lot of things, and it can enhance a lot of things. Sort of like spandex. So I'm definitely happy that we finally have a GM (a former defenseman of course!) who sees the benefit of a solid and deep blueline.
Now having said that…
This blueline seriously lacks some hairy-ass-ed-ness. It doesn't have that Big Nasty Crease Clearing General back there. It's not a blueline that can be intimidated, like say Raphael Diaz could have been intimidated, but it's also not a blueline that's going to intimidate people either. I don't want a Douglas Murray back there, but some sort of Nasty With Mobility would be nice. Like Larry back in the day (but then of course who wouldn't want a Larry from back in the day?). I suppose Tinordi was supposed to be that guy, but alas, for whatever reason it doesn't appear to be working out yet. Add somebody like that, a shot-blocking-cross-checker-who-can-make-a-pass, and we're talking about a dynasty blueline.
Which is probably too much to ask. But I am a Hab fan, right?
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Post by Boston_Habs on Nov 3, 2015 8:56:27 GMT -5
It's the deepest blue line we've had since the days of Robinson, Chelios, Ludwig, Green, Svoboda. The Rangers D is probably tougher, but we've got elite offensive guys like Subban and Markov. I see our D as the engine that will carry this team through the offensive ups and downs, power play slumps, etc. When you have a (healthy) Carey Price and a balanced D that runs 6-8 deep it's a great formula for success.
If I'm Bergevin, I'm still looking to sell high on Emelin or Gilbert. At a minimum, I would be playing Tinordi and Pateryn on a semi-regular basis to keep those guys fresh. I haven't given up on Tinordi taking Emelin's spot as 3rd pair LD, but I'm probably in the minority.
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Post by Disgruntled70sHab on Nov 3, 2015 10:10:51 GMT -5
All but one of the starting six can make that first-pass coming out of the defensive zone ... add Greg Pateryn and Mark Barberio to that list ... we have one relatively good crease clearer in Pateryn ... not a Chris Pronger type of player, but at the very least he's a consistent physical presence that we don't have in the current top-six, Alexei Emelin notwithstanding ... do we have the best blue line corps in the league ... I'll say that we probably have one of the best transition games in the league, but we're missing that physical element for my liking ... in that context I have to say no, only because it would make for really bad karma if I were to say otherwise ...
Cheers.
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Post by seventeen on Nov 3, 2015 10:56:20 GMT -5
I think St. Louis is up there as well. Having said that, we're definitely in the mix for best defense in the league, and I won't quibble with any argument that says we are number one. Which makes my heart sing with the gusto of a thousand birds, my eyes shine like a mirrored lake at dawn, and my soul soar like a thousand birds singing on a mirrored lake at dawn. How long have I been pleading for more defensemen? By hook, crook, or arrow? A good blueline can hide a lot of things, and it can enhance a lot of things. Sort of like spandex. So I'm definitely happy that we finally have a GM (a former defenseman of course!) who sees the benefit of a solid and deep blueline. Now having said that… This blueline seriously lacks some hairy-ass-ed-ness. It doesn't have that Big Nasty Crease Clearing General back there. It's not a blueline that can be intimidated, like say Raphael Diaz could have been intimidated, but it's also not a blueline that's going to intimidate people either. I don't want a Douglas Murray back there, but some sort of Nasty With Mobility would be nice. Like Larry back in the day (but then of course who wouldn't want a Larry from back in the day?). I suppose Tinordi was supposed to be that guy, but alas, for whatever reason it doesn't appear to be working out yet. Add somebody like that, a shot-blocking-cross-checker-who-can-make-a-pass, and we're talking about a dynasty blueline. Which is probably too much to ask. But I am a Hab fan, right? Ran out of simile's? I almost fell asleep before I got to your point but the spandex vision gave me nausea and slapped me back from unconsciousness. Might be nice to have an 800 lb gorilla back there, but I wonder if the game is bypassing those guys? Like enforcers, is the tough dman a dying breed? It's much more important to have a Petry type who can skate and pass. Now, if we had a smart, smooth skating and great passing 800 lb gorilla, I wouldn't pass on them. That does sound like Larry, though.
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Post by Polarice on Nov 3, 2015 11:00:26 GMT -5
I'd say top 3 in the league.....some days we're maybe #1, then next month drop to #3 or #4. I'm still looking for the consistency where we are only allowing 20 shots a game and we're not being pinned in our zone for any amount of time.
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Post by Tankdriver on Nov 3, 2015 12:06:23 GMT -5
Pretty much echo what everyone else is saying. I think Nashville, and New York Rangers are above the CH , with honorable mention to Chicago and St. Louis. Heck even Minnesota isn't that bad.
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Post by UberCranky on Nov 3, 2015 13:26:20 GMT -5
I think St. Louis is up there as well. Having said that, we're definitely in the mix for best defense in the league, and I won't quibble with any argument that says we are number one. Which makes my heart sing with the gusto of a thousand birds, my eyes shine like a mirrored lake at dawn, and my soul soar like a thousand birds singing on a mirrored lake at dawn. How long have I been pleading for more defensemen? By hook, crook, or arrow? A good blueline can hide a lot of things, and it can enhance a lot of things. Sort of like spandex. So I'm definitely happy that we finally have a GM (a former defenseman of course!) who sees the benefit of a solid and deep blueline. Now having said that… This blueline seriously lacks some hairy-ass-ed-ness. It doesn't have that Big Nasty Crease Clearing General back there. It's not a blueline that can be intimidated, like say Raphael Diaz could have been intimidated, but it's also not a blueline that's going to intimidate people either. I don't want a Douglas Murray back there, but some sort of Nasty With Mobility would be nice. Like Larry back in the day (but then of course who wouldn't want a Larry from back in the day?). I suppose Tinordi was supposed to be that guy, but alas, for whatever reason it doesn't appear to be working out yet. Add somebody like that, a shot-blocking-cross-checker-who-can-make-a-pass, and we're talking about a dynasty blueline. Which is probably too much to ask. But I am a Hab fan, right? I remember those days were you cried yourself to sleep. Tossing and turning, your angel face would grimace, your cute hands would wave up and down and you'd cry..."no Paty, nooooooo". It took years of therapy to cure you from the dreaded Patrick Traverse Disorder. And look at you now, dreaming about a thousand bird are comming off your shiny lake and hairy asses. Tinordi and Beau were scheduled to replace the Russian Dynamic Duo. Beau is on well his way and Tinordi is turning in circle. At this point, it's not physical ability, but more about confidence and processing power. It's like he has to climb the starircase of Emelin greatness to send him packing. On the other hand, management may also be behind this by keeping him in mental mediocrity in order to have him on hand for the soon approaching "best before use date" on Emelin. Let's not forget that Tinordi is only 23 and far from packing his career in a body bag.
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