Dogs Beat #2 Pens

[NWTHabsFan]

The Dogs beat the Wilkes/Barre Penguins last night in Hamilton, 2-1 in a long shootout. In a goaltending duel, the teams needed the third period to find the scoresheet for the first time and then took a lot of shooters to settle the affair in front of the Dog faithful on Stuffed Animal Toss night.

Danis had another superb game, so giving him the lion's share of work of late has been a good move by the coaching staff. This is especially interesting considering Halak came off November as the AHL goalie of the month, so a gutsy call that has paid big dividends. Back to two solid goaltenders from which to choose, which is never a bad thing.

W/B Baby Pens are stock full of the Pens and Oiler hopefuls, with most of the top Edmonton prospects playing here after Montreal cut them loose from Hamilton (Stortini and Roy being the only exceptions). W/B is also in second place in the AHL, so a good gauge of how well the Dogs can play. They go after the top team in Rochester tonight, so it does not get any easier for our Baby Habs.

www.hamiltonbulldogs.com/index.php?module=newser&func=display&nid=403

[duster]

Credit should be given to Lever. He seems to have assembled lines that play well together after some early season hiccups. The Kost-Grabovski-Milroy line is quite spectacular. I wish they had more depth on defense, though. Like the big club, they appear to be relying too much on their goaltending on many nights.

[NWTHabsFan]

I read that Archer has started skating with the club and could be back as early as this weekend, so that should help a bit. He is a pretty solid, unspectacular defender who gets it done.

Yeah, that Kosty-Grabovski-Milroy line has been very good so far for sure. They seem to make each other better. Getting Francis Lemieux back from injury will also help shore up the offensive with his speed and skill.

Funny how Lever has gone from goat to hero, remarkably in parallel with the team's success. I do read on the Dogs' board that folks are still not 100% behind him, but the coaching staff is getting something out of the players this season.

[chief6]

I don't know how much credit Lever can get. After a very hot November, in which the offense was spectacular, and Lever finally gave line combinations a chance to work, and the power play finally got on track, Lever juggled the lines a little, and we're getting right back to square one.

The power play is once again atrocious (0-for-7 last night, 25th out of 27 AHL teams), and team defense is still not up to par. Last night they gave up 35 shots in regulation, and Yann Danis stood on his head.

One hot November has not erased all of Lever's past transgressions. And that doesn't even bring us to the fact he still can't get the right number of players on the ice for occasional faceoffs, and the team's leading scorer (Duncan Milroy) and most dynamic offensive player (Mik Grabovski) both sat comfortably on the bench for last night's shootout.

Don't let the team's results fool you, Don Lever's still the worst coach in pro hockey.