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GoldAppleCorps

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Everything posted by GoldAppleCorps

  1. To be fair, none of those goals were really howlers. The keeper was screened or beaten on good plays (OK, on Duchene's goal, I don't really know why it took Skinner so long to migrate from his left post to the right). It's just that, at this stage of the playoffs, I need big saves. Last year, Skinner was a huge part of getting the Oilers by the Stars. Yes, there were other factors, but he took a lot of goals off the board. It's a small sample size, but right now, he appears to be the opposite. In the end, both teams finished with two 5 on 5 goals. Dallas just got 3 PP goals to Edmonton's 1. I've got what I hope is the last of graduation season tonight (my son is a high school senior). However, I'm asking that the Stars, having seen the true speed of McDavid and Draisaitl, are ready to mitigate (not eliminate) the Oilers ability to play defense with their offense. DeBoer has the pieces and the voodoo to reconfigure the team to facee hyper-skilled speedsters or physical defenders. We've got home ice thus far, but Edmonton is almost in a do or die mode already.
  2. Stars have to get the Jets dump truck force out of their head and remember the Avs-style finesse. We played MacKinnon and Makar already, so we know the energy that it take to compete with (notice I didn't say "beat" - McDavid and Draisaitl are top tier) that level of skill. All I ask is that we don't make them even better than they are. They're deserving of respect, but play them honestly. If you're backing off, they're going right around you. Stick tight and make them play in a phone booth (they'll still do damage, but you give yourself a chance). It's just one period of one game, but Edmonton has to reconsider defending. It's clear that Skinner isn't going to erase mistakes, and the shutouts against Vegas were likely more of a function of the futility of the Knight attack rather than defensive brilliance. If the Oilers are going to play defense with their offense, Dallas has to burn them for it.
  3. Perry is still a punk. He knows there's more games, right?
  4. Now we'll see if we took 200ft shot practice over the break.
  5. Bisch seems to know how to defend McDavid. Close space, put body on him when you can, and don't stab in on his inevitable spin move.
  6. Can't argue with these penalties.
  7. We got 1 minute of PP time to pee on the fire hydrant.
  8. EDM hitting tape to tape passes while we're needing 3 or 4 stabs at the puck to find it.
  9. If we're still considering winning this game, we gotta kill this one.
  10. Do you even Aleister Crowley bro?
  11. Human beings are bad at averages, chance, and statistics in general. When a MLB hitter suddenly goes from .400 to 0 for 20, he starts questioning himself. Likely, he wasn't quite a .400 hitter to start with, and the 0'fer is nature's way of catching up. He's still a very good batter. The risk is that he starts thinking at the plate. Starts changing stances, grips, reactions, etc. The game goes too fast to think about it in real time. Playing against a hot goaltender messes with shooters. I've been a soccer goalie in my youthier days. If you pull off an amazing stop, then the other team will start bypassing good shots looking for the perfect one to beat you. They'll start trying to place them perfectly, and will end up missing on their own accord. Conversely, squiff one early, and you're in for a barrage for the rest of the game. I think the Stars are confident Otter will save the next one. They're not built to be over-reliant on miraculous saves, and the chemistry with the added players is solidifying. Seems DeBoer went with a "defend first" scheme against the Jets, but he has the pieces to modulate the offense if he sees an opportunity. I think the Oilers need more than just a "solid" Skinner, and I'm not sold that they're even going to get that. Right now, he's an X factor for me, capable of being anything from negative to positive.
  12. Edmonton had goalie problems coming into the Vegas series. Injury and Vegas's offensive lethargy makes them think they've solved it. While you don't want to get into a score-fest with McDavid and Draisaitl, if goaltending becomes and issue for the Oilers, they really don't have the means to fix it. I honestly believe that last season's meat-tenderizer series against Vegas left the Stars so spent at the end that they faltered. I think that Mir Heiskanen's injury forced us to discover the greatness of Harley and Bischell this season. Rather than paste together our least-bad defensive pairings, Dallas has an embarrassment of riches. Plus, Mikko's on our bench now.
  13. Benn fined $5k for the fisticuffs. No shame, but I hope he's got that out of his system and can show that kind of grit between the whistles. We've got scorers on the team, so if he can just lend a Pat Maroon type effort, he'll earn his money. The Jets had effort meet opportunity - which looks a lot like "luck". The Texas Rangers can't win at Seattle, and the Jets play perfectly in Winnipeg. Luckily, Dallas already has the away win they need. It's no huge insight that Saturday is big.
  14. Playoff protocol dictates that you take Schiefle too after that fracas. He didn't really deserve it, but all that compounded with Mush keeping his cool a few minutes earlier under provocation would have made it an equitable decision.
  15. We live this life in the Central. We've played the odds-on favorites to win the Cup (the Avs), and now play the President's Trophy winners. These aren't jagoff teams glad to be here. Last season, the Stars fought through a suddenly reloaded Vegas team, then drew the Avs with all their top guys going. It would be more comfortable to just roll over teams, but that ain't realistic. My nerves would be better if we could stop the shooting gallery on Otter, but so far he's holding up. You're going to need that to contend. Last night, the Jets knew this game was critical. Yes, they have 2 more games at home where they're tough, but Dallas already won there once. As such, they came out to play a ferocious tempo. They got nothing on the scoreboard, and watched Granlund toss one in from the middle of the zone. Dallas played a counterattacking style - waiting for the Jets to get caught out. The Stars PK is so thorough that they can afford to wait for penalties to even out (though that's no reason to take dumb ones). Robo is almost completely back up to speed. Miro got the plastic wrap off. Rather than struggling, the Stars are powering up. Just keep in mind they're doing so against the top points team in the NHL, and are respecting that power. Obviously I'd like to close it out on Thursday, but I'm expecting Hellebuyck to do his thing. The Stars can beat that thing, but he's definitely an equalizer when he's on. I know the rules are different than in the Hitchcock era, but there's still value in taking the air out of the game, and just believing that your squad's talent will carry the day when the variables are reduced.
  16. As we saw Friday, Hellebuyck's performance pretty much dictates the game. Much like JS Giguerre, when he's at full power, it doesn't really matter how the other team plays because the puck isn't going in the net. The Stanley Cup is rife with goalies who, for the moment, were impenetrable. Frequently, it led to inflated contracts and disappointment later. I suppose, technically, Winnipeg has two more chances to try and steal back home ice. They've pretty much gotta think, though, that tomorrow is do or die. They also have to be completely mentally bollocksed up. Be ready to absorb pressure early (that's "absorb" - not "flail around the defensive zone while the Jets take shooting practice"), play loose and smart, and wait for the dam to burst.
  17. Two separate motions. The 'kick' (yeah, if the puck had gone in directly off that skate-effort, I'm pretty sure it would have been wiped off), and Helly deliberately making an effort to play the puck (not 'deflected' as in 'casually hitting an unrelated object') and putting it into his own net. The puck never reaches the net but for the intentional act of the goalie. Good goal. Also, this is something you kvetch about when you lose 3-2 in overtime. When you check out and lose by an honest 5-2 (no empty-netters), you forfeit the right to complain. Personally, I think the whinging is an attempt to make Hellebuyck feel like it wasn't him this time. He's clearly a different player on the road.
  18. Did what we needed. Stole home ice back.
  19. Howzabout we kill some time in the offensive zone?
  20. I know this game has all the energy of an Amish gang bang, but I kinda feel like these next 4 minutes are pretty important
  21. Have either of these announcers seen a hockey game before?
  22. US Backup. Otter was goalie #2 to Hellebuyck #1 during the world hockey break for the United States.
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