Dan Petriw: Isles fall to the Preds 3-2

I missed the last two goals Nabby gave up. Poulin will hopefully get more work this week. I also liked that Cappy mixed up the lines. If Mouslon is not scoring he gives you very little else. This is the problem many of us have with Moulson and why he is not an automatic signing. Isles going to have to decide on guys like Moulson and Amac. Nabby's age will make his decision much easier.

Dan Petriw: Isles fall to the Preds 3-2
- Dan Petriw

Our defense is terrible. I don't know what game you were watching Dan? Funny when Nabakov gave up that one stinker from the blue line the Preds started throwing pucks from far away and nabby seemed a bit off with it? Team looks like dog crap to me. Bad decision making with the puck. Not much thought into what to do with the puck when they do get it. Just dump it to no one, same crap they were doing before we went on that run last year.
The defense needs something. Hickey is tough to watch. Amac is Amac. Garbage. Hamonic doesn't look good sorry to say but probably has something to do with covering his partner half the time who was out of position at least a half dozen times. When Carkner is your best Dman you know you have some issues.
Good on Capuano to shake the lines up. If he had half a brain in your head Okposo would've been off that line three games ago OR never been on there in the first place. Glad he noticed Moulson's half assed effort as well. Best job tonight IMO was shockingly from Capuano?

I missed the last two goals Nabby gave up. Poulin will hopefully get more work this week. I also liked that Cappy mixed up the lines. If Mouslon is not scoring he gives you very little else. This is the problem many of us have with Moulson and why he is not an automatic signing. Isles going to have to decide on guys like Moulson and Amac. Nabby's age will make his decision much easier.
- ses111

You watch a game like this and it makes that decision easy.

Isles are playing opposing teams game too much. They need to play their game, the same game that got them into the playoffs and almost had them knocking the pens out of the first round. If Isles can get back to that type of game they can run away with the division. The next two games are very critical and will certainly not be easy with two teams desperate for wins.

Isles are playing opposing teams game too much. They need to play their game, the same game that got them into the playoffs and almost had them knocking the pens out of the first round. If Isles can get back to that type of game they can run away with the division. The next two games are very critical and will certainly not be easy with two teams desperate for wins.
- mighty13duck

We are quickly becoming one of those teams. We keep playing like this we'll be in a deep hole in no time.

Our defense is terrible. I don't know what game you were watching Dan? Funny when Nabakov gave up that one stinker from the blue line the Preds started throwing pucks from far away and nabby seemed a bit off with it? Team looks like dog crap to me. Bad decision making with the puck. Not much thought into what to do with the puck when they do get it. Just dump it to no one, same crap they were doing before we went on that run last year.
The defense needs something. Hickey is tough to watch. Amac is Amac. Garbage. Hamonic doesn't look good sorry to say but probably has something to do with covering his partner half the time who was out of position at least a half dozen times. When Carkner is your best Dman you know you have some issues.
Good on Capuano to shake the lines up. If you had half a brain in your head Okposo would've been off that line three games ago OR never been on there in the first place. Glad he noticed Moulson's half assed effort as well. Best job tonight IMO was shockingly from Capuano?
- Cptmjl

I'm not impressed with Hickey at all. He is small and gives you no offense. Cappy was the best thing tonight. Moulson is getting tough to watch along with most of the D.

http://nypost.com/2013/10...-face-of-new-york-sports/

I'm not impressed with Hickey at all. He is small and gives you no offense. Cappy was the best thing tonight. Moulson is getting tough to watch along with most of the D.
- ses111

I never liked Hickey. Striat has been by far the worst dman so far and that says a lot. Donovan is a close second

I never liked Hickey. Striat has been by far the worst dman so far and that says a lot. Donovan is a close second
- mighty13duck

I would not mind seeing Dehaan. Donovan, I give a pass. He is young and I feel he has promise. The Strait from early last year seems like a distant memory.

I never liked Hickey. Striat has been by far the worst dman so far and that says a lot. Donovan is a close second
- mighty13duck

Donovan made a couple crap plays in Chicago. First year blunders, these other guys just suck and they always will. Donovan has the potential to be good. These other clowns don't.

You watch a game like this and it makes that decision easy.
- Cptmjl

If I'm the Isles, I spend my money elsewhere. You figure the Isles see Bailey and KO as part of the future and Strome is knocking on the door, where will Moulson fit? Isles have to think not only about the better prospects but better FA's now that they are going to Brooklyn.

Donovan made a couple crap plays in Chicago. First year blunders, these other guys just suck and they always will. Donovan has the potential to be good. These other clowns don't.
- Cptmjl

I agree Donovan is a key piece and will be a pretty good player but right now he needs work. This defense is unacceptable at the moment. Carkner looked pretty good today. Moulson was awful but I still give him the befit of the doubt since he did just have a baby. he has to bring it Tuesday against a terrible hockey team

I'm loving how it has become.. dee who???..

Good stuff.

Gotta take advantage of these weaker teams

At the start of the season you guys knew d would be an issue. I still think that is part of it, the other is Nabby seems to be letting a softy or 2. That will kill any team as the season goes on. I thought all Isles fans loved MM? Or is it just JT?

I'm loving how it has become.. dee who???..
- cmimbri

I think the other day she went 9 hours without a hit
Still gotta admire her dedication

I missed the last two goals Nabby gave up. Poulin will hopefully get more work this week. I also liked that Cappy mixed up the lines. If Mouslon is not scoring he gives you very little else. This is the problem many of us have with Moulson and why he is not an automatic signing. Isles going to have to decide on guys like Moulson and Amac. Nabby's age will make his decision much easier.
- ses111

I think what a vast minority of the others have been writing about this guy is dead on- Moulson is crap for pretty much every minute he's on the ice that he doesn't put a puck in the net. Every time he's digging along the boards, you pretty much know it's going to end badly. He's a 30 goal scorer....so was Mariusz Czerkawski, and Czerk played a lot of those years on the wing of far more useless players than John Tavares. In today's day and age, Mariusz would be worth every bit of $3-4M a year. Once you start talking about $5-6M, I'll pass, thanks. I'd rather make someone else think the sun shines out Moulson's a$$, and try to bring back quality in return for him, than offer him $18M over 3 years. Sorry, just my opinion on that one.

Our defense is terrible. I don't know what game you were watching Dan? Funny when Nabakov gave up that one stinker from the blue line the Preds started throwing pucks from far away and nabby seemed a bit off with it?
- Cptmjl

On both the first AND the third goal Nabokov was screened. That's what people who criticize a netminder don't get- if he loses the puck for a thousandth of a second, it throws him off.....a 100 MPH slap shot takes less than a full second from the tape to the back of net, and if you lose sight of it for part of that time, good luck with that. Try hitting a pitch with a guy standing between you and the pitcher who gets in YOUR way, but doesn't touch the ball...yeah, it's exactly like that. The second one was a sh*t goal, for sure- and HE knew it...he was snoozing back there, and didn't get set in time.

All of that being said is to actually agree with you- our defense IS crap, as I said last night, and one of the crap qualities it has is that they collectively pay lip service to blocking shots, but for most of them, it doesn't translate into reality. Getting out of the way at the last second is too late- the only reason for not taking the shot in the shin guards is if it's a two on one- then you play the other man, and let the goalie do his job. Otherwise, you can't sort of half-a$$ed get in the way but not really- that makes it worse, not better.

I never liked Hickey. Striat has been by far the worst dman so far and that says a lot. Donovan is a close second
- mighty13duck

Hickey is too d*mn small- if Hickey was even the size of Hamonic (who isn't what I'd call big), he'd be our best defenseman, because he's a smart player. The problem, as I said, is when we play a team with size, and we have guys like him on the ice, it's a clear disadvantage. You can hide Nathan Gerbe as one of the 12. When he's one of the 6, the other 5 had better be giant sequoias.

Strait's problem is that he is S-L-O-W. If you motor outside him, it's pretty much a given that he ends up in the box for obstruction of some sort.

Visnovsky is what he is- a power play quarterback. He's got the same problem as Hickey, except that he's got that veteran instinct that you can't teach. He's another one who needs to be paired with someone who blocks out the sun, in order to be truly effective.

MacDonald is another one who skates like a truck backing into a loading dock. He's also our "biggest" defenseman, which is lucky for him, considering the others. He COULD be a solid defenseman IF he really just concentrates on playing his position. The problem is that whenever he "joins the rush", he's not getting back.....EVER. He needs to use his brain more than his skill, the latter of which he has very little of, in order to be effective, and even then, he's at best another near the low end of the list.

Hamonic is a good young player- but he's the ONLY one, and we sometimes forget that he's STILL YOUNG, and is still prone to mistakes. It doesn't help that there's no one out there to teach him the ropes.....and now we're expecting guys like him to teach Donovan...and then wonder why the rookie is struggling...


So, to sum up, we have a rookie who is a wild card, a kid who is still learning, a solid power play QB, and not a whole he11 of a lot else back there. It's nice to dream about Pedan, Mayfield, Reinhart and Pulock, but I don't think I can sit through two solid years of these guys before that happens- at least I know that if I was the GM, I certainly wouldn't......

Our defense is terrible. I don't know what game you were watching Dan? Funny when Nabakov gave up that one stinker from the blue line the Preds started throwing pucks from far away and nabby seemed a bit off with it? Team looks like dog crap to me. Bad decision making with the puck. Not much thought into what to do with the puck when they do get it. Just dump it to no one, same crap they were doing before we went on that run last year.
The defense needs something. Hickey is tough to watch. Amac is Amac. Garbage. Hamonic doesn't look good sorry to say but probably has something to do with covering his partner half the time who was out of position at least a half dozen times. When Carkner is your best Dman you know you have some issues.
Good on Capuano to shake the lines up. If he had half a brain in your head Okposo would've been off that line three games ago OR never been on there in the first place. Glad he noticed Moulson's half assed effort as well. Best job tonight IMO was shockingly from Capuano?
- Cptmjl

Right, and when HIS partner is out of position, that means he's going to be alone for the duration of the play in question. It's hard enough to be a defenseman without having to be two of them.

Giving up 3 goals to the Preds is like giving up 12 to the Penguins.

Giving up 3 goals to the Preds is like giving up 12 to the Penguins.
- PoileRulezzzYo

We made them look like a team of Hertls last night

On both the first AND the third goal Nabokov was screened. That's what people who criticize a netminder don't get- if he loses the puck for a thousandth of a second, it throws him off.....a 100 MPH slap shot takes less than a full second from the tape to the back of net, and if you lose sight of it for part of that time, good luck with that. Try hitting a pitch with a guy standing between you and the pitcher who gets in YOUR way, but doesn't touch the ball...yeah, it's exactly like that. The second one was a sh*t goal, for sure- and HE knew it...he was snoozing back there, and didn't get set in time.

All of that being said is to actually agree with you- our defense IS crap, as I said last night, and one of the crap qualities it has is that they collectively pay lip service to blocking shots, but for most of them, it doesn't translate into reality. Getting out of the way at the last second is too late- the only reason for not taking the shot in the shin guards is if it's a two on one- then you play the other man, and let the goalie do his job. Otherwise, you can't sort of half-a$$ed get in the way but not really- that makes it worse, not better.
- dcb1

watch the replay of the 3rd goal. The defensemen, (i forget who it was) moved out of the way so he could see the shot. There wasn't a screen. It WAS a big shot and a great shot but he's got to make that save everytime. Too far out