Well it's about good goddamn time. Never thought I'd be saying anything after beating the D's besides "of course they won", but the way things were going...any win is a great win. They finally picked up their game, but there's still much more left to be desired from this team. Yes they won, but remember, it's only the Devils.
They still had mediocre to decent puck movement and, once again, their powerplay was god awful. I'm not too sure what happened to be honest with you, one week it's working like a well greased engine, the next week it's in some serious need of WD-40. It seems like all their hockey sense just goes completely out the window when they go a man up. As a former hockey player myself, I wish I had some kind of "hockey guru" wisdom for you guys but shit like this never happened to me so I'm just as confused and frustrated as anybody else.
Their 5 on 5 was pretty on their game, as much as I hate to say it, Jeff Carter was one of the biggest presences out on the ice today. It's no secret to anybody that knows me that I'm not happy with Carter getting such an extension but at least he can produce when he feels like it. The big story from the afternoon was definitely the play of Mike Richards. The dude was throwin his weight around and setting up plays all over the place today, but that is really to be expected out of him. I was definitely not one of the people saying that we should take away his C last season, and he shut up everyone in the playoffs last season and has continued to lead by example this season.
And thank everything holy that Claudie got on the board tonight, after him tearing shit up over the first 18 games or so he's seen a definite drop in his production. He seemed like a new animal today, he was hitting everything that moved and piledrived that loose puck home into the empty net with what looked like unnecessary force...but damn if it didn't feel good to see the old Groo back out there again. What really gets on my nerves and disappoints me is what's goin on with Zherdev.
It's not his play that's really bugging me, it's his ice time and lack of support that he always seems to get. Sticking him on the 4th line is kind of a slap in the face to the enigma. After his benching he came back with what looked like new life and has kept it going, for the most part, every game. He's being a lot more physical and his dangles are awesome as always, but he's still spending a majority of his time with Betts and Shelley. Don't get me wrong, I have no complaints with Betts or Shelley but they're nowhere even close to having the skills that Zherdev has. Yes, today he did spend some time with Groo and Carter but for the most part he's been banished to the 4th line. He's basically being set up to fail...fans and the management will get on him for him not producing, but really how much is he supposed to produce when he's getting around 10 minutes a game on average? When he does see some increased ice time, I've noticed that if he gets the puck it's usually him vs. 4 of the other team and he's either forced to try and dangle through all of them, which never happens, or he just puts the puck in deep and goes off on a change.
Personally I think that Powe should move back to his position and Zherdev can move up to the 3rd line. I absolutely love Powe, the guy has a heart of gold and is always taking the body and sacrificing himself to make plays but lets face it...he's not really putting up a lot of points. He doesn't have to move back forever, but I really think Zherdev needs to see some steadily increased ice time with more capable line mates for at least 2 weeks. I can almost guarantee his production will go up noticeably.
Tomorrow is the Isles and seriously, I can't even begin to fathom how they could lose so this weekend is looking like a good one.
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