1/7 IGT: Flames at Blackhawks (Get to win No. 20 edition)

[LordKOTL]

Well, I for one am tired of watching Keith try to make that pass thru the blue paint to clear the puck. Fine if you have all your 5 skaters back there, but if someone is breaking, its a turnover waiting to happen in a dangerous area. The cup winning hawks got away with this all the time, D was better, Corey was better, but the main thing was nobody was expecting it. Last two plus seasons, teams are keeping a forward in the middle of the ice knowing the hawks like to make the easy center ice clear because it keeps them away from getting hit along the boards. This last year of JC it was like wall, glass, or eat the puck until help arrives, which adds up to the puck stays in your zone and puck possession game is lost.
Thanks for the turnover answer. I thought it was Gilbert. I did hear that he might have gotten dinged when Strome got hurt, but if he was healthy and he was not the one liable for the turnover, then why was he benched?

Exactly! The biggest issue with Keith is that he keeps trying to do the same shit he was able to get away with when he was younger and better, and when he does it backfires on him. When he simplifies his game and starts worrying about himself, he becomes a capable defenseman once again--and still a damned good one. When he reverts back to his old tricks, the opposition sees them from a mile away and capitalizes. Even if you got Lehner in net it's still high-risk play, and with the overall team D as bad as it is the team should be opting for lower risk play.

As Granada pointed out though, part of that has to go back to the FWDs. As dumb as the D-men are for their bling, high-risk breakout passes the FWDs have to get open to receive the breakout pass--and much like the PP many of the FWDs are remaining static and not giving an outlet option.

The part of that which gets me the most is that the team is having all of these optional skates...surely if JC had a scrote on him he would make a few of these mandatory so they can relearn passing 101 and transitions 101. So while part of it is a player execution problem, it's also a coaching problem.

 

[Raskolnikov]

Exactly! The biggest issue with Keith is that he keeps trying to do the same shit he was able to get away with when he was younger and better, and when he does it backfires on him. When he simplifies his game and starts worrying about himself, he becomes a capable defenseman once again--and still a damned good one. When he reverts back to his old tricks, the opposition sees them from a mile away and capitalizes. Even if you got Lehner in net it's still high-risk play, and with the overall team D as bad as it is the team should be opting for lower risk play.

As Granada pointed out though, part of that has to go back to the FWDs. As dumb as the D-men are for their bling, high-risk breakout passes the FWDs have to get open to receive the breakout pass--and much like the PP many of the FWDs are remaining static and not giving an outlet option.

The part of that which gets me the most is that the team is having all of these optional skates...surely if JC had a scrote on him he would make a few of these mandatory so they can relearn passing 101 and transitions 101. So while part of it is a player execution problem, it's also a coaching problem.

I've never seen anyone get back trailing by a stick and a half, lay out and disrupt play after play after play in the same looks desperate but is an actual skill quite like Keith in his prime.

As an athlete that went through the lose a step process, and started missing blocked shot attempts by a fingertip...that style just doesn't translate to age.

I think Lord is right, he can't pinch up like that anymore, he needs to cheat the other way and plan to be a little slower than you think you are. The mental adjustment is the hardest because your body doesn't calculate your body correctly and you end up a foot short...throws off other calculations and it all happens so fast...hard with miscalculations left and right.

We are in desperate need of 1 or 2 first pair defensive defenseman and those don't come cheap or easy. I guess there is hope in Beudin and they are real excited about Mitchell getting here next year. Murphy could develop into a complimentary first pair piece, or at least gives you the athleticism to pretend when you need depth help.

The Joker trade makes less sense everyday.

 

[LordKOTL]

I've never seen anyone get back trailing by a stick and a half, lay out and disrupt play after play after play in the same looks desperate but is an actual skill quite like Keith in his prime.

As an athlete that went through the lose a step process, and started missing blocked shot attempts by a fingertip...that style just doesn't translate to age.

I think Lord is right, he can't pinch up like that anymore, he needs to cheat the other way and plan to be a little slower than you think you are. The mental adjustment is the hardest because your body doesn't calculate your body correctly and you end up a foot short...throws off other calculations and it all happens so fast...hard with miscalculations left and right.

We are in desperate need of 1 or 2 first pair defensive defenseman and those don't come cheap or easy. I guess there is hope in Beudin and they are real excited about Mitchell getting here next year. Murphy could develop into a complimentary first pair piece, or at least gives you the athleticism to pretend when you need depth help.

The Joker trade makes less sense everyday.

Hossa? Granted, he wasn't a D-man but how many times was he the deepest FWD and was still the 1st back to get a clean takeaway? That's not a knock on Keith in any shape or form, but showing the quality that those 2 players when ON are HoF players on the defensive-side of the puck.

As I mentioned about Keith there are times in the past 2 seasons where you can see he's trying to think the game as an elder skatesman and adjust--and he's very effective when he does so. Not Norris-level but damned good. He just has to stop going off the rails--especially in "desperation" circumstances. While that is a hard thing for any athlete to do (adjust play for age on the subconscious level) it needs to be done--otherwise the player is a de facto liability.

At least for Keith he's never been at the, "you're not 25 anymore!" level that Seabrook has been.