Bryan Little has been a revelation. Slava Kozlov is on a pace to score more than 40 goals. Ilya Kovalchuk can do things very few other humans ever have. Ron Hainsey has been an excellent addition to the defense, and, despite what happened on the game-winning goal Sunday night, Niclas Havelid has been having a wonderful run lately as the steady, calming defenseman every team needs. So, how can they look as lifeless, out of sync and sometimes flat-out careless as they did in the first period Sunday night?
Not a bad question. I've been wondering similar things for a while now. I'm not worried, though. Some Philadelphia witch doctor has clearly put some kind of ancient Peruvian monkey curse on Thrashers-Flyers games; I think we can set off on another big winning streak come Thursday.
Good news: Mathieu Schneider is close to returning. Boris Valabik can...leave.
20 comments:
That's the thing. Last year, we would win four in a row then lose four in a row. These are the kind of issues and hurtles that JA is going to have to deal with, keep that confidence going. The boys need to remain happy and excited.
Mathieu Schneider is a -11, good for 5TH WORST IN THE ENTIRE LEAGUE.
When he left from injury, he was at the very bottom.
Meanwhile, immediately after Schneider gets hurt, Boris steps in, and the team wins four of the next five.
The Thrashers are 3-7-2 with Schneider playing, and 4-1-0 with Boris playing.
Great analysis there....Peacock.
man why is that anonymous comments always give us hell. On the Schneider note, last I checked he was responsible for getting our power play back on track and producing points. Not that it matters though....Boris may have a better +/-, but the reason I believe Schneider was associated with poor play was that he was playing alot of ice time. He is simply too old to be playing that much. Meanwhile, Enstrom steps up and produces. I would give that man the credit for some of those wins, buddy anon. He got more ice time and the points increased. But hey, that's just me. I wouldn't credit Boris for us winning honestly. He played progressively better, but I wouldn't give him the Hart Trophy.
Oh and that guy Kovalchuk has a career +/- of -75. Send him to the Wolves and bring up Sterling because Kovy isn't worthy to play.
Anon-
Some days I take a walk in the park. Every now and then I take a walk in the park and later that evening manage to find some excellent food.
Clearly, the reason for these occasional excellent meals are my walks in the park.
In other words: What are you talking about?
The +/- ratings of Schneider and Valabik have very little to do with the Thrashers' recent win streak. Boris hasn't been instrumental to a single victory. Not a game victory, a shift victory. If you think he has been I'd love for you to share a specific example.
That said, I like Boris. I just don't think he's as good a very good defenseman. If Schneider is given the proper minutes he'd be much better for us...like Monsieur said, Enstrom needs much more ice-time than Schneider.
And what do you mean by ending your comment with that emphatic "Peacock."? Is this just a simple case of Tough Guy Being Tough By Using People's Last Name, like when a schoolyard bully calls people "Kowalski" and "Goldstein?" Or do you have something against peacocks in general? I'm sorry if you do; the peacock is a noble and exotic, if sometimes obnoxious, creature.
Meanwhile, I'm not sure where you get the idea that I was conducting some kind of "analysis." "Analysis," as we all know, is a Greek word meaning "to take apart." I wasn't taking apart anything in this post; I was merely wishing Schneider a hearty get well soon at Boris' expense.
And really, you've got to find a pseudonym. How can you expect to engage in debate when I don't even know your fake name? Just who are--ah ha, BUSTED, BORIS VALABIK!
The analysis part couldn't be truer. Two sentences surely can't be a representation of analysis. It was a comment associated with a personal opinion or feeling. There was no breaking down of stats or reports of either players. I would say this " Great Post Script, PeaCOCK" Much more effective in my opinion or "analysis."
Anyone who will post negative comments and CANT EVEN COME UP WITH A FUCKING FAKE NAME cannot be taken seriously.
Obviously a messageboard troll.
#18 is just fine. The person that uses +/- to determine how good a hockey player is shows their own hockey IQ without even knowing it.
And by the way, what exactly has Boris done for us to win 4 out of 5?
Shut Up Shooter! What do you know about Hockey? You only played it for years until your ACL tore. Who do you think you are? Charlatans all around here. Myself included. I'm not even FRENCH!
THANK GOD BORIS VALABIK SCORED THE WINNING GOAL IN ALL FOUR GAMES!!!!!
GOD LOVE HIM. THE BEST DMAN OF ALL TIME.
EVEN BETTER THAN BOBBY ORR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
i do believe the forces of the universe work against the thrashers everytime we play those damn flyers!
Why did I close with Peacock? It was fairly close to how you closed. "Boris Valabik can...leave." "Great analysis there....Peacock."
And you are ripping the +/- argument. You did realize that I made two arguments, right?
Why hurry back a guy from injury, when the team has been at its season best with someone else in the lineup?
Argue whatever you want about who is to blame or where the credit goes for the losses/wins, but why change the lineup that is been working?
My favorite thing about this is that if a person puts one comment that disagrees with the posters, you 3 go back and forth arguing 12 or 13 times, and then the inevitable follow up post.
And am I a "message board troll"?
Not quite. Just arguing the other side of the coin.
Oh, and one last thing. Instead of responding to comments that disagree with you with 10-12 posts consisting of sarcasm, try discussing real arguments instead of bickering like 5 year olds.
With sarcasm, came the points. Swift did so in A Modest Proposal. I'm in no way as eloquent as him of course, but I think its obvious that this blog deals with a lot of humor and sarcasm. Again though, please come up with a fake name or something so we can deal something instead of Anonymous. There can't be a discussion with critical anonymous comments.There is a lack of merit when that happens. When we made mistakes or argued against other writers they had names, and we would respond to them in a more civil fashion.
Sure I can understand about not wanting to shake things up if things work, but I honestly believe Schneider would be a better asset than Boris. The followup post was sparked by this of course, but it is a statistic that we here hate because it can make good players look bad like in the case of Kovy and doesn't represent them well. Putting that stat in your argument won't do well considering looking at the other low +/- players like Boyes or Brind'Amour who are obviously playing well. The closing was not quite fair because it was to Valabik and then you went to Morty. It would be fair of course if you are in fact Boris Valabik, which would be quite exciting. It was a condescending closing that was not met well obviously. So I tried to answer back at your with the least bit of sarcasm I had even though some might of slipped through.
Anon-
I must need a degree from the Institute of Subtlety Studies, because I couldn't tell that you were making any argument aside from, to paraphrase, "Boris Valabik helps the Thrashers more than Mathieu Schneider." I just don't think it's true.
Now, the million dollar question: ARE you Boris Valabik?
Mort-
To paraphrase, "The Thrashers have won more with Boris in the lineup than with Mathieu. Why change a lineup that is working?"
Boris' presence isn't the reason the team has been winning. Hainsey-Exelby and Enstrom-Havelid are our best defensive pairings; Boris and Schneider alike should play minimal ice-time. That said, I'm reasonably sure that Schneider will contribute more to offense and defense than Boris...though I could be wrong. If it turns out that Schneider is a disaster and Boris is God I'll happily recant.
Check out Knobler's most recent blog post.
Appears I am not the only one that notices the disparity agrees with the argument.
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