Mustard and Blue

whew. i'm exhausted. that was some more emotionally and physically draining hockey game because of both the intensity and the importance. we played about as well as we're capable of playing to be honest.

this can be a pretty darn good hockey team when we find a way to score three goals while playing honest on the defensive end. tonight we were a pretty darn good hockey team.

proud of how physically we stood right up to them all night and gave better then we got in fact.

that third period was a text book example of how a team is supposed to play to protect a one goal lead. forwards with a good forecheck. forwards got the puck deep virtually every shift to make anaheim come full ice. defensemen stood them up at the blueline with hits or poked the puck away and took away anaheim entering the offensive zone with speed about 20 times. cann't remember us ever doing that better for an entire period trying to protect a one goal lead, much less against a really good offensive hockey team.

specifics tomorrow, tonight i need rest.

Yup, we looked like a team is supposed to look, and dare I say it, 100% of the players gave 110%, 100% of the time.
Glad to see this topic is it's own forum, which is what it deserves quite frankly.

I was beside myself when the Anaheim announcer started talking like the Preds were backing off to play defensive and just protect the lead. He made it sound like they were trapping, which was nowhere near the truth. The forecheck was so good in the third that the Ducks just couldn't get going at even strength. And that same forecheck was what got them the EN goal.

J.P. was a forechecking demon all night. It was almost like he had something to prove!

ChasUK wrote:J.P. was a forechecking demon all night. It was almost like he had something to prove!

And what got into him sprinting to the bench to get a fresh man out there for him? I was beside myself. When guys play like that it's infectious. If the big guns/leaders are hustling, the rest of the guys follow suit. If you noticed, Arnott has been skating his ass off and other guys are as well. It's actually nice to see. I've always said you won't get a complaint out of me when they play hard and hustle and that's what they've done since coming back from the break. Good for them. Makes me proud to be a Preds fan when they play like this.

fcm69 wrote:

ChasUK wrote:J.P. was a forechecking demon all night. It was almost like he had something to prove!

And what got into him sprinting to the bench to get a fresh man out there for him? I was beside myself. When guys play like that it's infectious. If the big guns/leaders are hustling, the rest of the guys follow suit. If you noticed, Arnott has been skating his ass off and other guys are as well. It's actually nice to see. I've always said you won't get a complaint out of me when they play hard and hustle and that's what they've done since coming back from the break. Good for them. Makes me proud to be a Preds fan when they play like this.

I think it's good sign and has got to motivate the younger players. What's that saying about the best players are not always the hardest working players, but if they are, you have a formidable team?

If the team is playing this well now will they make a move as a buyer? Poile says they have wiggle room to make a minor move, but why? The team is playing well and would an additional asset be worth losing prospects or picks? True the Preds could dump Koistinen but he will only fetch a low pick, but why trade De Vries and Bonk when they could be the vet presence you need for a playoff run? As of today, the Preds are 2 points from a playoff spot, 4 points from 5th. Will status quo be the answer?

In arguing with one of the Canadians, I found this:

http://www.camagazine.com/5/8/9/6/index1.shtml

Wow. Just wow. It's so near to our situation it's kind of scary. Of course the fine details are different, but the overall story is remarkably similar. (Sorry if I put this in the wrong category, but it was "my observation.")

yes and they tend to observe it as it never has happened to them I observe.

a worrisome, nervous type game today. one of those road games you just somehow hope to steal a point against arguably the hottest team in the league.. a point here would make things look brighter. two and you would have be downright giddy heading back home.

would be a great game to see the pp score a goal or two. would be a great game to see sully score a goal or two. would be a great game to see us do anything positive offensively. you get the feeling we have to do something 'unusual' today to pull off an upset. maybe pihlstrom actaully knocks one in, maybe a shortie. those type of things.

i try not to scoreboard watch right now, because they are so frigging many teams we have to worry over it just drives you crazy. hard to do of course. but in my mind, we're not playing against teams ahead of us, we're playing against ourselves and how many points we can accumulate. go get our 89-91 points and let the chips fall where they may type of stuff.

would be huge to see us jump out to a lead and make them play catchup today. interesting to see trotz say we're going with the existing lineup even though it appears toots is ready to go today. don't blame him right now. i assume ellis is back in net, hope that works out. no way to know if the shutout really has him ready, or if it was simply flukish because of the great defense we played the other night, but i guess we find out in about 9 hours or so.