- Rockets assistant coach Jeff Finley may have said it best on our post game show when he answered “were we ever in it". Finley says work ethic and urgency were two things missing in a 7-1 loss Friday night in Vancouver.
- Sure the Giants outworked the Rockets, but on this night were the Giants just that good or were the Rockets just that bad?
- The Giants were 4 for 9 on the power play, and scored a shorthanded goal. It was the third time this season the Rockets have allowed a shorthanded goal against.
- The deceiving stat of the night? The shots on goal. The Giants out-shot the Rockets 27-21, but the quality scoring chances would have been three to one for the home team. How tough of a night was it in the offensive zone? Rockets leading point getter Colin Long didn’t even get a shot on goal.
- The Rockets have allowed 7 goals against in two of their last three games. The Rockets allowed seven goals against in one game - four times - during the 2006-2007 season.
- Looking for a positive? Goaltender Kris Lazaruk was especially good when the Rockets got into early penalty trouble less than 2 minutes into the game. Killing off a Giants 5 on 3 man advantage, Lazaruk allowed his team to be down just 1-0 after 20 minutes.
- It was great to see the matchup against two potential first rounders in this summers NHL draft. Giants forward Evander Kane scored three times in the win, while Rockets defenseman Tyson Barrie attempted to provide a spark on a team that struggled at both ends of the ice. No lack of scouts took in the game, including Marcel Comeau of the Atlanta Thrashers, Rick Knickle of the Nashville Predators, Kent Nilsson of the Edmonton Oilers and Dean Malkoc of the Boston Bruins.
- Rookie Adam Brown made his WHL debut, in a relief appearance of starter Kris Lazaruk. Brown allowed 2 goals on the 4 shots he faced during a 12 minutes span of the third period.
- Tyler Myers has fought in three straight games. Last season Myers fought just five times in 65 games. You are seeing a much meaner Myers this season.
- The Rockets have now lost 3 of their last 4 games.
- Name the only Rocket who is a plus this season? Defenseman Kyle Verdino is a +2.
- Last night's game brought to an end a portion of the Rockets schedule where they played 7 of their first 9 games on the road.
- It was pointed out to me last night that Luke Schenn can return at anytime this season, even after he plays his 10th game with the Leafs and his contract officially kicks in. That is true. But would the Leafs be that crazy to pay Schenn a maximum rookie NHL salary to play another year of junior hockey? Not a chance.
Saturday, October 11, 2008
Ouch!
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9 comments:
A Changes They A Comin'
Huska, Almond, Hood, McIntosh could all be gone.
Beach, Fadden, McCue welcome aboard
Regan it seems to me we need help on the backend very soon or we could be so far behind the Giant's we may have to conceed 1st place to them before Christmas!! Also the Rockets have to get an enforcer, we don't need Myers doing all are scrapping, he's our only veteran blueliner & we need him on the ice not in the box!!
Hey Ryan that's a change I'd like to see, except for maybe Huska!!
Agreed with g.k. From a Sabres perspective, it's nice to see Myers flex a little more, but he has other skills to develop beyond those of pugilist.
As a side note Regan, thanks for this space. It's a great resource. Please shoot me an email if you get some down time.
Rockets GM Bruce Hamilton witnessed first hand what happened last night in Vancouver. He does not like to lose, and losing the way his team did will not sit well with him.
The coach is not the concern here. I honestly believe the team is not playing with much confidence right now because of the struggles on defense. It takes a lot of effort for an offensively gifted player to expend the majority of his energy in the defensive zone. That usually translates into little creativity at the other end of the ice. It's nice to see Myers play with 'bite', but he can't play that role for the remainder of the season. As arguably the teams top d-man, he needs to make the quickly outlet passes and get the puck in the hands of the forwards while facing the other teams top line. Fighting is part of the game, but what you are seeing now is a huge hole left by a player like Brady Leavold, who could play and fight.
Hey Regan I'm having a hard time understand your last point regarding Luke. Are you saying that Even after his Contract kicks in, he can still be sent home?
If that is true, then I can say thats what i thought because i remember Kiel McLeod being returned to Kelowna in December a few years back from his pro team...
Well I still think it is a little early to panic ?? Regan weren't we just below 500 for the first twelve games the year we won the cup ?? I could be wrong but I recall something like that.
I don't know where ryan gets all this ?? Huska gone ...bad move
Almond maybe, he is not consistant enough.
Hood and McIntosh should have been gone last year I think.
Do we want a hot head like Beach ?? I am not that sure.
McCue...you can have him, he never really impressed me playing for the wack. Something about a guy who moves around a lot.
I also think Regan hit the nail on the head about the confidence thing and hats off the Meyers for stepping up and taking a leadership role, fighting, scoring and trying to get some confidence back for his team.
I honestly think Hoody has been the most improved player on this team thus far...and By far
Jared Comeau of Mount Boucherie? Wow, small world.
How do you figure Hood is the most improved player? He has done nothing this year where guys like St Denis, Verdino, Bowman, Paradis have all played way better than him. What are we missing that you have seen Hood accomplish? Wasnt he a healthy scratch already as well?
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