I actually didn’t notice him as much.

With 15 games left, and trade deadline come and gone, I think it is time to curtail our “Jesus” treatment of Welly.

Let him off that cross, and just play hockey. I have been watching him pretty close, and he is more dangerous offensively, and his defensive game looks as good as last year. The last 5-6 games, for instance, he seems to go into the corner with much bigger players and come out with the puck.

Or get in there and break up pressure in our own end, and then make that nice little pass that lets them counter. He looks to be getting used to finding Raymond and Hansen. That line could be surprising going forward.

His game has been fine. Let’s give Welly a bit more leash before yanking him back onto the crucifix.

That 3rd line is good enough, which gives Demo, Burr and Kes more time to become the special line they have shown flashes of becoming.

Sammy and the Twins look to have a Tre Kroner vibe going…leave that together.

Yeah…they can do this. If the defense is a little thin.

Fuck it. Out score the bastards, and let Luongo make the big save. Just like his hero Grant Fuhr. It worked out pretty well for him…Rings wise.

Peace.

Made me laugh this morning, thanks.

Their playoff numbers aren’t bad at all: they each averaged a point a game last year. The playoffs before that was four years ago. They’ve gotten better since.

Keep in mind this was also during AV’s trap or play in the minors era.

Getting more opportunities usually equals giving more up…essentially saying" if we open it up, our goalie will make more saves than your goalie, and we finally trust our offense"

Kind of….

Sean…I know its late…but I never said he did.

I posted some stats a few days back, but they are readlily available. Its the perception that is changed.

The truth is, his stats are not much different. A couple less shutouts, and a .1 difference ( or so ) in the GAA. Which at this time of the season counts up to like…10-15 more goals all season.

Thats all. This “questionable” I hear sometimes makes me laugh too. We have one of the Top 3 goalies in the league, and because his game is not perfect all the time, he is a bum. He has stolen a couple…but its too late to look up.

Other teams are going to score, but its how you finish. The Avs game was a prime example of that.

So was the Nashville game…where he kept them in it to win it. So was the Bos game…where he was huge! The Fla s/o. They had some chances. But we choose to remember the Minny game just before the break. The Hawks game…a complete team breakdown in the first leaving him hanging…but go steal that game Lui!

Our team is almost 20 games over .500….but to hear some of us sometimes, you would think it was all an illusion, and that they really suck once you get to know them. The defense is horrible….why is that guy starting instead of this one?

The goalie sucks…except did you SEE that save?!

Poppycock and balderdash. There are what they are. A bonafide Cup contender, and a team no one will want.

Not even Chicago…

“Questionable at best most nights…”

So, you think Luongo has been in the bottom ten goalies of the league on most of the nights he’s played. “Questionable” does not mean “Average”; it means “Bad”.

You’d prefer Cam Ward, perhaps?

He hasn’t really needed to steal games. When you are second best in league scoring, it’s hard for a goaltender to steal games. He had to steal games in the past because his team in front of him was offensively challenged. I think it’s just a sign of how much better the team has been this year.

What year was this? The best he’s done was 2006-2007 when his GAA was 2.28; this year his GAA is 0.16 higher. His save percentage is 0.05 lower than that year.

The team, on the other hand, is now scoring over three goals a game this year, as compared to two and three-quarters in 2007. That is a much, much bigger difference than Lou’s goaltending drop!

Here’s a secret: goalies can’t win you games. Really. They can’t score for the team, so they can’t win games. All goaltending can do is not lose the game for you, and the rest is up to the skaters. I’m far more comfortable with a team that has two strong scoring lines and two more that can chip in than I am with a single scoring line and three rows of grunts.

That being said, I really, really want Mitchell back soon!