dobbles

Just don't give Chicago free time outs like at the end of game 3.  

Smith looking pretty good in the last 2 games

 

What Smith are you talking about?  Surely not the one who had two interference calls against him and a load of turnovers.  If Dekeyser were healthy tomorrow Brendan Smith would be in the press box until someone got hurt or training camp started. 

Just watching the NBC broadcast and I haven't heard a word from Eddie in 10 minutes. Hilarious that his homerism is that obvious he can't even comment on the game anymore. What a tool.

 
I wish people would keep their opinions out of our roster. We have a professional coaching staff that gets paid well to make these decisions.
I will trust Babcock over any one on these boards any second of any day.

Yah.  A discussion forum with OPINIONS???  PSHHHH

[quote name="Playmaker" post="2406686" timestamp="1368902201"]Smith is a rookie who is going to make mistakes.  Pucks will get past you at the point.  If Cleary does his job, it's a good scoring chance, and nothing more.  He's a seasoned playoff veteran and shouldn't be making plays like this.  Cleary isn't the scapegoat.  He's getting well deserved criticism for his extremely poor play.[/quote

What you call "well-deserved criticism" is what I'd call obsessive overkill. He is not playing well. But Cleary commentary has gone from well-chosen, logical and timely remarks to a kind of pubescent, smart-ass, sarcastic let's-all-dump-on-him-because-it's-the-current-thing-to-do thing. Kind of like mindless, absentee bullying. What I find interesting about my own reaction is that whether it's my business or not; and even though I don't have any control over it, I feel embarrassed and sad for those of you who are persisting, even when he plays ok. It's just a guess here. A stab in the dark? But I'm thinking the point has been made that Daniel Cleary is not playing well.

Sorry, but I think the both of you are being a bit overly sensitive.  Like I said, I don't have a history of bashing or doing the "TRADE HIM" bit if someone has a bad game and I can't control what anyone else does or says.  But the bottom line is, for two full seasons, Cleary has been a shell of his former self.  He struggles with many basic things like clearing the zone or taking the right guy defensively (which wouldn't be so bad if his "defensive prowess" wasn't constantly given as his reason for being in the line up every day) His skating is painfully slow. He rarely hits any more has litte playmaking ability left and doesn't seem capable of standing in front of the net to make a play.  That doesn't take away what he did in the past and it doesn't mean he doesn't occasionally make a decent play, nor does it mean other players aren't struggling as well.

 

This is almost like a Brandon Inge reinicarnation.  The guy was hitting a buck fifty and trotted out as the starting 3B every day and was actually given a shot at 2B when Cabrera moved to third and yet if you said anything, you were a "hater" and a "bully".  Then once in a blue moon he'd get like an infield squibber or field a basic ground ball, and it was like "See!!! Look at how good he is!  He made that play!"

Oh, AND he's good in the community!  Well, so was Mother Theresa, but I don't want her playing on my team.

 

He's been a completely ineffective player, yet every game this season, there he is with Datsyuk and Zetterberg, on the PP, on the ice in the final minute of a game while guys like Eaves, Miller and others are sitting in the press box on any given night and while guys like Tatar are wasting away in Grand Rapids. Most of his goals are the result of him being the last guy it hit on the way to the net and a great many of his assists are him just getting the puck to 13 or 40 and having them do their magic.  When Brunner was having a bad stretch he was pulled from the lineup, made to sit a few games and then was reinsterted on the 3rd line.  When Ian White and Carlo Colaiocovo struggled, they were benched in favor of young players.  Same with Tootoo, Berrtuzzi and Samuelsson.  Not Cleary.

 

I was willing to give Cleary the benefit of the doubt last season because it was supposedly his bad knees and once he had surgery over the summer, he'd be back to his old self.  That didn't happen.  His decline has continued.  But there he is, in the lineup, in the top 6 game after game.  I suppose that's on Babcock.  I have a great deal of respect for him, but I don't agree with him on how he's handled Cleary.  His blind devotion is baffling.

 

I'm not here as often as many others are, but I haven't seen nearly as much Cleary bashing as I have for Franzen, Filppula, Smith, and Quincey.  No one has called him "Danielle" and I haven't seen any personal attacks, mostly just pointing out his poor play during a game day thread. 

I'm in agreement with those that look at players like Kindl and Ericsson... (prime LGW whipping boys for the last few years) ...and say to those harping on Smith. PATIENCE!!

Now Q's a completely different story. LOL.

smith has been awful for most of the year. last i checked, players who play like garbage are fair game to be bashed, rookie or not.

 

now that doesn't mean that he will be garbage forever. he is a rookie after all. trading him at this point would be jumping the gun so to that regard i do say have some patience.

Pierre: "The rule doesn't work because guys don't throw the puck over the glass on purpose."


...


BECAUSE OF THE RULE

 

 

Cleary was the closest forward backchecking.  Quincey is taking away the pass, he makes a nice play but normally you don't expect the D man to pull over that far since the goalie has the shooter and D man takes the pass. 

 

If anything Smith should've kept skating his ass off to pick up the trailer.  Smith made a rookie mistake and everything broke down.

 

The lengths you guys go to bash Cleary has gotten comical at this point. 

 

Cleary was the closest forward backchecking, and there was another teammate to his right. Quincey was covering the pass. As third man in, Cleary's job is to cover the slot.

 

The lengths you go to defend Cleary are baffling.

 
 
Cleary was the closest forward backchecking.  Quincey is taking away the pass, he makes a nice play but normally you don't expect the D man to pull over that far since the goalie has the shooter and D man takes the pass. 
 
If anything Smith should've kept skating his ass off to pick up the trailer.  Smith made a rookie mistake and everything broke down.
 
The lengths you guys go to bash Cleary has gotten comical at this point. 

Defend his play on that PP now , please. Are you Cleary's father?

Smith and Aki Berg are the same person.

 

Cut bait with this guy.  Ericsson was never half this bad.  

Ian White should be playing instead of Smith.

 

And not because I think Ian White is good.  

Is everyone seeing the same game? Good start for Smith? Did you see the pass from behind the net right in front to where his teammate was completely covered?

That's what happens when your team sucks so bad for so long and you get all the top draft picks and can draft Kane, Toews, etc. Decades ago he says? Hm we won the cup not to many years ago and made the playoffs sense. Wasn't Chicago the team who sucked for decades? Didn't Chicago fans just start showing back up at the games in about 2007? Because If i remember right they couldn't give away tickets for a solid 10 years. Chicago band wagon fans please shut up and enjoy your 2-3 more years of being good before your team goes to crap for another 10 or 20 years while we win cups. Thanks

In all fairness, Dollar Bill did everything he could to keep the fans away short of bolting the doors on game day.  It's no coincidence that Bill passed away and the fans started coming back, especially once the team started getting competitive again.  

/rant on

 

Flat out zero organization the whole game.  Hardly any tape-to-tape passes - offensive, defensive, and neutral zone.  More "throw it toward somebody and hope for the best" - not the way to be a puck possession team.  I'd make the team do passing drills at speed from net to net all this morning.

 

And just tentative as hell.  If by some miracle we get it through the neutral zone it's almost like the blue line scares us.  Can't enter the zone with the puck?  Dump it in and fight 3 guys for it.  Where is the support?  I'm triple teamed - somebody is freaking open!  Nope - they have two support guys ready to scoop up the puck if it squirts out.  Nonexistant transition game.  If it gets out of the zone, then go for a change - you've done your job. Move your feet!

 

Bad decisions!  Going to the net with the puck?  Let me pass it behind me to someone who has two guys on him.  The HELL?  It's just you and the goalie, man!  Shoot the puck!  On PK, let me try to skate the puck out rather than lofting it when I get a stick on it.  You get a stick on it, you freaking clear it!

 

And Smith.  Jesus what is his problem? Yea, he's green, but he's been increasing his defensive zone turnovers since game 1 of the first round.  Sh*t, sit the kid and bring Whitey in.  Anybody at this point.

 

And WHAT is the deal with third periods this year!?  It's like the guys are unionized to play 50 minutes per game with a 10 minute break, and by Gods they're going to get that break in.  Ahead by 3 goals or even, we're having tea on the bench during at least half the third.  Sixty minutes of effort!

 

They left Howie out to dry last night.  Hawks are good and all, but a lot of that the Wings did to themselves.  The good news is, the Ducks series showed that the Wings can play (some games) with none of these problems.  If you guys play like that again, you need to be shining up the clubs, because clearly you've given up on hockey for this season.

 

/rant off

I still don't understand why Tootoo isn't playing. Honestly.