Even though we're already into the second half of the season, I thought it'd be a good time to see where the team stands as of the All Star Break. Here we go:
Forwards: Marian Gaborik got off to a slow start but has been on a tear since the 5 goal game. Brian Rolston's streaky...he becomes invisible for long stretches of games but has lately become noticeable again. PMB has had a very good season to date and will make Risebrough's job a difficult one this off-season. Pavol Demitra's been decent, good but not great. The others have been ok, including the surprising Aaron Voros and James Sheppard. Overall Grade: B.
Defense: BB has been insane from an offensive standpoint, but still continues to commit ridiculous turnovers. Captain Nick Schultz has been his usual steady self and is probably the team's best defenseman. Skoula is Skoua and Johnsson continues to underachieve. I wish Kurtis Foster would see more ice time, but when he's skating he brings a big time shot from the point. Overall Grade: C.
Goaltending: Clearly Nik Backstrom has taken a step back, and we all knew he would, but it's still disappointing. Josh Harding's been incredible at times and ordinary at others. Harding will be this team's number one someday (08-09?) so maybe the future is now. Overall Grade: C+.
Coaching: Jacques Lemaire (sporting Anthony LaPanta-like sideburns in the picture above) continues to shuffle the lines a bit more than usual, frustrating me and the team. His criticism of Gaborik's play inspired #10 to take his game to the next level, so that was good. Overall Grade: A-.
Blog: Spotty posts at best are not acceptable. When I posted it was usually Chinese food-related, which has little to do with the team. The addition of RWD as a columnist was a big bonus, so not all is lost. I look forward to a more consistent second half and promise to limit the egg roll columns to a minimum. Overall Grade: B-.
1 comment:
My problem this year is the only time I seem to notice Rolston is when he's coasting, floating around the neutral zone, dumping the puck, going wide on a break away and cranking a shot wide of the goal.
But I look at the stats and sure enough he's doing something, but damn it I just wish it would looked more noticable. I'd be hard pressed to say yeah we gotta sign this guy to a new contract next year.
Voros has he been neutralized or just coached into not doing what he did when he got up here? I miss all the hitting and fighting and reckless abandon. Maybe he's playing better defense, but the new Voros doesn't seem as effective as the old one.
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