Comments on: 2/25 Anaheim 5, Colorado 3 http://inthecheapseats.com/avs-recaps/02-26-2007/225-anaheim-5-colorado-3 Your NHL 3rd jersey source (with some Colorado Avalanche stuff mixed in) Tue, 02 Dec 2008 18:20:37 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6.3 By: Draft Dodger http://inthecheapseats.com/avs-recaps/02-26-2007/225-anaheim-5-colorado-3#comment-766 Draft Dodger Mon, 26 Feb 2007 20:51:23 +0000 http://inthecheapseats.com/?p=155#comment-766 Ossi has had some solid streaks in him, where he was making use of his size, actually skating hard, and also moving the puck well. but he can't seem to sustain it for very long. Even worse, he fluctuates from pretty good, to decent, to downright awful. it's frankly quite a mystery to me. The other D, we seem to have a grasp on what their limitations are and can set up expectations of their play accordingly, but Ossi seems to be hit or miss. An example is that recent Calgary game where Lombardi had a breakaway and had a race with Sauer and Vaananen to the net. You KNOW Sauer is going to get beat. What you don't expect is Vaananen skating in casually like he doesn't know where he's going, and is in no hurry to get there. that's probably why I'd like to keep guys like Clark and Sauer and trade Vaananen. At least with them, you know what you are going to get on a given night. Ossi has had some solid streaks in him, where he was making use of his size, actually skating hard, and also moving the puck well. but he can’t seem to sustain it for very long. Even worse, he fluctuates from pretty good, to decent, to downright awful.

it’s frankly quite a mystery to me. The other D, we seem to have a grasp on what their limitations are and can set up expectations of their play accordingly, but Ossi seems to be hit or miss. An example is that recent Calgary game where Lombardi had a breakaway and had a race with Sauer and Vaananen to the net. You KNOW Sauer is going to get beat. What you don’t expect is Vaananen skating in casually like he doesn’t know where he’s going, and is in no hurry to get there.

that’s probably why I’d like to keep guys like Clark and Sauer and trade Vaananen. At least with them, you know what you are going to get on a given night.

]]> By: Brad http://inthecheapseats.com/avs-recaps/02-26-2007/225-anaheim-5-colorado-3#comment-765 Brad Mon, 26 Feb 2007 17:19:17 +0000 http://inthecheapseats.com/?p=155#comment-765 I screamed at my TV when Scott Niedermayer did his little "doesn't-look-like-interference" cheat on Svatos. It was such a bullshit move that you don't expect guys like Niedermayer to make. I guess Pronger is rubbing off on him. It was so hugely satisfying to see us score on the ensuing Power Play, that was probably the highlight of the night for me. Unfortunately, that was followed by the low point of the night, when he came back and scored the game winning goal against us. I nearly reached for the bottle at that point. I know it doesn't need to be said again, but Vaananen just confuses the shit out of me when he's "bad Vaananen." When he's "bad Vaananen," he's tall, but not big and certainly not sturdy. He's not great in his own zone, but he's got little to no offensive instincts. He doesn't take the body very much, except when it's a cheap hit from behind to injure somebody. He's got a long stick and a good reach, but most of his hockey sense is lost in favor of taking dumb penalties. What is he doing out there? It's like he's a basketball player on skates. He's a half-assed amalgam of every D-man we have. Can anybody figure out if theres an aspect of his game that he's just lost recently, or is he just not that great anymore? I screamed at my TV when Scott Niedermayer did his little “doesn’t-look-like-interference” cheat on Svatos. It was such a bullshit move that you don’t expect guys like Niedermayer to make. I guess Pronger is rubbing off on him. It was so hugely satisfying to see us score on the ensuing Power Play, that was probably the highlight of the night for me.

Unfortunately, that was followed by the low point of the night, when he came back and scored the game winning goal against us. I nearly reached for the bottle at that point.

I know it doesn’t need to be said again, but Vaananen just confuses the shit out of me when he’s “bad Vaananen.” When he’s “bad Vaananen,” he’s tall, but not big and certainly not sturdy. He’s not great in his own zone, but he’s got little to no offensive instincts. He doesn’t take the body very much, except when it’s a cheap hit from behind to injure somebody. He’s got a long stick and a good reach, but most of his hockey sense is lost in favor of taking dumb penalties.

What is he doing out there? It’s like he’s a basketball player on skates. He’s a half-assed amalgam of every D-man we have.

Can anybody figure out if theres an aspect of his game that he’s just lost recently, or is he just not that great anymore?

]]>