Lightning @ Leafs - Jan. 2nd, 7:00pm - SNO, Fan 590

[herman]

I?m okay with Polak?s response.

I thought the second cross-check was a little overzealous. Namestnikov was clearly not going to engage and he was skating away from Polak faster than Polak could get going. At that point, you take a number and back away.

Yeah that?d be my preference for the most part, hence I was okay with it, rather than enjoying it. But the other team seeing you go full Chewbacca on one of their guys for holding hands with Andersen should make them think twice about cutting to the net.

Period opening PPs are generally not that effective anyway. I?m rooting for a Hyman shortie from Gauthier.

 

[bustaheims]

Or send the Goat to "accidentally" nudge Vasilevskiy a few times next time he's in the vicinity.

Or that. There are a number of better options than the one Polak chose.

 

[ZBBM]

No, I'm going to stand up for Polak.  What's he going to do, blast Namestnikov at some random point down the line.  Andersen appreciates it I bet, even if he has to help try to kill this.

Yes. Hit him with a hard, clean hit the next time they're on the ice together. Or let Martin or someone else do it. Retribution doesn't need to be immediate. Don't put the extra oomph into the second cross-check.

Message sent is unmistakable this way.  Sure, they may score on the PP and that would be bad, might lead to losing this game even.  But over the long haul I think it's better to not let them take liberties with our most important player.

 

[bustaheims]

Yeah that?d be my preference for the most part, hence I was okay with it, rather than enjoying it. But the other team seeing you go full Chewbacca on one of their guys for holding hands with Andersen should make them think twice about cutting to the net.

Very rarely does, though. Especially with the way the game is called now. If anything, it'll make them feel like they can draw a penalty without much of an actual incident.

 

[ZBBM]

Like, it was a pretty soft shove... Who cares?  If they cream him, THEN go after them. This puts us down a man to the most lethal team in the league all for retribution over a little shove.

And this is why Neanderthal* Polak shouldn't be in the league.




* - apologies to Neanderthals

Polak hasn't really been the problem on D, lately at least.

You mean aside from the 5th Vegas goal that killed the Leafs comeback last game?

That hardly was the difference maker.  Marincin, who I like, was just awful.

 

[bustaheims]

Message sent is unmistakable this way.  Sure, they may score on the PP and that would be bad, might lead to losing this game even.  But over the long haul I think it's better to not let them take liberties with our most important player.

Yes, except that message could very easily be interpreted as "it's easy to make this guy give us a power play, and our guy really doesn't have to take much of a hit to get it."

 

[Zee]

Like, it was a pretty soft shove... Who cares?  If they cream him, THEN go after them. This puts us down a man to the most lethal team in the league all for retribution over a little shove.

And this is why Neanderthal* Polak shouldn't be in the league.




* - apologies to Neanderthals

Polak hasn't really been the problem on D, lately at least.

You mean aside from the 5th Vegas goal that killed the Leafs comeback last game?

That hardly was the difference maker.  Marincin, who I like, was just awful.

Well Leafs had momentum at 4-3 with 2 straight goals, and that killed momentum. So, it did have quite the influence on the game.

 

[herman]

I?m okay with Polak?s response.

He didn't even see the play by Namestikov before reacting.

True. He only saw Andersen falling, which is often how these sorts of fights/scrums after cleanish hits goes.

 

[ZBBM]

Message sent is unmistakable this way.  Sure, they may score on the PP and that would be bad, might lead to losing this game even.  But over the long haul I think it's better to not let them take liberties with our most important player.

Yes, except that message could very easily be interpreted as "it's easy to make this guy give us a power play, and our guy really doesn't have to take much of a hit to get it."

If Andersen gets hurt, it's end of story.  That's why I cut Polak plenty of slack here.  Way bigger than 1 PP given up.

 

[Zee]

Message sent is unmistakable this way.  Sure, they may score on the PP and that would be bad, might lead to losing this game even.  But over the long haul I think it's better to not let them take liberties with our most important player.

Yes, except that message could very easily be interpreted as "it's easy to make this guy give us a power play, and our guy really doesn't have to take much of a hit to get it."

Bingo. "Want a powerplay? Do something close to Polak and take a punch for the team, mission accomplished"

 

[ZBBM]

Like, it was a pretty soft shove... Who cares?  If they cream him, THEN go after them. This puts us down a man to the most lethal team in the league all for retribution over a little shove.

And this is why Neanderthal* Polak shouldn't be in the league.




* - apologies to Neanderthals

Polak hasn't really been the problem on D, lately at least.

You mean aside from the 5th Vegas goal that killed the Leafs comeback last game?

That hardly was the difference maker.  Marincin, who I like, was just awful.

Well Leafs had momentum at 4-3 with 2 straight goals, and that killed momentum. So, it did have quite the influence on the game.

Very true, but in the sea of awfulness that was them in that game, Polak was just a barnacle on the side of the net.  Or some such.

 

[CarltonTheBear]

Message sent is unmistakable this way.  Sure, they may score on the PP and that would be bad, might lead to losing this game even.  But over the long haul I think it's better to not let them take liberties with our most important player.

First of, what message was sent? Namestnikov took a couple routine cross checks. He'll play his next shift. I'm pretty sure he was perfectly fine with the outcome of that situation.

Second, this wasn't Lucic on Miller or something like that. Goalies get shoved sometimes, and usually it results in a penalty. It didn't this time but that doesn't necessarily mean retribution was necessary. And it's not going to stop plays like that from happening in the future. That's impossible.

 

[Zee]

Message sent is unmistakable this way.  Sure, they may score on the PP and that would be bad, might lead to losing this game even.  But over the long haul I think it's better to not let them take liberties with our most important player.

First of, what message was sent? Namestnikov took a couple routine cross checks. He'll play his next shift. I'm pretty sure he was perfectly fine with the outcome of that situation.

Second, this wasn't Lucic on Miller or something like that. Goalies get shoved sometimes, and usually it results in a penalty. It didn't this time but that doesn't necessarily mean retribution was necessary. And it's not going to stop plays like that from happening in the future. That's impossible.

The sad thing is, Babcock will LOVE what Polak just did. He's never coming out of this lineup barring an injury.

 

[bustaheims]

If Andersen gets hurt, it's end of story.  That's why I cut Polak plenty of slack here.  Way bigger than 1 PP given up.

If Polak saw Andersen struggling to get off the ice when he went after Namestikov, we might be having a different. He didn't. This was something that could have - and should have - been waited on for retribution. Show some restraint and make the other team wonder when this is going to come back on them. Don't make it clear how easy it is to get under your skin.

 

[Hobbes]

Message sent is unmistakable this way.  Sure, they may score on the PP and that would be bad, might lead to losing this game even.  But over the long haul I think it's better to not let them take liberties with our most important player.

Yes, except that message could very easily be interpreted as "it's easy to make this guy give us a power play, and our guy really doesn't have to take much of a hit to get it."

If Andersen gets hurt, it's end of story.  That's why I cut Polak plenty of slack here.  Way bigger than 1 PP given up.

This

The main problem is actually with the referee. He let Andersen get away with a borderline "holding the stick" infraction, then completely ignored Namestnikov's extremely blatant goaltender interference (crosschecking? roughing? "you can't do that") response, and now only gives the single penalty to Polak. It's the ref who let it escalated to that point by failing to do his job in the first place.

 

[CarltonTheBear]

The sad thing is, Babcock will LOVE what Polak just did. He's never coming out of this lineup barring an injury.

True, but I've accepted that that was never going to happen anyway.

Remember when Polak re-signed this summer and some of us thought it wasn't a big deal because he'd be the #7 defenceman? Good times.

 

[ZBBM]

See?  You don't want Andersen getting hurt!

Just kidding, I'm glad they could kill it.

 

[CarltonTheBear]

Andersen made that last save in Polak's honour.

 

[herman]

Andersen made that last save in Polak's honour.

Palat fired it directly into Andersen?s clavicle, so Millen lavished heady praise on Andersen?s battle ability.

 

[CarltonTheBear]

I think Marner wants a goal.