On the Forecheck
Mr. Trotz Goes to Washington
by Forechecker on 10/28/08 at 10:37 AM ET
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The Nashville Predators take the ice in Washington tonight under strange circumstances, to be sure. With Alex Ovechkin back in Russia with his ailing grandfather, the Preds will presumably focus on defending Alex Semin, the “other Alex” who leads the NHL in scoring at the moment. Then again, with the outstanding depth that Washington has at center (led by Michael Nylander, Sergei Fedorov and Nicklas Backstrom), there won’t be any letup in the Caps attack. If ever there was a time when Nashville needed to put together a solid, 60-minute effort, it’s tonight.
Due to the dreaded “Versus exclusivity”, this game won’t be televised either in Washington or Nashville, so instead fans are supposed to tune in with some new-fangled device that supposedly sends an audio stream through the air, to be reproduced wherever fans like using a “radio receiver”. And get this, the wiz kids says that it doesn’t even require an internet connection to work! Wonders never cease…
Scientists say that Pete & Terry will use equipment similar to this to tell fans back in Nashville what happens tonight
Since we’re just hours away from faceoff, that means it’s time for every Predators fans’ favorite game show… Who To Scratch? Barry Trotz has shuffled the deck pretty regularly so far, so let’s engage in some speculation as to who will be muscling aside all the bloggers up in the press box this evening…
The Forwards
Vern Fiddler: Scratched against Los Angeles on Saturday, Fiddler has yet to score and is a -3, but is tied for the team lead in Penalty Plus/Minus.
Ryan Jones: Has found some rythym playing on a line with David Legwand and Martin Erat, and now is 2-2-4 in 6 games. Tied with Fiddler for the team lead in Penalty Plus/Minus at +5. Management is sensitive to how he’ll manage the increased workload of an NHL schedule, so don’t be surprised if he’s occasionally scratched. Don’t bet on it tonight, though.
Radek Bonk: He’s watched from the press box twice already, and appears to be on a short leash in terms of earning ice time. Generally a good faceoff man, they might need him against Washington’s slew of good centers.
Nick Tarnasky: In limited action so far Tarnasky has impressed; for a tough guy he seems to skate and handle the puck well. With Donald Brashear on the opposite bench, Tarnasky’s a lock to play tonight.
Jerred Smithson: His goal against Los Angeles Saturday was impressive, but he has to stay out of the penalty box.
Jordin Tootoo: Just when the coaches started talking up the need for him to contribute offensively, he’s scored in consecutive regular season games for the first time in his career.
Patric Hornqvist: Scratched last Thursday, he returned to the lineup against the Kings and tallied two assists. He’s sure to play.
Joel Ward: The early season surprise continues to impress… Dress him!
My bet is that Vern Fiddler or Radek Bonk sits tonight.
The Defense
Kevin Klein: Best moment so far? Scoring a breakaway goal against Chicago. Of course, he got that opportunity because he was coming out of the penalty box after slashing Jonathan Toews. Worst moment? Getting juked out of his shorts by Jarome Iginla to ignite Calgary’s comeback last Thursday.
Ville Koistinen: Best and worst moments are hard to pick out, as Koistinen’s basically been invisible so far.
Greg Zanon: If Trotz really wanted to amp up the offensive pressure from his defense corps, he’d sit Zanon for a night. When stuck in his own end, Zanon does tend to go down to the ice too early to block shots, and I could see the Caps faking him down and taking advantage all night long. If Bob Gainey’s absurd penalty for excessive shot blocking became NHL law, Zanon would pretty much be out of business.
Trotz has often said that against bigger teams, he plays the more physical Klein, and against quicker teams, he favors the more offensively-oriented Koistinen. Personally, that strikes me as an odd choice. I would think that against a physical (i.e. slower) team, Koistinen’s abilities would be more effective, and against quicker (i.e. smaller) teams, Klein would have a better chance to dominate. These guys are role players at this point, so I’d try to use them where they’d have the greatest chance of success. Put another way, if you’re playing a speedy team, and you decide to dress a 3rd-pairing guy because of his speed, you’re playing right into your opponent’s style of play, and are likely going to lose. Focus your strengths on your opponent’s weaknesses, and let them worry about what you’re doing.
For the Beltway perspective, check out the Peerless Prognosticator, and then jump from there to any number of great Caps blogs.
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