Quote:
Originally Posted by DeToxRox
I'm amazed at how awful Anaheim looks. It's only one game though, but this is pretty remarkable.
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You know, I want to say I am, too. But I really am not. We have been extremely inconsistent, and it has been more than the injuries and late veteran additions. This team just hasn't had the same vibe as last year. The power play is extremely inconsistent, and the forecheck hasn't been as strong. We have had issues taking not only bad penalties, but taking tons of them. Pronger has been a bit too "loose" this year, and Niedermayer is still not really close to the top of his game (hasn't been since his return). And we're depending on too many younger players or third line types to support our inconsistent scoring. The only guys who seem to be the exact same as last year are Selanne and Jiggy (and even Jiggy is having an off night tonight).
Really, the whole "feel" of this team has been one of unsteadiness all year. I have never been comfortable with how the team has been playing, from the very first drop of the puck in September, and that continued even during the strong second half play. The feeling last year I had that we can always come back or win that next critical game is just not there this year.