Silver Nuggets: How much will Milan Michalek slow down?

because the ghost of Heatley is mostly gone and the expectations of the team are different and less stressful.

Aaaaaaaaaand gone again

i think anywhere north of 30 goals should be considered a rousing success for mitch.

http://senators.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=604408

If Michalek was playing his game, as it stands, in the 80’s – he could be on pace to score 50 and come out at 125 points.I dont know who I could compare him to from that emerging era of the power forward, but, it seemed as though every team had a 50 goal scorer and someone with 100 points. Even the worst teams has some people that were that good. Remember Rick Kehoe – and his linemates? In the past 25 years, the pack has managed to catch up with the leaders. Everyone is that much faster. I would be happy if Michalek finished the year with 30 goals and 75 points. Anything more than that would be a testament to his integrity, and his sense of self preservation. If he twists his ankle digging in the corner and misses 6 games – then thats one thing. My concern is that he falls victim to a low budget hit – League approved. I hate it. I hate that a big hit is as good as a goal. I miss the end to end excitement and carefree inhibition that once truly showcased the sport. There were tough huys, and were fights, but no one had to worry about being compromised. Michalek has the potential to produce on a fantastic level – but think the main obstacle is that he could wind up being spoon fed; without consequence. I think the game has changed a lot. Could he score 50-50 goals – you can only imagine how many players could. But, I think ever since Lindros became fair game, the “Bertuzzi” incident, Crosby… There is money to be made letting it all go – the quality of the product has diminished – but there is money to be made. Bettman is the reason Michalek won’t bag 50. He is responsible for the product, and all of its composite elements.

Nothing better than being proven wrong. So thank you for that. Good for the digestion. Thank you Buddha. Detractors – hammer away. True about the goalies. Remember when they used to just stand there and kick at the puck when it came near them. Hmmmm. Watch guys like Gerry Cheevers. Hard to believe he could stop anything. Less net now, better goaltending – definitely. But, can you agree that the “rest of the game” has caught up with the talent of the “Superstars”? Hits used to be reasonable. Push the guy off the puck – take him out of the play. That was part of the game. I am not trying to be so conservative as to say, they should all carry slapping gloves and be prepared for a duel at dawn, but a lot of what I see now, with regards to hits and general consideration for one another, definitely not acceptable. I would like to see all contact past routine hits, and obstruction – the general 2 mins for a transgression – completely eliminated. The expecations for overall quality of play will improve, as will the game as a whole. Players like Michalek, will be able to deliver.

Zenon Konopka had a feeling the Senators did pretty well in road games in which they didn’t have to go back home after. The Sun reported it as a 4-1 record before last night’s game, though that is not correct. They lost in Detroit on opening night before travelling to Toronto. They also lost in Buffalo before travelling to Toronto in November. New statistic: the Senators are undefeated on the road when they don’t have to travel to Ontario after the game. Well, before last night anyway. (Ottawa Sun)

In actual fact what he was referring to is that generally the last game of a road trip the team has been flying out right after the game rather than staying one more night, i.e they left for home right after the Vancouver game and lost to Pitt their next game. The 4-1 record is hard to confirm from the outside unless you know the team’s itinerary and flight schedule.

If they were going to Toronto then the Toronto game would be the last game of the road trip….anyways the gist was flying home RIGHT AFTER THE GAME so the scenario only applies the last game of a road trip or like I stated in the Vancouver-Ottawa-Pittsburgh situation.

“Home games are okay. It’s just when the party’s coming to an end … maybe we should just keep travelling around” i.e the end of a road trip.

Again unless you know the flight schedule or itinerary of the team you will not be able to figure out exactly which 5 games were being referred to as you will not know which ones they flew home right after the game, the reporter in this case would know as he and his colleagues are on the road and fly with the team, I cannot say if Mr Brennan is correct or incorrect in his statement without this insider information save for the one sure example I had being that the club flew home RIGHT AFTER THE GAME in Vancouver and subsequently lost to Pit their next game. So the way to disprove this would be to find out the games where they stayed a night in the visiting city FOLLOWING that nights game then flying home the next day to likely see the 4-1 record…good luck with that, you are a numbers guy I am sure you have your sources.