Thats it.....

Regular season is over.

here are the final stats

http://hfboards.com/imagehosting/4615147f97d781d169.bmp (http://hfboards.com/vbimghost.php?do=displayimg&imgid=15785)

http://hfboards.com/imagehosting/4615147f97dc92b0ee.bmp (http://hfboards.com/vbimghost.php?do=displayimg&imgid=15786)


this is how i feel about the players

Disappointments(in order)

1. Greene- he was suppose to be a lock for a top 4 ndefenseman but IMO, where he went wrong was just not trying hard enough. Look at his coaches, he has all this knowledge at his hands and so much potential but didnt take advantage of it
2. Zajac- maybe a sophomore slump like staal but i really expected alot more out of him
3. Zubrus- i was hoping atleast 50 points of of him, he worked hard all year but he has to find a way to be more consistent offensively
4. Asham-hoping for 20 points
5. Vishnevski- GREAT hitter but seemed out of place at times

What I would expect (no order)

Elias- transitioned niceley from LW to C. i still would have had to have more points out of him
Parise- i was hoping for more points but i think he will get there over time
Langenbrunner- pretty good Captain and we played better with him iin the lineup
White- Solid as always
Brylin- was hoping for a little more offense but he played great defense and played hard as always
Marty- for any other goalie he would be in pleasant surpises but this is what i expect from him. i dont think we should rely on him as much though
Gionta- hoping for more points but now he is in a different role so pretty much what i would expect from him
Clarkson- alot of room to grow
Pandolfo- played very well defensively and offensively
Rupp- started slow but is playing great lately
Pelley- played well when he was in NJ
Rachunek- played well offensively most of the time but inconsistent defensively
Weekes- great lockerroom guy i was hoping for him to play more

Pleasant Surprises (in order)

1. Johnny Oduya- He took some heat from most of us this year including myself but he has really turned it around and has really taken alot away from the coaching staff
2. John Madden- Im going to be honest, i didnt think he was capable of 20 goals, but not only that he was still able to check the other teams best forwards like usual
3. Paul Martin- i think we all knew he was capable of being the defensman he has turned into. he still has alot of room to grow both offensively and defensively. he really stepped up with the departure of raff
4. Mike Mottau- he shouldnt even have been on this roster and honestly i didnt think he would last all year but he did and played very well

Other Thoughts

I would have liked to see Weekes play more obviously. thats why we got him.

I hope that we play physical in the playoffs because thats why we got beat last season, so play vish and we need slavi back

This offseasn we obviously need to get some offense. we got shutout like 11(?) times, thats terrible

I was hoping to see some of our younger guys from lowell a little more this year(bergfors, vrana, fraser....) just to see how they would play

The coaching staff and marty are the reason why we are in the playoffs

your guys thoughts??

It would have been nice to reach the 100 point plateau again.:(

Coaches need to do a better job motivating. Half the games I see there isn't any energy or effort being put forth. And yeah we came out banging tonight, but that wore off after the first period.

Coaches need to do a better job motivating. Half the games I see there isn't any energy or effort being put forth. And yeah we came out banging tonight, but that wore off after the first period.

thats the players fault, sutter ripped them so many tiems this year, if tehy cant motivate themselves at this level for what they are being payed than they dont deserve to be here

I thought Sutter did a great job with the team this year, considering he really wasn't given much to work with. Guys like Elias, Langs, Zubrus and even Parise could have stepped it up at times. It's pretty sad that Zubrus Rupp and Clarkson is our best line right now. I barely notice the Parise Elias Langs line out there. Would have also liked to see Weekes get more time. I have a feeling its going to come back to bite Marty in the ass during the second round of the playoffs as usual (if we even make it)

i think that with what sutter was given and in his first run with the team he did a fantastic job. of course he sometimes pulled juliens from time to time and confused us with weird changes, i still feel hes the right coach for this team. the offseason is going to be crucial to next season and it needs to be taken care of as soon as lou can get outta the gates. with a stronger roster and more solid defense, sutter will have a much more productive and sucessful team and marty(hopefully) will not have to be relied on as much as he was, yet again. i have my complaints and praises for the players but theres no need to go on and on. i for the most part agree with ur assesments. my one pleasant suprise was oduya. i was on team anti oduya and im still on the fence. in any case, hes made big strides to maturing into what we all think he can be. next season will be the decider with him i feel. my one disappointment was zajac, but i chalk it up to sophomore slump. hell turn it around next season im sure.

yeah oduya definitely surprised me during the second half, but I still hate him.

and Zajac better turn it around, he's my favorite player and I got his name put on my jersey. He was good in the first half but I think Sutter messed with the lines too much and Travis never really got a chance to gel with anybody.

Disappointments:
1. Travis Zajac - Was expecting him to be a very nice fit as a #2 Center
2. Andy Greene - I was thinking around 25-30 points and a top 4 defenceman
3. Dainius Zubrus - Only disappointed in that he didn't light the lamp more often...I thought that he played a good, hard all around game which I was surprised at since I always thought he was a lazy player
4. Brian Gionta - Wasn't thinking 05/06 numbers but was thinking 30+ goals, 60-70 points
5. Arron Asham - Was expecting a little offense out of him for the fourth line...guy hasn't done anything in a long time and makes lazy plays

What I Would Expect:
1. Zach Parise - Our best offensive player...I'm thinking a 75-80 point season next year hopefully
2. Martin Brodeur - Maybe even surprised that he's done such a fantastic job...True pleasure watching him each game
3. Colin White - Veteran leadership on the blue line...One of those players that you don't fully appreciate until he's out of the lineup
4. Paul Martin - I've always been a fan of his and figured he'd do what he's done all year

Pleasant Surprises:
1. John Madden - Thought that the guy was finished after last year...Done his job defensively very well and has put together a very nice offensive year for himself
2. Johnny Oduya - Was really down on him, didn't want Lou to re-sign him...He and Martin are a very good pairing and he's been our second best defenceman this year behind Paul
3. Mike Mottau - Thought the guy was going to get sent back to the minors after a few games but through his tough work he made a nice year for himself and could land somewhere (Good to see this kind of story in the NHL)

Others:
Brookbank: Whatever, Brylin: Expected/Disappointed, Clarkson: Expected, Elias: Expected/Disappointed (First half of the year), Langenbrunner: Expected/Disappointed (Recent play), Pandolfo: Expected/Surprised (Offensive stats), Pelley: Expected, Rachunek: Expected/, Rupp: Expected/Surprised, Salvador: Incomplete, Vishnevski: Expected, Weekes: Expected