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Pronger and Niedermayer or Phanuef and Bouwmeester?

I'm not going to say I know more than Yzerman about hockey but I saw the Olympics in 2006 and what I saw was that some of the older guys were losing us the game. Pronger especially was a pylon, later finding out he was injured doesn't make it better. I thought if you want a player that can be gritty and hit then why not Phanuef, we all know he is more mobile than Pronger and he can't be MORE of a defensive liability.

Bouwmeester has Niedermayer's skating ability and his passing ability is what makes him special, I hate to knock Neids but if you have him for his leadership then why do you really need Pronger? I think a Phanuef/ Webber double point shot of death would have helped the power play, simply get the three forward to stand five feet back and wait for rebounds.

Coaches

Babcock coaches a talent laden team in Detroit which is currently not in a playoff spot, Hitchcock was fired and Lemaire is an all defense all the time guy although very successful. I think Yzerman has to wonder now if the selections were correct, the game evolves so fast that you have to have a coach who is brilliant right now, not two years ago or even last season. Lemaire coaches Brodeur in New Jersey and I'll get to the goalies in a minute but is the decision to go with Marty over Lou a favorites thing? You have to wonder.

Telling the team they could have one of the two days off before the game to enjoy the Olympic experience with their families was just brutal, the Olympic experience is going to be good for them...if they win! Practice! wow.

Luongo vs. Broduer

3 of 4. Those are the shots that would have been stopped by Luongo that Broduer didn't make. Just based on size and style "Lou" would have been there. I think just like in 2002, the guard has changed let's put the better goalie in net. Would Canada have won gold if Joseph remained the goalie in 2002 over Marty? I don't think so. It's time to live in the now and the now goalie in Roberto Luongo.

Forwards

Now the real second guessing is taking place. They took Morrow and Richards, but did they need both to be the energy line? If you are trying to keep some chemistry then wouldn't Carter have been a better pick than either Morrow or Bergeron? Speaking of Chemistry, this is a short tournament so Babcock needs to stop the line shuffle. Iginla has only looked good with Crosby, Nash and Crosby though don't seem to mesh that well because they are both individual effort guys, but hey keep all three together and see if they can gel! I can't help think on a couple chances last night if Richards missed where Iginla wouldn't have on the top line.

The San Jose line is of course awesome, except they can't score on the power play so why start them on the power play every time? The Anaheim guys are having a bad tournament and I think the Getzlaf ankle has reared it's ugly head, he looks absolutely not dangerous at all.

How to move forward

So smart guy how do they right the ship, how do they make this better now? Well it starts at the top. Babcock has to start making better decisions on ice time allocation, the Crosby/Nash/ Iginla line in the third proved they could dominate another team into submission, the Morrow/Richards and who ever else they put on it line seems to make a lot of mistakes, getting hemmed in their own zone often. Pronger especially should be the 7th guy, he is absolutely horrible and as the CTV guys pointed out the other teams are throwing the puck in his corner because they know there a good chance of a turnover.

Luongo has to start in Net, Marty has skills but his double pad stack just doesn't do it anymore, his positioning was horrible as evidenced by the one goal where he wasn't even in the net. Keith and Seabrook, Weber and Boyle are the go to guys on D, shorten that bench.

S>O>

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