Development Camp Day 4

I got out to Kettler bright an' early this morning (9am start) for the scrimmage--on time this time! These are the notes I'd written in my handy-dandy Qafqaz Universiteti-notepad. I started just after Stanislav Galiev scored to make it 2-0. It's more of a live game log than a recap, though.

These are in chronological order.

White 2, Red 0

•  Cullity is really creating space and getting open. He's been good, as has Holtby, who hasn't given up any rebounds at all by my count.
• The Red team is giving up the low, dangerous part of the slot way too much.
• Cullity jumps into the rush, takes a pass on an overlap, and fires a nice pass which Lowery deposits into the net. White is dominating. White 3, Red 0 
• The Red goalie--Nelson I think--hasn't been good. He just almost let one trickle in through the five-hole; his defenseman swept it away from the goal line.
• There's a scramble in front of the net, Holtby goes into the butterfly, Hauswirth finds the loose puck in the slot and puts it upstairs. White 3, Red 1
• Man, Miele is really creating plays.
• Red #needsmoreEakin. The guy is getting it done--not flashy, but effective, like a Mike Richards.
• Holtby tried to catch a puck shot from the point, but his glove failed him and the puck bounced back into the circle. He looked at the glove with that "What the hell???" look. Priceless.
• Evgeny Kuznetsov has been shut down so far. He can get the puck, but as soon as he tries to get into the middle he gets swarmed by at least one defender and one backchecker.
• As I was writing that, he got the puck on a 2-on-1, crossed through the middle, and fired, and Holtby made a great glove save.
• Stefan Della Rovere got a penalty shot, but Braden Holtby stopped him, just barely. The puck rolled wide of the post.
• Start 2nd
• White is pressuring a lot here
• Man, Bruess got hit and fell, and on his stomach took out a guy's legs, but no call. Yep, these are hockey refs all right.
• Orlov got caught high in the zone, but came back and made a nice pass block.
• Nice pad save by Nelson on a jam-in attempt. *Note: I have no idea when Grubauer came in, so when I refer to Nelson it might have been Grubauer
• Big hit
• Red to the power play
• Kuznetsov really looks like Pavel Datsyuk on the power play. He's very creative and patient, looking for good passing seams.
• Anton Gustafsson had two big hits on the same shift. Nice to see him getting more involved.
• de Kastrooza trip. White to the power play.
• LeFrancois just crashed hard into the boards, but luckily he seems to be okay.
• Cullity penalty. 4-on-4 I think.
• White PP = rush-based, Red PP = set-up-based so far.
• Red power play: SDR picks up a loose puck in the slot and puts it in. White 3, Red 2
• Bond has been solid, and is being trusted to kill penalties now against the top unit.
• Holtby already lost the puck a couple of times behind his net (to no harm) but he ventures out to the side boards here, loses the puck, and Hauswirth puts the puck into the open net. White 3, Red 3.
• Holtby caught out of net again, but scrambles back and his forwards prevent follow up shots while Holtby scrambes to his feet. Man, looks like that bad rebound off the glove was a signal of what was to come.
• Eakin off the pipe. That was a loud "ding."
• Galiev is looking good, getting involved. He's not content with merely getting the puck, but he chases after it and when his team has possession he moves around and tries to create chances all the time. Reminds me of Sidney Crosby.
• Holtby gets bumped in front of the net and falls, a Red shot from the point goes in. Red 4, White 3.
• I've been paying more attention to Burt this game, and man, he is in fact fast and pressures well, forcing defensemen into thinking quickly and making mistakes. Marcus Johansson's line has been creating shots. Their Corsi must be great. They've flipped on the switch this switch
• Oh, it was a power play. That's why they looked so terrific. I was wondering why the faceoff was in the Red defensive zone after a White icing.
• Start 3rd
• Dunn in for Holtby.
• Everyone but OFB people probably thinks Finley took a really dumb penalty right there. 5-on-3 for 14 seconds now.
• I recorded that power play, but nothing happened. In fact, there was almost a shorthanded 2-on-1. 
• Galiev called for boarding. Red to the power play.
• Finally, Johansson scored, off the pipe and in. White 4, Red 4
• Red gets a 2-on-1, and Anton Gustafsson draws the defenseman in and makes a sweet feed to Stefan Della Rovere (who himself finishes well). Red 5, White 4
• Mitchell called for holding. Red to the power play.
• Orlov called for hooking, White to the power play.
• SDR has been better this period than before. He's more involved and looks like he's finally thinking and reacting at full speed.
• Marcus Johansson played that entire power play on the half wall, same place as Backstrom and Kuznetsov.
• 71 in White put it off the pipe. They're getting desperate now.
• Another power play for White.
• Dustin Stevenson is really trying to get involved offensively, but doesn't have much creativity with the puck on his stick like Mike Green and John Carlson do.
• LeFrancois set up on a breakaway off a three-line pass catching Red changing defensemen, and the puck ends up in the net. White 5, Red 5
• The game is opening up now. It's back and forth with rushes.
• Burt must be kicking himself after putting a one-timer from the circle into the side of the net. The goalie had bit too far on the original passer and Burt had half an open net.
• Some might call that Finley getting physical. I call that Finley trying to run Mitchell, a guy much smaller than him, and not even knocking him off balance enough for him to take an extra step to balance. That was weak.
• Eakin, Gustafsson, and Woods now together, and looking good.
• I think some of the forwards are taking Ovechkin-esque shifts. Then again, it is tied late in the third.
• Great backcheck there by Miele to break up the 2-on-1.
• Did someone call a timeout?
• Herbert in box, 1 min left.
• Johansson is really flying right now. He really wants this.
• Wait, a shootout?
• Great move by Galiev to score. 1-0 White.
• Shoot, I was taking video of the shootout but I accidentally popped out my SD card and lost the first four shots. At least I can get Johansson and Eakin.
• White wins the shootout, 1-0, and wins the game, 6-5.

Pictures will be up a bit later. I tell ya, this hockey photography thing is harder than it looks.