5 Differences in Games 1 and 2/ Monday News and Links

Portland played very differently in games 1 and 2. To me there were 5 major things Portland did better in Game 2:

Troy Rutkowski

Derrick Pouliot

1) Better defensive coverage- Particularly the Derrick Pouliot and Troy Rutkowski pairing. They were victimized quite often in game one and seemed to struggle with the more shifty Everett players- Kohl Bauml, Reid Petryk and Joshua Winquist especially. They were not caught out of position very often in game 2 and did a great job of stick checking any Everett player who attempted to carry the puck in.

2) Blocking shots- This is something that the forwards, particularity Ty Rattie with a nice block on a point shot, helped out with as well. Though, Seth Jones and Tyler Wotherspoon were the ones to really excel at this in game 2. This kept the amount and type of shots that Goalie Mac Carruth had to face to a minimum and from a distance.

3) Puck control- Portland has done a better job this year at controlling the boards against teams and Saturday night was no exception. They did not take as many shots, but the shots that they did take were mostly of a better quality then the night before.

4) Creating turnovers- Troy Rutkowski's pocket picking of Landon Oslanski to set up the Rattie goal is the biggest example, but Portland did force more turnovers Saturday night. They will continue to try and do this and should be able to, considering Everett is using two of their more experienced Defensemen as forwards in an attempt to use their size to wear down the Hawk's defense.

5) Back-checking- The forwards have, all year, come back into their defensive zone and pressured the Everett forwards, helping out in limiting shot quality and quantity. This is something that they have done well for most of the year and so is almost all effort based. They will need to continue to do this to advance in the playoffs.

News and Links:
-17 year old Luke Philp got the over time winner for Kootenay over Edmonton  on Sunday night. Their series is now tied at a game apiece.
-Vancouver Giant's coach Don Hay was named the Canada U-18 coach on Monday.
-Silvertip's blog looks at #38 Defenseman Kevin Davis, who played games 1 and 2 and is 15 in hockey years.
-There was an odd trade in the NHL on Sunday. Former Hawks Joe Morrow and Brendan Morrow(no relation), were traded for one another as Pittsburgh and Dallas swapped the two.

Brendan Morrow Hawk from 1995-99