Belfast home (15.10) Edinburgh away (16.10) League

[IX2T311]

Well well well, Belfast could be a tough game to call, I definitely won't be putting a bet on anyone for that match, I suppose it depends entirely on which Coventry team turns up. We can take points off the best of them on foreign ice yet seem to struggle against teams we should really be beating, this could go either way and I wouldn't like to make a call until I've heard about injuries and that malarkey. Belfast are far from being as dominant as they have been previously (only 3 points from 3 games in the League), so I wouldn't write us out of it.

I hope we look at two points for Edinburgh away, but once again, any team can take points off any other this season, so I wouldn't want us to take them lightly, I'd expect a 2 goal game perhaps? They're not as weak as they were last season, but we should still be beating them.

All in all, a two point weekend is probably minimum, though I'd be much happier seeing three or four, and equally not surprised to see a 0 point weekend if we play like we did against Fife.

[takina]

would be a brave person indeed who'd want to bet anything significant on this coming weekend. We could just as easily get 0 points as 4 (or anything inbetween), so much will depend upon which version of the Blaze turn up. Have to agree that Belfast are far from the force they once were and I think I read somewhere that they might be looking to draft in cover to plug an injury gap so the points should be available if we play smart.

Wonder if Stewart will tinker with top 2 lines or whether he'll leave them be?

[IX2T311]

I haven't looked to see if they have any injuries actually, hopefully if they are trying to bring in cover it'll be post-weekend, they have danger enough with the likes of Vandermeer, Higgins and Forney.

I think a little tinkering would do us some good in honesty...

[takina]

It's on the EIHL website. Link here if you are interested

eliteleague.co.uk/giants-consider-cover-after-injuries/

[IX2T311]

Well Rutherford being out is only a benefit to us, I can't pretend I've seen a lot of Foster so don't have much of an opinion other than it's another pair of legs they don't have, but Rutherford for sure was skating circles round us all night when we played them, scored heck of an overtime goal as well.
Hopefully if they make any replacements it'll be a sub-par player.

[villadave]

Don't under-estimate caps. They are a vastly different side compared to last season.

[IX2T311]

From what I remember of the early part of last season they weren't so shabby either, it was only when they ran into money troubles that they began to spiral downwards, in fact I remember them going on a little streak taking some points of all the top teams, with some very comfortable margins.
As takina says, we could get 4 points just as easily as we could get 0, taking anything for granted this week would be a mistake.

[IX2T311]

Well the odds have just been released, and they're pretty fair really, 11/10 to Coventry and 4/6 to Belfast, sounds about right to me, statistically the better team, should be aiming to finish higher than us too.
The real odds that raise some eyebrows are Manchester Edinburgh, Manchester have a 1/6 and Edinburgh have a 7/2, sounds like a braver soul than me could make a pretty penny from that match!


On another note, I was reading the pre-match report about the game and it was mentioned that Belfast have a drastically low Penalty Kill % (which I didn't realise), hopefully we'll be able to get a few nice powerplays and take a cheeky goal here and there. Would be nice to see some offensive threat tomorrow after last week's disaster of a performance.

[takina]

Has anyone ever used the Caps webcast. Any views or comments?

[IX2T311]

I haven't used it since the beginning of last season, and it was roughly as you'd expect it to be, coverage was slightly bias but I'm sure Coventry's is no better, the elevation was a little low for my liking, but I do like to be near the rear of the blocks. The camera quality is alright, nothing like premier sports but plenty good enough to watch the game clearly (though your personal internet connection will also affect that). I think the stream dropped audio once and nothing more, they left the camera on, though I may be confusing that with another club now I think about it.

I believe (don't quote me on this) that they use the same camera and audio for both their highlights and stream, as we do, link to their game vs Braehead last week if you're interested: www.youtube.com/watch?v=o-g5L0JQuAg

For the sake of £8 I think the stream is pretty good, but personally I'm waiting to see how we perform tonight before I make up my mind. If you do purchase it please share your opinion on both how we played and the quality.

[takina]

Thanks IX2T311 - like you I'll make a call after tonight's game. It's less about whether we win or lose - more around whether our two main units can look a little more threatening than say a cuddly, fluffy kitten ....

Looking forward to tonight's game - as you say the bookies favour Belfast and whilst they may be stronger than us, they aren't quite the dominant force they used to be. Not saying we'll win but if we do come good and we do put some quality shots on net then it's not a foregone conclusion that we'll lose either.

Enjoy the game ....

[IX2T311]

Hmm I'm not so sure, those cuddly fluffy kittens you mention have some sharp claws, right now I'm not even convinced we have sharp skates...

Far from it in fact, I remember when they had the league under their pinkie this time a few seasons ago, in fact I think they'd won it in 2 months time from around now, ahhh how the mighty have fallen. But I'd still say they're the better team, they've retained more players than us, have more money than us, and (much as I don't think he's all that good for them) they've kept the same coach.
All fingers seem to be pointing towards them, yet I have a strange feeling in my gut that we're going to do well tonight. Might just be last night's Chinese, but who knows, maybe we'll be seeing a different Coventry tonight..

You too, hopefully we'll get to see a team that's easier to enjoy this week.

[takina]

I remember that season - Giants won at at a canter and then bombed in the CC and the play offs.

If we win tonight you'll have to be prepared to put on weight - we'll all be clubbing together to force feed you Chinese food the night before every game

[IX2T311]

I remember numerous interviews and predictions for them to not only win the Grand Slam, but to achieve it without almost any competition whatsoever, must have been one of the most disappointing seasons for Belfast fans considering everything they could've won.

Haha, if you're happy to pay then I'm happy to eat!

[IX2T311]

Supposedly Stewart (coach) has been working on shooting all week (as he should have), emphasis on both traffic in front of net and taking more opportune shots, also wanting players to pick up rebounds and loose pucks quicker.

Lines are changed for tonight, and Cantin is to make an early return, though Tait will be out injured (a trade I'd take).

He's spoken to both individuals and the team as a whole, though it sounds although he's heading down a route of faith over a route of replacement.

Link to pre-game interview: audioboom.com/boos/5167968-head-coach-danny-stewart-pre-game-with-huge-team-news

[hidehi]

Have the Blaze turned up yet?

[breezerblaze]

Oct 15, 2016 21:12:31 GMT hidehi said:

Have the Blaze turned up yet??

Do you mean at the skydome or the caps?

[takina]

Dear lord, that was pitiful. Sadly our top two lines look absolutely sclerotic right now. Goals need to start flowing soon or our malaise will increasingly look like a structural issue, we already have a couple of players who are beginning to give me some reservations as to whether they are what we need.

I can only imagine that it was a a very quiet dressing room and it will be a long long coach trip to Edinburgh tomorrow, longer still coming back if we play as poorly as we did tonight

Bit worried really

[IX2T311]

That game was a misery on all fronts, I'm glad we got a goal as I'm sure it'll do the squad some good, but I definitely won't be having any again Chinese till April.
Listening to the post match interviews neither the players nor coach sound happy, which is good, hopefully we'll see some changes for tomorrow's match.

Looking forwards, thoughts on tomorrow? Bookies are giving us favourites by saying 21/10 for Edinburgh and 4/6 for Coventry, though I'm not so sure, personally wouldn't like to make a call on it. I think Edinburgh fans will get to witness a real 9th vs 10th game...

[takina]

On a +ve note - I've saved some money - I don't have to buy IX2T311 any Chinese food
Sadly that's the only +ve I've got tonight

As for tomorrow, I'm not placing a bet and I very much doubt I'll be purchasing the webcast either