Shaw played well at center in the playoffs because he was actively getting his body to the net as a good center should do and he took the bumps for the rest of his linemates opening up ice...not fucking rocket science its hockey 101. Yes Kane helped Shaw nobody is stupid to think he didnt but shaw still played his position well enough where the excuse that kane carried him can be lightened. Saad had nothing to do with Shaws playoff success..nothing. Saad had a horrible playoffs until the Kings series so that excuse doesnt hold one bit.
Ever think why shaw didnt have the puck much? Could it be because kane was the guy enlisted to be the puck carrier and the puck possession god as he always is? Good fucking grief. Shaws job was to create space, win board battles draw defenders to him and away from kane and drive the net not to be wayner. He did it very well. That line was never ment to be a cycle line.
Shaw can be an important piece again come the playoffs. Sure his season this year hasnt been his best to date and i havent exactly been thrilled but im not throwing him under the bus yet. We all know playoffs is a different beast and if you dont have guys like Shaw then dont even bother going into the playoffs. He will need to cut his penalty minutes down but still be able to play with an edge. Thats the hardest part for players like Shaw in the playoffs.
Oh and ps kane enjoyed playing with him and stated that shaw helped open ice for him. But why take a players word for it when fans can make up their own make belief story lines?
Ehh what? I wasnt saying anything about his puck possesion during the playoffs, I was talking about this season when I said that. You.....you understand puck possession doesnt strictly mean THAT single player right? For the 3 or 4 games that line was together in the LA series they were great, due to all 3 players playing very well. But thats an extremely small sample size. And its not as much throwing him under the bus, it's really more Q and his insistence in putting Shaw at center. Like I said, thats not going to be a problem for the remainder of the season, they have centers galore right now. But next season....
And Kane said he enjoyed playing with Handzus that year as well, even while Zus was acting as cement shoes for his line's production the entire season. Its amazing that Kane was actually pacing Crosby at one point during that season, seeing as he only scored one even strength goal with Zus on his line. Again that's just a testament to Kane. You're never going to get a player calling out his own teammate because he doesn't belong on a line. You're never going to hear that. That's a coaching mistake. A very long, slow burn of coaching stupidity by Q in leaving Zus on that line all fucking season long and waiting until their backs were to the wall in the WCF to finally make a change.
