Moving time
Published 4:19 pm Tuesday, February 10, 2009
If the Silvertips are going to make any hay, now’s the time they have to do it.
Beginning tomorrow Everett plays eight of its next nine games at home. Given the Tips follow with six of seven on the road to end the season, and one comes to the conclusion that if Everett is going to make a run it has to be now.
However, this home stretch is complicated by the fact that almost every game is against one of the top four teams in the Western Conference (six of the eight come against Vancouver, Tri-City, Spokane and Kelowna). So if the Tips are to make a run, it’ll have to come against the league’s elite.
However, it also presents opportunity. The Tips are going to get one of those top four teams in the first round of the playoffs. A few victories during this stretch will go a long way toward convincing everyone the Tips can at least make a series of it in the first round.
Anyway, here’s a couple notes from today’s practice:
– Left wing Daniel Bartek has resumed skating. Bartek, who suffered a foot fracture on Jan. 10 in Spokane, skated before practice today, though he did not participate in drills. Head coach John Becanic made it sound like Bartek may be able to return as soon as this weekend should everything go right, but he also said the team didn’t plan on rushing Bartek back. His return will be huge for the Tips as he’s a first-line performer who contributes in all facets of the game.
– Chris de la Lande was skating as a center in practice today, and Becanic said the switch may last the remainder of the season. De la Lande’s switch from defense was predicated by Everett having eight healthy defensemen and a lot of banged up forwards who have been playing through injury. The Tips have essentially been going with three centers (Zack Dailey, Byron Froese, Jesse Burt) the past few weeks, and using a d-man at center makes sense because of the center’s responsibilities in his own end. De la Lande also has perhaps the best offensive skill set among Everett’s defensemen.
