travel_dude

Ya think maybe it would be a good idea to score a 4th goal? 3 is not our lucky number.

Yeah, you too. Wasn't sure if you were back last game or still in the sticks.

Deja vu is strong in this game. 2 goal lead going into the 3rd. Can have the same result as last time. Stopped playing in the 2nd. Zero cowbell action.

Sutter doesn't listen to me now. He stuck Lucic on the 2nd line because I was harping on Lucic.

Faceoffs bad. Only Zoh and Lewis above 50%.

Maybe need to rethink the lines for the PP units. Hanifin can skate the puck in, but does nothing with it. Ras refuses to shoot. Toffoli is redundant with Lindholm there.

I don't know what the plan is. Pass it off instead of taking a shot? Put it to the point so he can pass it to the wing? Pass into traffic? Looks like all we want to do is defend the lead.

Passing on the PP really poor. No logic to it. Maybe one chance in 2 minutes.

Can't be shutting down the offense with a 2 goal lead. Make it 5.

Not even really sitting on a lead, but we managed to lose the shutout in th final minute. Not getting it in deep, then not properly defending Parise. Was a great shot, but can't get that much pace. Oh well, otherwise a good period.

The two places blame can be assigned is the coach and the players. Players as in all 5. Coach, as in the one that tells them to do or don't do.

Is this the same guy that has missed the last 14 games with an injury?

Back to reality. Markstrom is one year removed from a Vezna year. 32 is not old for a NHL goalie. Signed for another 3 years after this one. You don't trade a starter just because you have cap issues. Most teams have injury issues with their goalies, so the chances are there to see the AHL goalie.

I have noticed this on everything but the PK. I'm not exactly sure who is specifically backing off on zone entries, but it may just be one side over the other (ie. LD or RD on a pairing only). Have to pay attention a bit more. Maybe it's just me, but I feel like Hanifin is giving it up more than others. His gaps seem to be way too big. I have seen a few incidents where a player is on the wall (once they gain the zone) and space opens up in front of them. The player has room to walk in about 20 feet untouched. I know this isn't covered in the attached graph, but I have noticed it. I have mentioned elsewhere where I feel Markstrom is more exposed by rush chances than Vladar. The regression in zone entry suppression may be disguised by Markstrom's improved play of late.

Did he look that way before he was playing on the 4th line?

Dube is getting plum assignments. Lucic is too, but the guy right behind Dube in production (in less games) Ruzicka gets the 4th line. Dube has ignored the Sutter talk and decided he would be the fittest player on the ice; it shows. He has speed to burn. Ruzie needs to embrace that and not worry about the coach; coach is a jerk.

I'm waiting for his grit to appear. Can't have a star like Lucic fighting his battles. Has Wolf even dropped his gloves yet? Or laid a brutal check on anyone?

Don't confuse Holloway with players that have developed in the AHL. I am talking about a line that scores a lot. If you consider that your 4th line as is scores about once every 4 games, then a better faster line scores more. I am giving them too much by suggesting goal per game, but it's not insane. Very few teams have a 4th line that is a top AHL line coming in. Our solution though is to lean towards a beef line. Ruzicka was over a p/gp until he got buried. ANyway, we all have our biases.

It's not even following the package directions. It's using your mother's recipe and nobody really likes the taste now. Most recipes use ingredients not available to your your mom. I'm really frustrated with the team direction. Hubey, Weegar and Kadri should have turned us into a more consistent team. I get the mixing of lines to find the right one. But the things that worked are ignored. Have a line that works, mess up 4 lines to get a different line working. Ras is scoring, don't push him to shoot more. Simple - don't shoot, don't get the PP time, if that's how it has to work. The PP is a mess. Nobody wants to shoot, so they just pass it around waiting for someone to shoot. Nobody encroaches on the net, it just gets passed sideways. Back to Lewis, I was really just softening the stance on him. Earlier I was ready to demote him. But, considering he is better than Lucic and can shoot the puck on occasion, he's not the worst. We could ice a line of Pelletier-Zary-Phillips as a 4th line playing 10 minutes. They would easily get at least a goal per game. We have top 6 lines that some nights don't even get a sniff. We have Rosie playing 9 minutes and getting the bench when his line is scored on. 4 other players out there, plus a goalie.

Okay guys, take it away from the personal. You don't like an opinion, criticize that.

Naw, he's having a WJC that will have GM fighting to get him. Imagine the JJ'ing that teams will be doing in the next couple of months. There will be a steal in the 2nd round, but we need more picks. I'm not hoping for a sell off, but I hope that we take advantage of teams JJ'ing. Look for good players on teams like ANA and ARI. BUFF is trying to figure out how to lose 30 in a row, while still developing the good ones.

TBH, I had issues with Lewis, but he is okay for a 4th line guy. He competes. A little useless with the puck some plays, but he's around it. 11 minutes? Okay, we had a lot of PK time. But the Lucic story got old the minute he played a second longer than 9 minutes. Hubey played 14 minutes to Lucic's 12 to Kadri's 17. If you force the best passer to the off wing to allow Lucic to be on the line, then you are Blockchained.

Well, you do know what I was saying, but the point is also 100% true at face value. A 1st overall (Yak) vs 4th rounder (Johnny Gaudreau). Perhaps 2 players that had different dev paths that ended up going in different directions. If you draft smaller players, then you best get them in the NHL sooner than later. The size is going to be an issue but not the issue. Phillips or Pelletier. Both small but both high level in junior, and now the AHL. We needed a setup guy and a finisher. Lucic gets benched for lousy play for 3 games. We play Phillips 16 minutes along with a big lug. Big lug probably capable of replacing Lucic full time. Lucic goes from healthy scratch to 4th line to 2nd line and up to 15 minutes.

It doesn't matter when you draft. The small players are in the early rounds. Stankoven, Bedard are both small to small-ish. The problem is the disconnect between coach and scouting.