travel_dude

^^^^^^ Tkachuk was a big passer on the top line. Gaudreau, IIRC, was the one with more primary assists. RW to LW to C and in. Or RW to LW in. Or LW to RW in. That's overly simplistic, but shows what was different. Now there is a pair of RHS's and one LHS. You almost need a LHS passer on the RW. So why does Ruzie work there. IMHO because he's a natural C and can pass. He attacks more from the middle than wing. Seems like good chemistry with him and Toffoli. Anyway, I won't look a gift horse in the mouth. Top line is working and not a defensive hole. Hiberdeau works well with Backlund because he can enter the zone. That puts Hubey in a attack from the wing spot, not worrying about entries. Lewis not the right fit. The difficult decision for me is Backlund or Kadri. Maybe the following to make use of the mix: Top line Coleman-Kadri-Dube Hubey-Backlund-Mangiapane Lucic-Lewis-Ritchie As shown the other night, Lewis and Dube could swap positions. Not sure that 100% works with Kadri, but a thought.

Put up Debrincat against Phillips for a minute. One guy is 180, the other closer to 140. Size is not just height. Now put up Yamamoto against Debrincat. 153 vs 180. I'm no expert, but the differences alone show that a smaller player has a harder time in the NHL. Height more than weight. Maybe Phillips is an enigma or maybe not suited for the NHL. We shall see when we actually need (or can) call up a forward. Phillips could get the call or Schwindt or Zary. As of right now, we have Toffoli, Lewis, Coleman, Dube and Ritchie available at RW.

The "gone for a sh*t" comment irked some players. Sutter was being a jerk and not answering why Hubey left the bench. The answer implied he was attending to personal business. I laughed because I thought he was just fed up with questions about injuries. Not that it was a truthful answer; I didn't view it that way. I'm not a athlete, so I can't say whether that would PO me or not. It's not quite as funny as the one about stitching up Gudbranson. Even that one annoyed some players.

Nobody has really taken the starter role so far. Both goalies have been a little off. We should be giving more starts to the backup at this point. He's shown that he lets in fewer "bad" goals. Marky has a few highlight reel saves, but otherwise underwhelming. Vladar seems to make good 1st and 2nd saves. Rebound control a little suspect at times, though. Both goalies need to get starts at this stage. Nobody is killing it.

Ideal situation is we have 6 NHL D plus Stone. He's done a good job so far, but I don't think he's 100% effective. He has a deadly shot, but bleeds a little defense.

And nobody would ever suggest playing Cammy with Lucic. LOL. As far as Dube, I find as long as he is moving with the puck on his strong hand, away from the boards, he is effective. Whether that is C or RW, he tends to not enter on the boards. So, my point was that against some teams, Phillips MIGHT be effective. In a lot of games in the West, he would be crushed a lot. Yamamoto is similar in height, but a bit bigger. He gets crushed when he has the puck and is only able to forecheck effectively. At least IMHO. So, we need to consider whether we want more players knocked over or want to knock over players.

If I recall, Gilbert is a bit more of a rugged player. A bit bigger (212). He isn't afraid to step up and hit. DeSimone was probably reasonable in his defensive ability, but Sutter wasn't comfortable with him for 1/2 the game. For whatever reason.

That one that you are referring to I do remember. From my view leading up to it, it seemed like nobody was covering him at all. Huge gap, so I can't say what made him think it was a good idea. There are games where the pair looked good, but I don't think the Kings game was one of them. They struggled as a pair, whether that was mostly Hanifin or not. I think that perhaps Sutter needs to go back to a previously successful pair of Hanifin-Tanev. That likely puts Weegar with Ras, but that may be a good thing.

Maybe so, but we aren't exactly doing great with a NHL roster of NHL players. I don't know that an AHL player would fare any better. Ruzicka is effective because he is a big body and able to use his size. As it is, we have Mange and Dube that are somewhat struggling for position.

It's been described as family related and he is in Sweden with his family. Substance abuse is dealt with by the NHL and they provide that info. So, it's not that at all.

Huska suggested that it was key mistakes during the 4v4 that swung the game. Confused coverage, where two guys covered one Kings player, thereby leaving an open guy. It's not like we had odd pairs though. Ras and Hanifin for the first goal. Tanev and Weegar for the 2nd. I haven't reviewed the game tape to see who missed who, but the point is that we are still not talking enough out there. Or somebody is reacting. I can get that Weegar is unused to the style of man on man coverage, but the other guys should be used to it. Still some work to do, but the rest of the time, we seemed very capable of covering them. If we can do this for a high flying team, we should start to get back on track. As long as we don't need to score more than 4 goals to win. Goaltending needs to be better, but at least one goal was deflected back. Some good saves and some "questionable" goals.

The overall game was sloppy at times. If it wasn't for the top line, this is a loss. 2 goals that I could see deflecting on off our D. Plese, put Lucic back on the 4th and Coleman up there. Or Dube. Doesn't really matter. Sutter was pissed about this game, but he made the choices.

Too close for comfort

Best time to make a save.

Very strange. Open net and we give up a goal.

Weird sequence

We are going to need Vladar to step it up. Marky and his SA% is killing games.

Shortie time please. Got burned on the 4v4.

Frustrating with the far post in goals

Read a comment that Ruzie looks like he's in slo mo. I think he's reading off the others on the line. Trying to antici[ate where the others will pass to. Trying to keep pace with Toffoli.

There are two that had better camps than Phillips hat aren't in the NHL.

He's really only lucky that Mange scored and one was on the PP. Just have to find the right LW for that line. But, I will say this, no line has been bad.

If anyone would have said Ruzie was a p/gp player, I think we would all have layghed. Just goes to show you that opportunities can make a player. If only we had a player that can score somewhere like the AHL. Actually, I won't make too much of AHL results. Not if you have no NHL games under your belt.

Ruzie was so shocked to see a break with only Quick there. He had no idea what to do. I have one word. Shoot.

I can't believe how effective Ruzie has been on the top line. Imagine that. A top 6 player playing in the top 6.