travel_dude

I'm less worried about the effort as the results. We have the den of horrors in Vegas, so I want to do anything to ensure they are out. As much as I hate the Oilers and don't want to play them, don't need to worry about them right now. They will either be out in round 1 or not make the playoffs. Vegas can cheat all they want come playoff ttime, but now is now. We can help you manage cap by leaving here with another injury.

Well, he also managed to get three different homers in that game. And managed a decent catch. To think I thought you were talking about Dan Vladar. I like baseball, but not while the Flames are still playing. So, I guess no ball until July?

We haven't had anyone since Tkachuk that meets that standard. It's not a slight, just the reality of picking in the late teens and twenties. And that's forwards. Mackey put in some years in the NCAA. Zary is still young-ish by AHL standards. Pelletier is ahead of schedule, but would benefit from some additional experience. A long AHL playoff run will set him up pretty good. Some of the older prospects are tweeners. Phillips is too good for the 4th line, too small for the top 6. I think he could surprise, but he hasn't shown enough in camps to get singled out. Gawdin is a bland player, but we can get that from a number of players. Posposil is probably NHL ready, given he's more like a Hathaway than a Phillips. Duehr hasn't lit up the AHL in either year. He could be a NHL body, just needs to continue. I see we signed an ex-NCAA player to a PTO in Stockton. McNeely. We now have a few from that area. Midwest Mafia?

Sutter is talking about getting Marky 4 days off between games, so you can pretty much figure out how many he will start. You don't want him worn out in a nothing game, but you do want him sharp. I would guess Markyu tonight (confirmed), Dan on Saturday and Monday, Marky on Tuesday, Dan on Thursday. Marky on Saturday. Depending on what we have clinched, Dan against NAS and WPG, Marky against Minny. 4 and 4 if possible.

Backs have off games just like Matty. They have played together for a lot of times in the past, so I think there is a good fit there. Sorry, but I don't want Lucic anywhere near a top shutdown line. And Toffee with Backlund doesn't seem to work.

Big test. We don't have to clinch today, but a win puts a dagger in the Knights. Maybe not fatal, but a dagger.

Good day (evening) RD. Thanks again for the GDT. Looks like Valimaki has been assigned to AHL. Ruzie still here, but skating late. Markstrom in the starter net and Ritchie/Stone/Mackey skating late which implies they are scratched. I think Sutter basically confirmed the lines to be like the 3rd period, but the D adjusted: Johnny-Lindy-Mange Dube-Backlund-Tkachuk Coleman-Jarnkrok-Toffee Lucic-Carpenter-Lewis Hani-Ras Kyl-Tanev Zad-Gud Not sure if Dailyfaceoff has the lines updated.

I like that we have a coach that knows what it takes. We don't hear anymore the post and pre game stuff like "oh, we have to be better" or "Need to improve X" or "We want to win 4 of 7 sets". That means so little. It's lip service. Sutter is using Mange on the top line because he can and is coaching against another team. Look at outcomes and see what you need. Play a certain style against a certain team. Wants to get more offence from the D, and the top 3 have done their jobs, need the other 3 to do the same. Find out who the other 3 are. Have different looks from players comfortable with the lines. Like Tkachuk or Mange or Dube. Having guys that can play off wing. Who is the best 5 that you can play as a unit. He talked about getting Markstrom 4 days off between games to finish. Reading into that, you get Marky for tonight and next Tuesday. The VAN and Minny. That leaves ARI, CHI, DAL and WPG for Vladar. Sutter may even go last 2 games with Vladar to give Marky an extended break.

In the 3rd period, we obviously would be taking some chances that allow an odd man rush. Comes with the game score. We started down 2, so you can't just sit back. Our worst games come from sitting back. We have to constantly look for the next goal. Otherwise we are just defending, which is more a late game thing. I have concerns that we don't have 4 lines rolling every game. Fatigue was a factor with the 4th line and inexperience with the 3rd pairing, which is why we want to get the missing D back in. They should be 100% now. Funny how we are now using Tkachuk and Dube on the 2nd line, but it has worked. Tkachuk will be back to the top line, but he's wearing down trying to keep up with Johnny and Lindy. I only worry about who has to play on the wrong wing. But the other side of it is that Backlund needs help. He's struggling a bit. The Tkachuk bump should help him. First pass out has been an issue for a few weeks now, but we should be better with Kyl and Gud back in. Same with clearing. We have beaten the VGK before, so tonight we should be able to put on a good show. We play structured against them. A win tonight is a big blow to their playoff hopes. They can go win against the Oilers and set back them.

Sutter said the other day 100 gets you in, which is exactly the case today. 2 wins and 2 EDM losses would sew the division up this week. I like that idea, but not sure of the other implications it sets up. Other than: VGK would be 87 NAS would be 91 We would be 103

It's what I am seeing. Last two games against tough opponents, McD held off the scoreboard. NAS, VGK (healthy), DAL, COL and PITTS are not easy outs. The final two are B2B. I'm just saying that 3 teams are playing for 2 spots, with the WC being very remote. You can probably chock up CBJ game as a win, along with one of SJS or VAN. The rest of this week will determine if the Oilers are more than a beat easy/tired teams team. They beat NAS or COL, then that is something.

According to stats, he's taken the most draws on the team. 1500 which is a lot. He's at 56.9% and has taken more than double the nearest player on the team: https://soogreyhounds.com/stats/team_players/70/16

It's not an excuse, but some teams really got the shaft this season. EDM has about 8 B2B sets, and we have 15. 3 this month alone. 4 last month. 3 in Feb, and that was just after coming out of Covid. A few teams have had similar challenges. Long periods of time on the road or at home. We faced the latter after Nov, Dec, and Jan extended roadies. NYI spent 13 games on the road to start the season, but that was arena reasons. I am okay with losing games where they put in effort. Not always sharp, but not an alarming trend for me. That's just me though. I can isolate the struggles to a particular line or player. One guy can drag down a line. Overall the team compensates.

I wouldn't say it's overly concerning. 4 game road trip with really tough travel. Some games are not gems. Apart from the team having a bad record, it's not like we are playing a basement dweller from the 90's. They limit shots and chances. We had 3 part timers in the lineup. This is not a consistent problem. Our 4th line yielded 2 goals. How often does that happen? Not very. You are not going to win 3 periods every game. Win 2 of 3 you likely win. Win 1 of 3 and you have a chance, as long as you are relatively close and win the final period.

I think he would have the same expectations as Mangiapane did after his epic final year in the O. My biggest concern with "smaller" guys is their ability to remain on their feet. Mange gets up in a flash, but he's falling a few too many times for my liking. Small with a strong core is deadly if you have the hands to go with it.

If EDM ended up with 96, I think they might be looking from the outside. They play a lot of playoff/bubble teams (5). Vegas has a slightly easier schedule, in that they play STL on the last night. STL will probably rest a few regulars. LA plays a lot of non-playoff teams. with their toughest game tonight. They have another B2B of SET/VAN. I would almost expect them to hit 98. The teams like Dallas and Nashville are likely both to get in. Dallas plays 5 non-playoff teams. Nashville has a tougher schedule, but has been playing well. I'm not saying EDM gets ousted, but it's not set in stone either. Their only impressive games recently were a SO loss to AVS (who played the night before), STL (who spotted them 4 in the first period with Binnington looking bad) and the LA Kings x 2. More questions about goaltending and defense. They play fast and generate a lot of shots, but it seems to be the same looks every time. If you shut down McDavid, you win 9/10 times.

I think what he is saying is that some people look for the mistakes.

You can't turn a pretender into a contender overnight. Well, Sutter certainly looks to have rid the team of that culture. Good enough is not good enough. Whether Kylington is as good as his first half suggest may remain to be seen. But that's taking a guy formerly on waivers and turning him into a top 4 player. Now, not just a good skater. I was excited about Zaddy, and was hoping he would become a bit more stable. Like Coleman add, since he's more of a winner than Hyman. I like Hyman, but he plays a style that leads to injuries. Coleman just knows how to give enough and frustrate teams. Considering the drop off of Monahan, we have actually not needed him. That's not 100% true, but we didn't need him on the 4th line. The farm is almost untouched except for some depth skating with us. Even the trades didn't strip the depth we have there. I like this group and hope we can keep most of it together next season. Last night was one of those games where the top 6 wasn't working as a group. Mangiapane was looking good, but Tkachuk was killing the top line. Backlund had one of his worst games, where he generate little and led to too many chances against. Tkachuk didn't make it better offense wise really, but stopped the bleeding. 4th line was a real drag, with Lucic and Ritchie being benched most of the third. Moved Jarnkrok up, and while Lewis wasn't the issue, Jarny on the 4th line wasn't a match. Sutter may have said he changed goalies to get a spark, but he was seen talking to Sutter after the 3rd goal. Sutter was giving it to him, a bit. Can't be sure what he was saying, but something wasn't working. This was almost a replica of the Dallas game, except that one came really late. Same goalie change and similar line changes. Sutter - win the third period.

I believe he was ready for last night's game, but they kept him out one more time. The drop off from the recent Kylington to Mackey maybe not as obvious. The drop off from previous Kylington to Mackey is quite a big difference.

Johnny's dad was very critical of his play when he was the coach. Always looking at areas that he could improve upon. Typical dad coach that probably is harder on his kid than others. Not really a bad thing in this case. But, yes the farm life probably imparted the work ethic. Passed it onto Johnny. I don't think Sutter ever had a problem with Johnny's play, other than not trying 100% when things weren't going right. He's matured. Understands the little things you can do that change the game. A stick here or there and you break up the cycle. I was laughing when they asked Sutter and he talked about having conversations with Guy. One coach to another. Not a dad calling about his kid. Similar coaching strategy. Loves having him in Calgary.

Cap doesn't exist during the playoffs. That's not the issue. It's hiding players on LTIR to get to the playoffs that stands out. Tampa was iffy, but Kucherov was a lot closer to having a legit reason. By rights, if a player needed to go to LTIR for a month, they should have been forced to do it at the time, not do it to manage cap. It's all legal, but only if every player on LTIR is valid. Vegas will swear on a stack of bibles (from the Wedding Chapel and Strip Club) that they followed the CBA. I don't care for Vegas, but this is a loophole that was exploited. Doesn't matter who. If it's 100% valid, then sucks for the rest of the teams. If they don't make the playoffs, they face a host of cap problems next season.

First goal - Mackey and Tanev out there. Second goal - Mackey and Stone out there. Third goal - Tanev and Zaddy out there, but that was an extremely weak goal. It's a balancing act to get guys in the lineup, but you can only do that if a guy isn't 100%. We can't really be using a game as a development environment. I like Mackey's 1st game, but not the other two. Stone is a fine replacement, but would use him with Tanev. I don't think one game is great cause for concern, but let's get the regulars back in. Not sure why we went with Ritchie over Carpenter. 4th line was buried with Lucic-Jarnkrok-Ritchie, on for 2 goals against. When we move Lewis down and Jarny up, things stabilized a bit.

Loved Sutter's answer to reporters about Guy. At first, Sutter thought the questions were about Johnny. When they asked again, Sutter said "Mr. Gaudreau?". Then went on to say he would love to have him coaching with him. Said that he knew a lot about Guy, more than the reporter does. Too funny. Johnny, when asked about his dad's influence, always seems to give a genuine answer. Said the similar backgrounds of his father and Sutter has been an easy fit for him as a player. It all makes sense now.

I'm not really counting 2 OTL as = 1.0 since it complicates things depending on who we lose to. Vegas has 32 RW and CGY 40. If Vegas wins out, we only need 1 RW to overtake them, right? Vegas also has 36 ROW and CGY 43. They would have 40 and us 41. Magic number of 1 is simplistic. So, the more simple thing to say is we are one win away from clinching. When you get into tie-breaking scenarios, we lose to Vegas in total wins (tie breaker 4). Simple is win, you're in.

I believe that the clinch number is down to 1.0 with the Vegas OTL. Can Clinch as early as Thursday. The Division clincher is down to 4.0 with the win and EDM loss. They need a minimum of 5 wins out of 8 to get 100, which is basically a playoff spot. They play NAS, VGK, DAL, COL and PIT, plus CBJ, SJS and VAN. Tall task to win 5, but other teams chasing need to have basically perfect records to overtake them if they do.