GDT: CBJ at Buffalo 12/30/23 5:00 PM

[tunnelvision]

I’d start Fantilli every OT. Who cares if we lose the faceoff honestly. I know it matters but still, would like to see him on the ice.

If we don't have the puck there's no advantage to having Fantilli on the ice. We should have him hop on though quickly when we get the puck.

I think Fantilli's main struggles this year, and probably in the next couple of years as well, are going to be dzone coverage and route selection in transition as a center. I hope the Jackets have coaches who have enough time to go through tapes of Fantilli's shifts with Fantilli himself and teach him how to read plays smarter.

Faceoffs aside, he might not be a useful player without the puck right now but being in right position defensively is simpler in OT than at 5v5 since there are fewer opponents to be taken care of. Getting more OT experience could be very beneficial for his development anyway. I don't think it matters a lot if we lost 3 or 4 extra points because of that. It's a lost season already.

 

[majormajor]

being in right position defensively is simpler in OT than at 5v5 since there are fewer opponents to be taken care of. Getting more OT experience could be very beneficial for his development anyway. I don't think it matters a lot if we lost 3 or 4 extra points because of that. It's a lost season already.

I think it's much harder for forwards trying to defend at 3v3. If you take the wrong angle or are a few feet off, you can get walked in all that extra space. 5v5 there's no room even if you're a little off.

In any case I agree that Fantilli should be out there in OT. I think it might lead to some short OTs, for wins and losses!