Post-Game Talk: Game 44: Anaheim Ducks @ Washington Capitals, 4pm PT, BSSC (Gotta score at least one goal to win)

[Kalv]

He looked ok, his first game back was very good this one still looked dangerous at times but had one lost puck battle which later led to a goal. So it wasn’t a great game from him. His line-mates were dog poo. He made a brilliant play to Killorn who tried to make another pass but turned it over.

This coaching staff is annoying me, they rather throw out the PP with Silf on it more than the one with Carlsson. He got double the amount of PP time. Leo is making things happen, Silf is not. Yeah sure not every PP is going to go well but it’s about giving the kids and younger players more reps to play through those.

Newell Brown cannot be fired soon enough.

Reg PP – I noticed that vs WSH too, but then the 2nd PP kept scoring/maging dangerous plays while the 1st PP kept looking "promising"

 

[Leonardo87]

Reg PP – I noticed that vs WSH too, but then the 2nd PP kept scoring/maging dangerous plays while the 1st PP kept looking "promising"

Problem is neither unit is scoring now so have to make some changes .

 

[Hockey Duckie]

All I wanted was a Leo or Mac point and I was denied. They need to start hitting the scoresheet again. Can cope with a loss when that happens. This team has one big scoring game then scores like 5 goals in the next 5 games.

I feel the entire culture of this team needs to be shaken up. It’s the same crap from last year but with a different head coach. I mean do the assistants really play that much of a role? If so they all need to go.

I get the injuries and we are still missing key players and one was traded. But it’s still so inconsistent.

You know what’s crazy San Jose and Chicago are actually worse than the Ducks. Watch us lose Sat. lol that may be the final nail for me this season. It’s fine when the games are on early but I cannot stay up to 1am watching this crap.

The assistant coaches do play a role. It took Eakins being fired for many to realize this fact.

Last year, it was evident that our PP sucked b/c of Newell Brown and our PK sucked because we lacked talent along with balance (not enough stay-at-home D-men). As the season progressed, our PK got better and our OFD's started playing better defense, which is a huge credit to asst. coach Stothers. Still, playing man-defense requires talented d-men and we were lacking in that dept.

This year, our PP looks a lot better on paper with Newell Brown. I commented how our PP looks streaky and dependent on certain players being hot. We've dropped to 21st in PP efficiency. On the PP, I dunno what happened, but their PK efficiency has also dropped. They're ranked 22nd. We have a new defensive/PK coach in Brent Thompson. I'll commend Thompson b/c we've recently had a revolving door with injuries or trade. It just shows how much better talent depth on defense we have this year compared to last year.

Our PP and PK efficiency are still much better than last year's squad!

HC Cronin is in charge of ES play. Anaheim isn't getting blasted often nor are they giving up 40 shots per game with high frequency, but we're barely better in the standings than last year's team. I'm not impressed with Cronin's offensive game nor his breakout scheme. I don't know why his team isn't more disciplined when he came off very disciplined and accountable. We're giving up one extra penalty per game this year than last.

Ducks' offense shutout, after 43 games
Last year = 4
This year = 5

 

[The Midnight Burrito]

The assistant coaches do play a role. It took Eakins being fired for many to realize this fact.

Last year, it was evident that our PP sucked b/c of Newell Brown and our PK sucked because we lacked talent along with balance (not enough stay-at-home D-men). As the season progressed, our PK got better and our OFD's started playing better defense, which is a huge credit to asst. coach Stothers. Still, playing man-defense requires talented d-men and we were lacking in that dept.

This year, our PP looks a lot better on paper with Newell Brown. I commented how our PP looks streaky and dependent on certain players being hot. We've dropped to 21st in PP efficiency. On the PP, I dunno what happened, but their PK efficiency has also dropped. They're ranked 22nd. We have a new defensive/PK coach in Brent Thompson. I'll commend Thompson b/c we've recently had a revolving door with injuries or trade. It just shows how much better talent depth on defense we have this year compared to last year.

Our PP and PK efficiency are still much better than last year's squad!

HC Cronin is in charge of ES play. Anaheim isn't getting blasted often nor are they giving up 40 shots per game with high frequency, but we're barely better in the standings than last year's team. I'm not impressed with Cronin's offensive game nor his breakout scheme. I don't know why his team isn't more disciplined when he came off very disciplined and accountable. We're giving up one extra penalty per game this year than last.

Ducks' offense shutout, after 43 games
Last year = 4
This year = 5

A disciplinarian who ran the team ragged early to bank stamina dividends now coaches a team that takes every penalty and can't get up energy even when it's not a back to back. They can't break out unless they skate it out and they can't forecheck unless they carry it in, which okay great, who doesn't like rush chances, except their rush execution sucks ass and they make the wrong choice like more than half the time. And often the puck carrier is Terry whose preference this year is to skate the puck through three guys and then lose it.

 

[JAHV]

A disciplinarian who ran the team ragged early to bank stamina dividends now coaches a team that takes every penalty and can't get up energy even when it's not a back to back. They can't break out unless they skate it out and they can't forecheck unless they carry it in, which okay great, who doesn't like rush chances, except their rush execution sucks ass and they make the wrong choice like more than half the time. And often the puck carrier is Terry whose preference this year is to skate the puck through three guys and then lose it.

How do you know he ran the team ragged early?

 

[anezthes]

A disciplinarian who ran the team ragged early to bank stamina dividends now coaches a team that takes every penalty and can't get up energy even when it's not a back to back. They can't break out unless they skate it out and they can't forecheck unless they carry it in, which okay great, who doesn't like rush chances, except their rush execution sucks ass and they make the wrong choice like more than half the time. And often the puck carrier is Terry whose preference this year is to skate the puck through three guys and then lose it.

It's quite worrisome that every single opponent looks quicker. Tape-to-tape passes, multiple/different breakouts and having a plan on what to do in the offensive zone...

Some day... but not today. I'm not entertained.

 

[ohcomeonref]

He looked ok, his first game back was very good this one still looked dangerous at times but had one lost puck battle which later led to a goal. So it wasn’t a great game from him. His line-mates were dog poo. He made a brilliant play to Killorn who tried to make another pass but turned it over.

This coaching staff is annoying me, they rather throw out the PP with Silf on it more than the one with Carlsson. He got double the amount of PP time. Leo is making things happen, Silf is not. Yeah sure not every PP is going to go well but it’s about giving the kids and younger players more reps to play through those.

Newell Brown cannot be fired soon enough.

You could spew the most vile, gutter trash internet conspiracy garbage then finish the post off with "Newell Brown needs to be fired" and I begrudgingly upvote. Get him outta here.

 

[Leonardo87]

You could spew the most vile, gutter trash internet conspiracy garbage then finish the post off with "Newell Brown needs to be fired" and I begrudgingly upvote. Get him outta here.

I’ve said it before we have enough skill to ice a top 10 PP and when we were close to healthy, they were actually flirting with it. Were like Top 11th or 12th in the league for nearly a month.

His decision to give more PP time to Silf and Strome over players like Terry, Leo, and Mac is a fireable offense, lol. It’s beyond bad coaching unless Verbeek is telling them to tank, lol

Of course there will be bumps in the road when a 19 and 20 yo are a big part of that unit, but we are in a development stage with the team. Let the kids F’ing play.

Can’t even be upset with refs they actually reffed a fair game, we just couldn’t cash in and really needed a PP goal.

 

[Henrique Iglesias]

What is up with him falling all over the ice? At least twice per game he blows any chance at a scoring opportunity by falling down in the offensive zone.

Ya I noticed that too. And he can’t seem to hold onto the puck

 

[Ducks DVM]

How do you know he ran the team ragged early?

They were having full morning practices on game days, and preseason was described as much more intense physically than any player on the roster had ever done.

 

[la patineuse]

Do i win because i forgot to post a name before this game?

We need an option of no one scores the first goal of the game.

 

[la patineuse]

What is up with him falling all over the ice? At least twice per game he blows any chance at a scoring opportunity by falling down in the offensive zone.

He's not the only one. Terry falls a lot too as do some others. Maybe the equipment manager needs to do a better job maintaining their blades?

 

[Hockey Duckie]

We need an option of no one scores the first goal of the game.

hahahha Nope. We went over this last year and you have to pick a scorer to score the first goal of the game. Arturos created the game and we abide by the Dude's rules. Anyhow, getting shutout does not happen too often. It just seems like it b/c we have no offense.

 

[Arthuros]

We need an option of no one scores the first goal of the game.

One of the golden rules. You get no points for pessimism!

 

[Static]

The vets with Carlyle complained that the training camps were too much and they had no legs late. This coaching staff says they want a difficult training camp so they will have legs late.

Maybe the key to having legs late is the depth to play guys in their optimal roles at reasonable levels. They need more NHL talent, that's it. Nobody looks more in shape, they all look dead.

 

[Deuce22]

I’ve said it before we have enough skill to ice a top 10 PP and when we were close to healthy, they were actually flirting with it. Were like Top 11th or 12th in the league for nearly a month.

His decision to give more PP time to Silf and Strome over players like Terry, Leo, and Mac is a fireable offense, lol. It’s beyond bad coaching unless Verbeek is telling them to tank, lol

Of course there will be bumps in the road when a 19 and 20 yo are a big part of that unit, but we are in a development stage with the team. Let the kids F’ing play.

Can’t even be upset with refs they actually reffed a fair game, we just couldn’t cash in and really needed a PP goal.

The only thing that makes sense is if they are showcasing Silf, Henrique, Strome and Fowler for possible trades. In a developmental year, young players need ice time to develop. Not to mention, the PP is trash.

 

[Trojans86]

most boring hockey team in the nhl right now

It’s honestly really hard to watch. I moved to Fl so I just don’t have a ton of interest in staying up late to watch this team play a boring dump and chase style and get smoked every game. I’m super excited about the talent in the system and the draft but it’s tough to watch them. The nhl needs to fix the system. Rebuilds take way way too long. A fanbase shouldn’t be expected to wait 6 years to be competitive again.

 

[JAHV]

The vets with Carlyle complained that the training camps were too much and they had no legs late. This coaching staff says they want a difficult training camp so they will have legs late.

Maybe the key to having legs late is the depth to play guys at their optimal roles at reasonable levels. They need more NHL talent, that's it. Nobody looks more in shape, they all look dead.

Those guys complained, but they were often playing their best hockey in April and May. And there were guys who Carlyle would play 22 minutes per night and not get tired. Guys complain because tough workouts suck. But if done properly, they can build stamina and be beneficial.

So we're left to wonder:
- Were those guys on the Carlyle teams just endurance freaks and these guys aren't so the tough workouts are somewhat irrelevant?
- Did the current coaching staff plan the workouts suboptimally?
- Is there some other factor (injuries, playstyle) that's causing the current players to tire out?
- Are we seeing things (missed passes, poor backchecking) that we're attributing to lingering fatigue from a tough camp that are actually the result of bad hockey?

 

[Ducks DVM]

One of the golden rules. You get no points for pessimism!

You could keep a running total of no-goal games, and you have to pick more winners than that to actually win the competition.


…which will crush everyone’s soul.

 

[Arthuros]

You could keep a running total of no-goal games, and you have to pick more winners than that to actually win the competition.


…which will crush everyone’s soul.

Ever since the 6-7 years I've taken the thread over, I think we've actually never been shutout enough for that to be the case. And there were some dire years...

...so if it's the case this year, it will definitely crush everyone's soul.

 

[Hamilton Bulldogs]

It's quite worrisome that every single opponent looks quicker. Tape-to-tape passes, multiple/different breakouts and seemingly even have a plan on what to do in the offensive zone...

Some day... but not today. I'm not entertained.

I didn't like it was possible to make the caps look fast but last night the ducks managed to do it.

 

[DavidBL]

I'll be honest, I have had questions on the medical/training for awhile. It feels like Ducks deal with a lot of injuries every year. Planned rest and recovery is very important. Cronin has mentioned how much he underestimated or was surprised with the travel. I do wonder if maybe he's struggling to adjust to that as well. Traveling isn't good for rest and recovery.

 

[Bender66]

It's quite worrisome that every single opponent looks quicker. Tape-to-tape passes, multiple/different breakouts and having a plan on what to do in the offensive zone...

Some day... but not today. I'm not entertained.

This. Its not even just skating speed. Ducks think the game so slowly. it's stark contrast when Leo is on ice and all of a sudden plays are made at higher pace just with him being out there.

 

[Reveille1984]

It's always a tossup the last few years whether we don't have much of an offensive strategy, or whether we just don't have the players/skill to even utilize one.

Seeing how much this team gives up/doesn't seem to value possession of the puck, and having this be the case over multiple coaches now, I'm assuming the dated dump and chase/puck retrieval style of offense we use is mainly just due to lack of skill/speed/confidence. We get bounced off the puck like children, and then give up free unlimited zone time with zero pressure in our dzone and basically just collapse into a clump in front of the net like we're on a PK in 5v5.

This isn't even mentioning our abysmal passing and constant botching of basic things like line changes that lead to opposing breakouts.

 

[DuckDuckGetz]

It's always a tossup the last few years whether we don't have much of an offensive strategy, or whether we just don't have the players/skill to even utilize one.

Seeing how much this team gives up/doesn't seem to value possession of the puck, and having this be the case over multiple coaches now, I'm assuming the dated dump and chase/puck retrieval style of offense we use is mainly just due to lack of skill/speed/confidence. We get bounced off the puck like children, and then give up free unlimited zone time with zero pressure in our dzone and basically just collapse into a clump in front of the net like we're on a PK in 5v5.

This isn't even mentioning our abysmal passing and constant botching of basic things like line changes that lead to opposing breakouts.

The first half can be debated but the second half is not really debatable IMO. Our roster the last couple of years has been absolutely desolate, whether because of injuries or by design.

Our bottom 6 is comprised of veterans who are the type of player you usually want one of. No team needs three of Silfverberg, Strome, and Henrique.