Post-Game Talk: | Pens vs Wings | loss | garbage effort

[Pancakes]

Okay, so then doesn't this reinforce the idea that the coach's system isn't a fit for this team? If those are the results he keeps getting from the bottom six playing this system, then shouldn't that indicate they *can't* play this system and thus, his system is an issue?

I think the fact our bottom six (according to your numbers -- I haven't looked it up) always struggles to get positive results, and the fact our top six needs to 100% have their skating legs to play it otherwise they also look like trash when they don't have their legs, is MORE evidence it's the system.

This goes back to what I keep saying. Whether or not it's a good "system" as a whole is irrelevant. What matters is whether the roster he has available to him can play it effectively. And as we've seen, they can't. So saying "well it's the roster then" ignores the fact that his system he employs doesn't work with the pieces he has available to him.

If it was simply roster related and the bottom six just flat out sucks, then we wouldn't see the top six look just as bad as them when they don't have their legs. The top six would always look great, but we'd be pulled down by poor bottom six play. But when we lose (and even in some wins), the top six looks just as ass as the bottom six.

The problem with this argument is it supposes that any kind of other system could get positive results out of the likes of Jeff Carter. I think Carter would stink regardless of how he's used. He's old and not effective any more. The best you can hope for with him is that he'd stink a little less if put on the wing or given cushier deployments.

Anyways I suppose it doesn't matter. You and I both know we're stuck with Sullivan for the foreseeable future. If Hextall isn't going to fire him then he should focus on bringing in players who Sullivan can get use out of.