GDT: 1/17/15 - 7:00PM EDT - Colorado VS Tampa Bay

[CarpeNoctem]

Very solid game by Bishop! Got hung out to dry several times but kept us in there. You're not supposed to win games you give up 42 SOG in.

Terrible game for Hedman! And somebody please tell and teach our D to take the body once in a while. Especially Sustr's stick check attempts are so cringeworthy when he could easily just take the man out instead.

51-91 does not work and yet Cooper sticks with it. I can just hope he comes to his senses and goes back to KFC.

Scratch Morrow and bring back Brown on the 4th line. Morrow didn't bring anything to this team tonight. He took a lazy penalty and stood around while Drouin was flying around making plays.

17-13-14 looked good in the 1st period, but got worse over the course of the game.

Last note: We got destroyed in the FO circle again (42.9%).

All good points, and I agree on all. Our defense and certain forwards aren't doing us any favors. And we all know which players I'm referring to.

 

[Leonardo87]

Very solid game by Bishop! Got hung out to dry several times but kept us in there. You're not supposed to win games you give up 42 SOG in.

Terrible game for Hedman! And somebody please tell and teach our D to take the body once in a while. Especially Sustr's stick check attempts are so cringeworthy when he could easily just take the man out instead.

51-91 does not work and yet Cooper sticks with it. I can just hope he comes to his senses and goes back to KFC.

Scratch Morrow and bring back Brown on the 4th line. Morrow didn't bring anything to this team tonight. He took a lazy penalty and stood around while Drouin was flying around making plays.

17-13-14 looked good in the 1st period, but got worse over the course of the game.

Last note: We got destroyed in the FO circle again (42.9%).

Don't want to see Callahan dropped back to the 3rd line, you are wasting his offensive play by putting him back down there. I agree about Flip though, him and Stamkos just don't mesh. Throwing flip back down to the 3rd will create a solid 3rd line.

 

[DFC]

Very solid game by Bishop! Got hung out to dry but kept us in there. You're not supposed to win games you give up 42 SOG in.

Terrible game for Hedman! And somebody please tell and teach our D to take the body once in a while. Especially Sustr's stick check attempts are so cringeworthy when he could easily just take the man out instead.

51-91 does not work and yet Cooper sticks with it. I can just hope he comes to his senses and goes back to KFC.

Scratch Morrow and bring back Brown on the 4th line. Morrow didn't bring anything to this team tonight. He took a lazy penalty and stood around while Drouin was flying around making plays.

17-13-14 looked good in the 1st period, but got worse over the course of the game.

Last note: We got destroyed in the FO circle again (42.9%).

I have no numbers to back it up, but to me it always looks like Morrow wears down when we play a lot of games in a short stretch.

I agree that we should go back to KFC. That top line was ugly.

Drouin had some pretty breathtaking moments. I wouldn't mind going with Drouin - Boyle - Brown for a while, or Brown - Stamkos - Drouin. The speed on that line could suit Stammer.

Connolly's just... It's long past time.

 

[Lord Stan 2020]

we got very tired even stamkos last penalty wore out wish held off in reg but giving a point to west dont matter boston losing detroit and montreal had big games but we are on top in east

 

[Brie]

This:

 

[HoseEmDown]

I have no numbers to back it up, but to me it always looks like Morrow wears down when we play a lot of games in a short stretch.

I agree that we should go back to KFC. That top line was ugly.

Drouin had some pretty breathtaking moments. I wouldn't mind going with Drouin - Boyle - Brown for a while, or Brown - Stamkos - Drouin. The speed on that line could suit Stammer.

Connolly's just... It's long past time.

Bro, what did Connolly do tonight that makes you say that? None of our forwards stood out tonight. He did his role well, that line looked the best tonight, had the most zone time and weren't pinned in the zone much.

 

[Brie]

Three stars of game on nhl.com

* Ben Bishop
** Semyon Varlamov
*** Ryan Callahan

Our own media however had MacKinnon as the 3rd star instead.

I wonder which counts.

 

[DFC]

Bro, what did Connolly do tonight that makes you say that? None of our forwards stood out tonight. He did his role well, that line looked the best tonight, had the most zone time and weren't pinned in the zone much.

That's the thing about Connolly. He almost never looks bad. But he rarely looks good either. Games keep piling up where he's a non-factor either way. I don't believe he's a bad player. I believe he's not a good fit for us.

 

[2016cupwinners]

Most teams are going to be increasingly desperate for points in the second half. We will have to match that desperation.

The triplets are a great line, but Stamkos is used to, and needs, a playmaking RW. With the current lineup that means Kucherov. Palat and Johnson have chemistry and can play with most guys.

****-Stamkos-Kucherov
Palat-Johnson-****

 

[Coopers Gum]

Most teams are going to be increasingly desperate for points in the second half. We will have to match that desperation.

The triplets are a great line, but Stamkos is used to, and needs, a playmaking RW. With the current lineup that means Kucherov. Palat and Johnson have chemistry and can play with most guys.

****-Stamkos-Kucherov
Palat-Johnson-****

TKO is one of the best lines in the league. Stamkos is 2nd in the league for goals.

Keep TKO together.

 

[DFC]

Most teams are going to be increasingly desperate for points in the second half. We will have to match that desperation.

The triplets are a great line, but Stamkos is used to, and needs, a playmaking RW. With the current lineup that means Kucherov. Palat and Johnson have chemistry and can play with most guys.

****-Stamkos-Kucherov
Palat-Johnson-****

I don't think we can break up TKO. They're arguably the best line in the NHL, and anything we replace them with is unlikely to be better. They've saved our bacon plenty of times this year.

But one thing to keep in mind is we're a pretty tired team going into the break. I believe we've played more games than any team in the NHL right now, and a lot of them, particularly lately, have been clustered together.

 

[berlin]

TKO is one of the best lines in the league. Stamkos is 2nd in the league for goals.

Keep TKO together.

yea just throw drouin on the first with cally PLEASE!

 

[2MinutesforGiraffing]

Especially Sustr's stick check attempts are so cringeworthy when he could easily just take the man out instead.

Sustr's lack of physical presence makes me batty. He never, ever, ever seems to do anything physical. His long arms will get him the puck a lot of times, but not every time and he seems unwilling or unable to do anything that requires some grit.

 

[Bolts265]

This just in Hedman not having a great year.
Glad the Norris talk has stopped.

 

[The Macho King]

This is four games straight we should have lost. That's a problem. Good to see Bishop playing well though.

 

[CarpeNoctem]

This is four games straight we should have lost. That's a problem. Good to see Bishop playing well though.

You're exactly right. You can't rely on lucky bounces and perfect timing as a team philosophy.

 

[Volodya Krutov]

We've stolen many points lately, the team looked completely uninspired after the 1st period. I don't even want to look by how many shots we've been out-possessed the past 4 games, the total must be brutal. The week following the All-Star break will give us a lot of answers about this team...

 

[PaulGG]

Last several games have a common denominator that to me explains a lot. The weakest part is our defence and that really is obvious when we are down a few of our top D . 42 shots last night reminds me of last season when we wore Bish out way to often.
Would be good to find a solid D man in in trade as insurance because if we lose one of our top 4 for extended period we are going to be in trouble. No offence to our bottom 2 or 3 toung guys but they are just not going to cut it in the playoffs IMO. We missed Carle last night.

 

[LightningStrikes]

Bishop, Callahan, Cooper:

[NHL]730028&catid=55[/NHL]


Cooper:

[NHL]729940&catid=55[/NHL]

 

[Stormbreaker]

yea just throw drouin on the first with cally PLEASE!

#FreeDrouin

 

[xteesy]

#FreeDrouin

I've come to realize, Drouin's not in time out. Cooper KNOWS Drouin works with Stamkos now, on both sides. What he's trying to find is another player he can mesh with, and mesh with well.

Killorn is "meh", and Cally is a the best alternative so far. Thing is, KFC works pretty damn well as it is.

Right now we have three very, very solid lines.

Drouin - Stamkos - ?
Palat - Johnson - Kucherov
Killorn - Filppula - Callahan
Morrow - Boyle - Connolly

Our 4th line certainly isn't "bad" but they aren't our money makers. They're the "brutes" that will do the dirty work and dish out pain if necessary.

We just need a right wingers for Stamkos (even a left since Drouin can play both sides ridiculously well) and we'll be unstoppable.

Stamkos pretty much shut everyone up on here who was complaining about his rut. We just gotta get him a 2nd playmaker and people will be terrified to play against all 3 of our top lines.

 

[VinikToWinIt]

I've come to realize, Drouin's not in time out. Cooper KNOWS Drouin works with Stamkos now, on both sides. What he's trying to find is another player he can mesh with, and mesh with well.

Killorn is "meh", and Cally is a the best alternative so far. Thing is, KFC works pretty damn well as it is.

Right now we have three very, very solid lines.

Drouin - Stamkos - ?
Palat - Johnson - Kucherov
Killorn - Filppula - Callahan
Morrow - Boyle - Connolly

Our 4th line certainly isn't "bad" but they aren't our money makers. They're the "brutes" that will do the dirty work and dish out pain if necessary.

We just need a right wingers for Stamkos (even a left since Drouin can play both sides ridiculously well) and we'll be unstoppable.

Stamkos pretty much shut everyone up on here who was complaining about his rut. We just gotta get him a 2nd playmaker and people will be terrified to play against all 3 of our top lines.

I wish we had 2 Kucherovs. You're right, with one more top 6 RW our first 3 lines would all be deadly.

 

[DFC]

I've come to realize, Drouin's not in time out. Cooper KNOWS Drouin works with Stamkos now, on both sides. What he's trying to find is another player he can mesh with, and mesh with well.

Killorn is "meh", and Cally is a the best alternative so far. Thing is, KFC works pretty damn well as it is.

Right now we have three very, very solid lines.

Drouin - Stamkos - ?
Palat - Johnson - Kucherov
Killorn - Filppula - Callahan
Morrow - Boyle - Connolly

Our 4th line certainly isn't "bad" but they aren't our money makers. They're the "brutes" that will do the dirty work and dish out pain if necessary.

We just need a right wingers for Stamkos (even a left since Drouin can play both sides ridiculously well) and we'll be unstoppable.

Stamkos pretty much shut everyone up on here who was complaining about his rut. We just gotta get him a 2nd playmaker and people will be terrified to play against all 3 of our top lines.

I don't think we need to find Stamkos another playmaker if Drouin plays the right. We either need a playmaking RW (if Drouin remains on LW) or a gritty LW (Palat). We have the pieces, they're just being used on TKO right now. But Stamkos doesn't need a playmaker on either side. One on the right side will do.

Whatever the case, I pretty much never want to see Flip - Stamkos - Callahan again. That was pretty awful the first time around and wasn't any better last night. I think the best we've seen Stamkos play at ES this year has been with Drouin and Killorn. But it would be nice to get an upgrade on Killorn so he could return to the KFC line. (I don't really mean through trade--I'd like to see someone on the roster fill the role.)

JAM is still putting up points in Syracuse. I wonder if management is giving any thought to giving him a shot in the NHL.

 

[Leonardo87]

I don't think we need to find Stamkos another playmaker if Drouin plays the right. We either need a playmaking RW (if Drouin remains on LW) or a gritty LW (Palat). We have the pieces, they're just being used on TKO right now. But Stamkos doesn't need a playmaker on either side. One on the right side will do.

Whatever the case, I pretty much never want to see Flip - Stamkos - Callahan again. That was pretty awful the first time around and wasn't any better last night. I think the best we've seen Stamkos play at ES this year has been with Drouin and Killorn. But it would be nice to get an upgrade on Killorn so he could return to the KFC line. (I don't really mean through trade--I'd like to see someone on the roster fill the role.)

JAM is still putting up points in Syracuse. I wonder if management is giving any thought to giving him a shot in the NHL.

Stamkos needs a guy to get those pucks on the boards and do the dirty work, like crashing around the net, throwing Callahan there will get that task done, Adding Drouin will get him that playmaker as well. We saw very little of Drouin - Stamkos - Callahan and it was good, they even scored a few goals together.

Unless we are going back to KFC which was a very good line, Cally stays put with Stamkos. Paquette was not great with Flip and Cally, and that line was too one way on the defense end and just very limited.

 

[xteesy]

I don't think we need to find Stamkos another playmaker if Drouin plays the right. We either need a playmaking RW (if Drouin remains on LW) or a gritty LW (Palat). We have the pieces, they're just being used on TKO right now. But Stamkos doesn't need a playmaker on either side. One on the right side will do.

Whatever the case, I pretty much never want to see Flip - Stamkos - Callahan again. That was pretty awful the first time around and wasn't any better last night. I think the best we've seen Stamkos play at ES this year has been with Drouin and Killorn. But it would be nice to get an upgrade on Killorn so he could return to the KFC line. (I don't really mean through trade--I'd like to see someone on the roster fill the role.)

JAM is still putting up points in Syracuse. I wonder if management is giving any thought to giving him a shot in the NHL.

Jonathan Marchessault?

I ended up typing that reply on my phone at first. Didn't mean to say two playmakers, meant a playmaker and a "bruiser". Palat is the perfect example of this, and the two games we saw them together was absolutely beautiful. Constant set ups and tons of shots.