GDT: 11/10/19 Watch Wings vs Knights FREE at nhl.com 5pm EST

No, I agree completely. Hell, I even made two Trade Board threads about it. Nobody seemed to agree.

 

Are you guys this excited for Fabbri over 2 games, or did he look this good in St. Louis too?

Not trying to be a dick about it. I'm just curious. I know how some people tend to get hyperbolic over 2 games.

 

I don’t recall him being super involved in Bowey’s goal, but I’ll take your word for it.

I do know that he had a nice blind pass to Bertuzzi who fed Larkin on the back door on the first powerplay. Had Larkin been able to finish, he would have had an assist on that goal for sure.

 

' and the golden beast lie slain by the deadly mantha ray '

 

Yeah, good analysis.

Seems like he might even have a better shot than Nyquist to me, but I'm only basing that off the couple of games I've seen him in.

 

I watched the highlights again, 2 Vegas players touched the puck before Bowey got it. So it goes unassisted, I don't see the league changing it.

 

It’s okay to be excited about something positive that happened for the team you root for. If you watched the games, and I don’t know if you were able to, you should be able to acknowledge how much different the team has been with his added level of skill.

Like I mentioned earlier in the thread, his passes breaking out of the zone are unlike anyone else we have on the roster. He was going tape to tape with Bertuzzi in stride. The game winning goal, he had the presence of mind to bank the pass behind Mantha to shield the puck from McNabb.

On the powerplay, he is poised and confident with the puck on his stick, and in game 1, we saw his ability to find the soft spots in the PK coverage and finishing ability.

Is it too early to say that he’s going to be a long term piece for this team to build around? Sure. But do we also have the early signs from watching his play that he is a positive impact on the team and has added some much needed offensive prowess? Absolutely.

 

He looked really good before his knee surgeries and was never given a chance after them to get back in the line up. Its a good early sign that hes getting points and his confidence back

 

Mantha has 6 goals and 2 assists through 18 games last year. This year he has 10 goals and 7 assists.

The growth of his game is such a major development for this team.

 

A legit scoring threat outside of the first line does wonders, as does getting some healthy players back on D.

It's just good to see this team fighting again. they've looked so bad for the last month or so.

 

he had 19 points in his first 19 games the year before that. Everyone said he broke out, his teammates called him a superstar (this was after the Calgary brawl game), then he fell off for the rest of the season and didn't even hit 50 points.

 

I just assume your morning coffee is full of Mantha’s piss. You will never accept anything he does as being a positive. Your slant is unreal, and at this point it’s pretty sad.

 

I wonder how much term & $ his next contract will be & if its with us?

With RFA & such a small sample size, I'm thinking ~$1Mx2yrs

 

I've been clamoring for a 2C for months, maybe even back to last season, but now that I feel like Veleno is 2-3yrs away from being that 50pt 2-way 2C, I'm even more on board with it asap. I'd trade Cholo & 2nd + (1-2) B-level prospects for a legit 2C under 25. That offer probably doesn't get it done, but if anybody can, SY can do it.

 

Thoughts on Cholo? To me he’s got a long, long way to go. His skating is average, and he still needs to get a lot stronger. I’m far from convinced about his long term future.

 

He is a strange one because he shows good flashes and then he will have an absolute boneheaded play like the one for their first goal.

He SHOULD be in the AHL this year but our situation on defense means that he has to be up. Indeed I think it is best for him to be up and learning from these kinds of mistakes in what is essentially a situation where we can all accept that they will be made. If he is still making these mistakes two years down the line, then we can be concerned.

 

I think the biggest thing on D is calling up McIlrath instead of Hicketts & Biega. That and getting Green's head on straight. I dunno if he was really sick or got benched, but he needed a couple of games off. He had a couple of absolutely atrocious games in row, and now he's had 2 good games after coming back.

You know I wanted McIlrath on the roster from the start. Yeah he's slow, but man does he ever clear the crease on PKs.

Qualifying offer has to be +10%, so he gets a tad bit more than $1M, probably a 2 way contract so it won't matter if he's in GR.

 

Was today's game a snoozer? 38 combined shots and 5 combined in the whole 2nd period doesn't sound very exciting. Even the highlights didn't show much! That said glad we won and Mantha scored late, nice pass by Fabbri.

 

Yes it was. We just got lucky. Knights does not playing their best lately . Larkin had some horrible moments.

 

This is why I hate this goal! They talk it up like it is among the best goals ever, and while it was an important goal, he scored, then jumped not the other way around, making it an normal goal.

 

It was until midway through the 3rd. Bowey's goal woke the team up, finished hard and got the win they deserved.

Vegas played back to back, they ran outta gas. Subban let in some weak goals, Bernie was solid except on goal #2, but we gotta expect one softie.

 

I mean, he isn't entirely wrong.

I've been a huge fan of Mantha and have been rooting for him since he broke out as a legit scoring threat, but this is not the first time he started the season hot. If he keeps it up, I'll be incredibly happy. If not, then I won't be able to say I am surprised.

Also Fabbri is looking pretty solid so far. Really hoping he can keep it up, because that would be a huge positive for the team.

I do wonder how this game would have went if Subban wasn't in net. I don't understand how that guy gets starts in the NHL.

 

The Bowey goal was really bad for Subban, straight on the ice and to the left of his pad. That has to be stopped at even the AHL level.

 

I like how Mantha using boards. I like Bert more and more

 

Yeah McIlrath isnt great by any stretch at handling the puck, sometimes its like a grenade for him. But he clears the crease like no one else on the team and actually has looked good on the PK. Theres maybe 3 guys in the league at most that would have a decent shot in a fight with him but would arguably be the toughest and the wings suck. I hope when people get healthy he just sticks around as the number 7. He shouldnt be in every single game but hes a nice option to have for the toughness and crease clearing on the PK.

Hes been better than I expected