GDT: 151110 Islanders @ Sharks CSNCA 7:30

[tahoesharksfan]

Going to be interesting to see how the time/lines are divided up with the Milkman back on the ice...

Good Guys 3/2
Donskoi/Burns/Wingels
Tavares/Okposo

 

[Alwalys]

sharks 3 isles 0
burns donskoi pavelski

regarding vlasic on the pp. there might be some hope of developing more of his offensive game by putting him in a position where he has more time to operate. remember he did put up a lot of points in juniors.

 

[Grave]

Is this an Islander killing a Shark? Well I guess that's appropriate but do you really have to post it before they play?

 

[sr228]

The PP was perfectly fine until Couture went down. That number one unit is so unconscious that having a new member completely throws them off.

Also there's that matter of Vlasic being in it.

But yeah, I wiuld say that the majority of the Sharks' issues are special teams. At 5v5 the top-6 is great, and the other two lines will be when Logan gets back.

There are fundamental issues on the PP beyond losing Couture but ya, ST haven't been good.

I agree the top 6 have been good at evens for the most part but I'm not nearly as optimistic as you that the bottom 6 will be great once he's back considering the play of Wingels, Tierney & Brown. They'll certainly be better but those 3 are likely to be staples in the line up (maybe that changes if Torres comes back) and they're a concern of mine.

Anyway, on the game tonight...I'm guessing since Martin is playing the Sharks will probably dress Haley but hopefully he finds a permanent seat in the press box with Goldobin on the roster now.

The Islanders have been struggling lately but they have a very strong roster. It'll be interesting to see which team comes out ready to play as both clubs tend to get off to slow starts.

 

[Alwalys]

There are fundamental issues on the PP beyond losing Couture but ya, ST haven't been good.

Are there really? Couture changes almost everything.

I agree the top 6 have been good at evens for the most part but I'm not nearly as optimistic as you that the bottom 6 will be great once he's back considering the play of Wingels, Tierney & Brown. They'll certainly be better but those 3 are likely to be staples in the line up (maybe that changes if Torres comes back) and they're a concern of mine.

Well with those guys on the 4th line, and please god mike brown sitting in favor of someone like nieto or karlsson or even barclay.

 

[nerdybeard]

4-2 Isles

Tavares, Okposo, Leddy, Bailey
Pavelski, Wingels

 

[sr228]

Are there really? Couture changes almost everything.


Well with those guys on the 4th line, and please god mike brown sitting in favor of someone like nieto or karlsson or even barclay.

Couture alone doesn't make a PP go from top 5 to worst in the league. While the Sharks have been a bit unlucky on the PP they aren't really generating a a lot of chances (good ones or otherwise) considering the personnel they do have.

If Wingels end up on the 4th line and Brown out of the lineup I'll agree the bottom 6 should be very good but I'm highly skeptical of either of those things happening even with Smith and Couture back.

 

[209]

SNOG 4-1

Wardo, Pavs, Burnzie, Tennyson
Pelech

 

[hockeyball]

Couture alone doesn't make a PP go from top 5 to worst in the league. While the Sharks have been a bit unlucky on the PP they aren't really generating a a lot of chances (good ones or otherwise) considering the personnel they do have.

If Wingels end up on the 4th line and Brown out of the lineup I'll agree the bottom 6 should be very good but I'm highly skeptical of either of those things happening even with Smith and Couture back.

Yah, I've just quit arguing with this Couture insanity. Guys around here treat him like he's freaking Crosby. He's good, great even, but he is not the primary reason for this teams terrible play. We have a very, very, serious problem and may very well not make the playoffs if this continues. DoBoer has been worse than I expected, the defense is even less effective than I predicted, and somehow we still seem to be only able to ice one effective line a night with our forwards. If we don't make the playoffs, without a 1st round pick, you are literally looking at the worst case scenario for this team.

This is a team that is barely treading water and statistically looks like it's about to sink to the bottom. We are not going in the right direction, and I think if this continues for another months or so Wilson will get the axe, and possibly Doboer with him.

 

[Timo Time]

SNOG 3-0 Sharks
Pavs, Hertl, Wingels

 

[LadyStanley]

Greiss starting. And another former Shark, Steve Benier, is also on the team.

 

[hohosaregood]

I'm gonna hope these are the lines:
Donskoi-Thornton-Pavelski
Marleau-Hertl-Ward
Nieto-Karlsson-Wingels
Haley-Tierney-Goldobin

Seeing as how Brown sucks and can't fight, I don't really see any reason at all to be in the line since he can't do his job either way and we know there's gonna be a face puncher.

 

[Painful Quandary]

I'm gonna hope these are the lines:
Donskoi-Thornton-Pavelski
Marleau-Hertl-Ward
Nieto-Karlsson-Wingels
Haley-Tierney-Goldobin

Seeing as how Brown sucks and can't fight, I don't really see any reason at all to be in the line since he can't do his job either way and we know there's gonna be a face puncher.

Would prefer seeing Karlsson reunited with the Joes TBH. But good point about Brown; if he can't fight, then Haley should get to play instead.

 

[Anomie2029]

Sharks are doomed. Islanders playing the back up, and they've been struggling to score lately.

Islanders 5 (Tavares, Okposo, Nielson, Kuleman, Boychuk)
Sharks 1 (Pavelski)

 

[CrypTic]

Yah, I've just quit arguing with this Couture insanity. Guys around here treat him like he's freaking Crosby. He's good, great even, but he is not the primary reason for this teams terrible play. We have a very, very, serious problem and may very well not make the playoffs if this continues. DoBoer has been worse than I expected, the defense is even less effective than I predicted, and somehow we still seem to be only able to ice one effective line a night with our forwards. If we don't make the playoffs, without a 1st round pick, you are literally looking at the worst case scenario for this team.

This is a team that is barely treading water and statistically looks like it's about to sink to the bottom. We are not going in the right direction, and I think if this continues for another months or so Wilson will get the axe, and possibly Doboer with him.

To be fair, only a couple of posters are saying that Couture's return will change everything for the team. Most posters thought it was a combination of several injuries, some questionable roster/lineup decisions, poor ST (which was only partly bc of Couture), and inconsistent play. Now that Karlsson is back, only Smith, Torres, and Couture are out. Let's see how the team does with only Couture as a big missing piece.

I agree with you that Couture's absence doesn't explain the inconsistency in the play of the top two lines. Sure, Couture may help the second line but how is he going to help the first line? He'll undoubtedly help the PP1 and PK but why is Vlasic playing on PP1 now? Why isn't DeBoer using better options? Why did he ice Brown and Haley?

Karlsson's return may help the first line and maybe Donskoi or Karlsson will help the third line but only if the other players step up as well. (I realize that having a better winger/center is likely to help whomever else is playing on that line but you still can't have an anchor there dragging the line down if you want to be effective.)

I want to see how the team does with Karlsson back. If they are much better, I think that's a very good sign. At the same time, I think that there are real problems that have come out in the games since Martin and Donskoi have returned. Other teams deal with injuries to major players. If the Sharks hope to be competitive, they need to be able to do so as well.

 

[weastern bias]

Seeing as how Brown sucks and can't fight

I'm assuming you're referencing the cage, otherwise this is just silly

 

[Coily]

Wonder if the Powerplay will score.

 

[LadyStanley]

Wonder if the Powerplay will score.

No home PPGs yet this season.

 

[Alwalys]

Yah, I've just quit arguing with this Couture insanity. Guys around here treat him like he's freaking Crosby. He's good, great even, but he is not the primary reason for this teams terrible play.

No one treats him like he's Crosby. Crosby isn't one of the top PK forwards on the team or one of the best shotblocking forwards in the league.

Too many people don't understand just how much Couture is worth to the team. His loss makes us significantly worse in ALL phases of the game, something that can't even be said about Crosby.

To be fair, only a couple of posters are saying that Couture's return will change everything for the team.

That's not a good thing, every poster should understand it because it's literally true.

Other teams deal with injuries to major players. If the Sharks hope to be competitive, they need to be able to do so as well.

The teams I can see that are dealing with injuries of comparable severity are Florida (Barkov), Buffalo (Kane), and Chicago (Keith). None are doing substantially better than the Sharks. Yes, even the Hawks.

In this league, you lose a player of that level, you are lucky to tread water.

 

[Mafoofoo]

No home PPGs yet this season.

The universe dictates that to even it out in the playoffs our poweplay will be 88.1%.


Also oh **** was tonight the Thornton poster night? Nooo

 

[Pavelski2112]

If not anything else, losing Couture throws off the chemistry of that top PP unit, which has been the same for a number of years now. It's hard to just throw someone in there and expect it to work.

The issue here isn't necessarily how good Couture is. It's how him being in the lineup puts everything into place.

 

[sr228]

If not anything else, losing Couture throws off the chemistry of that top PP unit, which has been the same for a number of years now. It's hard to just throw someone in there and expect it to work.

The issue here isn't necessarily how good Couture is. It's how him being in the lineup puts everything into place.

That I agree with. He can definitely make a sizable impact in every facet of the game and will move guys to more suitable roles.

I just don't think the way the team has played over the last 11-12 games is 100% due to missing Couture (or some other injuries). There seems to be some questionable coaching decisions and a few guys that are struggling horribly.

 

[hockeyball]

No one treats him like he's Crosby. Crosby isn't one of the top PK forwards on the team or one of the best shotblocking forwards in the league.

Too many people don't understand just how much Couture is worth to the team. His loss makes us significantly worse in ALL phases of the game, something that can't even be said about Crosby.

My bad, Couture is better than Crosby now... right. I think you completely missed the point. No team should be that reliant on one player, period, and if they are, that teams is doomed anyway. Not that I believe the Sharks ARE that reliant on Couture, they are not, they are just playing terrible hockey and they would be doing so with or without Couture.

At best Couture would mask a bit of the system issues with his talent, but that is not in anyway a solution, that's how you end up limping your way into the playoffs only to get blown out against the first real team you face.

Couture is not the difference between a top-10 power play and the WORST power play in the league. He only plays on one unit... He's also not the difference between a top-10 PK and nearly the worst PK in the league. He can only play one shift per powerplay...

He's also not the difference on the first line, because he's not on the first line. And he's not the difference on defense, because he isn't a defensemen. So at most, he could be causing a problem for the 2nd/3rd/4th lines. Well the 4th line is not going to put up many points anyway, so now we are at most having a significant impact on the 2nd and 3rd lines. Well the 2nd line is probably our best line right now... so basically you are pinning the entire teams terribly play on the 3rd line sucking?

I think you are reaching, incredibly. The team sucks, it sucks worse for Couture being out, but it would still suck with him back.

That I agree with. He can definitely make a sizable impact in every facet of the game and will move guys to more suitable roles.

I just don't think the way the team has played over the last 11-12 games is 100% due to missing Couture (or some other injuries). There seems to be some questionable coaching decisions and a few guys that are struggling horribly.

yup.

 

[Quid Pro Clowe]

http://tealpuck.com/2015/11/sharks-vs-islanders-151110/

Sharks and Islanders are both looking to break two-game losing streaks.

Sharks have only lost their last game. They beat the Panthers 5-2 before that.

 

[spintops]

Yah, I've just quit arguing with this Couture insanity. Guys around here treat him like he's freaking Crosby. He's good, great even, but he is not the primary reason for this teams terrible play. We have a very, very, serious problem and may very well not make the playoffs if this continues. DoBoer has been worse than I expected, the defense is even less effective than I predicted, and somehow we still seem to be only able to ice one effective line a night with our forwards. If we don't make the playoffs, without a 1st round pick, you are literally looking at the worst case scenario for this team.

This is a team that is barely treading water and statistically looks like it's about to sink to the bottom. We are not going in the right direction, and I think if this continues for another months or so Wilson will get the axe, and possibly Doboer with him.

It's not just Couture's impact on the game, it's everyone else being moved into a better position. Like a impact hitter being added to a lineup in baseball and everyone else gets moved into better spots "lengthening" the entire lineup.

The 2nd line gets better when Couture comes back, the third line gets better with Hertl moved back down, the 4th line hopefully gets better with Tierney there. You also get the top PK'er on the team and the full PP unit back in tact.

This team was 24th in the league in 5v5 play last year, behind bad teams like NJ and Philly. This year with key injuries the Sharks are 8th best in the league at evens. I am oddly optimistic that this is still a good playoff team because I can't see the PP unit staying at the bottom of the league all year. If it does anything like it has in the past while the team continues to play solid at 5v5 the team should be fine.