2018-2019 Regular Season Discussion: Part III

[LT]

Continue.

Click to read more...

 

[Kalamazoo Wings]

You notice how every team right around the Stars has shown they're capable of a good surge late in the game. Minnesota just did it to the Jets, Yotes last win was come from behind, Hawks just did it to the Ducks and even the Canucks did it to the Avs tonight. Does anyone who follows the Stars believe this team is capable of a late 3rd period push to salvage or even steal a game? I know that I don't believe they can do it. If we're down in the 3rd it's a loss, no points at all. They've had nothing late in games, no push back, it's always hang on mode in the 3rd. It's pathetic to watch, but I wouldn't be surprised if the Stars don't even get back in to a playoff spot in the final 19 games. If they lose to the Kings they're in free fall mode IMO.

 

[Kcb12345]

You notice how every team right around the Stars has shown they're capable of a good surge late in the game. Minnesota just did it to the Jets, Yotes last win was come from behind, Hawks just did it to the Ducks and even the Canucks did it to the Avs tonight. Does anyone who follows the Stars believe this team is capable of a late 3rd period push to salvage or even steal a game? I know that I don't believe they can do it. They've had nothing late in games, no push back, it's always hang on mode in the 3rd. It's pathetic to watch, but I wouldn't be surprised if the Stars don't even get back in to a playoff spot in the final 19 games. If they lose to the Kings they're in free fall mode IMO.

Agree 100%. Its sad when it's to the point where we can go into every game and be surprised if the Stars actually score a goal.

Monty has been sending subtle hints to Nill all season long that we need more scoring. I specifically remember one example of him saying something like "It's hard for us to come back in games. We fall down even by 1 and we've noticed all season long that it's very difficult for us to come back from that and we never really recover"

Not his exact quote but it's what he was saying/meant. When your coach complains that you have trouble scoring even 1 goal, there's a serious problem

 

[Kalamazoo Wings]

I hear ya KCB, it's like the playoff push has come and all other teams have shown an urgency in their play, a desperation that is generating points for them.

The Stars try to make a late push, the goalie comes out and it's automatically an empty netter. A lot of that is on Monty though. It's just sickening to watch other teams push and push and comeback and we know it's clearly something the Stars are incapable of.

 

[Ragernschnapple]

I’d love to see a 2nd line of Hintz-L’Esperance-Gurianov, but our jack*** coach doesn’t want the young guys scoring goals. Gotta give up 40+ shots a game, and somehow win 2-1. Monty’s an Idiot!

 

[Kcb12345]

I hear ya KCB, it's like the playoff push has come and all other teams have shown an urgency in their play, a desperation that is generating points for them.

The Stars try to make a late push, the goalie comes out and it's automatically an empty netter. A lot of that is on Monty though. It's just sickening to watch other teams push and push and comeback and we know it's clearly something the Stars are incapable of.

To go along with that, I'm not sure Monty has used his timeout at all this season. The team could be getting dominated in every area of the game and he doesn't even try to stop the opponents momentum or anything he just let's his guys go until they finally break.

It's almost like the Stars just expect to make the playoffs for some reason just because they're in a playoff spot for a while...at least that's the impression I get from their effort late in games or when they need a goal

 

[serp]

Monty needs stop to try to make a offensive 5on5 line with SPezza happen . Its just not going to. Outside the powerplay Spezza is really bad now. ALso Ritchie really needs to sit togethert with Val now that we have two AHL offensive guys up. Try to get the offensively skilled rookies going instead of players like Comeau where its just not gonna happen.

 

[Kcb12345]

Something else that's frustrating, is Josh and Razor spend so much time talking about how the Stars rarely get on the powerplay, but if they're stuck in their own zone constantly and never applying consistent pressure offensively, of course they aren't going to see much PP time. Not to mention we almost never see odd man rushes. This teams goal when they hit the ice seems to be to only prevent the other team from scoring, dump it in, allow a clean exit by the opponent because of a pathetic forecheck, and then rinse and repeat. They don't seem to ever go out for a shift and be determined to score a goal unless they're down late in the 3rd and about to pull the goalie (and we know how that goes). It's always defense first and defense only. If they successfully get out of their own end and dump the puck in to get a line change, that's considered a successful shift under Monty nowadays. Very rarely do we see a pushback from the Stars. Occassionally we get lucky and see Hintz or Gurianov get a chance because of their speed or someone else take a shot from the blue line and force a faceoff (I'd say probably at least 70% of our shots are like this and not dangerous at all), or maybe a dman comes up and gets a good look. That's it.

 

[serp]

Stars still play the Avs twice at home Minny twice and the Hawks and the Canucks twice ( all three one home and one road ) . Those are the games where the playoffs will be decided

 

[JesusNPucks]

Stars still play the Avs twice at home Minny twice and the Hawks and the Canucks twice ( all three one home and one road ) . Those are the games where the playoffs will be decided

Indeed, well said. Win those games and the Stars deserve to be in. Otherwise, they don’t. Simple as that.

 

[ItsBennGreat]

I really hope Jamie rests tonight and not play against the Kings because we need him or all warm bodies ready to go against the Blues.
Like yeh, we need to win the game against the Kings to get points back into the wildcard but really, a hurt Jamie doesn't help us all that much and I rather him not hurt himself more and we're screwed for March.

 

[LT]

Something else that's frustrating, is Josh and Razor spend so much time talking about how the Stars rarely get on the powerplay, but if they're stuck in their own zone constantly and never applying consistent pressure offensively, of course they aren't going to see much PP time. Not to mention we almost never see odd man rushes. This teams goal when they hit the ice seems to be to only prevent the other team from scoring, dump it in, allow a clean exit by the opponent because of a pathetic forecheck, and then rinse and repeat. They don't seem to ever go out for a shift and be determined to score a goal unless they're down late in the 3rd and about to pull the goalie (and we know how that goes). It's always defense first and defense only. If they successfully get out of their own end and dump the puck in to get a line change, that's considered a successful shift under Monty nowadays. Very rarely do we see a pushback from the Stars. Occassionally we get lucky and see Hintz or Gurianov get a chance because of their speed or someone else take a shot from the blue line and force a faceoff (I'd say probably at least 70% of our shots are like this and not dangerous at all), or maybe a dman comes up and gets a good look. That's it.

There is no breakout, it's just dump the puck up the ice and chase it. It's a tactic that works decently in youth hockey, but is quickly shut down at any organized level.

 

[serp]

There is no breakout, it's just dump the puck up the ice and chase it. It's a tactic that works decently in youth hockey, but is quickly shut down at any organized level.

I mean it depends who is on the ice . There is too much dump and chase i agree but there are breakouts when the personal that can handle it is one the ice. Sadly there aren't many of those players on the roster.

 

[BfantZ]

Something else that's frustrating, is Josh and Razor spend so much time talking about how the Stars rarely get on the powerplay, but if they're stuck in their own zone constantly and never applying consistent pressure offensively, of course they aren't going to see much PP time. Not to mention we almost never see odd man rushes. This teams goal when they hit the ice seems to be to only prevent the other team from scoring, dump it in, allow a clean exit by the opponent because of a pathetic forecheck, and then rinse and repeat. They don't seem to ever go out for a shift and be determined to score a goal unless they're down late in the 3rd and about to pull the goalie (and we know how that goes). It's always defense first and defense only. If they successfully get out of their own end and dump the puck in to get a line change, that's considered a successful shift under Monty nowadays. Very rarely do we see a pushback from the Stars. Occassionally we get lucky and see Hintz or Gurianov get a chance because of their speed or someone else take a shot from the blue line and force a faceoff (I'd say probably at least 70% of our shots are like this and not dangerous at all), or maybe a dman comes up and gets a good look. That's it.

That was the biggest difference when they went on that 5 game win streak . They were spending time in the opponents end and drawing penalty’s over and over . That was the only period during the season where they were having full minute shifts back to back in the other teams end . I think a big part of that was the lines being switched to benn-faksa-comeau , hintz/janmark -seguin -radulov but when comeau got hurt he switched up the lines and that’s when the winning streak turned into a losing streak . He had that line back together basically against Chicago but with Zuccarello in comeaus spot and we looked good again . But now of course benn and Zuccarello are injured so we might just be screwed .

 

[LT]

I mean it depends who is on the ice . There is too much dump and chase i agree but there are breakouts when the personal that can handle it is one the ice. Sadly there aren't many of those players on the roster.

The only time I see it with any consistency is on the PP. Even then the only things that work are the drop pass and simply having Klingberg, Heiskanen, or Spezza skate the puck into the zone and distribute it from there. Neither of those are reliable, especially at ES.

 

[LT]

That was the biggest difference when they went on that 5 game win streak . They were spending time in the opponents end and drawing penalty’s over and over . That was the only period during the season where they were having full minute shifts back to back in the other teams end . I think a big part of that was the lines being switched to benn-faksa-comeau , hintz/janmark -seguin -radulov but when comeau got hurt he switched up the lines and that’s when the winning streak turned into a losing streak . He had that line back together basically against Chicago but with Zuccarello in comeaus spot and we looked good again . But now of course benn and Zuccarello are injured so we might just be screwed .

I think a big part of it was having 4 of those 5 games be at home.

 

[FirstRowUpperDeck]

The Stars have certainly had their scoring surges. I expect perhaps one will eventually come near the end of the game. Hope so anyway.
Had to laugh when Razor mentioned the other night that they scored "the all important first goal" when its clear that its the entire 60 minutes that determins the outcome.

Overall, its either talent, desire or maybe conditioning (Knights had more rest) that keeps the Stars down when other teams rise in the later season games. Never forget the Gretsky story of going by the winners locker room and seeing how hurt they were and they still won. Stars still, after a decade, need to learn how to win enough in big games just to get to the post season. After that, they can start learning how to win playoff series. Sad, but true.

 

[serp]

The Stars have certainly had their scoring surges. I expect perhaps one will eventually come near the end of the game. Hope so anyway.
Had to laugh when Razor mentioned the other night that they scored "the all important first goal" when its clear that its the entire 60 minutes that determins the outcome.

Overall, its either talent, desire or maybe conditioning (Knights had more rest) that keeps the Stars down when other teams rise in the later season games. Never forget the Gretsky story of going by the winners locker room and seeing how hurt they were and they still won. Stars still, after a decade, need to learn how to win enough in big games just to get to the post season. After that, they can start learning how to win playoff series. Sad, but true.

Stars are like 4-20-5 when the opponent scores first so it is important because if the Stars don't score first they don't win.

 

[BfantZ]

I think a big part of it was having 4 of those 5 games be at home.

That’s a good point . They have looked like shit at home lately too though . They just don’t beileve in themselves . You could see when Zuccarello was playing how the team was playing with more confidence like they believed they were a good team now .

 

[FirstRowUpperDeck]

Stars are like 4-20-5 when the opponent scores first so it is important because if the Stars don't score first they don't win.

Yes, but not all important, as the results of the LV game prove. My point is sort of related to the idea that somehow, the Stars expect to win when certain things happen, expect to make the playoffs when not trying as hard as other teams, etc. Basically, they need to play harder and smarter from here on out or theh won't win over half their games, which a few games ago, was about what we anticipated they would need to keep playoff position.

I think we all feel the same way, although a win tonight will give us some relief, and a loss will add to our sorrow and sleep loss (tonight if we stay up to watch, tomorrow if we just read about it after)

 

[FirstRowUpperDeck]

That’s a good point . They have looked like **** at home lately too though . They just don’t beileve in themselves . You could see when Zuccarello was playing how the team was playing with more confidence like they believed they were a good team now .

What, if anything, does it say when the guys play better to impress the new guy? Sort of like buying flowers for the wife because the guy next door does it, you can step up your game but won't unless someone shows you up?

 

[BfantZ]

What, if anything, does it say when the guys play better to impress the new guy? Sort of like buying flowers for the wife because the guy next door does it, you can step up your game but won't unless someone shows you up?

Yea a combination of that and the top players having a little bit of pressure taken off knowing that there’s another guy who can create offense.

 

[FirstRowUpperDeck]

I wouldn't characterize it that nicely.

 

[Troy McClure]

Jim Nill was on with Bob and Dan today. He really said nothing special beyond making it clear how he blames injuries for a lot but still thinks this is a good team. When asked about why they aren't scoring, he rambled for 90 seconds about the defense and goaltending before saying Radulov was the only forward he can identify as having a breakout or All Star kind of season.

 

[LT]

Jim Nill was on with Bob and Dan today. He really said nothing special beyond making it clear how he blames injuries for a lot but still thinks this is a good team. When asked about why they aren't scoring, he rambled for 90 seconds about the defense and goaltending before saying Radulov was the only forward he can identify as having a breakout or All Star kind of season.

I really, really hope this is just lip service from Nill.