You admitted to having watched your first SCF game this year when Vegas kept one upping them and came back in game 1. They also held their own and if it wasn't for that ridiculous save by Holtby late in game 2, it could've gone into OT. Tonight was a mirror image of what we did against them, and that's the one you tuned in for.
We are absolutely built to win it all, vs this game style or not, but we aren't led by a staff that knows how to adjust. Game 1 against Boston was bad. Game 2, Cooper made some adjustments, Bowness primarily on handling the rest of the series and tightening the blue line and we won 4 games in a row. I gave them credit then, I'll give them credit now. There were two noticeable adjustments all series long from my eyes. A forward high and in game 2 or 3, we started sending pucks Hail Mary style through the neutral zone and it completely negated their trap and stacked blue line. We stopped doing it because it must have been too ugly or too effective. We would have had a better chance air mailing pucks from zone to zone rather than trying to pass through a line of red jerseys at the blue line and then hanging a forward high just to forecheck? It's completely asinine to even bring a forward up.that high. It went from situational 3Fv2D to two of our guys taking on their defenseman while guys like Beagle, Eller, Backstrom just have to block one shot. And that's what happened. In any league, in any country, and in any situation that is completely ineffective. Bring a guy to the circle for tip ins or a quick shot moving down but why you would bring a forward up to your blue line is completely ridiculous. Said it then and I'll say it again, that was a white flag in my eyes from Cooper. He had no idea nor did he have any resolve on how to breach them.
His own words of "it's their time. Not ours." are a really good representation of how he approached that game 7. Words of recognizing you were defeated, a game plan setting yourself up for defeat and it all resulted in defeat.
Kucherov turned into a puppy. So did everybody not named Vasilevskiy. They all went to dog crap. All of them. I think you are really high on what they've done lately because for 13 years Ovechkin couldn't handle the pressure and "get it done." Nor could Backstrom. Or Holtby. The list goes on. (Albeit Ovechkin has great playoff numbers and doesn't deserve the flak he's gotten in the past.)
When you lose an ECF after being up 3-2 TWICE, I don't think it's on the construction of this team. Sure personnel like 91, 86, 77 can be miles better, but this is a Cooper led team and it's a Cooper style of hockey. A style that involves minimal changes. I think Yzerman has put together the best team in the league and a coach like Mike Sullivan would get this team into the SCF - with ease. Gallant as well. Trotz would probably even have put up a better fight - as a team and not just our goalie - in a best of 7.
I bolded the major talking points
1. Our big adjustment was dumping Miller off the Stamkos line and staying with the Point vs Bergeron matchup. Our D tightened up because the Bruins rarely had quality offensive chances against that line because they were negated by the forecheck of the Point line. You can't counter attack if you don't have the puck much. I could not have been more wrong about the way it played out. The Bergeron line dropped 11 points on us and I thought that was the end. Turned out we were rusty.
2. And the Capitals were sufficiently able to negate us after game 3 while we still attempted them. Failure to execute this goes up and down the line, perhaps none more notably by the Point line that was suffocated. The only people who stopped Hail Mary's were the speedy ones who would have rather taken their chances to try to get behind the defense instead of footraces to the wall. Pick your poison. This is the whole reason Trotz was hired to begin with
3. Let's just skip to #4 here it'll kill 2 birds with one stone
4. Again, who was gonna make that shot for a tip on? Coburn? Girardi? When? As they were backing up as not to get caught flat footed while their shots got blocked by the first person in front of them? They can't f***ing skate sideways and open a shooting lane. Who else? Stralman? The guy who manages to bobble it BACKWARDS every time he handles it? Hedman? The guy who shoots wide 9 out of every 10 shots? All you have left is the seldom effective McDonagh and a Sergachev who is too young to play the 20+ minutes required for that adjustment to work. Pray tell who was gonna tip that in? Callahan? Kunitz? Again.... Cooper did the only rational thing left with that maneuver and with any luck at all we score twice in game 7. We had chance after chance after chance when it was 1-0 whether anyone wants to admit it or not. It only makes sense to assign a forward to shoot from up high. It didn't work but it was helping at least marginally as opposed to game 6 where our players would've had better luck arguing with a brick wall. If you don't agree then it is what it is. I see a Lightning team with fantastic forwards and a defense that lacks fundamental hockey skills that cannot be cured by coaching. Cooper isn't gonna clap his hands and suddenly our defense can fluidly cycle. No. His ass is gonna stand there like the stone he is and pray he doesn't get caught flat footed. That's the whole reason why we put a forward up high and put a defenseman on the circle during the cycle.
I'm pissed too and I know why you are. But I'm not surprised this happened. Our defense is not versatile compared to other playoff rosters. Teams like the Penguins can get away with having defenders who aren't as good at defending because they have guys like Schultz and Letang who can shoot the daylights out of anyone and are fluid skaters. We have Hedman who shoots wide almost every time and a rookie who isn't ready for big boy minutes. No matter what way you slice it Sullivan is afforded a luxury that we do not have.
Not to play you a fool but do you seriously think I'd be saying all this if I genuinely thought we had a way to win this?
5. "It was their time" was in reference in how we couldn't catch a break. Watch game 7 over and you tell me we didn't deserve at least a tie. Any luck and it's 2-1 Lightning by the 2nd period. Otherwise it's a blanket statement by Cooper.
6. Point and Cirelli were phenomenal what are you talking about? The only time it went to dog shit was around the time Burakovsky put the game out of reach. The Lightning knew they weren't coming back.
7. Understatement of the century. Let's cite Pittsburgh again. How many bad nights do Crosby and Malkin have when Sullivan needs them the most? This is the 3rd time in 4 years our top guns fell silent while other players were better than them. Cooper has us playing the most favorable style of hockey this team can play. Detroit game 7, NYR game 7, PIT game 7, WAS game 7. Absolutely nadda for 4 years from both players while still we managed to win half those games. How is Cooper supposed to win if he can count on is goose eggs from his 2 most important players when it's game 7 time? I'm sorry but I'm not sold on Kucherov and Stamkos. I see guys like Point and Cirelli and see a killer instinct and craving for pressure that both men do not possess. Cooper trudged them out with every chance to succeed and they didn't.
I hope this series was a massive wake up call to everyone. Even Yzerman. In today's NHL you need players who can do it all not just a team full of would-be mini Yzermans and a Killorn and Callahan at forward and a defense whose greatest mobility is on the backcheck instead of with the puck on their stick. Cooper got a massive shot across the bow last year and it paid dividends to the best season we've ever had. If we're lucky it's a Cup next year.