Speculation: 2023-2024 General Lightning Discussion - Part 3

[Rschmitz]

7 of our final 11 games are at home
2 more games head to head with Toronto
Most of our remaining games are against teams currently outside of the playoff seeding

 

[DFC]

Great road trip. Just need to hold steady now and we are in.

 

[Hockeyville USA]

Great road trip. Just need to hold steady now and we are in.

11 of 12 points in last 6 games. Guys are battling/executing when needed. Love to see it.

 

[LTIR Trickery]

We tended to get a lead and then lock it down all game long.

We didn't even "lock down" we were just better top to bottom until we had to pay guys. We had a kid scoring 20 playing fourth line minutes. We had the puck because we took it. When we took it, we didn't often give it back. At the end of this though I think Days and I are actually on the same page, believe it or not, I think just how we got to our conclusions is a bit different. They wish they had the kind of structure to lock down games like people seem to think they do but what I really see is a mix of forwards and D that still struggle making breakouts/have young kids on D who let themselves get "funneled" into some of these plays, Lilleberg was an example of it last night. They pressed him from the front and had a followup from the side for force him to go up the wall, and he did every time, so the Ducks could try to box the forward just into neutral ice.

My real concern going forward though is the fact that guys like de Haan and Dumba got 21 minutes last night. Yeah, I know, Hedman is out and someone has to eat minutes. I feel like de Haan is far too reliant on going D to D and gets himself in trouble, and Dumba I just don't understand, he is a decent enough skater that I wish he'd use his legs more but he really has some weird, ill advised chips up the wall rather than driving play forward. If they can break him of that habit I think he can be a great reclamation project.

 

[The Gongshow]

Those 2 games against the Leafs could be big.

Gotta keep up this play though. They're playing all around better (except most of the Ducks and Kings games).

Duclair has been a much needed spark to the top 6

 

[Major4Boarding]

Do we really want the third seed though? (Runs for door)

 

[Five Alarm Fire]

Do we really want the third seed though? (Runs for door)

Agreed, we match up better against the Metro teams. Unfortunately we don’t have much control over who finishes #1 in the East so it may not matter.

 

[JoVel]

Do we really want the third seed though? (Runs for door)

If Boston is second, yeah. If Florida, no.

 

[Rschmitz]

99% chance we'll face one of Florida/Boston/NYR/CAR

Seeding is too close to figure out beyond that and likely to stay that way until last 2-3 games

 

[Hockeyville USA]

Assuming we make the playoffs, interested to see how the defense core does going back for pucks in their own zone with teams aggressively forechecking every shift. It's an adventure every time we see it, getting it out of the zone is a hard task quite often. If the D continues to flub stuff up/get pinned, then we're looking at any early exit most likely (unless Big Cat and Kuch go beast mode for an entire round).

 

[RussianGuyovich]

Lmao buffalo

 

[The Macho King]

Half the league (and for a large chunk of that time period *more* than half the league) makes the playoffs every year.

How bad has it gone if you've missed 13 straight coin flips?

 

[Hockeyville USA]

Half the league (and for a large chunk of that time period *more* than half the league) makes the playoffs every year.

How bad has it gone if you've missed 13 straight coin flips?

It all dates back to Summer 2007: Buffalo is coming off of two straight Conference Final appearances that ended in heartbreak. Chris Drury and Daniel Briere are UFAs, Buffalo prioritized Drury, which pissed off Briere, who was already fairly likely to go elsewhere, and he signed with the Flyers. Drury, a Trumbull Connecticut (closer to NYC) native, was then offered the same deal the Sabres offered by his childhood team, the New York Rangers, he signs with them, and then the Sabres are left with egg on their face. Sabres struggle the next year, trade pending UFA Brian Campbell to the Sharks for a 1st (became Tyler Ennis) and Steve Bernier at the deadline. Mediocre 2008 and 2009 campaigns lead to playoff misses, 2010 and 2011 playoff appearances are reached on the backs of Ryan Miller, Jason Pominville, Derek Roy, and Thomas Vanek. Terrible Leino and Ehrhoff overpay contracts are then made in 2011. They barely miss in 2012, are slightly below average in the lockout shortened 2013 season, trade Pominville to the Wild at the 2013 deadline, Roy signs with St Louis in summer 2013, team falls off a cliff & blows it up in 2014, trading Vanek to the Islanders, Miller to the Blues, officially starting the rebuild.

Since then, it's been a full youth movement, Eichel drama, cancerous dressing room, not good enough goaltending/defense, carousel of coaches & GMs, meddling ownership, mostly poor drafting until 2017 or 2018, not enough quality veterans recently, and the obvious inability to get quality UFAs to sign there because Buffalo is in high tax New York, but far smaller and boring than NYC.

I feel like that explains most of it.

 

[RussianGuyovich]

Half the league (and for a large chunk of that time period *more* than half the league) makes the playoffs every year.

How bad has it gone if you've missed 13 straight coin flips?

dont forget the 2020 bubble!

 

[Sky04]

Half the league (and for a large chunk of that time period *more* than half the league) makes the playoffs every year.

How bad has it gone if you've missed 13 straight coin flips?

They'll take a step next year

It's different this year

You haven't watched them this year

 

[Wester]

View attachment 841698


Lmao buffalo

I would laugh at buffalo, but than I remind myself that i'm also a New York Jets fan

 

[JoVel]

You can always laugh at Buffalo. Lmao Buffalo.

 

[barriers]

 

[These Are The Days]

I'm convinced Coop will never ever ever ever split Cirelli from Stamkos again. EVAAARRRRR

 

[RussianGuyovich]

damn, sheary got chaffee'd

 

[Sky04]

I'm convinced Coop will never ever ever ever split Cirelli from Stamkos again. EVAAARRRRR

What's the alternative? Ruin the top line? Play him with Eyssimont and Chaffee? Form the worst defensive duo in the league with Paul?

 

[DistantThunderRep]

Sheary is going to run over someone with his car on the way to the game to get back in the lineup.

 

[RussianGuyovich]

Sheary is going to run over someone with his car on the way to the game to get back in the lineup.

he'd miss

 

[Stammertime91]

You can always laugh at Buffalo. Lmao Buffalo.

 

[Rschmitz]

Buffalo fans when they were winning were amongst the most obnoxious fans ever to grace the Ice Palace, I'm completely happy with them continuing to wallow about in the dirt