GDT: 3/3/20 - 7:30PM EDT - Boston vs Tampa Bay

[Master P]

How has our team lost 5 of the last 6?? Is it Coop??

Its a long season. Plenty of things can happen.
Plenty of time left as well. Just enjoy the games as they come

 

[Coopers Gum]

Holy f*** people, I come here to talk hockey, not read about people constantly bashing other posters. I get enough drama working in a middle school for Christ’s sake. Relax.

 

[Hoek]

Roster is too in flux with injuries and acquisitions to draw any major conclusions from this still, imo.

 

[The Gongshow]

I missed the first half but the last 10 mins of the 2nd and the 3rd we looked all over them. I'm honestly not mad about that loss. It was a good game. We looked pretty good and had a lot of time in their zone and had some good chances.

 

[BoltsOfAnarchy]

?
I've criticized kuch plenty before. I got flak for saying he doesn't back check or fight for the puck hard enough. The teams issue (still) seems to be that they can't put together a full 60 min effort. Maybe i'm wrong.
As for my "positivity" I guess I just like to look at the bright side of things. There is still time before the playoffs start and thats all that matters.

Here’s the deal... I’ve been watching this team since 94 when I was a young pup. Saw ALOT of bad hockey over the years, embarrassments yearly. But I’ve always been there. They are my team bottom line and the reason I got into hockey in the first place. And it was so sweet to finally build a team up that achieved a Cup championship. It means so much more to win it all when you’ve gone thru the years of agony.

Fast forward...And yes we’ve all probably become spoiled ever since Vinik took over & the team became yearly contenders. It’s been amazing to see & have a team that you know is gonna win most nights rather than having Peter Bondra drop 4 goals every time as you get embarrassed. But it feels we have hit a wall with this group, and as much as we keep trucking on & supprting them, it’s become so frustrating to watch the same inconsistent, half ass efforts & mentally fragile team that leads to the same playoff defeats.

Bottom line I’ll always cheer these guys on. I think we all see what could have & should have been already, but for some combination of the same reasons it’s been holding us back. And although I’ll always tune in, lately their play has become somewhat unenjoyable to watch. This team is like a family member you love no matter what, but watching them make the same mistakes with bad women, money & drugs really makes you want to smack the crap out of them so they wake up!

The end,

 

[T REX]

Boston was protecting their lead. Their forecheck in periods 1 and 2 owned us. This was a really bad game.

 

[longtime lurker]

Boston was protecting their lead. Their forecheck in periods 1 and 2 owned us. This was a really bad game.

I thought it was due to fatigue, especially since Boston kept such a high pace for the first half of the game. But if what you are saying is the more accurate analysis, then that kind of favors Tampa too.

If Boston thinks they can just indefinitely sit on 1 goal leads against Tampa, it probably won't go well for them, over the course of a long series.

 

[Master P]

Here’s the deal... I’ve been watching this team since 94 when I was a young pup. Saw ALOT of bad hockey over the years, embarrassments yearly. But I’ve always been there. They are my team bottom line and the reason I got into hockey in the first place. And it was so sweet to finally build a team up that achieved a Cup championship. It means so much more to win it all when you’ve gone thru the years of agony.

Fast forward...And yes we’ve all probably become spoiled ever since Vinik took over & the team became yearly contenders. It’s been amazing to see & have a team that you know is gonna win most nights rather than having Peter Bondra drop 4 goals every time as you get embarrassed. But it feels we have hit a wall with this group, and as much as we keep trucking on & supprting them, it’s become so frustrating to watch the same inconsistent, half ass efforts & mentally fragile team that leads to the same playoff defeats.

Bottom line I’ll always cheer these guys on. I think we all see what could have & should have been already, but for some combination of the same reasons it’s been holding us back. And although I’ll always tune in, lately their play has become somewhat unenjoyable to watch. This team is like a family member you love no matter what, but watching them make the same mistakes with bad women, money & drugs really makes you want to smack the crap out of them so they wake up!

The end,

Its gonna be that much more enjoyable when they break through it.

 

[CupsOverCash]

I thought it was due to fatigue, especially since Boston kept such a high pace for the first half of the game. But if what you are saying is the more accurate analysis, then that kind of favors Tampa too.

If Boston thinks they can just indefinitely sit on 1 goal leads against Tampa, it probably won't go well for them, over the course of a long series.

Agree a few missed opportunities by Tampa to tie it up. Then we are talking about a nice bounce back game by our team without our captain. I didnt like how we overall played against Boston but I dont think tonight's game matters all that much. The question is how will they be during the playoffs? These last games here we need to get our game right. Boston is a good team to play against for that. I think we play Toronto again soon too. Will be good for them with this roster before the playoffs. I like our team if we get everyone back healthy against both teams.

 

[JonCooperSux]

It is my humble opinion that Jon Cooper should have a different job than he currently has, with a different employer.

I hope everyone has a pleasant balance of their evening.

 

[Master P]

Don't worry everyone. Rutta will soon be back to save our season.

 

[longtime lurker]

Agree a few missed opportunities by Tampa to tie it up. Then we are talking about a nice bounce back game by our team without our captain. I didnt like how we overall played against Boston but I dont think tonight's game matters all that much. The question is how will they be during the playoffs? These last games here we need to get our game right. Boston is a good team to play against for that. I think we play Toronto again soon too. Will be good for them with this roster before the playoffs. I like our team if we get everyone back healthy against both teams.

I agree with all of this. I really believe this was Boston's best tonight and I really don't believe it was Tampa's best. Boston came into this game with no injuries and they were rested. Despite that, they managed a 2-1 squeaker win, which required a lucky bounce goal and a lot of bad luck near misses for Tampa, including a razor thin offside goal. I'm curious to see how Saturday goes.

 

[TheDaysOf 04]

With everything that went wrong tonight we still kept to the keys to beating Boston. The recipe for them is the same as it’s always been. Cancel out or match their top line, don’t take too many penalties, and be strong on the pk. We did those things and it gave us a chance

 

[Stammertime91]

As much as I would like to overreact, I wont. We lost by 1 goal missing Stamkos, Mcdonagh and Rutta. If our defense is healthy again, our transition game and offense thrives. Coburn and Bogosian back there are not big helps.

 

[Sky04]

Boston closed out that game perfectly, Lightning couldn't do anything in the final 5 minutes during their push, Kucherov trying to dangle through 4 guys with the goalie pulled and then shooting 5 foot wide and clearing the zone for them didn't help either. This guy just can't stay level headed in a tight game.

 

[LightningStrikes]

Let’s try and learn from it. Still time to adjust and fix stuff. Thanks Boston for the lesson.

Like start playing at puck drop and not just in the 3rd. Or hitting the net once in a while.

 

[Whoshattenkirkshoes]

Sometimes Cooper does the dumbest shit. Maroon??? Maroon?!?!?!?

I get it. Injuries... But Maroon?!?!?!

Please elaborate. His shift was one that gave the team some real momentum with 4 min left in the 2nd

 

[JonCooperSux]

Boston closed out that game perfectly, Lightning couldn't do anything in the final 5 minutes during their push, Kucherov trying to dangle through 4 guys with the goalie pulled and then shooting 5 foot wide and clearing the zone for them didn't help either. This guy just can't stay level headed in a tight game.

Jon Cooper is not the Bruins’ coach.

ADVANTAGE = BRUINS

 

[JonCooperSux]

Let’s try and learn from it. Still time to adjust and fix stuff. Thanks Boston for the lesson.

Like start playing at puck drop and not just in the 3rd. Or hitting the net once in a while.

Good advice. I wish the team would listen to it.

But their coach apparently tells them to go out there and squander their full potential.

 

[Todd1a]

Boston was protecting their lead. Their forecheck in periods 1 and 2 owned us. This was a really bad game.

yep pretty much we could not get any offense going until they dropped back and protected the lead on us in the 3rd

 

[FinnLightning26]

We were pure shit in the first half of the game aside from Vasy. Got better in the second half but that's probably Boston sitting back a bit. When the chips were down in the last five minutes we couldn't get anything done.

This loss means we're playing the Leafs in the first round and that's a bit concerning because they're due to win a round after coming so close the last couple of times. I don't know if I can handle another first round exit.

 

[Max McBolt]

I agree with others that Palat isn’t really impacting the top line much. I would actually try TJ there who tends to be better with skill.

I am not a fan of Coleman with Cirelli/Killorn.
His skillset is redundant on that line.

Also not a fan of Gourde, or even Stephens even tho he’s bigger, on the 4th line being taken advantage off by other teams 4th line players.

Johnson - Point - Kucherov
Palat - Cirelli - Killorn
Coleman - Stephens - Gourde
Maroon - Paquette - Goodrow

Keep the C-RW duos intact and shuffle the LW when needed to get lines going.

And if I were Cooper, I would grow a pair and ruffle some feathers :

Give Verhaeghe a shot in the Top 6 where we need speed and skills.
Either with Cirelli/Kilorn.
Or my favorite option with Point/Kucherov and drop Johnson on the 2nd line.

Palat on the 4th.
Maroon, Goodrow, Paquette and maybe even Palat rotating out of the line-up depending how Verhaeghe does in the Top 6.

 

[Todd1a]

We were pure shit in the first half of the game aside from Vasy. Got better in the second half but that's probably Boston sitting back a bit. When the chips were down in the last five minutes we couldn't get anything done.

This loss means we're playing the Leafs in the first round and that's a bit concerning because they're due to win a round after coming so close the last couple of times. I don't know if I can handle another first round exit.

thing I do fear about Toronto is they will be able to score goals vs us can we score vs them ?

 

[Max McBolt]

Gourde is always creating stuff.
His speed and never ending tenacity should be used as a spark plug to jumpstart either lines in the Top 6.

But Cooper seems to be dead set on keeping him in the bottom 6 so I didn’t even bother creating lines with #37 in the Top 6.

What a shame.

 

[Todd1a]

Gourde is always creating stuff.
His speed and never ending tenacity should be used as a spark plug to jumpstart either lines in the Top 6.

But Cooper seems to be dead set on keeping him in the bottom 6 so I didn’t even bother creating lines with #37 in the Top 6.

What a shame.

they need to play gourde in the top 6 or get rid of him for a better bottom 6 guy with size