GDT: 4/4/17 - 7:00PM EDT - Tampa Bay @ Boston

[JoVel]

lol don't blame the injuries, we should've been a playoff lock regardless. **** coaching.

No one is saying we suck only because of injuries. But if we are at least somewhat healthy we most likely make the playoffs.

 

[JoVel]

Everything sucks right now, but that sweep was not Kristers' fault.

I'm drinking moonshine. RIP 2016-2017 Bolts.

That is true and I don't know if we could have been able to beat them even with Bishop. But that series was over before it started because of his injury.

 

[Sky04]

No one is saying we suck only because of injuries. But if we are at least somewhat healthy we most likely make the playoffs.

Again I don't see what you're getting at, we played our best hockey while injured. And the majority of our core players were relatively healthy the entire year.

Injuries is not an excuse to have not made the playoffs this year.

 

[JoVel]

Again I don't see what you're getting at, we played our best hockey while injured. And the majority of our core players were relatively healthy the entire year.

Injuries is not an excuse to have not made the playoffs this year.

I think the turning point of this season was Stamkos' injury. It was downhill from that. I agree that we should have made the playoffs even with the injuries, but I also think we would have made it with Stamkos healthy.

 

[MattM92]

I think the turning point of this season was Stamkos' injury. It was downhill from that. I agree that we should have made the playoffs even with the injuries, but I also think we would have made it with Stamkos healthy.

You see, I don't agree. I don't think we were playing all that great before Stamkos went down.

 

[Rschmitz]

It was the general sentiment of most of the board that it was OK where we were in December because we could just get hot in the 2nd half and make the playoffs. So you're welcome, just in case you were one of them.

We were 2 points away from #2 in the division at the end of December, with all teams having played 38 games. What exactly are people supposed to feel guilty of? Most of the posters here overreact to every little thing enough as is without being prodded with hindsight.

Alternatively, I don't believe most here were actually comfortable with the standings, especially considering our nice start. You are allowed to be uncomfortable without panicking. I guess that is why some people are able to evacuate a burning building orderly and some people feel the need to stampede I suppose.

 

[Rschmitz]

You see, I don't agree. I don't think we were playing all that great before Stamkos went down.

What makes you say that? We had the 4th best goal differential in the league and 5th best record.

 

[JoVel]

You see, I don't agree. I don't think we were playing all that great before Stamkos went down.

We were 9-6-1 before that Detroit game. Now that's not great but it's not bad either. It's a small sample size but I don't think that we looked like a bad team back then. Obviously not much can be said because 16 games is not much.

 

[MattM92]

We were 2 points away from #2 in the division at the end of December, with all teams having played 38 games. What exactly are people supposed to feel guilty of? Most of the posters here overreact to every little thing enough as is without being prodded with hindsight.

Alternatively, I don't believe most here were actually comfortable with the standings, especially considering our nice start. You are allowed to be uncomfortable without panicking. I guess that is why some people are able to evacuate a burning building orderly and some people feel the need to stampede I suppose.

We might have been 2 points from 2nd in the division, but that's only because of how weak the division was. First place Montreal would've been 4th place in the Metro. At that time we were exactly .500. And less than 3 weeks after that we were 2 points away from being last in the division.

I'm not saying anyone should feel guilty or panic and call for a fire sale. I'm saying fans of this team should expect a lot more than what they've seen the past 2 seasons. I'm saying that if you're ok with the team not playing hockey until the last 30 minutes of games and going through the motions until February, then perhaps we as fans suffer from the same complacency as the team has shown.

Is being a mediocre hockey team for 2 years in a row when you know the roster should be competing for a Stanley Cup not a reason to worry?

 

[Outl4w]

The problem is we dug ourselves in a hole from the start. When the team was healthy we were not going rolling 7-3 and 8-2 continously. STamkos when healthy has a captain has to step it up and hold the team accountable. THe best hockey all year the bolts play was without him. Kucherov and Hedman are the real leader on the ice. They show the rest of the team how to play. I am a bolts fan and love stamkos, but he just can't stay and the rink and lead with his play.

 

[MattM92]

What makes you say that? We had the 4th best goal differential in the league and 5th best record.

What? We didn't even have the 5th best record in the Eastern conference. And we were tied for the 5th best goal differential in the league, which is a pretty small sample size. I like goal differential as a team metric, but not even 1/4 of the way into the season is not a good time to use it as a measuring stick.

 

[MattM92]

We were 9-6-1 before that Detroit game. Now that's not great but it's not bad either. It's a small sample size but I don't think that we looked like a bad team back then. Obviously not much can be said because 16 games is not much.

No, it's not bad. It's also not particularly good. So, like I said, I don't think we were all that great before Stamkos went down. We started off the year with 2 (or 3?) consecutive games where we went down 2-0 before we started playing hockey. Then in game 4 we got blown out at home against what would eventually show to be a historically bad hockey team.

We were OK before Stamkos went down, but certainly nothing to feel optimistic about going into next season. What gave me some optimism this year was seeing the emergence of guys like Point, and Drouin pretty much having his rookie season in his 3rd NHL season. Plus guys like Erne, Gourde, and Dotchin showed some promise. THAT'S what gives me a little hope for next season, not going 9-6-1 to start the season with more than a comfortable amount of stinkers.

 

[MattM92]

9-6-1 extrapolated to a full season would be around 96-97 points. It's looking like that would barely be enough to squeak in. And that's in the weakest division in the league. So yeah, we shouldn't exactly be happy about that start.

 

[JoVel]

9-6-1 extrapolated to a full season would be around 96-97 points. It's looking like that would barely be enough to squeak in. And that's in the weakest division in the league. So yeah, we shouldn't exactly be happy about that start.

It's not all about the record. I don't remember us sucking at the start of the year like we did when Stamkos went down.

 

[MattM92]

It's not all about the record. I don't remember us sucking at the start of the year like we did when Stamkos went down.

Well do you have anything to support that? Because by my memory (and based off of anything I've looked up this morning), we didn't "suck" but we weren't a good team. We were middle of the pack.

 

[The Macho King]

Well do you have anything to support that? Because by my memory (and based off of anything I've looked up this morning), we didn't "suck" but we weren't a good team. We were middle of the pack.

I think it was some absurd length into the season (like 10 games?) before we scored a goal either first or in the first period (I don't remember - might check boxscores to figure that out).

We were not good to start the season. We were talented enough to pull out some wins, but we weren't doing it by looking good. Our possession #s early in the year were bad to awful, and we were riding Stamkos, Kucherov, and (lol) Killorn's hot scoring to some wins.

 

[Butchered]

The standings for me are what they are. Teams go through rough patches. As long as at the end of the season, TB is one of those 16 teams in the playoffs, I don't care where they are as far as placement.

I have a problem with the slow starts. Constantly. How many games did we just completely sleep through until we were down 1, 2, or 3 goals? Only then do we realize we actually need to play games to win. THEN they turn it on. Get a false hope goal or two and lose the game.

I have a problem with having a (after the Dallas game) 2-5-1 record against the WORST teams in the West. Sure, you beat Chicago. Cool. If you take even 2 of those losses and turn them to wins and go 4-2-1, they're sitting in a much better position today.

I have a problem with all the dead weight on this team. Namestnikov, Sustr, Garrison, Killorn. All of them need to be somewhere else. They bring absolutely NOTHING to the table.

There's no rebuild needed, but there is a massive retooling needed. I'd like to see the following as a template for who's on the ice next season:

Drouin-Stamkos-Callahan
Palat-Point-Kucherov
Gourde-BOYLE (PLEASE???)-FA/prospect/trade
Erne-Peca-Brown

Hedman-Dotchin
Coburn-Stralman
Koekkoek-Blujus

Vasilevski
Elliott/Greiss/Maybe even Ryan Miller for a low cost?

I leave Johnson out as I still think he gets moved for a top 4 d man. Sustr is gone. Namestnikov is out. Killorn hopefully goes to Vegas. Maybe package a pick with Garrison to get him out of here. With the emergence of Dotchin, I'm not sure I'd be shocked to see Koekkoek get moved. It seems like there's just too much in front of him and he's not making the type of progress he needs to make to get through it.

There's a LOT for Yzerman to do this offseason and he better deliver. I think most fans, while upset at this season, are willing to take into account where they've been the two previous years and give the benefit of the doubt. He's one of the best GM's in the league AFAIC, but this season can't be acceptable to anyone.

 

[JoVel]

Well do you have anything to support that? Because by my memory (and based off of anything I've looked up this morning), we didn't "suck" but we weren't a good team. We were middle of the pack.

No, we definitely weren't good. I never said we were. But it was nowhere near as bad as the rest of the season until this good stretch here in the end.

 

[FinnLightning26]

Well, that's that. It was a nice little run but you can't suck for three months and expect to make the playoffs. That 5 minute powerplay we had was an absolute joke. Getting two shots is inexcusalbe and after we didn't score there you just knew it was over.

All in all, a disastrous season. Won't be watching the last three games as I'll go away for the weekend and honestly, I couldn't care less.

 

[JAY7791]

I don't understand how people don't think Vasy is good enough to start. It's mind boggling for me. Budaj is a perfect backup for him too.

 

[Butchered]

I don't understand how people don't think Vasy is good enough to start. It's mind boggling for me. Budaj is a perfect backup for him too.

Blows me away too. All that's left for him is to develop some consistency. It's gonna be hard to do that when the team in front of you is inconsistent in effort as well.

He's going to be one of the best in the game by the time his current deal is up. I really believe that.

 

[Rschmitz]

We might have been 2 points from 2nd in the division, but that's only because of how weak the division was. First place Montreal would've been 4th place in the Metro. At that time we were exactly .500. And less than 3 weeks after that we were 2 points away from being last in the division.

I'm not saying anyone should feel guilty or panic and call for a fire sale. I'm saying fans of this team should expect a lot more than what they've seen the past 2 seasons. I'm saying that if you're ok with the team not playing hockey until the last 30 minutes of games and going through the motions until February, then perhaps we as fans suffer from the same complacency as the team has shown.

Is being a mediocre hockey team for 2 years in a row when you know the roster should be competing for a Stanley Cup not a reason to worry?

Sure, we were playing like crap and benefited from a weak division. I don't think anyone was happy playing with fire. That doesn't change the fact that despite all of that, we were still keeping contact with a playoff spot until a 3-11 start to January.

There are two arguments being made here. One is that the team was playing like crap, which hopefully nobody disputes. Your other argument is that we were content relying on a monster second half of the season to make the playoffs, which just isn't accurate.

 

[T REX]

4 goal Vasy?

 

[Rschmitz]

What? We didn't even have the 5th best record in the Eastern conference. And we were tied for the 5th best goal differential in the league, which is a pretty small sample size. I like goal differential as a team metric, but not even 1/4 of the way into the season is not a good time to use it as a measuring stick.

It's the sample size we are both using, since you said as a team we were not playing well you are drawing a conclusion based off the same data. I'm on my phone so don't have the numbers in front of me to look at where we were in the standings.

I'm not saying we were playing good either, I just want to know why you think we were playing poorly

 

[Butchered]

4 goal Vasy?

Where was the rest of the team? How many times did someone fail to clear the puck? How many times did TB just flail away in their own zone because they just couldn't take possession of the puck while Boston moved it at will?

Vasilevski is certainly not without criticism. He needs to work on his rebounds and he needs to develop some consistency. If you think he's the problem, though, I'm not sure you actually watched the game.