Injury Report: Casey Cizikas on IR and recall Ross Johnston from BPT

[majormet]

Look, if Johnston shows he can take regular shifts, be defensively sound, and not take dumbass penalties, then I'm all for him being here. If he's only here to throw punches, he's a waste of space and a detriment to an already horrible bottom 6.

I think that is what we are hoping for

 

[FourRings]

Serious question: If he's not a defensive liability, what's wrong with adding grit to a top flight offense?

 

[PK Cronin]

Serious question: If he's not a defensive liability, what's wrong with adding grit to a top flight offense?

Nothing. I'm not willing to say his "presence" is the reason the team just beat up on the Blackhawks. I'm also not willing to say he deserves a roster spot. If he can play, that's fine. If not, no need for him no matter how physical he is.

 

[Spybot]

Serious question: If he's not a defensive liability, what's wrong with adding grit to a top flight offense?

If he's not a defensive liability then it doesn't matter what kind of a player he is, that's already enough to improve the bottom6 right now.

 

[PK Cronin]

Look at how awesome Johnston being in the lineup was tonight, such swagger and no cheap shots at all!

 

[majormet]

Look at how awesome Johnston being in the lineup was tonight, such swagger and no cheap shots at all!

We have a 2 game sample, one where he was effective and one where he was a non-factor... the cheap shots by Domi were not the typical cheap shots.... Domi was shamed for taking a dumb penalty and tried to entice Beau into retaliation... and Beau was wise to renege.

Swagger is lost when defenseman cough up the puck and forwards are not in the d-zone when they should be, no Johnston or for that matter Erik Karlsson will solve the bad coaching on this team that overrides everything and you and I both know that

 

[PK Cronin]

We have a 2 game sample, one where he was effective and one where he was a non-factor... the cheap shots by Domi were not the typical cheap shots.... Domi was shamed for taking a dumb penalty and tried to entice Beau into retaliation... and Beau was wise to renege.

Swagger is lost when defenseman cough up the puck and forwards are not in the d-zone when they should be, no Johnston or for that matter Erik Karlsson will solve the bad coaching on this team that overrides everything and you and I both know that

That's proving my point, he didn't factor in much to the Chicago win but you were more than willing to give him a bunch of credit for it. The reality is, he has next to no impact. The team ebbs and flows, blowing whichever way the wind is that day. Sometimes they put up a 7 spot, other times they let in 5.

There was also the really hard hit on Quine that dumped him. Johnston was supposed to prevent those types of hits and create more room for the offense. That didn't happen against the worst team in the NHL.

 

[majormet]

That's proving my point, he didn't factor in much to the Chicago win but you were more than willing to give him a bunch of credit for it. The reality is, he has next to no impact. The team ebbs and flows, blowing whichever way the wind is that day. Sometimes they put up a 7 spot, other times they let in 5.

There was also the really hard hit on Quine that dumped him. Johnston was supposed to prevent those types of hits and create more room for the offense. That didn't happen against the worst team in the NHL.

I think my point is that Johnston is a minor impact player, but there are more glaring holes that soften that impact, like neutral zone play, defensive turnovers and did I say awful coach

Quine hit was far from cheap, very good hit, you have to pay for moving in slow motion... maybe that will rattle him to play with more passion, but Quine usually goes the other way, and will regress even further