Darling

[garnetpalmetto]

A good coach recognizes his players skill sets / strengths and adjusted his system to utilize them to the fullest. Not the case with BP. So far it hasn't worked out.

That might be true to an extent but there are certain fundamentals that at this point shouldn't have to be coached or coached around. Darling's inability to freeze the puck in the crease is still maddening. I still love the cat chasing a laser pointer comparison that was made. That's not something that any coach should have to adjust a system for, for instance.

 

[Moosetache]

Ok, I've been thinking this for a while, so here goes my comparison.

Our defense is like an NFL team putting 10 guys on the line of scrimmage to stop the run. 9 times out of 10 you stop the runner for no gain. But if he DOES get through the line its a TD. That is our defense. Give up limited shot opportunities, but the ones we do give up are Grade A scoring chances. How about giving the goalie a chance to make 25 saves on shots from the top of the circle, or the half wall or the blue line instead of 8 one timers from the slot.

 

[Moosetache]

now my above post is not to say that Darling has played well, I dont believe he has.

 

[The Faulker 27]

The sister act:

Sarah Darling (@Oo_MyDarling_oO) | Twitter

Wow, the sister is interesting. She misses #NHLBlackhawks y'all. Yeah, we miss your brother being a competent goalie too.

 

[geehaad]

Mandatory listening: that interview with Woodley.

http://hfboards.mandatory.com/threads/eddie-lack.2198511/#post-129062745

 

[garnetpalmetto]

Mandatory listening: that interview with Woodley.

http://hfboards.mandatory.com/threads/eddie-lack.2198511/#post-129062745

It's interesting to hear in the context of Lack's continued struggles that said it makes me wonder if there's still problems with figuring out how goaltending plays into the system as a whole. Is that a Peters issue for failing to figure out how goalies integrate into the system (in his mind, is their only job to "make a f***ing save?") or a Ronnie issue for failing to acquire/groom the right goalie for that system.

 

[tarheelhockey]

That might be true to an extent but there are certain fundamentals that at this point shouldn't have to be coached or coached around. Darling's inability to freeze the puck in the crease is still maddening. I still love the cat chasing a laser pointer comparison that was made. That's not something that any coach should have to adjust a system for, for instance.

Not to mention that there are 2 goalies on the team, so if changing your system to suit the goalie means playing different hockey every night. It’s not feasible.

IMO this comes down to choosing the right individual for the system (pro scouting and GM) and then integrating him into the system appropriately (head coach and goalie coach) and then of course the goalie has to perform. Darling is not performing, that’s easy enough to see, but the other two layers of accountability are puzzling in this case.

 

[Navin R Slavin]

Scott needs to tell his sister to shut it.

 

[bluedevil58]

Not to mention that there are 2 goalies on the team, so if changing your system to suit the goalie means playing different hockey every night. It’s not feasible.

IMO this comes down to choosing the right individual for the system (pro scouting and GM) and then integrating him into the system appropriately (head coach and goalie coach) and then of course the goalie has to perform. Darling is not performing, that’s easy enough to see, but the other two layers of accountability are puzzling in this case.

I'm holding BP accountable for this and RF to an extent.

 

[Moosetache]

I also just have a hard time understanding how guys who have great sv % elsewhere come here and suddenly can't stop a beach ball. Lack, Khudobin, now Darling

 

[Canes]

At some point, regardless of how much we want (or not, for some of the remaining believers) to attribute fault to Francis and/or Peters, we might have to bring in someone from outside of the organization to give us a clear and fresh start. Whatever we're doing now clearly isn't working and I don't see much from this team to make me believe it's going to change anytime soon. Definition of insanity and all...

 

[Moosetache]

what I would give up to have MAF right about now....jeesh

 

[Canes]

MAF didn't really ever give anyone other than Vegas a thought. He wanted to go there ever since it was clear they were getting a team and since it was clear the Pens wanted to go with Murray over him. His wife was looking for houses in Vegas before the expansion draft. I doubt he really ever considered us, and for good reason seeing how we're a goalie graveyard until proven otherwise.

 

[Unsustainable]

Wow, the sister is interesting. She misses #NHLBlackhawks y'all. Yeah, we miss your brother being a competent goalie too.

She’s definitely in the do not date section of hot/crazy scale.

 

[geehaad]

I'm holding BP accountable for this and RF to an extent.

Hilarious. Finally, a reason to place blame squarely on RF’s shoulders - something you’ve been trying to do for weeks now - and you instead put the blame on Peters. Based on the simplistic frustration of his “making a f***ing save” outburst, Peters knows about as much as we do when it comes to goaltenders, and in my estimation that’s absolutely forgivable. It’s on Francis to provide the goaltending that will bring success. Of course he has to rely on the goalie coach for input, but didn’t Darling sign before the goaltending coach was hired?

 

[bluedevil58]

Khudobin
Lack
Darling

This isn't a coincidence goalies suck upon coming here bruh. It's something else.

 

[DaveG]

I also just have a hard time understanding how guys who have great sv % elsewhere come here and suddenly can't stop a beach ball. Lack, Khudobin, now Darling

Something I truly don't get is how the team has seemingly gone out of its way to deliberately find goalies that play a completely different style then Cam Ward when the team plays its best in front of a goalie that plays the way Cam does. Lack and Darling both fit that big goalie style that lacks recovery speed and that's only exacerbated when both were absolutely atrocious at covering the puck, Darling being the worst of the two in that regard. On the other end Khudobin is a throwback to that Irbe style goalie where it's just f***ing chaos, and sometimes that works.

But I mean, how f***ing hard is it to find a goalie that plays at least a similar style to the one that the team has the most success behind? The frightening thing is that they actually made Justin Peters look a hell of a lot better then he is because he played a similar style, he just completely lacked the level of talent to be an NHL goalie and that showed as soon as he moved on to Washington.

But instead we do the opposite and try to find goalies that are just diametrically different. The only thing dumber and more frustrating then that is the propensity of many in our fanbase to think these sucks that we bring in are a solid 20 points in save percentage better then they actual are just because they're not Cam Ward.

 

[My Special Purpose]

I think we've officially over-analyzed this to death when we're blaming the GM for bringing in a goalie who doesn't fit the "system" and thus, couldn't have been expected to do well, and blaming the coach for not adjusting said system to help out his new goalie. I mean, I know we're a message board, and I know we're grasping at straws, but Darling's performance is 100 percent on Darling. Whether it's physical, emotional or a lot of both, it really doesn't matter. He's being paid well to stop pucks and he's not doing it. I have a really hard time pinning that on anybody other than Scott Darling.

If you want to toss a heavy dose of blame Francis's way for signing an unproven backup to a four-year, starter-money contract, I'm fine with that, but it does little to alleviate the problem. And as little faith as I have in Peters these days, I'm having a hard time figuring out how to blame him for Darling's struggles. Honestly, his job when it comes to goalies begins and ends with writing their names on the lineup card and circling the starter.

 

[Breakdowns]

Is Darlings sister in love with Darling? Just read her twitter, she is crazy.

 

[Cardiac Jerks]

Is Darlings sister in love with Darling? Just read her twitter, she is crazy.

I didn’t go back that far I guess but literally 90% of her tweets are about him. Little creepy.

 

[geehaad]

I think we've officially over-analyzed this to death when we're blaming the GM for bringing in a goalie who doesn't fit the "system" and thus, couldn't have been expected to do well.

What did you think of Woodley’s comments?

 

[Joe McGrath]

I think a system can effect the goaltending to an extent, but to Kev’s point, the way Darling is playing is awful on its own. And it’s not like it’s every night he looks like hot garbage either. I think he’s had 4 games allowing 1 goal and if I recall he looked perfectly fine doing it. It’s as soon as he gives up the 1, especially if it’s early, he just completely implodes. Maybe the team does too, as they certainly have at times, but it leads me to believe it’s largely in his head.

 

[Unsustainable]

I didn’t go back that far I guess but literally 90% of her tweets are about him. Little creepy.

Like I said, she’s in the stay away in the hot / crazy scale

 

[Chrispy]

I think a system can effect the goaltending to an extent, but to Kev’s point, the way Darling is playing is awful on its own. And it’s not like it’s every night he looks like hot garbage either. I think he’s had 4 games allowing 1 goal and if I recall he looked perfectly fine doing it. It’s as soon as he gives up the 1, especially if it’s early, he just completely implodes. Maybe the team does too, as they certainly have at times, but it leads me to believe it’s largely in his head.

I think we would all agree there are games where the team has imploded and games where Darling has imploded. I haven't gone back and counted but I feel like there are more games where Darling has imploded and the team packed it in than games where the team imploded and Darling packed it in.

For instance, the first 2 goals vs Vegas were rough chances to stop IMO. But they got in Darling's head and he gave up a bad third goal. I'd still put that one as Darling imploding before the team.

 

[DaveG]

I think we've officially over-analyzed this to death when we're blaming the GM for bringing in a goalie who doesn't fit the "system" and thus, couldn't have been expected to do well, and blaming the coach for not adjusting said system to help out his new goalie. I mean, I know we're a message board, and I know we're grasping at straws, but Darling's performance is 100 percent on Darling. Whether it's physical, emotional or a lot of both, it really doesn't matter. He's being paid well to stop pucks and he's not doing it. I have a really hard time pinning that on anybody other than Scott Darling.

If you want to toss a heavy dose of blame Francis's way for signing an unproven backup to a four-year, starter-money contract, I'm fine with that, but it does little to alleviate the problem. And as little faith as I have in Peters these days, I'm having a hard time figuring out how to blame him for Darling's struggles. Honestly, his job when it comes to goalies begins and ends with writing their names on the lineup card and circling the starter.

Oh don't get me wrong Kev, Darling's play is on Darling, much like Lack was on Lack. 95% of it is always on the player themselves to live up to their billing when they're considered to have that kind of talent and are brought in to either compete for or outright take the starting job. The 5% that is either on our goaltending scouts, our GM, or both to get the right fit for what the team is doing that the team has the most control over, and it sucks to say but they'd get a solid F in that regard as the last 2 acquisitions that were brought in to replace Ward have proven.