GDT: Florida Panthers at Ottawa Senators - 7PM - Sportsnet / TVAS - Hello Kitty, eat litter!

[Sens of Anarchy]

They have to go on a serious heater and win streak(s) as they need to leap frog six (6) teams & that's based on point percentage. And they'll need some cooperation and losing as well from multiple teams. It's happened before, but its not common.

I have no faith in this team's ability to go on a serious heater any time soon for a variety of reasons.

 

[LiseL]

So who agrees with me that these guys are just not that talented? Blame coaching all you want but I really think these group of players truly suck

Listened to Ian Mendez interview on TSN 1200 The Drive this afternoon and he said this team is afraid. He hit it on the nail. They're afraid to lose, afraid to make a mistake which explains why they do so much puck watching, not covering their man, treating the puck like a hot potato, whiffing on the puck, indecisive with the puck, etc. Also explains why they lose so much at home. They are so fragile, the booing sends them into a tailspin. How do you fix fragile?

They also played the interview with DJ earlier that day. The one thing that really caught my attention was his stating he does bench players but we don't notice. Yep, we don't notice when it's only the 3rd or 4th line players being benched. He also said that yes, Timmy turns the puck over, but he's trying to make plays so all good. So the STARS don't need to be held accountable. Yeesh.

 

[LiseL]

Timmy is obviously hurt

If Timmy can't take face-offs, is it a shoulder thing? Chychrin also seems hurt.

Tkachuk will throw a tantrum at the end when the game is 5-0 then he'll go to the media and tell fans to stfu then people will say the kids have heart lmao

Very prophetic.

 

[Ouroboros]

Listened to Ian Mendez interview on TSN 1200 The Drive this afternoon and he said this team is afraid. He hit it on the nail. They're afraid to lose, afraid to make a mistake which explains why they do so much puck watching, not covering their man, treating the puck like a hot potato, whiffing on the puck, indecisive with the puck, etc. Also explains why they lose so much at home. They are so fragile, the booing sends them into a tailspin. How do you fix fragile?

Sounds like the struggles are mainly the fault of the bad and impatient fans putting too much pressure on the group. They would have been more comfortable if they were expected to be a lottery team.

This is probably why Dorion wouldn't make any public proclamations about expecting the team to make the playoffs. He knew they couldn't handle it and would crumble. Just another example of his nuanced understanding of human psychology, I guess.

They'll probably do better on the road where the fans are less demanding.

 

[GCK]

Is there a market for Norris? At least right now his value is insanely low.

Is Norris your new whipping boy. Guy was out for almost a year and a half, had no training camp and has been saddled with Batherson who is our laziest and dumbest forward. Norris is progressing very nicely.

 

[Big Muddy]

I have no faith in this team's ability to go on a serious heater any time soon for a variety of reasons.

Based on the team's performance this year, I don't blame you or anyone for thinking that.

 

[LiseL]

What a f***ing terrible call, if you can't get that right with at 5 min review they need to get rid of offside reviews,

I don't pretend to know all the rules but it is my understanding that because the puck wasn't on his stick when it crossed the line, and the other player tapped out before the 1st player touched that puck after it had crossed the line, that it was not off-side.

 

[Cosmix]

Weren't people accusing Dorion of focusing too much on character and identity instead of skill? For example the Tkachuk pick over Zadina?

Some were. With the Tkachuk pick he preferred a bigger more physical player with pedigree. I preferred Zadina at the time and obviously was wrong to do so. I did not dump on Dorion for the pick as I valued Tkachuk highly as the next pick for the same reasons as Dorion.

They have to go on a serious heater and win streak(s) as they need to leap frog six (6) teams & that's based on point percentage. And they'll need some cooperation and losing as well from multiple teams. It's happened before, but its not common.

It's not very likely going to happen given the schedule we face going forward.

 

[Cosmix]

Listened to Ian Mendez interview on TSN 1200 The Drive this afternoon and he said this team is afraid. He hit it on the nail. They're afraid to lose, afraid to make a mistake which explains why they do so much puck watching, not covering their man, treating the puck like a hot potato, whiffing on the puck, indecisive with the puck, etc. Also explains why they lose so much at home. They are so fragile, the booing sends them into a tailspin. How do you fix fragile?

They also played the interview with DJ earlier that day. The one thing that really caught my attention was his stating he does bench players but we don't notice. Yep, we don't notice when it's only the 3rd or 4th line players being benched. He also said that yes, Timmy turns the puck over, but he's trying to make plays so all good. So the STARS don't need to be held accountable. Yeesh.

I think it's the lack of NHL level coaching (educating players and holding them accountable) that causes the players not to cover their man.

 

[swiftwin]

Listened to Ian Mendez interview on TSN 1200 The Drive this afternoon and he said this team is afraid. He hit it on the nail. They're afraid to lose, afraid to make a mistake which explains why they do so much puck watching, not covering their man, treating the puck like a hot potato, whiffing on the puck, indecisive with the puck, etc. Also explains why they lose so much at home. They are so fragile, the booing sends them into a tailspin. How do you fix fragile?

They also played the interview with DJ earlier that day. The one thing that really caught my attention was his stating he does bench players but we don't notice. Yep, we don't notice when it's only the 3rd or 4th line players being benched. He also said that yes, Timmy turns the puck over, but he's trying to make plays so all good. So the STARS don't need to be held accountable. Yeesh.

Ian is an absolute treasure and truly has a pulse on the team. I think he nailed it.

 

[Do Make Say Think]

I do it about that Minnesota game. We played against a boring team. We weren’t brilliant.

It isn't about brilliance, we barely won.

The point is that we executed a game plan well. That doesn't happen often.

 

[LiseL]

Why would you respect the fans hey?
Getting paid anyway

I remember reading a quote by Joe DiMaggio that went something like"Every game there is a kid who is either coming to his first game or his last game which is why I have to do my very best". Wish more of our players would make that same commitment.

 

[swiftwin]

It isn't about brilliance, we barely won.

The point is that we executed a game plan well. That doesn't happen often.

"I don't care about advanced stats, I just want the two points".

But after the Minny game...

"no no, not like that".

 

[Do Make Say Think]

Is there a market for Norris? At least right now his value is insanely low.

I think Norris will be fine. He's been improving, last game not withstanding.

He probably won't be worth his contract but he won't be far off either.

If Timmy can't take face-offs, is it a shoulder thing? Chychrin also seems hurt.

He's got that tape on his back so it could be a shoulder. Just being extra careful.

 

[LiseL]

Maybe the players we have aren't good enough

Or tough enough. They played scared to lose, very fragile group. Can that be fixed?

 

[DaveMatthew]

Listened to Ian Mendez interview on TSN 1200 The Drive this afternoon and he said this team is afraid. He hit it on the nail. They're afraid to lose, afraid to make a mistake which explains why they do so much puck watching, not covering their man, treating the puck like a hot potato, whiffing on the puck, indecisive with the puck, etc. Also explains why they lose so much at home. They are so fragile, the booing sends them into a tailspin. How do you fix fragile?

I'm sorry, but I don't buy this at all. This team doesn't look afraid; it looks careless.

Drake Batherson and Jake Chychrun aren't out there playing pond hockey because they're scared of anything. They're doing it because it's easy. Playing in the offensive end is fun. Playing defense isn't.

I don't know why so much of the media here continues to treat these players with such kid gloves. Like they're these precious little children.

I think it's much simpler. Some of them aren't as good as we thought. Some of are lazy. That's why we're not good.

It's crazy. In the early 00's, Daniel Alfredsson, Chris Phillips and Wade Redden took 1000x more heat than anyone on this team, and they were a playoff lock every season.

 

[LiseL]

Agree Patrick Roy doesn't need the money, he will dictate the terms

I think he's more interested in being a GM/AGM but doesn't mean he wouldn't accept a HC job. Heard that one of the issues in Colorado when he was the HC was that he wanted to be more involved with roster changes. I think he'd be a great coach after seeing what he did with the Quebec Ramparts team. Maybe he'd also be a good GM/AGM if he was part of the new coach decision as I would think he would pick a more defensive-minded coach than what we have now. It seems he's learned some lessons as is more mellow now. The players don't have to like him but can't see them not respecting a former player of his calibre.

 

[Micklebot]

I'm sorry, but I don't buy this at all. This team doesn't look afraid; it looks careless.

Drake Batherson and Jake Chychrun aren't out there playing pond hockey because they're scared of anything. They're doing it because it's easy. Playing in the offensive end is fun. Playing defense isn't.

I don't know why so much of the media here continues to treat these players with such kid gloves. Like they're these precious little children.

I think it's much simpler. Some of them aren't as good as we thought. Some of are lazy. That's why we're not good.

It's crazy. In the early 00's, Daniel Alfredsson, Chris Phillips and Wade Redden took 1000x more heat than anyone on this team, and they were a playoff lock every season.

Well, last game at least they definitely looked like they were gripping their sticks to tight to me. But there's certainly some carelessness to their game too.

 

[LiseL]

So I was at the game. Still shot of that 2nd goal showing offside. The ref provided no explanation as to why it was a goal. What was said on TV?

Team is going in the wrong direction. They said on the drive home on 1200 that's the worst home ice loss during DJ's tenure. It felt like it. I'm a little disgusted

If I understood it correctly, the puck was not on his stick when it crossed the blue line, the other Panthers player tapped out/in before the 1st player touched the puck in the Ozone so it wasn't off-side.

 

[PoutineSp00nZ]

Gotta bring in a new coach at this point.

If a new coach can't get some of these guys to be responsible and play defense then it'll be time to make trades.

Batherson or Norris. I don't care how good Batherson's contract is, he's hurting the team more than he's helping. Even if he scores a point per game, which he isn't.

And Norris might still have some value. But will be hard to move with that contract.

 

[LiseL]

Yeah. This is what people have been talking about for years when they were concerned that tanking as a result of organizational incompetence makes it very difficult to just flip the switch once you've collected a satisfactory amount of young talent. Because the same organizational failings are still there. We've become the Sabres/Blue Jackets/ pre-McDavid Oilers.

Thankfully we have people at the top of the organization now who are competent and prepared to do things right. It's just going to take time, and I think the eventual core when this team is ready to compete for a Stanley Cup will look a lot different than the core in place now.

I'm currently 65 years old. Hope I'm still alive to see it lol.

 

[LiseL]

They are all in their prime save for maybe Sanderson who is just entering it.

They are most likely all at their physical peak right now.

The problem is that they don't play their age. They play like they are 17 or 18 and like it's still juniors.

I watched the Juniors tournament last year. I wish they played like that lol.

 

[LiseL]

Article on DJ in Journal de Montreal: https://www.journaldemontreal.com/2023/11/28/ca-sent-la-fin-pour-dj-smith-a-ottawa

It is an opinion piece, Paraphrased translation: DJ on thin ice, article lists some possible candidates, including Roy, Julien.

However, on TSN 1200 The Drive today, I thought I heard AJ say that SS said they weren't changing the coach. It wasn't clear if he was referring to today or a couple of weeks ago. Hoping it's the latter.

 

[LiseL]

Some more good news (NOT): Patrick Kane joining the Red Wings, I'm sure DBC is ecstatic. They're already in 3rd place in our division. The uphill climb just got harder. Even the Leafs are currently in the wild card spot although they do have a couple of games at hand.

 

[Mingus Dew]

Is Norris your new whipping boy. Guy was out for almost a year and a half, had no training camp and has been saddled with Batherson who is our laziest and dumbest forward. Norris is progressing very nicely.

Like my personal whipping boy? I mean maybe? I don’t think he’s been very good. His defensive game sure isn’t progressing but maybe in time.

I asked if there is a market for him because someone suggested trading him. Who’s taking him with his contract, injury history and current level of play outside of a firesale situation?

Hes not the guy you trade, is my point.