Goal-Day Thread Game 11: Ottawa Senators @ Arizona Coyotes | 7pm | FS-A

[Grimes]

Coyotes were 5-5-1 on October 30th 2015. Finished 35-39-8 and drafted Keller & Chychrun that summer.

edit: that was the hot start year with the Killer Ds, feels like so long ago. OEL lead the team in scoring.

That start was really fun. The killer D's were electric and Doan had his resurgance.

Big difference this year is the goal differential at the start and depth we have. I think everyone knew that season they were starting out hot and the roster probably couldnt keep up. Smith was hot and cold that year too.

This season it seems like the system is working with the type of players we have and that our depth is allowing is to roll 4 competent lines. Only one AHL'r on the team as far as I see it, where the 15-16 team may have had a line and a half of AHL talent.

 

[rt]

Correct, but after the first five games who thought we would be this close at the end of October?

For sure! Still longer odds but we’ve got some things working for us. Our sample size is smaller and out success is more recent. That’s a good sign!

 

[cobra427]

Goligoski has been awake for a few games now. Better he take six or seven games to pull his head out of his ass, rather than taking 20. Even Demers has been mostly solid. He’s had some blunders and head scratchers but has done enough to make up for them. He seems to be settling in to the season finally. These two really need to have better summers. I think both will have good Novembers.

With Chychrun back, we’ll have astounding depth of defense.

Connauton, Oesterle, and Lyubushkin is a fantastic 6,7,8 D group.

Agreed, the depth is good to have. I like the competition for ice time too. If your play is poor, there is somebody ready to go and replace you that is solid. Keeping our GAA low will carry us. I think our goal tending has been good but I wouldn't say spectacular, meaning they haven't clearly won games for us. Our team D and scoring chances against are what gets me excited about this team. The offence will keep coming, we have more talent and scorers than since the Keith/JR/Tepo days.

 

[cobra427]

I liked the line up last night. Every line has talent and that allows RT to roll four lines. Strome was fine and I had no problem with his wingers, but he has to get more involved, like Chucky. Perlini I thought was one of our least effective forward last night and his ice time reflected that. Perlini has the same consistency problem as Strome, but they are both getting better, and hopefully playing in more games and gaining experience and confidence will help.

It seems like I see Perlini forechecking more and chasing pucks down, creating more pressure versus Strome where I don't see it. Agreed, the little things and having a more complete game, consistently is what they both need. They should both watch Richardson, he is fundamentally spot on and paired with Grabner makes him look so solid, neither Richardson or Grabner make fundamental mistakes, together they capitalize on mistakes and pressure, fun to watch

 

[Mosby]

Condon on waivers today. Ouch lol.

 

[zz]

If you arent whining about us not having nhl talent, you whine about relocation.

Well, to be fair, lacking talent, mismanagement, relocation and never winning a draft lottery pretty much define the team's history for the past 20 years. Personally I'm excited about this roster and how entertaining this team is compared to the past few years, but we're still, far, far, FAR from being a contender until those issues are resolved.

Also, all the solid posters here are not cheerleaders. They tend to discuss areas that can be improved, which tends to lead to more interesting conversations. If you're looking for die-hard fans using a public forum to express their support, this particular place might not be for you.

 

[Fyreman]

WOW, that didn't take long. Kinda like the GB Packers trading Ty Montgomery. Have to remember- this is a business, first and foremost...

 

[Grimes]

I like how evenly our scoring is. Guys on every line are potting in goals. I hope as the season progresses that the younger players start picking up the scoring pace, as I cant imagine Ritchie and Cousins will maintain their pace. We need to see growth in all of Perlini, Fischer, Strome, Crouse. Hinostroza's production and game play is already surpassing all of these guys we drafted/developed. To a lesser extent Keller needs to take a small step up as as well. Keller being a career 55-65 point winger would be great, but we really need someone to take that next step in developing into a top 30 forward and he has the best shot in doing so.

 

[Mosby]

We're 12th in Sportsnet's weekly power rankings.

NHL Power Rankings: A Halloween Candy for Every Team Edition - Sportsnet.ca

 

[Dirty Old Man]

...posters here are not cheerleaders. They tend to discuss areas that can be improved, which tends to lead to more interesting conversations.

True, but it's not like some of them don't have a tendency to overplay their hand. But, that's the internet for ya.

 

[BlazingBlueAnt]

Strome is not a speed demon, but he is not slow. You guys keep on saying this. He looks slow when he floats. He should watch and get involved like Chucky. I'm also happy with the play of Chucky at C.

Main problem with Strome is that he's too slow to take open ice, but he isn't strong enough to win board battles.

Chucky isn't a fast guy, but he's quick, if that makes sense. It lets him exploit openings in the middle of the ice that Strome can't.

I still don't know how Strome is so weak, he's had like four years to hit the gym. I can understand he skating, his entire family are poor skaters, likely some genetics there, but he's still got the build of a teenager

 

[Prarievarg]

I can't help but think what Hinterland would make of all this

He'd find a way to try to prove Domingue is a better goalie than Raanta.

I love how we play right now. But I can't help to feel like we've had a pretty easy schedule to date. We've played mostly "weaker" teams, teams with key injuries and no back to backs.

 

[Vinny Boombatz]

I just dont' know why a player like Strome wouldn't be doing "sprints" almost daily to get his leg strength up and to become faster. He still takes incredibly short shifts, because he knows that he's got 30 seconds and then his skating goes bad. You can see that the first 30 seconds he's NHL caliber, but after 30 seconds he's slow and useless. He's always the 1st one off his line when doing a line change.

 

[Jakey53]

Agreed, the depth is good to have. I like the competition for ice time too. If your play is poor, there is somebody ready to go and replace you that is solid. Keeping our GAA low will carry us. I think our goal tending has been good but I wouldn't say spectacular, meaning they haven't clearly won games for us. Our team D and scoring chances against are what gets me excited about this team. The offence will keep coming, we have more talent and scorers than since the Keith/JR/Tepo days.

We have depth at D, but at forward we are still thin. Archibald is not a viable replacement for any player. At the moment the only forward who is out is DVO, so we are quite healthy. IF we get hit with injury, we could be in for much hurt.

 

[Vinny Boombatz]

I'm hoping Merkley can come back strong and be a candidate to replace Panik w/Chucky & Keller. I think he'd be a perfect match for those guys.

 

[Jakey53]

Main problem with Strome is that he's too slow to take open ice, but he isn't strong enough to win board battles.

Chucky isn't a fast guy, but he's quick, if that makes sense. It lets him exploit openings in the middle of the ice that Strome can't.

I still don't know how Strome is so weak, he's had like four years to hit the gym. I can understand he skating, his entire family are poor skaters, likely some genetics there, but he's still got the build of a teenager

I don't think Strome is slow, but he is not fast. I think he looks weak because he has poor balance and doesn't use his body like he should. I never see him mad. I wish he would get pissed off and slash someone or someone slash him.

 

[Price is Wright]

I just want to say that you folks have been great so far and I feel this place is for everyone. I get the people who feel like some are too critical and others who feel they are being told to be a cheerleader. I was an Isles fan through the 70s to the start of the 00s. Plus I followed the Habs here and lost my passion for the team once Subban was dealt. I know what it's like to feel like nobody will be happy or people are cheerleading and missing details.

If I could say anything, just remember we're all hockey fans with our own ways to engage. But if this doesn't make you happy? There's no shame in finding a new team.

 

[Horpo2882]

Also, all the solid posters here are not cheerleaders. They tend to discuss areas that can be improved, which tends to lead to more interesting conversations. If you're looking for die-hard fans using a public forum to express their support, this particular place might not be for you.

Give me a break. You dont even know what you are talking about. I never said anything bad about disagreeing with management or anything of the like. Nothing. I never said everything has to be positive all the time and kumbaya. I got tired of the dude whining more than a mini poodle. If you want to listen to passive aggresive bash all day go ahead. I cant be the only one that rolls their eyes. So continue being bitter and hating everything. Ill just continue enjoying the team and stuff you guys stick to the salt, itll be good for you.

 

[Name Nameless]

We are currently not in a playoff spot. So we’re a bit of a long shot.

National Hockey League Playoff Chances - Sports Club Stats

63.9 % probability to make the playoffs, and the last win is not updated yet.

 

[BUX7PHX]

This is kind of the team that I was expecting to see once the talent found their footing here, plus some shrewd moves to help stabilize the core, in terms of trades and FA signings.

Secretly, after game 1, the game that I went to against Dallas - I thought we played really well. Like really, really well and the difference in that game was a misplay by Perlini and a fumbled puck by Gogo. Everything else looked solid. I was kind of waiting for it to break down in the second game, and it didn't. We were still consistently in the right position and still consistently winning battles and coming away with the puck on our stick over and over. We rarely looked like we were in danger even though we had some mishaps that allowed quality chances. By midway through the 3rd game, there was no question in my mind that this was a playoff team 100% as soon as the puck starts to hit the back of the net. We haven't looked back since.

I didn't pay attention to the goals all the time, but the pace of play and what we are doing to other influence pace of play in a positive fashion for our team or in a negative fashion for our team. We are consistently making positive plays and more than our opposition is. We are consistently limiting our negative plays and often have fewer than the opposition.

I am declaring it now. We will have no worse than the 3rd best record in the Pacific, and in all honesty, I believe we will win the Pacific. And as a sidenote, the Vegas books had closed down division betting (only offered Stanley Cup championship odds), so the allure and hope of my proposed bet on the Yotes winning the division does not come into play at all here. Another sad part of it is that we could be even better since Dvorak is done for about 6 months.

The only way that we don't wind up in the playoffs occurs if one of our goaltenders just loses every ounce of focus or we have a significant injury to at least two core players. I think we could survive one injury, as even without Galchenyuk, we were starting to turn things around prior to him returning and prior to that, we were still playing good, just with no goals to show for it.

 

[PerpetualTankYear]

We're 12th in Sportsnet's weekly power rankings.

NHL Power Rankings: A Halloween Candy for Every Team Edition - Sportsnet.ca

And 30th in Sports Illustrated. Seriously.

 

[YotesFan47]

And 30th in Sports Illustrated. Seriously.

You can't take SI seriously for hockey. I don't think I have any memory from the last 10 years where they were able to put out something where I was like "Yea, 100%, totally agree that you actually watch the sport".

 

[Name Nameless]

We're 12th in Sportsnet's weekly power rankings.

NHL Power Rankings: A Halloween Candy for Every Team Edition - Sportsnet.ca

Way to low for the team with the longest current win-streak in the NHL.

 

[Jakey53]

You guys have to go over to YouTube and look up The Hockey Guy. The guy is funny and is very knowledgeable about hockey. YouTube is his job.

 

[cobra427]

This is kind of the team that I was expecting to see once the talent found their footing here, plus some shrewd moves to help stabilize the core, in terms of trades and FA signings.

Secretly, after game 1, the game that I went to against Dallas - I thought we played really well. Like really, really well and the difference in that game was a misplay by Perlini and a fumbled puck by Gogo. Everything else looked solid. I was kind of waiting for it to break down in the second game, and it didn't. We were still consistently in the right position and still consistently winning battles and coming away with the puck on our stick over and over. We rarely looked like we were in danger even though we had some mishaps that allowed quality chances. By midway through the 3rd game, there was no question in my mind that this was a playoff team 100% as soon as the puck starts to hit the back of the net. We haven't looked back since.

I didn't pay attention to the goals all the time, but the pace of play and what we are doing to other influence pace of play in a positive fashion for our team or in a negative fashion for our team. We are consistently making positive plays and more than our opposition is. We are consistently limiting our negative plays and often have fewer than the opposition.

I am declaring it now. We will have no worse than the 3rd best record in the Pacific, and in all honesty, I believe we will win the Pacific. And as a sidenote, the Vegas books had closed down division betting (only offered Stanley Cup championship odds), so the allure and hope of my proposed bet on the Yotes winning the division does not come into play at all here. Another sad part of it is that we could be even better since Dvorak is done for about 6 months.

The only way that we don't wind up in the playoffs occurs if one of our goaltenders just loses every ounce of focus or we have a significant injury to at least two core players. I think we could survive one injury, as even without Galchenyuk, we were starting to turn things around prior to him returning and prior to that, we were still playing good, just with no goals to show for it.

Raanta/OEL/Hammer/Stepan injury would hurt us a lot. Its still early but we do look like a playoff team. We have the best GAA in the NHL and great possession numbers, neither is a fluke.