GDT: Game 3: Knights of the Round Table @ Golden Knights | 7:00 p.m. PDT | NBCSN

[Jakey53]

One thing that is a little frustrating to me (and this stems primarily from the blown leads in the first two games):

In every other sport, you know who you want out there in crunch time and what plays or calls to run to give the best chance of hitting your objective. In baseball, you identify who your best reliever is to hang on to a lead, given the scenario. You know who is able to pinch hit when you need to get a guy on base. Football - you have certain play packages to gain traction in moving the ball down the field, as well as preventing it. Granted, hockey does not always follow similar principles as I listed above, but it feels like we are just trying to go with the flow moreso than having a battle plan in mind.

I get that Tocchet is still learning the whos and whats of our team, but to me, that is the first thing that you identify - who are your best players for offense or defense and whom do you trust to play within the system properly when the game is in crunch time or in those moments when momentum shifts one way or the other?

So I get what Jakey is saying regarding the veterans to lead and do what veterans do, but it also doesn't appear that the coaching staff has also played its part in identifying the proper players and proper style in those scenarios either. We can choose to play up tempo and choose when to play a little more control. It just doesn't appear that everyone is quite on the same page for when to and when not to play that way.

I agree. If I have one fault with Tocc so far is just what you said. Cousins on the PP is a bit surprising.

 

[Neighborhood Coyote]

I made the trip to the game, so I wasn't able to find time to make it to the forums/etc.
First of all, it was a great experience in general. The arena is nice, the fans were into it, and it was obviously a pretty emotional deal for all involved. I definitely am rooting for Vegas to be successful... they are part of our hockey in the desert club. Saw a good amount of Yote's fans travelling to the game as well. Granted, was my first time seeing the Yotes in someone else's arena... It was nice to see!

But man, that was brutal to watch. I haven't seen play that bad in a long time (at least to start the game). This team was absolutely not ready to start that game at all and Vegas was.

Some problems I noticed were: Horrible decision making (passes that should not have been attempted, etc), bad passing, bad receiving, poor hustle on the defending zone (Saw a replay on the big screen on one of the goals and you can see 3 Yotes players coasting the whole time, give me a break), just sloppy in all areas of the game.

Louis came into the game and gave a good goaltending effort, imo. Maybe the only bright spot of that game for me. He didn't go lights out but he did better than his last game.

Kempe was a disappointment for me in this game. Skated hard.... sure...right into the goalie to give up a 5-3 pp and consequently a goal against. One of the stupidest penalties I've seen in a long time. Which again goes to the mental side of this game... how was the team this out of it? The Yotes had players skating directly into the opposing goalie for goodness sake!

Keller seemed to have a hard time with his edges for the first 2 periods and then finally was able to get it going near the end of the third.

Many times I saw a player on our team pass the puck right into the defender standing in front of them. Again, that's poor decision making and execution.

Then, when passes were made, the player receiving would be a step off, or let the puck go under their stick, or etc etc. Heck, one player skated right over a stationary puck at the blue line and it resulted in a great chance against.

It's almost impossible to take any lessons from this game because it was so bad. I know this team is better than that... and I suspect the slept on the Knights because everyone expects them to be horrible but I don't see them as THAT bad of a team. They have some solid pieces here and there and have something to play for. Their star players have been stars, ours have not.

I REALLLY hope tonight goes better. After taking all that time and effort to see them "perform" in Vegas... I hope the Yotes can at least show me something good.

 

[Jakey53]

You know what can cause those simple mistakes? Over-thinking instead of just playing. You could tell Tocc REALLY wanted that first game. Maybe he is micro-managing their play and is in their heads too much. I don't think that's a stretch when you see them scratching players and sending them down right away. It reeks of desperation when there's no need for that right now. Tocc likes to say winning is hard in the NHL. You know what else is? Coaching in the NHL. I used to think the last guy didn't like to develop the young guys because it was a lot more work than just plugging in a ****ty vet. It's going to take a ton of effort to get his system in place and all these young players on the same page. That will take time and will bring a lot of losses. When you hear everyone in the organization talk from the owner on down, they don't seem to have accepted that yet. They are already ****ing with Strome because of it. Let's hope it ends there.

I agree that some may be over thinking instead of just playing, and that happens when they try to do too much, or play as individuals. Hockey is a team sport so when just one player is out of position everything can get screwed up and that is what is happening. There has been so much turnover that the players have not had time to find that chemistry so it wouldn't really matter what system we have in place. I think Tocc will have to adjust his system a bit until the players feel comfortable with each other and then implement the full system. Still no excuse for the play of some of the vets. Don't worry about Strome, he will be just fine, but I don't want to see Cousins and Rinaldo in the line up at the same time and Strome in Tucson.

 

[SniperHF]

You know what can cause those simple mistakes? Over-thinking instead of just playing. You could tell Tocc REALLY wanted that first game. Maybe he is micro-managing their play and is in their heads too much.

This reminds me of something I forgot to mention earlier.
In the home opener during the 5 on 3, there was at one point during a stoppage some confusion as to who was going out on the ice. I can't remember which players were involved, but they kept going back and fourth between the dot and the bench. Held up play for about a minute and a half. I thought this was doubly odd because there were only 3 players to deal with

 

[Neighborhood Coyote]

Oh, and I forgot to mention that I also was baffled by Cousins on the PP. AND of course Goligoski passed the puck when he had a chance to shoot on a 2-1 when the team was down 5-1 in the game. Heaven forbid just taking the grade A shot and looking for the goal instead of the fancy, low % pass across a defender. Down 4 goals... take that shot! That was frustrating to see, haha. Ok, venting done... I think.

 

[rt]

Yes!!! Cousins on the PP is Tippett level.

 

[RABBIT]

Cousins hate is beyond me. He was one of the few moving his feet, and we've been out-played our last 2 games. I would've put him on the PP too, create some kind of hustle/energy

 

[Neighborhood Coyote]

Cousins hate is beyond me. He was one of the few moving his feet, and we've been out-played our last 2 games. I would've put him on the PP too, create some kind of hustle/energy

What I have seen of Cousins so far is that he kind of has a hot potato mentality with the puck. He has been moving his feet and all of that, but on a PP I think a player who can hold the puck and make plays with it is going to be more valuable... OR a player who can get in front of the net in the dirty areas and get stuff done. I just think there are other options on this team that I'd rather have over him in those situations. Unless he can show me differently going forward. I hope he can.

Ps-nowhere near his fault for the result in the game. Whole team was pretty much a flaming trash heap. I don't mind him as a player, overall... just don't get the PP time aspect.

 

[rt]

Cousins hate is beyond me. He was one of the few moving his feet, and we've been out-played our last 2 games. I would've put him on the PP too, create some kind of hustle/energy

Hustle is fine. It's nice.
Hustle = 1 > Hustle = 0
But I'm not convinced that for all of that hustle Cousins is impacting in-game outcomes. I don't know if it's a meaningful contribution to winning. At least in the sense of helping us score more and be scored on less.

Especially not on the PP, where he was an absolute travesty.

 

[RemoAZ]

Hustle is fine. It's nice.
Hustle = 1 > Hustle = 0
But I'm not convinced that for all of that hustle Cousins is impacting in-game outcomes. I don't know if it's a meaningful contribution to winning. At least in the sense of helping us score more and be scored on less.

Especially not on the PP, where he was an absolute travesty.

What's most hilarious to me is one of the reasons he said he sent down Strome was to play on the PP. And the freaking penalty kill? How about he stays here and takes Cousins spot on the PP and keep him far away from the PK he doesn't belong on anyway. Cousins can have hose minutes.

 

[TheLegend]

What's most hilarious to me is one of the reasons he said he sent down Strome was to play on the PP. And the freaking penalty kill? How about he stays here and takes Cousins spot on the PP and keep him far away from the PK he doesn't belong on anyway. Cousins can have hose minutes.

Because in Tucson he'll get more minutes 5v5 on top of the PP. You really want him to be parked on the 4th line here getting 8 min a game in the hopes he might get a PP or two??

 

[RemoAZ]

No I want him getting 1st or 2nd PP unit time and I want him on a scoring line getting quality 5 on 5 minutes here with NHL coaching, training, nutritionists, etc.

 

[rt]

No I want him getting 1st or 2nd PP unit time and I want him on a scoring line getting quality 5 on 5 minutes here with NHL coaching, training, nutritionists, etc.

Especially because he's been replaced by Nick Cousins. What's the point? Richardson is a fine 4th line center. Duclair has no talent on his line. We've got a Strome just laying around collecting dust.

Eureka!!!!

 

[_Del_]

I'm laughing so hard reading these posts. Just a few days ago everyone was a happy camper, and now we are moaning and groaning. I thought we would be 500 at this stage. Last night Raanta was the lone wolf here. If he could have made a save, like good goalies do, this could have been a different story. Once we got down early it started to snowball and the whole team lost any resemblance of structure. I would rather this happen now than later in the year. We only have one way to go.

Haha. Who cares that they're one game under .500 for the past 45 games. The important thing is the first part of the season was a disaster!

 

[rt]

Everything is about being "quick". It's about being quick with the puck and making quick decisions. It's manifesting in terrible decisions with the puck. KConn right there. Miserably awful decision. They aren't looking. Just mindlessly whacking the puck around. Trying to be quick. They don't have the hockey sense.

Man. That really summed up about the first 30 games of this season.

 

[_Del_]

I agree with everything but the last sentence. I don't think it's either or, I think it's both. 100% new coaching staff. Insane roster turnover. Incredible amount of 22 and under players. All of these things necessitate a prolonged adjustment period.

Apart from that last sentence, though, I think you nailed it.

You did well here. Where's your season prediction breakdown into thirds? We're probably close.


Found it:

Team Results
We've had a full blown leadership and coaching turnover. The roster is going to be extremely young and inexperienced. I think we will struggle hard out of the gate and eventually get our act together and finish strong. I think we will choose to sit on our hands at the deadline, citing our progress and we will be rewarded with a great finish and a ton of hope for next season. Something like:

First 21gp - 5-13-3
Next 20gp - 8-11-1
Next 20gp - 10-8-2
Final 21gp - 15-4-2

1st Half: 13-24-4 (26-48-8 - 60pt pace)
2nd Half: 25-12-4 (50-24-8 - 108pt pace)
Full Season: 38-36-8 - 84pts

2-15-3 first 20
6-11-2
8-7-5
3-1-1 so far in the back 21

Only slightly off course.

 

[rt]

I I feel like my P% in the first 21, next 20, next 20 and final 21 is going to end up pretty close in each segment. Obviously worse in all of them, so cumulatively much worst than my 84pt prediction but segment by segment not too far off the mark. The line graph will have the same trend line, just much lower, basically.

 

[BigMac1212]

Sorry for being so late, but we're better off being Knights of the Round Table Pizza.