GDT: Game 78: Columbus vs. Pittsburgh | 4/4 2PM EDT

[Nanabijou]

There is a lot of good that has or will come from this winning streak in terms of fan interest both now and for next season. It will make the summer easier for the players. But when the puck drops next October and in future seasons the odds say that a guy picked 5-7 will have more of an impact than this winning streak. In fact the guy we draft wherever we pick will have more impact.

I mentioned at the start of this thread that the importance of this win streak relates more to the roster makeup in October than carry-forward of momentum. If, when reasonably healthy, this roster could not compete against these playoff-bound teams, we'd all be calling for Jarmo to at least 're-tool' and some would be calling for a roster blow-up. Jarmo himself has been quoted in saying he wants to see what this team can do when reasonably healthy, as he didn't have that chance until the last few weeks (with Murray being the key piece still out). The fact that they can compete and win as constructed gives credence that injuries did derail the season, and the roster should only be tweaked. That decision, tweak versus re-tool, has potential major ramifications on next season and beyond, perhaps much more impact than if we get the 5-7 pick versus the 9-11 pick.

Personally, the way the core of this team has handled the end of the last 3 seasons, along with the growth of the rookies, has made me decide that I am happy with the general makeup of this roster, and Richards' ability to lead it. I am fine with tweaks (defense), not an overhaul. Mainly, they need to figure out a way to minimize the injuries (particularly the abdominal strain stuff) and how to play with the same authority in the first two months the way they've been able to play the last two months over the last 3 seasons.

 

[EspenK]

I mentioned at the start of this thread that the importance of this win streak relates more to the roster makeup in October than carry-forward of momentum. If, when reasonably healthy, this roster could not compete against these playoff-bound teams, we'd all be calling for Jarmo to at least 're-tool' and some would be calling for a roster blow-up. Jarmo himself has been quoted in saying he wants to see what this team can do when reasonably healthy, as he didn't have that chance until the last few weeks (with Murray being the key piece still out). The fact that they can compete and win as constructed gives credence that injuries did derail the season, and the roster should only be tweaked. That decision, tweak versus re-tool, has potential major ramifications on next season and beyond, perhaps much more impact than if we get the 5-7 pick versus the 9-11 pick.

I agree with pretty much all you say except that I'm pretty sure Jarmo knew how this team would play when healthy and if this streak had not happened his off-season approach still would be tweak not re-build.

 

[Columbus Mike]

That's the kind of crap you get all day long when Boll isn't in the lineup, Morin did absolutely nothing. Dano didn't look good either, but I wouldn't scratch Dano for Boll, but Morin absolutely shouldn't have been in over Boll. All the little rats come out when they know they won't have to pay a price.

Please explain. Are you saying that if Boll was sitting on the bench the officials would have called a penalty? Or if Boll was sitting on the bench he would have come off the bench to punch someone?

Boll and his six minutes a game have almost no positive tangible impact. I guess if you want to say Dubinsky feels safer having him there, OK, I really can't respond to that. Dano wasn't great, but he did have two assists and was +1. Morin is auditioning for next year, and doesn't need to be an enforcer.

 

[JacketFanInFL]

It takes 3 hours to drive to Grove City??

John Deere tops out at 10 mph tops

 

[MAHJ71]

Richards is 2 wins from tying Hitchcock as the winningest CBJ coach. Hitchcock was here for 284 games, Richards has been here for 248.

I start to want Richards gone and then he goes off on winning streaks like this with a healthy roster. Clearly, if he can do this well with a healthy roster, then there's no reason to get rid of him outside of the poor starts to the season argument.

lol.. find myself in the same boat - but the poor starts is a compelling argument - we'll see how next season begins.

Best post of the entire thread. Kudos.

 

[db2011]

If you think Boll was going to stop the Little ***** from running our goal tender you are a bit on the naive side. We have more than enough toughness on this team with players willing to drop the gloves - Prout included.

This has to be the most idiotic position I've seen in a long, long time.

Thanks for sharing.

Who knows if Johnson gets a small suspension for that punch. The little ***** needed another ass beating for his deliberate run on Bob. Officials need to protect our goalies. If they aren't going to do it, the players are going to need to do their own policing.

We had that little ***** do that and we had Foligno do everything humanly possible to avoid contact on one of his goals. Big distinction between the players there.

As to the first part of your post, if you believe my posts on this matter are naive and idiotic, then you must be suspending your critical faculties for your wishful ones.

And you should probably not read the second part of your post, because there you seem to be pining for the very role a guy like Boll fills. How many fights did we see yesterday in response to the liberties the Pens were taking?

 

[major major]

As to the first part of your post, if you believe my posts on this matter are naive and idiotic, then you must be suspending your critical faculties for your wishful ones.

And you should probably not read the second part of your post, because there you seem to be pining for the very role a guy like Boll fills. How many fights did we see yesterday in response to the liberties the Pens were taking?

IMO that's not a contradiction. You can simultaneously want Boll gone and want someone around to kick Hornqvist's ass. Because realistically Boll can't do a whole lot about it.

Playing Boll extra minutes so he can track down Hornqvist is a gift to the Pens, and only encourages more bad behavior. If I was an opposing coach I would try to get Boll on the ice as much as possible. No one is obligated to fight him.

What is a good deterrent is that we have a lot of skilled toughness throughout our lineup - guys who can fight, hit, and jab - and plenty of guys who can drive the net on Fleury. That's the only real deterrent you have.

 

[DarkandStormy]

The CBJ have won 39 of 78 games...they have won exactly half our games. That's .500 in my book.

Last I checked standings are determined by points, not wins. Good try, good effort.

 

[DarkandStormy]

That's the kind of crap you get all day long when Boll isn't in the lineup, Morin did absolutely nothing. Dano didn't look good either, but I wouldn't scratch Dano for Boll, but Morin absolutely shouldn't have been in over Boll. All the little rats come out when they know they won't have to pay a price.

Had two assists.

 

[DarkandStormy]

Dano and Wennberg now top 30 in scoring among rookies. More impressive for Dano given his number of games played.

 

[EDM]

Major Major makes an excellent point. Other teams do not fear Boll. They want him on the ice as much as possible because him being on the ice reduces the talent and skill of the Jackets team that is on the ice. As MM noted, the solution, which is going on thru out the league, is to have tough, TALENTED players who can handle a fight when necessary. We have that in Nick, Dubie, Hartnell, Prout, Jenner and JJ, and to a lesser extent, Calvert. The era of carrying a player of very limited talent just so that he can fight is passing in the NHL.

Furthermore, I don't want a team where they all stand around watching because it is the job of just one guy to fight. I want a "band of brothers" approach where they are all sticking up for each other.

 

[blahblah]

As to the first part of your post, if you believe my posts on this matter are naive and idiotic, then you must be suspending your critical faculties for your wishful ones.

And you should probably not read the second part of your post, because there you seem to be pining for the very role a guy like Boll fills. How many fights did we see yesterday in response to the liberties the Pens were taking?

Not "pining" for anything. Reading compression appears to be a lost art. You also said somewhere else Dano didn't look good. rofl Good luck.

 

[EspenK]

Last I checked standings are determined by points, not wins. Good try, good effort.

Doggy's definition is a time honored one in sports. And pretty much in the whole world. Until the NHL mucked it up with awarding a point for a loss. So your definition I guess is correct also albeit a bit new age.

 

[blahblah]

Doggy's definition is a time honored one in sports. And pretty much in the whole world. Until the NHL mucked it up with awarding a point for a loss. So your definition I guess is correct also albeit a bit new age.

There isn't a problem with it. It's just different. Don't know why it bothers people so much.

 

[NotWendell]

Doggy's definition is a time honored one in sports. And pretty much in the whole world. Until the NHL mucked it up with awarding a point for a loss. So your definition I guess is correct also albeit a bit new age.

I prefer to look at it as a point for a tie at the end of regulation time. That said, the idea of 3 point being awarded for some games and 2 points for others still makes me crazy!

I don't know why this is so hard to implement...
3 points = regulation win
2 points = overtime win
1 point = regulation tie (overtime loss)
0 points = regulation loss

 

[db2011]

Not "pining" for anything. Reading compression appears to be a lost art. You also said somewhere else Dano didn't look good. rofl Good luck.

You must have compressed your reading- I said he didn't look that great a game or two before the scratch, but he looked good last night. Ergo, Richards seems to have made a good decision by scratching him, since he responded with 2 assists.

It's a pretty established theory that you have a guy like Boll to deter the runs on Bob that we saw last night. It will be countered by the position that "we have enough tough guys to act as a deterrent"; problem is, that didn't happen last night. Multiple runs on Bob, no fights, and JJ's beautiful sucker was late in the game. So the counter argument doesn't hold up.

Really though I'm only sending up how one game people complained about Boll in the lineup, and the next people complained about Bob not being protected. There's some irony there.

 

[db2011]

Yeah, yeah.

Just to try and set the record straight. I'm not sure I ever advocated tanking (at least not seriously). Tanking to me is playing C-Mac down the stretch, calling up a few more prospects, sitting Foligno, Dubi, Joey,et al for the occasional "rest". Tanking is the players going through the motions rather than playing hard. I respect these guys a whole lot for not doing that. This winning streak has been achieved by beating many of the teams fighting for playoff spots. I respect the organization for not bringing up more prospects. They haven't tanked.

What I have hoped for is a few more losses. I understand the guys who believe that this finish will carry over until next year and will forever set the stage for the next great hockey dynasty. I just don't, and probably never will, buy into the fact that a impressive winning streak at the end of the season is better than a better draft position and in this year's case a better chance to draft a projected generational talent.

And for everyone who says we don't need that kind of a guy you're wrong. Every team needs that kind of a player. Especially a team like the Jackets that are pretty damn good when healthy and had a string of bad luck on the injury front this year. A guy like that or even a Noah Hanifan maybe could be the missing piece to a long term run of success. You want a top 2 D man? It isn't coming cheaply and having an extra blue chipper around allows more flexibility in putting together a deal that might land such a player.

There is a lot of good that has or will come from this winning streak in terms of fan interest both now and for next season. It will make the summer easier for the players. But when the puck drops next October and in future seasons the odds say that a guy picked 5-7 will have more of an impact than this winning streak. In fact the guy we draft wherever we pick will have more impact.

I hear you. I don't know if I'd give both of my hands for McDavid, but I would LOVE to have him on this team. But I'm no way going to react negatively to the kind of hockey we're seeing from our boys right now. And the backdoor tanking you're describing, these players are too smart for that. You can lose a room that way.

I also think the point being made that this is good for seeing what this roster is like when healthy is valid. I'm not sure we can bet that JK knew what he already had. How could he? This is an empirical look at the healthy roster, so more informed decisions can be made.

And how can we not love yesterday's outcome?? Punking pinksburgh! Nick with a hatty. I gotta say also, Matty's goal was really something. Dano with tough luck on a good shot, then Calvert's second effort, and that was some kind of angle on his backhand

 

[blahblah]

You must have compressed your reading- I said he didn't look that great a game or two before the scratch, but he looked good last night. Ergo, Richards seems to have made a good decision by scratching him, since he responded with 2 assists.

I didn't go back to read your original post, just say you quoted somewhere else. Whoever I saw that quoted you said that same thing I did, so they must have been confused too.

No, I haven't see Dano "not look good". Every player will have some games where they aren't quite as good, however he's never been a passenger in any game I've seen.

As far as the rest of your nonsense; it's already been established that, if you believe your thesis, there are other players on this team that are more than willing to fill in that role. Boll has been injured multiple times and we haven't been pushed around. Protecting your skill players doesn't have to involve fighting. Even if it does you still have a guy like Prout out there.

I don't know what your obsession with Boll is. We can survive quite nicely without him in the lineup and his presence isn't going to deter crap like we saw last night. It will still happen and we'll still have players that will step up for one another. Little ***** wouldn't have dropped his gloves to fight Boll so his ***** little ass would have still run been screwing with our goal tending. I think your idea of "irony" is pretty damn ignorant. If you are using me as an example the only complaining I did was that the officials didn't protect Bob by giving the goal tending interference. I was quite happy with the response from the team.

I'm done with this conversation. You are intentionally misrepresenting people for your own persona agenda. It's trash and I won't be a part of that crap going forward. If you are going go debate, don't make up ****.

 

[CBJSlash]

I feel great going into next season. If Johansen, Jenner, Dubinsky, Bobrovsky and Foligno can stay healthy through training camp we will be in great shape.

Still hope we sign Letestu. Minus Boll, look at how effective and dangerous that 4th line can be. Calvert - Letestu - Rychel would be an awesome 4th line.

 

[MFRONE]

Rychel is only getting into the lineup if there are injuries and/or a few trades.

 

[ca5150]

Had two assists.

I hardly think assists on Calvert and Hartnell's goals warrant deeming he played a good game, those weren't tic tac toe passes

 

[Sore Loser]

I hardly think assists on Calvert and Hartnell's goals warrant deeming he played a good game, those weren't tic tac toe passes

Look, I get where you're coming from, but comparing Marko Dano to Jared Boll is making you look pretty ridiculous. I'll concede and agree that Dano didn't have a great game yesterday ... but in a bad game, he scored half as many points as Jared Boll has scored all year long. In less than half the games played, he has nearly four times more points and is a full +22 better than Boll.

You put the guys in the lineup that help you win. I get the loyalty to Boll; I was on that side coming into the year. But, the guy has been terrible all year - no energy, no leadership - really nothing but bad penalties. He isn't, and never has been a feared fighter in this league. He's too small to play that role and always has been. I have no problem with him being around, but he should not be in the lineup ahead of guys who are more productive and bring more energy. Such as Dano. If Boll wants to play, he'll put his hardhat on in practice and start competing for a job in game situations.

Your argument is tired. We all know it, we've all seen it ... we know how you feel. You don't need to remind us on every single thread on this board.

 

[ca5150]

Look, I get where you're coming from, but comparing Marko Dano to Jared Boll is making you look pretty ridiculous. I'll concede and agree that Dano didn't have a great game yesterday ... but in a bad game, he scored half as many points as Jared Boll has scored all year long. In less than half the games played, he has nearly four times more points and is a full +22 better than Boll.

You put the guys in the lineup that help you win. I get the loyalty to Boll; I was on that side coming into the year. But, the guy has been terrible all year - no energy, no leadership - really nothing but bad penalties. He isn't, and never has been a feared fighter in this league. He's too small to play that role and always has been. I have no problem with him being around, but he should not be in the lineup ahead of guys who are more productive and bring more energy. Such as Dano. If Boll wants to play, he'll put his hardhat on in practice and start competing for a job in game situations.

Your argument is tired. We all know it, we've all seen it ... we know how you feel. You don't need to remind us on every single thread on this board.

Exactly where did I compare Dano and Boll? I threw in that he didn't have a good game but that Morin was the one that should have sat. I believe my exact words were, "I would never sit Dano for Boll" I would never compare an offensive player with a roll player, that would be ridiculous, I'll leave that to the experts like you.

 

[major major]

I hardly think assists on Calvert and Hartnell's goals warrant deeming he played a good game, those weren't tic tac toe passes

I thought he played well even leaving the assists aside, but I do think the assists were deserved. The puck follows Dano around, and he gets shots on net that produce dangerous rebounds that lead to goals. That's not a random attribute, some players can consistently do that and some can't.

 

[Sore Loser]

Exactly where did I compare Dano and Boll? I threw in that he didn't have a good game but that Morin was the one that should have sat. I believe my exact words were, "I would never sit Dano for Boll" I would never compare an offensive player with a roll player, that would be ridiculous, I'll leave that to the experts like you.

You don't have to say it, you imply it when you comment about Dano having a poor game yesterday while Boll sat. And if that makes me more of an expert than you, then so be it. I think Morin and Boll are somewhat interchangeable, and I think that neither of them fit into the long-term plans of this team. But I will say that, at least Morin isn't a penalty or defensive zone liability.

The hockeyfights.com fight of the day just came across, and oddly enough it features Jared Boll:

http://www.hockeyfights.com/fights/43088

So tell me, does this sort of thing (taking a charging penalty and losing a fight to a smaller player) help the team, or does it hurt the team? Speak honestly.