Bone headed play by Nilsson there. I think yak was anticipating the poke check so he stopped skating for a split second with the intention to turn and chase the puck and get it out of the zone.
Unfortunately yak can't be cheating like that.
Agree...
I think we have to accept/understand that Yak's defensive instincts are NEVER going to be NHL caliber. He can be trained and is a willing learner, but every situation is going to require us to establish the specific rules and judgement that other players are just born with. He doesn't process the game from any part of the brain that assesses risk.
Hint... Yak... when the net is empty, and you are the first man back, that's the biggest risk.... not... if he makes the poke check the puck might be free near the blueline.
You all can say what you want about 2007 - 2014, but what I wouldn't give for a set of role players like Horc, Stoll, Pisani, Peca, Dvorak, Torres, even the captain Moreau. It's no wonder the room became divided... those guys could process the game in a way that might actually lead to some TEAM success instead of individual glory.
On a team like that you only needed one Hemsky, one Smyth and one Pronger to be a contender. Imagine going back in time to replace Hemmer with Hall, Smyth with ... well no, we keep Smytty, Samsonov with Ebs and Rem the Gem with Draisaitl.
Our cupboard is so bare... do we even have a single guy that we might develop the way we did with most of those guys? Any chance at all that we might be able to develop a 15g 20a solid checker instead of having to pay $3M/year every summer to find one (at a time... only to see them get old or get useless or both before we fill out the rest of the bottom 6).
We are *really paying for those years of no farm team.