It's funny the talk about faceoffs. When we were poor at faceoffs we were a tough team to play against. Now that we're actually good at faceoffs and should be better because of it, we're actually worse which really makes no sense but it tells me one thing, the faceoff stat is worthless and overrated. For years we were lucky to have one guy that could win over 50%. Now we have a few guys that are very good at but our winning percentage is not acceptable.
Here's my question yet again, you can't score yet you continue to play guys who have a hard time putting the puck in the net. How many f'in grinder types do you need on the ice? Nystrom, Hendricks, Gaustad, Clune and even Spaling to some extent are taking up 5 spots on the ice. Spaling has at least done a nice job of playing on the wing with Legwand and Smith. I don't understand why Spaling is on the PP while Wilson sits on the bench. That baffles me. When you're not able to score, put your more gifted guys together on lines and give them more ice time. Put a grinder line together and let them play 10-12 minutes a night, max. Stalberg is useless to me but if he's playing with the likes of Gaustad and Nystrom, why do we think his results are poor? Cullen playing with Hendricks and Clune? Really? A child could do better at making up lines.
We've all seen the success Smith and Cullen have together on the ice yet they are on the ice on the PP and not much else during the game. With about 6 minutes left tonight they were teamed together for one shift if I remember correctly. Once again, Bourque was sat in favor of Clune. While I love Clune's energy, he is the same type of player that our other grinders are, which leads me back to, how many f'in grinders do you need playing in any one game? By the way, we aren't only offensively challenged but these grinder types were guys that were added to the lineup to add sandpaper and grit and make it hard for the other team to play against. When is that actually going to happen? The other thing about these guys who are supposedly tough, why do you have to raise your hands multiple times after a fight to get the crowd into it? Oh that's right, you all suck at fighting so be a cheerleader instead. Once again, I bring up the Tootoo point. The guy could change the momentum of a game with a big hit or beating the tar out of an opponent in a fight. Even our grinder/fighter types suck at fighting. If we can't beat a team, can we at least beat them up a little bit? Nope, we don't even do that well. While I applaud Nystrom, Hendricks and Gaustad for their efforts in trying to get this team going, they just aren't very good at it. And for all the complaints about Tootoo, at least he was fun to watch, put up some points here and there and won the majority of his fights. People said he got overpaid by Detroit but look at what we're paying Nystrom, Hendricks and Gaustad and tell me he wouldn't have produced offensively and with the same, if not more, toughness than these guys have shown?
This team has no heart. It was like watching a pickup team play an NHL team tonight. Both teams played last night. We were at home so there was no travel yet Minny came in from the road and schooled us at home without their two best offensive players and made it look easy. All their other guys stepped up. Coyle and Heatley ate us alive and I thought Heatley was done. Their 3rd string goalie shut us down yet our backup and effectively fourth string goalie haven't done squat for us, although most, if not all of the goals tonight Maz didn't have a prayer on, yet again.
If Poile is too busy to take care of his job here because of the Olympic team then he either needs to let Fenton take over in his absence or he just needs to let Fenton or someone else come in and take care of the team. Also, Trotz is done. His line combos are a joke. His emphasis on D and detail to the game are outdated and worthless. The new NHL does not work like it did and it's time he changed his game plan but he's unable to adjust to that level. He doesn't do it on a period by period basis and certainly doesn't have the ability to do it over the long haul. 15 years of mediocrity is enough. I really believe we've lost guys from this team because of it's his way or the highway mentality. I don't think it's fun for the players to play in his system. It's not fun for the fans to watch any more too. I honestly don't even know why I waste my time watching this crap anymore. I really don't. I think I watch because it's like waiting for a train wreck, you just want to see what the pile up is going to look like the next time it happens. It's only going to get worse if something doesn't change but no one upstairs has a clue about what's going on on the ice to know better. Idiots. All of them. Me too I guess for continuing to care.
