Dennis Bonvie
Registered User
sweating? Doubt it, he`d be hired in a heartbeat
Or take a nice long vacation on the Bruins tab first.
sweating? Doubt it, he`d be hired in a heartbeat
Indeed, has his warts for sure, wondering out loud what coach out there would have been able to squeeze more out of that group last year?
Had they even been average in the shootout, they would have been playoff bound (probably an early exit but..)
I don`t know, seen plenty of Julien coached Bruin teams who entertained me and finished in the top 5 of scoring due to that solid D play
GAA rank since Julien is here:
07-08: 11th (Bergeron played only 10 games)
08-09: 1st
09-10: 2nd
10-11: 2nd
11-12: 6th
12-13: 3rd
13-14: 2nd
14-15: 8th
Only once out of the top-10 and it was the year Bergeron almost died. Last year, they had an abysmal season, Seids played like a #6, Chara was injured and played below his self when in the lineup, many bad turnovers, and they still ended in 8th besides all that.
Big reason? Clode. Another? Rask and Bergeron.
We'll again be a top-10 team for GAA this year. Even with that worst D in the league like some are saying. That's just the way it goes with this team Under Julien. They will also not have many trouble scoring more than the 208 goals they had last year.
Is it a better team on paper? Who really cares... If they score more goals, allow less and make the playoffs, is that 15-16 team be considered better than that 14-15 better team on paper that underachieved? It's all about results. That 14-15 team didn't get any. Let's see how this 15-16 edition does. My prediction: they get more points than last year and make the playoffs. To me, that's a better team.
GAA rank since Julien is here:
07-08: 11th (Bergeron played only 10 games)
08-09: 1st
09-10: 2nd
10-11: 2nd
11-12: 6th
12-13: 3rd
13-14: 2nd
14-15: 8th
Only once out of the top-10 and it was the year Bergeron almost died. Last year, they had an abysmal season, Seids played like a #6, Chara was injured and played below his self when in the lineup, many bad turnovers, and they still ended in 8th besides all that.
Big reason? Clode. Another? Rask and Bergeron.
We'll again be a top-10 team for GAA this year. Even with that worst D in the league like some are saying. That's just the way it goes with this team Under Julien. They will also not have many trouble scoring more than the 208 goals they had last year.
Is it a better team on paper? Who really cares... If they score more goals, allow less and make the playoffs, is that 15-16 team be considered better than that 14-15 better team on paper that underachieved? It's all about results. That 14-15 team didn't get any. Let's see how this 15-16 edition does. My prediction: they get more points than last year and make the playoffs. To me, that's a better team.
Last year's defense was bad but was saved by an even more conservative offense that had to play much lower,which helped the defense but hurt the offense. 40+ 1 goal games.
Last year's defense was bad but was saved by an even more conservative offense that had to play much lower,which helped the defense but hurt the offense. 40+ 1 goal games.
Exactly.
Allowed goals increased by 19.2% from '13/14, while scored goals decreased by 18.4%.
So basically the Clod's "system" hurts offense almost as much as it helps defense.
I really disagree with the notion that the system is the root of last year's malaise. The brain drain in the room mixed with some bad luck gave us the results we saw. Note that since then the vast majority of young signees have been captains on their prospective teams, the July acquisitions are hyped about the logo, and the management has expressed multiple times that they want to breed a culture of pride and competition back into the room. Oh, and they are backing Clode. These things speak more to a diagnosis that has the mentality of the team being the root cause of their problems.
I don't think it was the "root" of the problem, but it's certainly a factor.
If a boring offensive system also becomes predictable-- dump, chase, cycle, shot from the point, repeat-- then teams will easily neutralize, especially without speed, drive, creativity, and skill, to mix things up.
I don't see other teams who use similar styles struggling in the same way. Look at St Louis, Nashville, Anaheim... The system is pretty straight forward, but it works because it preferences high percentage plays. The problem is it requires a ton of energy to maintain. With waning morale and bad shooting percentages, the statistical underpinnings of the strategy fall into the anomalous.
Last year's defense was bad but was saved by an even more conservative offense that had to play much lower,which helped the defense but hurt the offense. 40+ 1 goal games.
I don't see other teams who use similar styles struggling in the same way. Look at St Louis, Nashville, Anaheim... The system is pretty straight forward, but it works because it preferences high percentage plays. The problem is it requires a ton of energy to maintain. With waning morale and bad shooting percentages, the statistical underpinnings of the strategy fall into the anomalous.
One other thing. I haven't done the math, but I am convinced the Bruins missed the Playoffs last year by losing in the Shoot Out so damn often.
They need guys who can score in the Shoot Out too. I'll do that math yet, but I am convinced they identified that as an issue and drafted with it in mind.
If they at least improve this problem, they can find some more low hanging points right there.
One other thing. I haven't done the math, but I am convinced the Bruins missed the Playoffs last year by losing in the Shoot Out so damn often.
They need guys who can score in the Shoot Out too. I'll do that math yet, but I am convinced they identified that as an issue and drafted with it in mind.
If they at least improve this problem, they can find some more low hanging points right there.
One other thing. I haven't done the math, but I am convinced the Bruins missed the Playoffs last year by losing in the Shoot Out so damn often.
They need guys who can score in the Shoot Out too. I'll do that math yet, but I am convinced they identified that as an issue and drafted with it in mind.
If they at least improve this problem, they can find some more low hanging points right there.
Isn't the NHL going to 3 on 3 OT? That should help a lot.
Technically you are correct. However, IMO, they really lost and missed the playoffs because they played far too often for a tie instead of trying to actually win. It's a big reason why them bringing back Julien is puzzling to me. His overly conservative in game approach is why they went to so many shootouts but lost. The other side of it were his questionable choices for shooters in the shootout.
Yeah, he should pick the really successful shooters that were available, like.......?
In OT, Julien was just about the only coach in the league to use 3 forwards. That would be the exact opposite of overly conservative.
And what did he do before OT to shake the overly conservative approach and go for the win? Oh yeah, he rolled out Greg Campbell and the fourth line in key spots when they could have used offense.
And go back over the box scores and look at the players he picked for the shootout and the order he put them out. It was laughable. Even if he didn't have a large pool of offensive players to pick from, that's still on him. He's the coach and he's the guy who took stiffs and grinders over offensive minded players like Spooner, Pasta, and Koko early in the year. Fact is, he's the guy who wants a roster of all 2 way players who would eschew offense in favor of back checking. So you can't bemoan his plight when he's a huge contributing factor for it.