Observations XXVI full ** v. XXVII started

[Predsanddead24]

Really want to see a call-up over just running with Hamhuis, Weber, Irwin in the lineup each game.

Carrier got recalled so hopefully they give him Top 4 minutes and keep those guys relegated to the bottom pairing. I'd like to see:

Josi-Fabbro
Ekholm-Carrier
Hamhuis-Irwin-Weber combo

 

[GoldOnGold]

Carrier got recalled so hopefully they give him Top 4 minutes and keep those guys relegated to the bottom pairing. I'd like to see:

Josi-Fabbro
Ekholm-Carrier
Hamhuis-Irwin-Weber combo

I hope so too. Carrier's been in the AHL 4 years, been one of our top d-men there, and hasn't gotten a look at the NHL level since 2016-2017.

I swear, Poile had better not resign Irwin/Weber this off-season.

 

[herzausstein]

Hopefully carrier actually gets a good look. I don’t want to re-sign the Irwin, Weber, hamhuis show next season. So it’d be good to know if atleast one of those guys in the ahl will be ready to play at the nhl level

 

[GeauxPreds1]

I think we need to call up Ingram and have Saros back him up and sit Rinne. Rinne seriously looks finished but maybe a few games in street clothes in the press box might light a fire under him. Who knows. Since we’re apparently not firing Lavy he needs to try another method to get these guys going. Like maybe have our defenseman play defense and let our forwards play more offense and drive the play.

 

[NoNecksCurse]

I think we need to call up Ingram and have Saros back him up and sit Rinne. Rinne seriously looks finished but maybe a few games in street clothes in the press box might light a fire under him. Who knows. Since we’re apparently not firing Lavy he needs to try another method to get these guys going. Like maybe have our defenseman play defense and let our forwards play more offense and drive the play.

pekka is done but the team defense just isn't good either. most Preds fans that watched the winter classic could clearly tell who the better team was. it was just a matter of time that Dallas would win that game even if we had the best goalie in the world in net.

 

[Predsanddead24]

pekka is done but the team defense just isn't good either. most Preds fans that watched the winter classic could clearly tell who the better team was. it was just a matter of time that Dallas would win that game even if we had the best goalie in the world in net.

Hasek could've been our goalie over these last three games and it still wouldn't have mattered. We're honestly lucky that Pekka manged to make it to the third period of the Winter Classic before he started to collapse like the rest of our team did or we would've been looking at a major blowout. The goaltending can shoulder a lot of the blame for our record in Novemeber, but they were also a big part of the mini winning streak we put together at the end of December.

 

[GeauxPreds1]

pekka is done but the team defense just isn't good either. most Preds fans that watched the winter classic could clearly tell who the better team was. it was just a matter of time that Dallas would win that game even if we had the best goalie in the world in net.

Yea I would like to see our defenseman play better defense and let our offense run through our forwards. We have some talented forwards that could drive our offense but with Laviolette’s system It doesn’t allow them to do that. I’ve watched forwards come into this system and watched their offense numbers take a hit after a month. Joey, Turris and Duchene all started out hot like they were gonna be ppg players then poof after a month after being in Laviolette’s system they go to looking pedestrian. I just wanna see a more defensive game come from our defenseman and offensive game from our forwards. Who knows with the injury to Ellis Laviolette might be forced to do that. I doubt it though

 

[ILikeItILoveIt]

Best thing we can do is use the Ellis injury as an excuse to intentionally play a tight, d-first style like we did against the Hawks in the 2017 1st round playoffs. Back to , score 3 and win. Clip the wings of the “go for it” offense approach. Frustrate the opposition rather than being the frustrated. Lavy has it in him. He’s done it before. Offensive success (8 goals against the Isles) is always a harbinger for a losing streak. We seem incapable of sustaining discipline yet we’ve done it before with this coach. This upcoming back-to-back is a defining moment. Get 4 points, and we’re back in business. Get zero points, and Lavy will be gone.

 

[NoNecksCurse]

Best thing we can do is use the Ellis injury as an excuse to intentionally play a tight, d-first style like we did against the Hawks in the 2017 1st round playoffs. Back to , score 3 and win. Clip the wings of the “go for it” offense approach. Frustrate the opposition rather than being the frustrated. Lavy has it in him. He’s done it before. Offensive success (8 goals against the Isles) is always a harbinger for a losing streak. We seem incapable of sustaining discipline yet we’ve done it before with this coach. This upcoming back-to-back is a defining moment. Get 4 points, and we’re back in business. Get zero points, and Lavy will be gone.

we need 4 points. 2 points continues us on the path of missing the playoffs. 0 points and we are 85% to miss the playoffs.

the blues last season were an anomaly. people need to stop replaying that in their head.

it would be different if this team had shown that they are a contender at any point. even when we were playing somewhat respectable hockey, our point pace over 365 days 82 games was 88-90 point pace. a long story short, we are what we are under laviolette. an inconsistent team that struggles on specials teams and now pekka is done and isn't there to cover for our deficiencies.

the sooner laviolette is gone, the better. Poile wasted a year of this core when he didn't fire laviolette and his assistants in the summer. now we are squandering away this season and Poile should have fired laviolette after the winter classic. it was the perfect time. at this point, Poile should go too. we aren't winning a cup with laviolette and we're wasting time with him as coach. I am not excusing the players because I believe they are too blame as well. "Soft" and "Got paid" come to mind. But we have to prove the words that come to mind with these players are true with a new coach.

 

[ILikeItILoveIt]

Well, that was just what the doctor ordered. Solid goaltending, no meltdowns, people stepping up, Josi continuing to have the best season of any Pred in our history (minus the giveaway leading to the Kings only goal). I agree, we need to win tonight to revive our season. That said, we have 42 games left. An eternity. As we’ve experienced over the past 5 years, the regular season goal is to make the playoffs. Once ur in, it doesn’t matter how you got there. Only only matters how you play after that. We reminisce about the 2017 run. Most forget we limped into the playoffs, blowing a lead in the final regular season game, falling to the 8th seed, and facing the#1 Blackhawks. We sweep them with an inferior team because we played great at the right time. There was NO indication based on the regular season that we could do what we did, never mind make it to Game 6 of the Finals. So, even though we haven’t shown an ability to sustain great performance doesn’t mean we’re unable. We have a lot of players who, if they just regress to their mean expected performance, we’ll succeed and make the playoffs. For those who say, so what, we’ll be one-and-done, you can’t know that. The 2017 Blackhawks played like champions that season, until they didn’t and lost to us. We’ve won Presidents Trophy’s and Division Titles, and didn’t get as far as when we stumbled into the last playoff seed in 2017. Don’t ruin your fan experience and rob yourself of the drama that is our upcoming playoff run. Enjoy the ride and expect surprises. Two weeks ago, the Patriots were one home win away from getting a bye in the first round of the NFL Playoffs, playing the lowly Dolphins in Foxboro. The Titans lost a critical home showdown with the Texans that would have given them a Division title. We wake up this morning and the inconsistent, maddening Titans move on to the 2nd Round and the regular season Division Champion Patriots are done. Why? Because the Titans played better in a playoff game and what the Pats did and the Titans didn’t do in the regular season meant nothing. Lets win today and have a great 2nd half of the season, make the Playoffs, then get hot at the right time. We can do this, with Lavy, and with this team. We’ve it before with the same coach and weaker teams.

 

[101st_fan]

we need 4 points. 2 points continues us on the path of missing the playoffs. 0 points and we are 85% to miss the playoffs.

the blues last season were an anomaly. people need to stop replaying that in their head.

it would be different if this team had shown that they are a contender at any point. even when we were playing somewhat respectable hockey, our point pace over 365 days 82 games was 88-90 point pace. a long story short, we are what we are under laviolette. an inconsistent team that struggles on specials teams and now pekka is done and isn't there to cover for our deficiencies.

the sooner laviolette is gone, the better. Poile wasted a year of this core when he didn't fire laviolette and his assistants in the summer. now we are squandering away this season and Poile should have fired laviolette after the winter classic. it was the perfect time. at this point, Poile should go too. we aren't winning a cup with laviolette and we're wasting time with him as coach. I am not excusing the players because I believe they are too blame as well. "Soft" and "Got paid" come to mind. But we have to prove the words that come to mind with these players are true with a new coach.

In October this team stared off with a .692 pts% across its first 13 games (8-3-2) ... a 113 pt pace. Then November rolled around and we see a complete flip of the script ... .385 pts%in 13 games played that month (4-7-2) ... a 63 pt pace. December was a combination of the two previous months ... .538 pts% in yet another 13 game month (6-5-2) ... an 88 pt pace. The grand total of that good start, abysmal November, and mediocre December is a 90 point pace, .550 pt%, through 40 games. Still on the outside looking in but not as dire as often gets presented around these boards.

We'll see how the last few months of the season play out. Maybe the team finally capitalizes on its games in hand and moves up into a playoff position. Maybe it squanders them and misses the post season.

 

[FossilFndr]

Glad the team is playing a couple teams below them in the standings given the last minute illness and the injuries, hopefully they can build on that and make a good showing against Boston on Tuesday at Bridgestone. Nice to start a morning after a win like that. The Arvy PK playing all the way back to Pekka, 175 feet away looked like a great decision, I've wondered why that isn't done more. Unfortunate, surprising turn over by Josi. Guess mistakes happen even by one of the best.

He's small and may be trouble in playoffs but I really am liking Grimaldi, he's quick and aggressive after the puck.

 

[Pred303]

when we get good goaltending, we win. imagine that.

 

[Soundgarden]

I can't wait for Trenin to come up long term, I also can't wait until we don't have to play Tinordi, Irwin, Weber and Hamhuis anymore.
Ellis AND Fabbro are out and you don't even test Carrier out on the third pair against one of the few teams that have a worse record than we do? I mean, it worked out fine, but we've seen what Tinordi and Irwin can do and most of the time it isn't pretty.

Josi, he looked dominant last night, aside from that horrendous turnover leading to a goal. Still, he was the most exciting player on the ice.

Johansen I thought played a good game too.

 

[PredsV82]

I'm hoping Carrier arrived late and they wanted to let him get in a little skating with the team before throwing him in. Gonna be pissed if he doesnt play tonight.

 

[herzausstein]

Please give Carrier a shot tonight. We really need to see if he can go or not. If Ellis is out long term, then i don't want to run Irwin/Hamhuis/Weber long term. So we either see if one of the AHL players can go or pick up a depth dman via trade.

 

[GoldOnGold]

Joey has 2 more points than Bonino.

 

[101st_fan]

The PK% is now the 3rd worst in the league. At least the PP% is much better than last season at only 8th worst in the league.

The +23 at 5on5 takes a huge hit with the -10 from our special teams ... 34 goals allowed on the kill is the most in the league to date.

This season's glaring problem that the staff hasn't been able to mitigate, never mind fix.

 

[Scoresberg]

The first 40 minutes were absolutely hard to watch and we probably didn't even deserve a point but I still can't get over the fact that we're not catching ANY big breaks this year.

The Joey post in SO.

The Grimaldi chance in OT, inches of being in the net, he himself stopped the puck from going in.

The Joey penalty that led to the 3-2 goal, no way that should be a penalty and how it turned the momentum, I'd argue the Carrier penalty was weak as well and that led to a goal as well.

The Henrique goal, that deflected off the skate in front.

But ultimately, I don't know anymore what will it take to get us over this. This win one, lose one, win two, lose three is not going to get us into the playoffs. I want to see some fire coming out of our leader core, the Bonino can't be our best line night in and night out.

 

[Scoresberg]

And oh, do not blame Saros for that game at all. He could've had the 4th one with a better rebound control but other than that he's the one who got us that point.

According to Natural Stat Trick, the Ducks' expected goals were 4.45. So, he actually saved above of what he should've.

 

[Roman Yoshi]

I gotta disagree with the above. The second Henrique goal was not luck. He was all alone in front of Saros and the other Duck threw a bad pass to him. If it doesn't go off him and in, it ends up on his stick and in back of the net. It was a good awareness to find him there.

We needed, however, do tinordi or Irwin to move him out of the way. That did not happen.

Look, I know I get the reputation as captain doom and glool, but 3/4 points on a back to back I'm happy with. Keeps us on pace.

On to Boston.

 

[Byrddog]

These next four games will indicate if the team will be last in the division and sellers or are able to fight for a wild card spot. Boston, Winnipeg and have been struggling The Hawks and the Oil are much like the Preds you do not know which team is going to show up. At this point 4 points out of the 8 is not good enough and loser points against people in the division when you near the bottom hurts more than helps. No back to backs so hopefully Sarros does not get any time and that Rinne can keep the focus. I understand many are Sarro's supporters but the guy has had 17 starts and only has 5 wins and only 14 points out of the possible 34 points in his starts even with his loser points it does not justify starting him unless it is a b to b. people are arguing and making excuses but the bottom line he has not been able to get the job done no matter what the reason.

 

[Predsanddead24]

I don't think we're in such a doom and gloom type scenario right now as far as the standings go as people are making it out to be. We've played half the season now and are at a 90 point pace. It typically takes ~93 points to get into the playoffs so we only need to play at a marginally better pace then we did at the first half to make it in. If we can't manage to play at that pace we're not going to do anything in the playoffs so it doesn't really matter. The crucial thing is that we need to win the games against the teams that are close to us in the standings. Winnipeg, Edmonton, and to some degree the Blackhawks in the next week or so are going to be big games. The even more important thing is that we need to fix the issues we've had going against us all season like special teams, goaltending, and defensive play. If we do that the wins will come and getting into the playoffs will take care of itself.

 

[Predsanddead24]

Also as far as goaltending goes it's been much improved at 5 v 5 recently. 0.919 sv% for Rinne and 0.920 sv% for Saros at 5 v 5 since December 1 and both with positive GSAA for those that like those sorts of things. Not world beating but solid enough to not be an issue. The big issues remains on the PK where Saros (0.821 sv% on the PK since Dec. 1) has joined Pekka (0.805 sv% on the PK since Dec. 1) in having awful numbers. You can point out the oft quoted saying your goalie has to be your best penalty killer and they certainly can share some of the blame, but we also clearly have systemic issues on the PK that are really hurting us.

 

[Armourboy]

I don't see the special teams suddenly getting better. They've been trying to fix the PP for over a year, and somehow also managed to ruin the PK as well.

Now we have the injury/illness bug. Its not going to get a whole lot better from here. Poile wasted a year because just like after the Cup run he was to loyal and made no changes to coaches that should have been gone.