Ottawa 67's 2023-24 Off-Season Thread (Part 1)

[Hinterland]

After the back to back penalties, DC tosses the 4th line out there, they get hemmed in their zone and the puck ends up out of play. Faceoff. Chance to change it up. Nope. Let’s keep the 4th line out for a 2nd faceoff…..

I get that they just killed two penalties back to back and Oshawa tossed out their 4th line but JEZUS, after the play was over and there was another face, time to change it up. Keeping the 4th line out there is silly.

I honestly think that 4th line shouldn't play at all. It's obvious that three lines are dominating play tonight while line 4 is chasing and bleeding chances. That 4th line was a weapon vs Brantford but it's a liability now. That's partly because Oshawa simply has more depth than Brantford but it has to do with Cameron's lineup decisions as well. Whitehead and especially Yanni have been excellent while Gardiner and Kelly have not. I don't think they're anywhere near 100%. If they are, they're not playing like it. I don't think Barlas is the problem there. The other two are.

 

[OMG67]

I honestly think that 4th line shouldn't play at all. It's obvious that three lines are dominating play tonight while line 4 is chasing and bleeding chances. That 4th line was a weapon vs Brantford but it's a liability now. That's partly because Oshawa simply has more depth than Brantford but it has to do with Cameron's lineup decisions as well. Whitehead and especially Yanni have been excellent while Gardiner and Kelly have been bad. I don't think they're anywhere near 100%. If they are, they're not playing like it. I don't think Barlas is the problem there. The other two are.

Inject the 4th line players into the top 9 to spell a guy off here and there.

 

[Hinterland]

Inject the 4th line players into the top 9 to spell a guy off here and there.

That would certainly be smarter than icing them as a line. I'd play Barlas only though. Cameron has to sit Kelly and Gardiner if they're injured. Gotta ice players, not corpses.

PS: gotta bench Sirman as well. Been saying it since mid 1st period.

 

[Race Dawg]

Can anyone explain Oster taking down Kesler???

 

[mianjo]

2-2

2-3

3-3

GOAL
#12 Braeden Kressler (6) scores. Assists: #11 Henry Mews, #19 Samuel Mayer


OT

 

[Hinterland]

Can anyone explain Oster taking down Kesler???

Yeah. Looked like a penalty to me. I'm also not sure about the Foster penalty. His stick was there but I think it was either a dive or the guy just fell on his own. Questionable decisions by the refs but they've been good until now and the 67s have only themselves to blame if they lose this one. They just took too many penalties. Unnecessary, dumb penalties. They're playing well but keep on crippling themselves.

 

[Hinterland]

Bruh. My nerves. That was a close call. Just about survived. Lack of discipline almost cost them. Don't think those shots he let in in the 3rd were unstoppable but MacKenzie saved the team earlier when they kept on taking those penalties.

Let's hope there's enough left in the tank for OT.

 

[Hinterland]

I think that's a soft call to make in OT but Oshawa was due for one after 7 straight for Ottawa and the Oster/Kressler situation. Mews was slashed as well earlier in OT.

 

[mianjo]

67's lose 4-3

 

[Hinterland]

Man. That's a bummer. Ottawa dominated OT completely. Oshawa had nothing except for the MacKenzie brainfart.

Painful way to learn lessons. They may have allowed just one PP goal but the penalties they took were what ultimately cost the 67s. They were the better team 5vs5 and it wasn't close.

For game 4, replace the injured Kelly and Gardiner with Yanni and Whitehead. Yes, they're young but they played well vs Brantford and this team needs their energy, their fresh legs. This team also needs a proper 4th line and the 67s have nothing to lose anyway now they're down 0-3.

 

[Race Dawg]

Crowd was loud but common 2,900 for round two of the playoffs is utterly pathetic. You have 1.5 milliom people CMA up there - clearly Ottawa has deserted junior hockey. Move them to a smaller rink then to create more buzz and demand as the Civic Centre vessel has sailed away into the sunset. There used to be a time when Ottawa easily outdrew Oshawa in attendance but times have changed.

Too bad Ottawa dominated the OT let's be honest the better team I leading this series very comfortably. Enough on thar..<out>

Side note: it was nice to see the Sens beat Boston tonight even though it was their Swan song. Bruins-Toronto first round matching should be a good one. Guess I will go and dig out my old Bruins jersey from the chest. f*** I hate the Leafs. Go BRUINS...

 

[Donnie740]

As I expected, Ottawa gave everything they had and they were carrying the play in overtime until another catastrophic defensive breakdown led to the game winning 2-in-1.

No idea why Mayich was so far ahead of the play up ice, and then when he couldn’t get the puck in deep he was caught.

Benny Danford has been has been fantastic in this series and made the great look ahead pass to spring Lockhart and Owen Griffin - - you knew there was ZERO chance Lockhart was going to pass the puck, he was shooting all the way.

Major concern about the status of Rasmus Kumpalainen after he was hit into open bench door in overtime. Really haven’t wonder WTF the door was opened up for when the play was headed directly at it. Hopefully Kumpalainen was just shaken up and won’t miss any significant time.

 

[OMG67]

As I expected, Ottawa gave everything they had and they were carrying the play in overtime until another catastrophic defensive breakdown led to the game winning 2-in-1.

No idea why Mayich was so far ahead of the play up ice, and then when he couldn’t get the puck in deep he was caught.

Benny Danford has been has been fantastic in this series and made the great look ahead pass to spring Lockhart and Owen Griffin - - you knew there was ZERO chance Lockhart was going to pass the puck, he was shooting all the way.

Major concern about the status of Rasmus Kumpalainen after he was hit into open bench door in overtime. Really haven’t wonder WTF the door was opened up for when the play was headed directly at it. Hopefully Kumpalainen was just shaken up and won’t miss any significant time.

Hopefully Kump is ok. Hate to see the silly avoidable injuries. It was odd that he went off with no weight on one leg. Looked like he got ribbed.

 

[beastintheeast]

Crowd was loud but common 2,900 for round two of the playoffs is utterly pathetic. You have 1.5 milliom people CMA up there - clearly Ottawa has deserted junior hockey. Move them to a smaller rink then to create more buzz and demand as the Civic Centre vessel has sailed away into the sunset. There used to be a time when Ottawa easily outdrew Oshawa in attendance but times have changed.

Too bad Ottawa dominated the OT let's be honest the better team I leading this series very comfortably. Enough on thar..<out>

Side note: it was nice to see the Sens beat Boston tonight even though it was their Swan song. Bruins-Toronto first round matching should be a good one. Guess I will go and dig out my old Bruins jersey from the chest. f*** I hate the Leafs. Go BRUINS...

2900 is a relatively good turnout for a weeknight playoff game, considering that the team is down 2-0 and not really in the series.

It is not that the NCR has given up. It is because people have more to do. also, a lot of people have to work the next day, and getting home late is a pain as well as a school night.

The challenge Ottawa has is that they can not control the Gens top line. Take a look at the 3 stars, and you will see one name every night, Roobeck.

We really have only one scoring line, and that is Pinelli and Kressler. As much as everyone wants to see players like Mayer, Mews, Kresler, and Pinelli get 25 minutes a game and play almost every shift, that is a fallacy. These guys are not able to do that. There has to be a second line that can play almost the same minutes and a third line that can play a little less.

Also, if you put all your scorers all 3 of them on the same line, then that makes it that much easier for the other team.

Playing Mayer for 25 minutes is okay, except that the other team will again key on him and tire him out.


This is a team that finished in 6th place going up against the top team in the east.
For whatever reason DC wants to play with a short bench and only 2.5 lines.

You cannot expect a team that dresses a center who has had 3 shots in 7 games and only taken 16 face-offs to win. Consider that Stonehouse has taken more face-offs than Gardiner.

I still think he needs to send out a fresh set of legs play Yanni and Whitehead no offence but there is no way we are going to win 4 in a row.

Let's let some of next yers players get a taste if nothing else they will play better than Gardiner and Kelly

 

[NoQuit67s]

Hopefully Kump is ok. Hate to see the silly avoidable injuries. It was odd that he went off with no weight on one leg. Looked like he got ribbed.

I felt horrible for the kid... No way that door should have been left opened.
Always felt that such negligence should result in a bench penalty.
It felt like karma after when Oshawa scored.

 

[ecraigs]

A couple of thoughts.

The Oshawa coach used review as a delaying tactic. Gerrior was not in the crease and he knew it. That should be a Delay of Game penalty. No idea why DC didn't ask for a goalie interference review after the third Oshawa goal. It was every bit as close.

The OHL Brain Trust ignoring Oster tripping Kressler after Foster got a weak tripping call. IMHO, both were penalties.

Why on Earth is Korbler on a line with Kressler and Foster? He skates very well, but generates zero offence. He's the youngest player in the lineup and there are other players either not dressed or not playing who might help more.

Ottawa played a much better game overall and dominated in the Oshawa zone for long stretches of time. Just no finish when it counted.

 

[NordiquesForeva]

I felt horrible for the kid... No way that door should have been left opened.
Always felt that such negligence should result in a bench penalty.
It felt like karma after when Oshawa scored.

I don't disagree. The player seemed to be in bad shape as he left the ice.

Last night was the 67s best shot at getting back in the series, and I can't fault the effort. The 67s carried the play for much of the game and have nothing to be ashamed about at all. The 2nd Oshawa goal that tied it up was pretty awful, and the 3rd goal wasn't all that great either. MacKenzie will benefit from a long offseason of rest and recovery after an injury-riddled season. He just hasn't looked sharp out there all series.

Looking on the bright side, the PK played really well and a few players had really strong games - namely Kressler and Mews. Smyth may have played his best game of the season. The 67s just came up a little short last night.

 

[OMG67]

I don't disagree. The player seemed to be in bad shape as he left the ice.

Last night was the 67s best shot at getting back in the series, and I can't fault the effort. The 67s carried the play for much of the game and have nothing to be ashamed about at all. The 2nd Oshawa goal that tied it up was pretty awful, and the 3rd goal wasn't all that great either. MacKenzie will benefit from a long offseason of rest and recovery after an injury-riddled season. He just hasn't looked sharp out there all series.

Looking on the bright side, the PK played really well and a few players had really strong games - namely Kressler and Mews. Smyth may have played his best game of the season. The 67s just came up a little short last night.

In fairness, last nights games (as well as Game 1) were games I thought we’d see. Strong one goal games by both teams. I think Game 2 was the anomaly, not the norm. I said this series could end up being a four game series, all one goal. I was wrong because of Game 2 but generally speaking, the play isn’t as lopsided as many made it out to be because of the breakdown in game 2.

I expect a similar game on Thursday. Whether that results in an Ottawa win, who knows but these games are close.

It was interesting to see some of the other series games last night. Teams pulling away and then get reeled in at the end. London up 3-0 early only to end up winning 6-4 (empty net) after Kitchener tied it up at 4-4. North Bay up 2-0 early then Sudbury scored five straight. NB Scores three in the 3rd to tie and then win in OT. Wild!

 

[NordiquesForeva]

A couple of thoughts.

The Oshawa coach used review as a delaying tactic. Gerrior was not in the crease and he knew it. That should be a Delay of Game penalty. No idea why DC didn't ask for a goalie interference review after the third Oshawa goal. It was every bit as close.

The OHL Brain Trust ignoring Oster tripping Kressler after Foster got a weak tripping call. IMHO, both were penalties.

Why on Earth is Korbler on a line with Kressler and Foster? He skates very well, but generates zero offence. He's the youngest player in the lineup and there are other players either not dressed or not playing who might help more.

Ottawa played a much better game overall and dominated in the Oshawa zone for long stretches of time. Just no finish when it counted.

I might be in the minority on this one but I thought Korbler was OK last night. Cameron's line construction philosophy this playoff has been to spread out the offense a bit instead of stacking one or two lines. This is a direct result of our lack of depth at the wing position (and also Gardiner's injury). In a more ideal scenario, a healthy Gardiner would have centered the 3rd line and Dever or Stonehouse would be free'd up to play with Kressler while maintaining the base of a good 3rd line with Gardiner + Horner. I would have maybe liked to have seen Pinelli double-shifted with Kressler late in the game, but so be it. Kressler took charge of the offense early on last night and had a nice chance to win the game in OT.

Its hard to say whether Kelly, Barlas, or an injured Gardiner would have provided more value on the Kressler line than Korbler. I don't think they would have. They haven't played many minutes over the past few weeks and when they are on the ice, have a tendency to get hemmed into their own zone. Its difficult to jump from 4th line to 1st line minutes in an intense elimination-style game.

I don't really have a problem with how Cameron managed the bench last night. Sirman and Smyth didn't see much ice time from the 3rd period on. No shifts in OT. No shifts for the 4th line late in the game or OT.

I would like to see Yanni replace Gardiner in game 4. Gardiner is clearly nowhere near 100%. Give the kid some playoff experience.

 

[PuckStop75]

I might be in the minority on this one but I thought Korbler was OK last night. Cameron's line construction philosophy this playoff has been to spread out the offense a bit instead of stacking one or two lines. This is a direct result of our lack of depth at the wing position (and also Gardiner's injury). In a more ideal scenario, a healthy Gardiner would have centered the 3rd line and Dever or Stonehouse would be free'd up to play with Kressler while maintaining the base of a good 3rd line with Gardiner + Horner. I would have maybe liked to have seen Pinelli double-shifted with Kressler late in the game, but so be it. Kressler took charge of the offense early on last night and had a nice chance to win the game in OT.

Its hard to say whether Kelly, Barlas, or an injured Gardiner would have provided more value on the Kressler line than Korbler. I don't think they would have. They haven't played many minutes over the past few weeks and when they are on the ice, have a tendency to get hemmed into their own zone. Its difficult to jump from 4th line to 1st line minutes in an intense elimination-style game.

I don't really have a problem with how Cameron managed the bench last night. Sirman and Smyth didn't see much ice time from the 3rd period on. No shifts in OT. No shifts for the 4th line late in the game or OT.

I would like to see Yanni replace Gardiner in game 4. Gardiner is clearly nowhere near 100%. Give the kid some playoff experience.

I don't think this is an issue with the players performance at this time, Korbler is playing to his ability and I would say a number of others are doing what would be expected in their current playing positions.

Since the deadline the philosophy of stretching things out has been employed and I think people like OMG would say they underperformed coming down the stretch as a result. DC has refused to put Gardiner back in the top 6 group despite him being better than a point a game player while in that position prior to the deadline. The recent injury has only created a scenario where it is not an option now.

Ottawa could have very easily won that game last night, one bounce or more favorable bounce off a post and it is a 2-1 series and the discussion is very different. DC will win or lose the series playing the game his way.

 

[OMG67]

I might be in the minority on this one but I thought Korbler was OK last night. Cameron's line construction philosophy this playoff has been to spread out the offense a bit instead of stacking one or two lines. This is a direct result of our lack of depth at the wing position (and also Gardiner's injury). In a more ideal scenario, a healthy Gardiner would have centered the 3rd line and Dever or Stonehouse would be free'd up to play with Kressler while maintaining the base of a good 3rd line with Gardiner + Horner. I would have maybe liked to have seen Pinelli double-shifted with Kressler late in the game, but so be it. Kressler took charge of the offense early on last night and had a nice chance to win the game in OT.

Its hard to say whether Kelly, Barlas, or an injured Gardiner would have provided more value on the Kressler line than Korbler. I don't think they would have. They haven't played many minutes over the past few weeks and when they are on the ice, have a tendency to get hemmed into their own zone. Its difficult to jump from 4th line to 1st line minutes in an intense elimination-style game.

I don't really have a problem with how Cameron managed the bench last night. Sirman and Smyth didn't see much ice time from the 3rd period on. No shifts in OT. No shifts for the 4th line late in the game or OT.

I would like to see Yanni replace Gardiner in game 4. Gardiner is clearly nowhere near 100%. Give the kid some playoff experience.

The question is how deep are the Generals? They have loaded up the top line so they have essentially made themselves a two line team. They have Griffen, Torrence and Buckley on the 3rd line. Their 4th line doesn’t play much. DC played our 4th line against their 3rd line most of the 67’s 4th line shifts last night.

So, the question really is, can the 67’s get away with a 3rd line of Barlas, Dever, and Horner? If so, it would allow them to piece together these top two lines:

Pinelli - Maillet - Gerrior
Foster - Kressler - Stonehouse

Would those two lines being more condensed have a better shot at scoring more consistently?

I think if we tossed out that 3rd line vs the Griffin line, I don’t think we’d be giving up much considering the 4th lien handled that line relatively ok, or at least ok enough to keep them off the scoresheet.

Spreading out the forwards, essentially playing Stonehouse on the 3rd line, isn’t ideal IMO. Playing Barlas on the 4th line isn’t ideal either. He is an agressive player in puck pursuit and isn’t afraid to go into the dirty areas.

I’ve said all I need to say about Korbler. No disrespect to the player but I believe players need to be cast properly and he is miscast. It isn’t his fault so I don’t want to come across as a hater. There are other players on this team that can play that role better, if his role is to generate offence. IMO, that line needs to generate 5 on 5 offence and they need to be counted on to lead in that regard.

DC seems completely unwilling to condense lines and try to gain a different outcome. Oshawa pieced together their first line by putting their three best forwards on the same line and Ottawa has issues containing them a lot of times. There is no reason Ottawa cannot do the same. They could even reunite Kressler and Pinelli. We saw that work really well until DC wanted to spread the wealth and score less goals….

 

[ecraigs]

I might be in the minority on this one but I thought Korbler was OK last night. Cameron's line construction philosophy this playoff has been to spread out the offense a bit instead of stacking one or two lines. This is a direct result of our lack of depth at the wing position (and also Gardiner's injury). In a more ideal scenario, a healthy Gardiner would have centered the 3rd line and Dever or Stonehouse would be free'd up to play with Kressler while maintaining the base of a good 3rd line with Gardiner + Horner. I would have maybe liked to have seen Pinelli double-shifted with Kressler late in the game, but so be it. Kressler took charge of the offense early on last night and had a nice chance to win the game in OT.

Its hard to say whether Kelly, Barlas, or an injured Gardiner would have provided more value on the Kressler line than Korbler. I don't think they would have. They haven't played many minutes over the past few weeks and when they are on the ice, have a tendency to get hemmed into their own zone. Its difficult to jump from 4th line to 1st line minutes in an intense elimination-style game.

I don't really have a problem with how Cameron managed the bench last night. Sirman and Smyth didn't see much ice time from the 3rd period on. No shifts in OT. No shifts for the 4th line late in the game or OT.

I would like to see Yanni replace Gardiner in game 4. Gardiner is clearly nowhere near 100%. Give the kid some playoff experience.

Korbler has produced virtually nothing in his playoffs. One assist and 5 shots in 6 games with a -7 isn't going to cut it. I know that he's a young player, but putting him out there shift after shift is not helping the offence at all. He appears to be running around trying to catch up to the play.

The team went out to add offence in Kressler. Give him something to work with.

It was DC's decision to sit out the younger players, except to Korbler, for the last stretch of the season. Of course those players have little experience. You don't get game experience sitting in the stands watching. Next year, those players will be expected to step up. How is that possible?

I didn't disagree with much else, but DC has little other choice. He's put himself in the situation of having limited options late in the game.

 

[beastintheeast]

The challenge is that we only have one scoring line, and you have to think they are banged up and tired. I think the only chance they have is if Stonehouse and Foster learn how to score.

Oshawa has more depth, and I think even if we combine Kressler and Pinelli together line against line, Oshawa still has more power.
We are a small team, and therefore, we get banged up more and do not have the heavy hitters.

I would have liked to have seen a line of Hilton Horner and Barlas. in the first game would have made a difference. A line that is going to hit and use the body. On the PP put our Hilton or Smyth and put him in front of the net

 

[NordiquesForeva]

Korbler has produced virtually nothing in his playoffs. One assist and 5 shots in 6 games with a -7 isn't going to cut it. I know that he's a young player, but putting him out there shift after shift is not helping the offence at all. He appears to be running around trying to catch up to the play.

The team went out to add offence in Kressler. Give him something to work with.

It was DC's decision to sit out the younger players, except to Korbler, for the last stretch of the season. Of course those players have little experience. You don't get game experience sitting in the stands watching. Next year, those players will be expected to step up. How is that possible?

I didn't disagree with much else, but DC has little other choice. He's put himself in the situation of having limited options late in the game.

My only comment on Korbler was that I thought he was fine last night. That's not an endorsement of Cameron's usage of him, which I've disagreed with all along. Korbler is closer to a 4th line player than a 1st line player. Ideally Cameron would stack the first two lines, as OMG laid out above, with someone like Stonehouse on Kressler's wing or reuniting Pinelli with Kressler. Kressler was clearly on his game last night and should have been given more to work with - and Cameron should have recognized it.

Sitting an injured Gardiner and replacing him with Yanni or Whitehead is something that Cameron should do for game 4 - I agree on that. That is essentially the only dress/scratch decision Cameron can make for game 4. If he thinks Kelly is underperforming and Yanni or Whitehead deserve a look instead, that would be fine as well but won't make much of a difference in the grand scheme of things as the 4th line doesn't play much anyway. My only point is that Whitehead has played barely any hockey in a number of weeks, so suddenly throwing him out there at this stage against a physical team in an elimination game may not be necessarily fair to him or be putting him in a position to succeed.

 

[Hinterland]

I might be in the minority on this one but I thought Korbler was OK last night. Cameron's line construction philosophy this playoff has been to spread out the offense a bit instead of stacking one or two lines. This is a direct result of our lack of depth at the wing position (and also Gardiner's injury). In a more ideal scenario, a healthy Gardiner would have centered the 3rd line and Dever or Stonehouse would be free'd up to play with Kressler while maintaining the base of a good 3rd line with Gardiner + Horner. I would have maybe liked to have seen Pinelli double-shifted with Kressler late in the game, but so be it. Kressler took charge of the offense early on last night and had a nice chance to win the game in OT.

Its hard to say whether Kelly, Barlas, or an injured Gardiner would have provided more value on the Kressler line than Korbler. I don't think they would have. They haven't played many minutes over the past few weeks and when they are on the ice, have a tendency to get hemmed into their own zone. Its difficult to jump from 4th line to 1st line minutes in an intense elimination-style game.

I don't really have a problem with how Cameron managed the bench last night. Sirman and Smyth didn't see much ice time from the 3rd period on. No shifts in OT. No shifts for the 4th line late in the game or OT.

I would like to see Yanni replace Gardiner in game 4. Gardiner is clearly nowhere near 100%. Give the kid some playoff experience.

I agree. Barlas is playing very well but he's a 4th liner, not much more. Kelly and Gardiner are both injured or at least they're "playing" that way and should sit. The only player who I think could realistically replace Körbler is Yanni. Both him and Whitehead should have played over the two corpses the last few games. Since there's nothing to lose and the Dever line has kinda cooled off I'd even consider dressing Hilton for Sirman who has been terrible as well. Play Horner on defense and Yanni with Dever/Stonehouse.

I really think they played a very good game though. If it wasn't for all the lack of discipline they'd have won. The penalties they took weren't forced but just stupid. Their 5vs5 play was very good. Mayer with a rather poor game for his standard but most other guys played very well. Only weak links I identified were Sirman and the 4th line. Smyth and Körbler continue to get a lot of heat here but they played well.