+/- Per 60 Minutes at 5on5 - The Awful Truth

[Run the Jewels]

Typically the guys who play the most sheltered minutes benefit in the +/- department, which would be Kindl, Quincey and Smith. No surprise there.

Ding ding ding, we have our winner. Interesting QoC wasn't used for analysis. What would that stat show?

 

[RedMenace]

Ugh, man, your agenda is showing...

 

[Henkka]

Corsi tells one thing. I have other stats to bring in here:

These are just made of my own:

Hits/60min (only ES+PK time)

1. Kindl 6.36
2. Lashoff 5.77
3. Ericsson 3.96
4. Huskins 3.06
5. Smith 3.02
6. Kronwall 2.91
7. Colaiacovo 2.03
8. Quincey 1.57
9. White 1.35

Blocks/60m (only ES+PK time)

1. Huskins 7.66
2. Colaiacovo 6.10
3. Lashoff 5.77
4. Quincey 5.37
5. Kindl 4.55
6. Smith 4.03
7. Kronwall 3.95
8. White 3.71
9. Ericsson 2.73

ES/60m GAA
1. Huskins 1.26
2. Kindl 1.40
3. Quincey 1.62
4. Smith 1.66
5. White 1.69
6. Colaiacovo 2.11
7. Ericsson 2.42
8. Lashoff 3.23
9. Kronwall 4.10

PK/60m GAA
1. Huskins 2.70 (clearly the best)
2. Quincey 8.99
3. Ericsson 9.53
4. Smith 11.48
5. Kronwall 13.57
6. Kindl 16.90
7. Lashoff 24.74 (clearly the worst)
-. Colaiacovo 0.00
-. White 0.00

This shows that Lashoff should be released from his PK duties and start using Huskins regularly there. Huskins,Ericsson,Quincey the TOP3 PK, Kronwall/Smith those 4th guys.

Penalties/60m
1. Colaiacovo 0.00
2. White 0.34
3. Smith 0.50
4. Lashoff 0.68
5. Ericsson 0.99
6. Huskins 1.02
7. Quincey 1.34
8. Kindl 1.82
9. Kronwall 2.29

Shots/60m (only PP+ES time)
1. Colaiacovo 8.60
2. Kindl 6.17
3. Smith 4.78
4. White 4.02
5. Lashoff 3.67
6. Kronwall 3.32
7. Quincey 2.54
8. Ericsson 1.70
9. Huskins 1.02

Missed shots/total shots
1. Smith 8.3%
2. Kindl 23.8%
3. Colaiacovo 28.6%
4. Ericsson 30.0%
5. Lashoff 35.3%
6. Quincey 36.8%
7. Kronwall 48.7%
8. Huskins 50.0%
9. White 53.8%

That combination of most penalties per icetime + worst GAA per ES + 2nd worst GAA per PK minutes of main PKrs for Kronwall is pretty BAD package defensively so far.
That 4th least shots per min + 2nd worst missed shots ratio of PP guys for Kronwall is pretty BAD package offensively so far.

No brainer 1st PP Quaterback should be Brendan Smith. He'll get his shots through. Colaiacovo has some potential for that and Kindl also.

But really, these stats for Kindl show that he is the guy who is hitting most there, gets shots through, and lowest ES GAA. His only flaws are penalty taking ratio and PK, but like we see, there are better four guys to be used on PK and Kindl should be mostly used as a 2nd/3rd pair offensive defenceman.

 

[Brick Top]

Looks like Kindl will sit again today? I would put him back in. The last loss was not fortuitous, why does Babcock try the same thing on D while juggling the forwards? It's strange to rise Huskins back out of nowhere and looking at our top pairing I cringe. White and Ericsson deserve more minutes, IMO.

The dilemma is that Kindl is doing just ok. Good plays but also blunders like all our D. Him, Lashoff, and Huskins are pretty close by my estimation, even if Kindl's +/- is better. It's a near wash and should not make or break us when we're already broke.

That said I agree with 90% of the board that I would rather Kindl be in. He shows flashes of genius and amazing strength. I feel a touch more confident when he's in, because I know he cares. I hope it doesn't take losing more game before he's given another shot.

Babs is maddeningly slow to adjust his lines and D pairings when they are struggling. Give your guys some time to work the kinks out or right the ship, but I wish he was a little quicker to adjust to what is painfully obvious to the casual observer.

I'm completely with you on Kindl- he's playing ok. I'm not really high on the guy like some, but also don't think he completely sucks either. To me, I see a bottom pairing guy who has played more physical this year, which is a welcome sight from him. I think he should be playing over Lashoff so consistently getting scratched sucks for Kindl. But in the bigger team picture, choosing between Kindl, Huskins & Lashoff is shuffling deck chairs on the Titanic- it's not going to make much of a difference. And it's really moot once Smith and Cola come back from injury.

 

[Run the Jewels]

Kronwall's numbers look even worse if you look at Quality of Competition. This is kind of important. Are you going up against Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane, Joe Thornton, Jarome Iginla, Steve Stamkos, etc - or are you going up against 3rd and 4th liners?

So with that out of the way....Quality of Competition rankings.

1. Ian White 0.081
2. Jonathan Ericsson 0.024
3. Brendan Smith 0.011 (limited data set)
4. Brian Lashoff -0.036
5. Niklas Kronwall -0.045
6. Kyle Quincey -0.046
7. Kent Huskins -0.075
8. Jakub Kindl -0.109
9. Carlo Colaicovo -0.195

Is it any surprise the guys playing the toughest minutes don't have the prettiest plus/minus at even strength? It's not a surprise the Hudler fans can't grasp how this works but I'm surprised other people are using stats without looking at Quality of Competition.

With that being said this just goes to show what a trainwreck Kronwall has been this season. I don't rip on guys unless there's reason to show they are performing poorly and Kronwall has been brutal.

 

[RedWingsNow*]

Kronwall's numbers look even worse if you look at Quality of Competition. This is kind of important. Are you going up against Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane, Joe Thornton, Jarome Iginla, Steve Stamkos, etc - or are you going up against 3rd and 4th liners?

So with that out of the way....Quality of Competition rankings.

1. Ian White 0.081
2. Jonathan Ericsson 0.024
3. Brendan Smith 0.011 (limited data set)
4. Brian Lashoff -0.036
5. Niklas Kronwall -0.045
6. Kyle Quincey -0.046
7. Kent Huskins -0.075
8. Jakub Kindl -0.109
9. Carlo Colaicovo -0.195

Is it any surprise the guys playing the toughest minutes don't have the prettiest plus/minus at even strength? It's not a surprise the Hudler fans can't grasp how this works but I'm surprised other people are using stats without looking at Quality of Competition.

With that being said this just goes to show what a trainwreck Kronwall has been this season. I don't rip on guys unless there's reason to show they are performing poorly and Kronwall has been brutal.

Because quality of competition is a wash AT WORST when your forward are Zetterberg and Datsyuk vs Abdelkader and Miller.

Everyone who continues to cry about quality of competition continues to completely ignore the fact that they are also playing with the best two center in the game.

 

[RedWingsNow*]

I think once a player becomes one of his favorites, he has a hard time being consistent. Likewise, when he doesn't like a player, they don't always seem to get a fair deal.

And this is a major problem with Babcock

 

[RedMenace]

Kronwall's numbers look even worse if you look at Quality of Competition. This is kind of important. Are you going up against Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane, Joe Thornton, Jarome Iginla, Steve Stamkos, etc - or are you going up against 3rd and 4th liners?

So with that out of the way....Quality of Competition rankings.

1. Ian White 0.081
2. Jonathan Ericsson 0.024
3. Brendan Smith 0.011 (limited data set)
4. Brian Lashoff -0.036
5. Niklas Kronwall -0.045
6. Kyle Quincey -0.046
7. Kent Huskins -0.075
8. Jakub Kindl -0.109
9. Carlo Colaicovo -0.195

Is it any surprise the guys playing the toughest minutes don't have the prettiest plus/minus at even strength? It's not a surprise the Hudler fans can't grasp how this works but I'm surprised other people are using stats without looking at Quality of Competition.

With that being said this just goes to show what a trainwreck Kronwall has been this season. I don't rip on guys unless there's reason to show they are performing poorly and Kronwall has been brutal.

So in your opinion, is Kronwall's play bringing Lashoff down, or vice-versa?

 

[RedWingsNow*]

Fabricoh's opinion is that Kindl sucks so he's ignoring the stats and facts he doesn't like

 

[RedMenace]

Fabricoh's opinion is that Kindl sucks so he's ignoring the stats and facts he doesn't like

Well that... er, I mean... that wasn't really the question. :-p

What do YOU think about what I asked?

 

[Run the Jewels]

So in your opinion, is Kronwall's play bringing Lashoff down, or vice-versa?

Lashoff is a 22 year old playing in his first dozen NHL games. He's playing tough minutes and is getting lots of time on the PK. He's playing a role Brad Stuart has played over the past few years. So I'm interested in seeing how he does.

Kronwall has been terrible with everyone he's been paired with this season. He's been on the ice for close to 60% of the goals against and it's been with a wide variety of partners. I think Kronwall is really struggling and the stats reflect this.

 

[HIFE]

...Kronwall has been terrible with everyone he's been paired with this season. He's been on the ice for close to 60% of the goals against and it's been with a wide variety of partners. I think Kronwall is really struggling and the stats reflect this.

Not to let Kronner off the hook but this is big. Defenseman survive by the support/chemistry as partners. Mostly because of injuries our D have had no chance to develop theirs.

 

[14ari13]

I do not get Babcock either. I do not get his Lashoff on the 1st pairing.
I do not get why Kindl does not play. From what I've seen Kindl is doing very well.
We can say what we want, but Kronwall's numbers are plain awefull.

 

[Vladdy84]

Lashoff is a 22 year old playing in his first dozen NHL games. He's playing tough minutes and is getting lots of time on the PK. He's playing a role Brad Stuart has played over the past few years. So I'm interested in seeing how he does.

Kronwall has been terrible with everyone he's been paired with this season. He's been on the ice for close to 60% of the goals against and it's been with a wide variety of partners. I think Kronwall is really struggling and the stats reflect this.

That's very insulting to Brad Stuart. I know what you're saying. But still. Stuart was so good and valuable was he was on top of his game.

 

[Run the Jewels]

That's very insulting to Brad Stuart. I know what you're saying. But still. Stuart was so good and valuable was he was on top of his game.

Perhaps you need to revisit the Nashville playoff series. Stuart is 33, Lashoff is 22. Let's not rip guys who actually get to play until they have a season of data at a bare minimum. I didn't like Emmerton last year but you know what? He's growing on me.

 

[14ari13]

Datsyuk +8
Quincey +8 Believe it or not!
Kindl +6

Kronwall -9

I think Ericsson should play with Kronwall and play his stay at home guy. I do not get Kronwall's roll nor Lashoff's.
I think Kindl has to play. I do not see practices so I have no idea how they do there, but Kindl looks good to me in the game I've seen this season.
Quincey has had some terrible plays, but somehow he leads the team in +/-. Go figure.

 

[14ari13]

Abdelkader -6 too.

 

[Mantha Poodoo]

Personal thoughts on our various d-men:

Quincey: Gets crapped on way too much here. He's coming from a very different system and still doesn't have a huge amount of games under his belt. Quincey's glaring weaknesses are poor decision making, the transition game, and a penchant for taking very dumb minor penalties. He also doesn't use his size much in an aggressively physical role. On the other hand, he has good vision in the offensive zone, once he's there, and good positioning in the defensive zone, once he's there (it's the transition game that kills him). He's a good shot blocker and has a pretty decent toolkit in regards to stick skills and shot selection, and I think we'll see a bit more of this from him once he settles more on the team. In the meantime, he needs to remain a staple on the PK, and I wouldn't mind keeping him around on the PP. 1st pairing PK time, 2nd pairing PP time and bottom pair ES time is the way to go with KFQ.

Kronwall: Honestly, the biggest impression I get from Kronwall is that he's trying to do way too much (and thus is doing more harm than good defensively). He's still got great offensive vision and is a contributor there, and while his point shot isn't spectacular, he's a great guy to fling the puck around on the PP. Kronwall's biggest problem, aside from trying to fill Lidstrom's skates too much, is the lack of a suitable partner; he needs to be partnered with a guy that has a solid point shot as far as the PP goes and a defense first guy at ES that lets him play his game. Dear Babcock: that isn't Lashoff. This brings us to...

Ericsson: The Big E has been very solid this year. He can safely eat ES minutes, he's one of the few dmen regularly physically engaging at the moment, and is a very solid PKer. Babs needs to stop trying to roll balanced pairings and just stick him next to Kronwall. Unlike Kronwall, he's useful near our own net. He's got a very solid and crisp first pass that can help get crap moving out of the zone, and is almost always thinking 'safe play'. For a more controversial opinion, I'd like to see him given a few games on the PP, next to Kronwall. The caveat here is he needs to be given instructions to keep it simple: don't try to make any fancy plays, either unload your slapper from the point if there's traffic in front or toss it to the easy pass and let Datsyuk/Kronwall/Zetterberg make playmaking magic if not. This could ultimately be a failed experiment, but experiment is something the team needs to do at this point and given time and space, Ericsson has one of the biggest slappers on the team.

Huskins: This guy is pretty much getting paid to do one thing and he does it decently. Bottom pairing, eat some time, be safe defensively, PK a bit. He does that, he's paid a fair price for what he does, I have no more to say about Huskins.

Lashoff: He's a young, new to the NHL player and he needs more sheltered minutes. Putting him next to Kronwall is a train wreck. Stick him on the bottom pair, let him take some easy ES minutes and -occasionally- chip in PK time when other defenders need a rest. I think if he's allowed to stick to a low minute, simple game for now he can be a decent minute eater. What's currently being expected of him is quite frankly unfair to him in terms of development and contrary to his history as a hockey player.

Colaiacovo: I'll pretend this guy is ever going to be healthy and simply comment he has good potential to be a point contributor and PP guy for this team. He's unspectacular but respectable defensively at ES. Wouldn't want to see him on the PK much. Could add a bit of speed to the transition game.

White: The only RH dman we've got. White can see some top pairing time when you stick him next to a guy like Lidstrom, but not next to anything that we currently have. With this roster, he's a #3/4 guy that can contribute on both ends of the ice. Reasonably physically, reasonably good defense, reasonably good offense.. he's not gonna blow your mind at anything, but he's not a skating pile of fail at anything either.

Smith: He needs to be given an opportunity to play next to someone relatively stable so he can open up his own game. He's also too talented not to see a decent amount of minutes. To me, I think White is the best fit here. White can reasonably cover 2nd pairing ES minutes with him, can give a reasonable amount of cover defensively and has the offensive talent to make something out of Smith's own playmaking. As these two are both above average skaters from the back end, they have the potential to be a dynamic pairing.

Kindl: Kindl needs to watch the minor penalties. He's got a bit of a bad penchant for taking them at the moment. It reminds me a bit of Big E when he was settling into the NHL. However, his play is otherwise decent. He's a good skater for his size, has a decent set of tools, and is willing to try both physical play and offensive contribution. Give him time and he'll figure out how he fits best, but he's not really been given much consistent time to this point.

Looking at the group of d-men as a whole, this is what I'd like to see with a healthy roster:

ES pairings:

Kronwall - Ericsson
Smith - White
Quincey - Colaiacovo/Kindl
Spare: Huskins
AHL first call up: Lashoff
IR, most likely: Colaiacovo

Thoughts on the pairings:

1: As mentioned above, Krownall needs a defense first partner. Ericsson is probably the safest pick at this point, fills in a lot of Kronwall's weaknesses, and arguably plays the right side of the ice with more composure than Stuart.

2: Likewise as mentioned above, this is a pairing with above average skating. White isn't amazing defensively, but is stable enough to give Smith some freedom. Likewise, White is likely enough to pinch and contribute offensively that it'll give Smith some important time playing the defensive role of the pair.

3: Both Colaiacovo and Kindl have a better transition game than Quincey, making up for his weakness there. At his own end of the ice, Quincey can block shots and clog lanes, and he should be able to contribute decent offense with either d-man once he settles a bit more onto the Wings. Particularly in the case of Colaiacovo, should he ever be healthy, Cola+KFQ could be a bottom pairing that's surprisingly dangerous offensively.

PK:

Quincey - Ericsson
Kindl/Huskins - White

The first pairing is a very obvious pick. I feel comfortable saying these are our best 2 PKers at the moment, and they have past experience as a pairing. Ericsson seems capable of eating big minutes in general, while limited ES time keeps Quincey fresh for the PK.

White is the obvious choice for the second pairing, as he's a reasonably good shot blocker for his size and has solid 2-way acumen. Kindl and Huskins are obvious choices as a partner; Huskins is defensively safe and reliably. Kindl has shown a decent job of using his size to jam lanes.

On the whole, this PK isn't going to be amazing, but hopefully it can get the job done a reasonable amount. Kronwall needs to be kept off the PK as much as possible; his skills contribute very little to the role and it usually highlights his weaknesses. Cola doesn't need to be given any extra opportunities to get injured, should he be healthy.

PP:

Kronwall - Ericsson(!)
Smith - White

See my above thoughts on Ericsson to see why I'd like to see him be given a shot on the PP. Failing that, try Smith with him and play KFQ next to White. As we have several d-men that are good at pinching, play a RH forward on each PP line (Brunner, Samuelsson) to drop back to the point for a possible shot when the D pinch. This can also work when the left side d-man pinches, at least on the first line where you have Z as an option.

 

[probertrules24]

Personal thoughts on our various d-men:

Quincey: Gets crapped on way too much here. He's coming from a very different system and still doesn't have a huge amount of games under his belt. Quincey's glaring weaknesses are poor decision making, the transition game, and a penchant for taking very dumb minor penalties. He also doesn't use his size much in an aggressively physical role. On the other hand, he has good vision in the offensive zone, once he's there, and good positioning in the defensive zone, once he's there (it's the transition game that kills him). He's a good shot blocker and has a pretty decent toolkit in regards to stick skills and shot selection, and I think we'll see a bit more of this from him once he settles more on the team. In the meantime, he needs to remain a staple on the PK, and I wouldn't mind keeping him around on the PP. 1st pairing PK time, 2nd pairing PP time and bottom pair ES time is the way to go with KFQ.

Kronwall: Honestly, the biggest impression I get from Kronwall is that he's trying to do way too much (and thus is doing more harm than good defensively). He's still got great offensive vision and is a contributor there, and while his point shot isn't spectacular, he's a great guy to fling the puck around on the PP. Kronwall's biggest problem, aside from trying to fill Lidstrom's skates too much, is the lack of a suitable partner; he needs to be partnered with a guy that has a solid point shot as far as the PP goes and a defense first guy at ES that lets him play his game. Dear Babcock: that isn't Lashoff. This brings us to...

Ericsson: The Big E has been very solid this year. He can safely eat ES minutes, he's one of the few dmen regularly physically engaging at the moment, and is a very solid PKer. Babs needs to stop trying to roll balanced pairings and just stick him next to Kronwall. Unlike Kronwall, he's useful near our own net. He's got a very solid and crisp first pass that can help get crap moving out of the zone, and is almost always thinking 'safe play'. For a more controversial opinion, I'd like to see him given a few games on the PP, next to Kronwall. The caveat here is he needs to be given instructions to keep it simple: don't try to make any fancy plays, either unload your slapper from the point if there's traffic in front or toss it to the easy pass and let Datsyuk/Kronwall/Zetterberg make playmaking magic if not. This could ultimately be a failed experiment, but experiment is something the team needs to do at this point and given time and space, Ericsson has one of the biggest slappers on the team.

Huskins: This guy is pretty much getting paid to do one thing and he does it decently. Bottom pairing, eat some time, be safe defensively, PK a bit. He does that, he's paid a fair price for what he does, I have no more to say about Huskins.

Lashoff: He's a young, new to the NHL player and he needs more sheltered minutes. Putting him next to Kronwall is a train wreck. Stick him on the bottom pair, let him take some easy ES minutes and -occasionally- chip in PK time when other defenders need a rest. I think if he's allowed to stick to a low minute, simple game for now he can be a decent minute eater. What's currently being expected of him is quite frankly unfair to him in terms of development and contrary to his history as a hockey player.

Colaiacovo: I'll pretend this guy is ever going to be healthy and simply comment he has good potential to be a point contributor and PP guy for this team. He's unspectacular but respectable defensively at ES. Wouldn't want to see him on the PK much. Could add a bit of speed to the transition game.

White: The only RH dman we've got. White can see some top pairing time when you stick him next to a guy like Lidstrom, but not next to anything that we currently have. With this roster, he's a #3/4 guy that can contribute on both ends of the ice. Reasonably physically, reasonably good defense, reasonably good offense.. he's not gonna blow your mind at anything, but he's not a skating pile of fail at anything either.

Smith: He needs to be given an opportunity to play next to someone relatively stable so he can open up his own game. He's also too talented not to see a decent amount of minutes. To me, I think White is the best fit here. White can reasonably cover 2nd pairing ES minutes with him, can give a reasonable amount of cover defensively and has the offensive talent to make something out of Smith's own playmaking. As these two are both above average skaters from the back end, they have the potential to be a dynamic pairing.

Kindl: Kindl needs to watch the minor penalties. He's got a bit of a bad penchant for taking them at the moment. It reminds me a bit of Big E when he was settling into the NHL. However, his play is otherwise decent. He's a good skater for his size, has a decent set of tools, and is willing to try both physical play and offensive contribution. Give him time and he'll figure out how he fits best, but he's not really been given much consistent time to this point.

Looking at the group of d-men as a whole, this is what I'd like to see with a healthy roster:

ES pairings:

Kronwall - Ericsson
Smith - White
Quincey - Colaiacovo/Kindl
Spare: Huskins
AHL first call up: Lashoff
IR, most likely: Colaiacovo

Thoughts on the pairings:

1: As mentioned above, Krownall needs a defense first partner. Ericsson is probably the safest pick at this point, fills in a lot of Kronwall's weaknesses, and arguably plays the right side of the ice with more composure than Stuart.

2: Likewise as mentioned above, this is a pairing with above average skating. White isn't amazing defensively, but is stable enough to give Smith some freedom. Likewise, White is likely enough to pinch and contribute offensively that it'll give Smith some important time playing the defensive role of the pair.

3: Both Colaiacovo and Kindl have a better transition game than Quincey, making up for his weakness there. At his own end of the ice, Quincey can block shots and clog lanes, and he should be able to contribute decent offense with either d-man once he settles a bit more onto the Wings. Particularly in the case of Colaiacovo, should he ever be healthy, Cola+KFQ could be a bottom pairing that's surprisingly dangerous offensively.

PK:

Quincey - Ericsson
Kindl/Huskins - White

The first pairing is a very obvious pick. I feel comfortable saying these are our best 2 PKers at the moment, and they have past experience as a pairing. Ericsson seems capable of eating big minutes in general, while limited ES time keeps Quincey fresh for the PK.

White is the obvious choice for the second pairing, as he's a reasonably good shot blocker for his size and has solid 2-way acumen. Kindl and Huskins are obvious choices as a partner; Huskins is defensively safe and reliably. Kindl has shown a decent job of using his size to jam lanes.

On the whole, this PK isn't going to be amazing, but hopefully it can get the job done a reasonable amount. Kronwall needs to be kept off the PK as much as possible; his skills contribute very little to the role and it usually highlights his weaknesses. Cola doesn't need to be given any extra opportunities to get injured, should he be healthy.

PP:

Kronwall - Ericsson(!)
Smith - White

See my above thoughts on Ericsson to see why I'd like to see him be given a shot on the PP. Failing that, try Smith with him and play KFQ next to White. As we have several d-men that are good at pinching, play a RH forward on each PP line (Brunner, Samuelsson) to drop back to the point for a possible shot when the D pinch. This can also work when the left side d-man pinches, at least on the first line where you have Z as an option.

Well thought out and very constructive post. I agree with most points and would much rather read posts of this kind when a fan puts some thought into it other then such and such sucks.

 

[Henkka]

Personal thoughts on our various d-men:

Good thoughts.

Still, it could be more ideal to put Cola with White, because Smith has played more on the right side. And I also like to see what chemistry they have together from those Toronto days.

Kronwall should be a no-brainer with Ericsson, I don't understand anymore what is the point to keep Lashoff hanging in there. If we want to lose games and take a high pick, then yes, but putting Huskins there would be more of a signal of this organization trying to win these games.

Not the best game for Ericsson at Nashville, but he was double shifted (27 minutes of ice-time) because of sheltering Kindl in the last two periods. I think this also lead to a little collapse for Johnny-Boy (-2 +PP goal against)

Kindl was bad again on penalty department. NOT GOOD taking 3 minors in his first 7 shifts. Totally unacceptable. This really creates a controversy with his usage, if he can't get this problem solved. You just don't keep and reward a guy with PP time if he causes Short-handed situations all the time. I think this really is the thing that Babcock hates the most.

Quincey was +1 again and only PP goal Nashville scored was for Lashoff-Ericsson pairing. Q just gets the job done, game after game, no matter what he looks there.

***

PK is 1/12 in latest games. Starting to look better. We just have to get that PP going on somehow on the road.

 

[Mantha Poodoo]

PK is 1/12 in latest games. Starting to look better. We just have to get that PP going on somehow on the road.

We haven't had the consistency in the personnel for that at all, sadly. Like I said, I'd like to see Big E given a shot there. Why not, at this point?

 

[Henkka]

We haven't had the consistency in the personnel for that at all, sadly. Like I said, I'd like to see Big E given a shot there. Why not, at this point?

Maybe the coaching staff thinks that we have those PP pointmen enough and want to maximize Ericsson's usage defensively on PK and ES. Adding PP time for him could lead to exhaustion and more mistakes again at ES+PK.

If we try him there for 2-3 games and then Cola and Smith are back, that just leads to more suffling. To stabilize even something, let Ericsson just play his PK and ES role just like Quincey is doing. Keep these guys off from the PP and let them be those two defensive studs. Use those other 3-4 guys on the PP. Both Q and Big-E are getting better results when the routine grows and you are not switching and suffling the roles for every game.