Alright let's touch on some points that are going around this thread:
1) Fleury was awesome - absurdly agree. Only reason we won.
2) Beau was bad: No he was not. He was getting to learn how Sid plays the game. Some of the give/goes had me saying "Yep... that's what i want!" But then he's taken off the line for the entire third period almost for ****ing CRAIG ADAMS. It's flat out inexcusable. I could see one shift to double shift Sid. Not to double shift Craig ****ing Adams. Are you KIDDING me? What did Adams do in that game to be rewarded justly? How about Gibs? How about Vitale? Those guys deserved rewards. But low and behold Craig Adams. And did you see what happened when Gibbons was rewarded? He scored on Geno's line.
How in the world do you expect Beau to have chemistry with Sid when you continue to do this with him. We will let Kunitz fumble the puck for 30 ****ing games but Beau cannot mess up once in a period. It's a joke. I seriously HATE Dan Bylsma.
3) Foot on the pedal: Foot on the pedal does not mean run/gun, but when you are putting Adams on Sid's line, you stopped focusing about scoring goals and playing strong hockey. The 2009 team never stopped playing the same way from the first puck drop til the last whistle (outside of Game 7 for the Cup). Defensive structure is okay. It's actually GOOD. But when you are changing lines just to get Adams out for his "Defensive" game, then you are messing up.
4) Maatta's good game: It's not that people are done with their love for Maatta. We just aren't shocked when he performs at that level anymore. I have to remind myself he's 19. The fact is - when he's out there, I don't worry. He might get beat on a play or might make a bad pass here and there, but the majority of the time he delivers a high quality defensive game. I love it. So I think it's a good thing people aren't making a big deal of it. That means it's so consistent, we just expect it.
5) The roster not being good enough - COMPLETELY disagree. Had this argument in 2009 and will be having it again all year. It's all coaching and how the players buy into the system now. Unless this team starts focusing on structure instead of just beating teams on skill, they have 0 chance at the Cup. If we were to walk into the playoffs right now, I wouldn't even have expectations past Round 2. But the roster is there. Some adjustments, sure. A bunch of trades? Absolutely not.
6) Perimeter - whether it's the players or DB's system, we use it too much. We force pucks to our points when we cycle down low 5 on 5. We only keep pucks outside on the perimeter on the powerplay. It makes no sense. I don't understand it and cannot believe how people don't see it.
