GDT: post-season pre-postseason preseason hockey is here

[A Star is Burns]

The most important thing to remember about last night is to not take away way too much, lest we forget preseason superstar Julien Gauthier and preseason dud Martin Necas.

 

[emptyNedder]

-The Staal and Aho lines not as much.

The very first shift SAT looked great—and I thought they were solid all game. The goals came against their line, but mostly due to the blue line struggling. I would keep them together against NYR.

Least Jaccob Slavin-like goal against I can remember seeing. 99 out of 100 times Slavin is stick checking the puck to diffuse a rush

I mentioned I re-watched several Feb/March games last week. Slavin was struggling. In the Vegas game Paccioretty beat him in a puck battle then gets position in front of the net for the first goal. In the Flyers game Slavin allowed not one but two uncontested shots that resulted in the first goal. In the Penguins game he was part of a missed assignment during a line change, which ended in the first goal.

All the partner changes appear to be causing problems. The good news is he and Vatanen should get comfortable quickly.

 

[Lempo]

Wilson must've said something to rile him up, like the New American Standard bible is preferable to the New International Version

Please don't. They just reported that they have done a new Finnish translation of the New Testamony with some established words substituted with new ones.

The headline of the news article was: "Righteousness disappears, there's less of mercy, and harlots become whores"

 

[ClarkBolzano]

The very first shift SAT looked great—and I thought they were solid all game. The goals came against their line, but mostly due to the blue line struggling. I would keep them together against NYR.



I mentioned I re-watched several Feb/March games last week. Slavin was struggling. In the Vegas game Paccioretty beat him in a puck battle then gets position in front of the net for the first goal. In the Flyers game Slavin allowed not one but two uncontested shots that resulted in the first goal. In the Penguins game he was part of a missed assignment during a line change, which ended in the first goal.

All the partner changes appear to be causing problems. The good news is he and Vatanen should get comfortable quickly.

You are right. The sat line did look solid. I just think that Svech is not the best fit for Aho and Teuvo. I liked more Svech with Trocheck (can't remember the right spelling hehe) and I would put Williams with them. . Or Necas should he return. There are players who are top players which simply can't play up to their full potential with each other. I sadly think this is the case wilh Svech and the two Finns. Leave Aho and Teuvo together and find two good and skilled forwards for Svech.

 

[Anton Dubinchuk]

Chanting "Douay-Rhiems!" from Zoom, throwing Slavin off his game.

 

[bleedgreen]

You are right. The sat line did look solid. I just think that Svech is not the best fit for Aho and Teuvo. I liked more Svech with Trocheck (can't remember the right spelling hehe) and I would put Williams with them. . Or Necas should he return. There are players who are top players which simply can't play up to their full potential with each other. I sadly think this is the case wilh Svech and the two Finns. Leave Aho and Teuvo together and find two good and skilled forwards for Svech.

A lot of coaches subscribe to the “pairings” concept with their forward lines, two guys who work well together and someone else who works hard and gets them the puck. It was worth trying Svech with them because at the time we were a one line team offensively. Adding Trochek allows us to create more pairings. They used Svech with Trochek and it looked pretty good. Maybe Necas and Svech are a pairing and Trochek can be the “other guy”. He can get them the puck, win draws, bury chances when he gets them since he’s a shooter.

Regardless I agree, Svech might not be the best fit for the cherubs.

 

[Big Daddy Cane]

I'm not a fan of putting the 3 forwards that can be the 1st offensive option on a legit scoring line together outside of big-time situations (i.e. down by a goal late in a game). It makes a Middle 6 rather deep in 2nd and 3rd options look pretty pedestrian.

There was a lot of Edmundson - Skjei in the 3rd period yesterday. I was going to make a joke about a miracle cure involving hydroxychloroquine (w/zinc), but in lieu of that, I'll just say get well really soon Dougie.

 

[WreckingCrew]

You are right. The sat line did look solid. I just think that Svech is not the best fit for Aho and Teuvo. I liked more Svech with Trocheck (can't remember the right spelling hehe) and I would put Williams with them. . Or Necas should he return. There are players who are top players which simply can't play up to their full potential with each other. I sadly think this is the case wilh Svech and the two Finns. Leave Aho and Teuvo together and find two good and skilled forwards for Svech.

Nino - Aho -TT
Svech - Troch - Necas
I think I could get behind that, especially if Troch continues to play like he did yesterday...dude was hungry and trying to make things happen and it was awesome to see!

One thing that's always bothered me about this team, when it's very clear that the refs are "letting them play", the other teams always seem to take it to us and push the limits, and we tend to get dominated and off our game at that point. Yet, for some reason, we refuse to play likewise...I know we don't really have the personnel (Wilson / Dowd to goon it up), Svech was the only guy I actually remember hitting anyone (note: I didn't watch the 3rd period much). That second goal Caps got, Wilson slashed Skjei trying to exit with the puck which knocked it loose, then hooked him so he couldn't get back to it, all 5 of our guys get caught lost from transition, then they tic-tacked it in with 2 players behind us. That's fine, let them play, but dammit we need to start taking advantage of that too. Create some damn chaos in front of their net!

As for Vats, I think it's a pipe dream, would he really want to sign here to be 3RD? We CAN'T piss Pesce off again and put him at 3RD. Unless the thought is do a Pesce - Vats 2nd line, which would be awesome...but then you have Skjei/Gardiner/Fleury on the 3rd pair...which is fine, but expensive. Skjei/Gardiner - Fleury and kill the leftover man? McKeown or Bean as #7? Maybe you can do that for 1-2 years, but you gotta think Vats @ 29 is looking for a 4-5 year deal minimum. Unless we're 100% planning on saying goodbye Doogie, but we don't have anyone on the back-end to replace his offense unless we're going for committee from Skjei/Gards/Bean?

Also, Dzingel want to not be a healthy scratch...2 super close chances seconds apart

 

[zman77]

 

[zman77]

 

[zman77]

 

[AD Skinner]

Please don't. They just reported that they have done a new Finnish translation of the New Testamony with some established words substituted with new ones.

The headline of the news article was: "Righteousness disappears, there's less of mercy, and harlots become whores"

Sounds like a great party

 

[RodTheBawd]

My biggest concern, which I had prior to this game, is their inability to quickly get team defense clicking. Skjei and Eddy magnify that issue.

Side note: like others, I was pleasantly surprised by the big rig. I've never been a fan of the guy, but he did a pretty solid job. Only gripes were how frequently he messed up player names and his inability to tell when a goal is scored. But him watching it on TV probably makes it really tough. It's also unfair to compare the guy to Forslund.

 

[Big Daddy Cane]

As for Vats, I think it's a pipe dream, would he really want to sign here to be 3RD? We CAN'T piss Pesce off again and put him at 3RD. Unless the thought is do a Pesce - Vats 2nd line, which would be awesome...but then you have Skjei/Gardiner/Fleury on the 3rd pair...which is fine, but expensive. Skjei/Gardiner - Fleury and kill the leftover man? McKeown or Bean as #7? Maybe you can do that for 1-2 years, but you gotta think Vats @ 29 is looking for a 4-5 year deal minimum. Unless we're 100% planning on saying goodbye Doogie, but we don't have anyone on the back-end to replace his offense unless we're going for committee from Skjei/Gards/Bean?

There's a lot working against Vatanen this offseason. The cap will be flat. He's coming off an injury plagued year. Most importantly, the UFA RD crop is as strong as I can ever remember it being. Pietrangelo is the headliner, but there's Barrie, Schultz, Hamonic, Brodie, Tanev and potentially even Byfuglien behind him. Barring a revelatory playoff run, Vatanen is ripe to get squeezed. There are things to like here, even if it's a 3rd pairing role: presence of countrymen Aho and Teravainen, competitive team and PP time that should help him put up numbers in advance of a UFA date with more favorable conditions.

I'm skeptical that they can make the cap work beyond next season, though. Getting out of Gardiner's contract clean seems rather optimistic under the circumstances.

 

[MinJaBen]

There's a lot working against Vatanen this offseason. The cap will be flat. He's coming off an injury plagued year. Most importantly, the UFA RD crop is as strong as I can ever remember it being. Pietrangelo is the headliner, but there's Barrie, Schultz, Hamonic, Brodie, Tanev and potentially even Byfuglien behind him. Barring a revelatory playoff run, Vatanen is ripe to get squeezed. There are things to like here, even if it's a 3rd pairing role: presence of countrymen Aho and Teravainen, competitive team and PP time that should help him put up numbers in advance of a UFA date with more favorable conditions.

I'm skeptical that they can make the cap work beyond next season, though. Getting out of Gardiner's contract clean seems rather optimistic under the circumstances.

I'd rather move Skjei, actually. Can't see that happening after paying the first, but he's more expensive and seems worse. At least Gardiner seems competent in the offensive zone.

 

[Canes]

I actually like the SAT line. Teams like the Bruins and Avs load up their top lines and it seems to work fine. Spreading out the talent is a good idea in theory but in practice it's not always the optimal move.

 

[Lempo]

I'd rather move Skjei, actually. Can't see that happening after paying the first, but he's more expensive and seems worse. At least Gardiner seems competent in the offensive zone.

The optics for that will change according to whom NYR will pick with the pick (and according to who would be available). It may well be that ours or TORs 1st will be a very late pick, which will retroactively make Skjei's price look tolerable.

 

[WreckingCrew]

My biggest concern, which I had prior to this game, is their inability to quickly get team defense clicking. Skjei and Eddy magnify that issue.

Side note: like others, I was pleasantly surprised by the big rig. I've never been a fan of the guy, but he did a pretty solid job. Only gripes were how frequently he messed up player names and his inability to tell when a goal is scored. But him watching it on TV probably makes it really tough. It's also unfair to compare the guy to Forslund.

In all fairness, I didn't know we scored either...nobody on the ice really reacted all that much until seconds later, which is about when he noticed as well. I agree I think he did a pretty decent job, no Forslund but miles ahead of Shaya. He definitely needs to work on adding some excitement and at times he seemed almost out of breath trying to keep up with the play (will take some time to learn the nuance of describing plays without over-describing and falling behind). He's following the best in the business IMO, so he's never going to live up to that, but he's at a good starting point and I think could develop into a pretty solid pbp guy.

@Big Daddy Cane I definitely get and agree with your points, he could be in a tough spot with the market and maybe would enjoy a couple years with some Finns...but I'm not gonna get my hopes up too much. With all the guys going out as UFAs, that means there's also new potential vacancies...STL might not be able to afford Petro, but Faulk/Vats as a 1/2 RHD punch works pretty well. Also, I want to give him a few games before I try to do any judgement since 1 game does not a sample make, but he looked solid.

 

[Big Daddy Cane]

I actually like the SAT line. Teams like the Bruins and Avs load up their top lines and it seems to work fine. Spreading out the talent is a good idea in theory but in practice it's not always the optimal move.

The Bruins only get away with it because of an elite team defense and PP, neither of which the Canes have. 5v5, the Bruins were 17th in GF this season (Link).

Colorado hasn't won anything yet. Of the teams that have achieved success at the highest level post-lockout, there's been some semblance of balance of the top end skill across the board. Detroit is the closest example of loading up (Datyuk + Zetterberg), but that was the postseason in which Franzen went crazy on a separate line.

 

[MrazeksVengeance]

SINCE I DON’T WANT TO VENT THIS IN THE GDT FOR THE FIRST GAME.

DEFENSE HAD BETTER GET THEIR SHIT TOGETHER.

 

[Canes]

The Bruins only get away with it because of an elite team defense and PP, neither of which the Canes have. 5v5, the Bruins were 17th in GF this season (Link).

Colorado hasn't won anything yet. Of the teams that have achieved success at the highest level post-lockout, there's been some semblance of balance of the top end skill across the board. Detroit is the closest example of loading up (Datyuk + Zetterberg), but that was the postseason in which Franzen went crazy on a separate line.

Obviously you need depth scoring to win a Cup, but I wasn't really talking about that. I just feel like loading up on the top line will get the most of out of our 3 best forwards. The tradeoff of spreading the talent around could be less production out of Svech to get slightly more production out of the Staal/Trocheck lines. I hate the idea of Svech with Staal and the only other option is Trocheck but I don't think his style meshes well with Svech (and to be honest, other than maybe 2-3 games so far I haven't really been too impressed with him).