GDT: Preseason: Flames @ Sharks. Erik Karlsson edition.

[SharksFan1]

Probably best to reunite Hertl with the Joes and Meier with Couture, and Kane with the 3rd. But do they have the humblness to keep a 7mill player on the 3rd line. I think DeBoer does. Who gives a ****! Play him where he excels.

Well you always have Pittsburgh and Kessel in their 2016 cup run to point to.

 

[Makoshark]

I liked what I saw the last half of the game when the Sharks switched up the line combos and the intensity. The Flames brought it tonight. They play with a lot of speed and have some great finishers. The games against them are going to be fun to watch this season.

Loved what I saw from Suomela out there. I think he is a really intelligent player who can get in the slot effectively and cause some serious chaos around the net. If he can play that way consistently I wont be missing Tierney for much longer. I'm not going to say I'm completely sold on him quite yet but he has for sure locked down 3c and has some great chemistry going on with Donkey.

I'm not too worried about the defensive lapses this game. We're obviously still working through some things. I expect us to be better on Sunday and definitely bring it against VGK as I believe they are our #1 rival this year. The battle of the Karlssons is gonna be great!

 

[Lebanezer]

Glad someone from the outside sees it! Ryan is my fave.

Joakim Ryan is a stud. He’s got Swedish defenseman power. I really like our Swedish defensemen. I’m less thrilled with our Swedish forwards.

 

[TomasHertlsRooster]

Joakim Ryan is a stud. He’s got Swedish defenseman power. I really like our Swedish defensemen. I’m less thrilled with our Swedish forwards.

We need more Swedish defensemen and Finnish forwards.

 

[Lebanezer]

We need more Swedish defensemen and Finnish forwards.

Can we get Barkov from Florida?

 

[anthonyyy]

We need more Swedish defensemen and Finnish forwards.

Lehtera is probably available

 

[anthonyyy]

Can we get Barkov from Florida?

I'll settle for an Aho.

 

[tiburon12]

Lehtera is probably available

Does it snow in the Bay area?

 

[TomasHertlsRooster]

Does it snow in the Bay area?

Maybe a bit in Tahoe

 

[DrFeelgood]

Does it snow in the Bay area?

I've seen snow two or three times in my life here (I am 33) and it's that crappy slushy snow that melts after a few hours

Snow here is quite an event for the locals, but as JoeThorntonsRooster mentioned you can drive a few hours into the mountains towards Tahoe and get some very good quality snow

 

[The Nemesis]

He wasn't talking about that kind of snow

 

[Lebanezer]

I've seen snow two or three times in my life here (I am 33) and it's that crappy slushy snow that melts after a few hours

Snow here is quite an event for the locals, but as JoeThorntonsRooster mentioned you can drive a few hours into the mountains towards Tahoe and get some very good quality snow

Good answer, and all true, but there’s something you should know.

 

[DrFeelgood]

He wasn't talking about that kind of snow

I haven't had enough caffeine today to get any witty jokes

 

[SharksAddict]

I'm more worried about how Thornton is going to mesh with EK on the PP. Giving Jumbo the puck and everyone standing around doesn't work and it's really annoying to watch. Also Jumbo was setup on the left side, which makes absolutely no sense because then no one has a one-timer. Coaches need to get to work.

Yeah I'd honestly like to see Hertl over Jumbo on that top unit but it will take awhile before PDB pulls the plug on Jumbo with 1st unit. Put Couture in Jumbo's spot, Hertl in Couture's spot.

The position Jumbo is playing on the PP right now is a spot that's going to have a lot of shot opportunities from up high which Couture is much more qualified for.

 

[The Nemesis]

I haven't had enough caffeine today to get any witty jokes

Lehtera is being investigated for possibly being involved in a coca in smuggling operation in Finland

 

[Pavelski2112]

Bring him to Cali, and he'll probably be interested in another operation.

 

[Agent Zub]

I mean, Karlsson, Burns and Vlasic, along with our veteran forward group can run the PP on their own. I say turn them loose and let them do what they do.

I don't know how specific teams conduct power play but in most cases the coaches aren't as good at understanding the game as the players are. Like imagine telling Gretzky what to do on the PP. Crazy.

I'm curious to know if there has ever been a player run powerplay and how effective it was.

 

[Used As A Shield]

For like a year this team let the players run the PP, and we gave the coaches flak for not stepping in when it was obvious it wasn't going to work. Then we found out about the "Spott Special" from some Burns comment or something, and the powerplay was subpar with the personnel available. Not enough tempo or clean entries really killed it that season.

 

[anthonyyy]

I don't know how specific teams conduct power play but in most cases the coaches aren't as good at understanding the game as the coaches are. Like imagine telling Gretzky what to do on the PP. Crazy.

I'm curious to know if there has ever been a player run powerplay and how effective it was.

In my mind, it doesn't seem difficult to have a bunch of different set plays on the PP, similar to how basketball teams run a half-court offense. The best powerplays do always seem to be sure of where they wanna go with the puck; I'd imagine that watching tape and orchestrating a PP would accomplish that.

 

[Mattb124]

Lehtera is being investigated for possibly being involved in a coca in smuggling operation in Finland

Sounds like a trade to LA Kings incoming. E4

 

[TomasHertlsRooster]

In my mind, it doesn't seem difficult to have a bunch of different set plays on the PP, similar to how basketball teams run a half-court offense. The best powerplays do always seem to be sure of where they wanna go with the puck; I'd imagine that watching tape and orchestrating a PP would accomplish that.

Honestly, the team would be better off if they just copied exactly what Washington did on their 1PP last year. Substitute John Carlson with Erik Karlsson, Alexander Ovechkin with Brent Burns, Evgeny Kuznetsov with Logan Couture, Nicklas Backstrom with Joe Thornton, and TJ Oshie with Joe Pavelski.

Or, they could copy exactly what was working for them last year before Joe Thornton got injured. Just substitute Kevin Labanc with Erik Karlsson and keep everything else the same. I really thought that was what Spott would do, but alas, he decided to over complicate the f*** out of everything with Burns at RW and Thornton at LD.

 

[Barrie22]

Spott is confirmed to be one of the members here that said karlsson and burns on the point would not work because they are both RHD lol

 

[Quid Pro Clowe]

Lehtera is being investigated for possibly being involved in a coca in smuggling operation in Finland

It's funny now that Dean Lombardi works under Hextall that this happens. Another opportunity to ditch a player and a contract.

 

[ATdaisuki]

To the Senators fans who watched, roughly how did Karlsson looked, compared to what you normally see from him? Was he pretty much on par with regular season 2016-2017 Karlsson?

he was obviously getting a feel for things last night. he still put together a good performance. when he gets comfortable, a performance like that will feel like he had an average game, unspectacular game. a close loss when he plays like this will feel like he could have done a little more. not like it was necessarily his fault, but like he should have had at least one more explosive play. at least that's how it feels when he's the only game changer on the team, lol.

 

[Ben White]

His defensive game is basically the good Duncan Keith. But yea, prepare yourself for Doughty/Kings fans calling him a 4th forward or a defensive liability. They couldn't be further from the truth. His stick is elite and when you combine that with his skating he's one of the best players in the league at getting the puck back. He is also incredible with the puck in his own end, which to me is just as much of a defensive trait as it is offensive.

Defence is all about getting the puck and moving it out from your own zone. Karlsson is one of, if not the best at both. And yea, he isn't perfect, sometimes he can lose his man on the cycle, he's no shea weber in front of his own net, and his pivoting to the right has been **** ever since Cooke cut him.

But he can make defensive plays that no other D can make. The way he can turn defence into offence is on another level. He's probably the best all around player in the NHL.

Yeah, true da, just look at his pivoting pre Cook in this video:



Karlsson was basically superhuman both offensively and defensively pre Cook in 2013. He would’ve challanged Orr for GOAT at this point if it wasn’t for Cooke.