Pre-Game Talk: SENS in Vegas, Sunday 8:30pm

[Deku]

What did Boro do? Is he going to get suspended again?

 

[Boud]

What did Boro do? Is he going to get suspended again?

Made an open ice hit pinching in the Ozone but honestly I don't even think there should've been a penalty..

He took the body and seemed like a pretty clean hit to me.

 

[h2]

A crosscheck? Really?

It was barely a push man.

It wasn't hard, but it was a decent cross check and in a dangerous area just a few feet from the boards.

Even if it's not a crosscheck, the hold seconds earlier could have easily been called. Whatever tho, there's more serious issues with the team to worry about than relying on calls from the officials.

 

[Boud]

On the Boro hit I'll add...

Boro comes in for the hit when Eakin is simply looking down at his skates and while getting closer Boro made sure to bend down even more seeing that Eakin was clearly not seeing him. I really don't think this type of hit deserves a suspension. There was no jumping and this was definitely not intended to be a head hit, this is just Eakin bending and looking down for the puck at the same time Boro is coming in for the hit.

If they suspend him for that my next question would be what happens if you're fully commited to making contact and then the opposing player puts his head down last minute and you don't have time to adjust is that also worthy of a game misconduct or suspension?

As long as hits will be part of the game there will be hits where guys will get caught on the head. If the point is to avoid any head hit then you need to ban hits all together. There will always be instances where guys get hit on the head even if it's not intentional. The league will need to bring clarity on this matter because otherwise it's unfair to suspend a guy for a hit like this and then give another guy who makes intentional contact the same amount of games.

We're at the point where you can have two identical hits but one guy keeps his head up and the other guy looks down last minute and one of them gets suspended and the other doesn't...

 

[BankStreetParade]

I really don't like the way Boucher played out the OT. White and Tierney both played really good games and didn't sniff the ice in OT. Formenton...what a waste of speed to have this guy sitting on the bench rather than have him out there skating like the wind with that much open ice. At least give him a 30-second opportunity. Get out, skate, if you gain the zone and cycle you can at least swap him out if you feel like he won't be as effective. Stone and Duchene tried to do too much and it ended up costing us.

 

[GuyBoucherEvilGenius]

I can't even.

You have no fear of him following in the footsteps of guys like Perry, Mike Richards, Backes, Lucic, Dustin Brown, etc., who all fell off cliffs and could not keep up as they approached 30?

It's harder and harder for these guys to survive as they age with the amount of young speed entering the league each year. And with how wide open the game is being played, when these types of players lose a step, it's becoming a big time problem. Most contracts given to these guys who lack great skating and get by on his hockey sense, guile, grit, etc become regrettable deals Midway through. A guy like Corey Perry went from a 30-40 goal threat to a guy who can barely pot 15 in the blink of an eye.

I'd rather invest in someone with the skill set of Duchene.

 

[Rodzilla]

I saw a hook on Marchessault, not a penalty shot.

At no point did Stone get in the way of Marchessault shooting, Marchessault just gave up and let his stick go didnt even try to shoot. End result probably the same but that’s a bad call

 

[Tundraman]

Looked like Boro hit shoulder to chest. The head is bound to snap down with a hit like that and might come down on top of the shoulder pad but that's not a hit to the head. If that's a suspension they might as well take hitting out of the game. The last few games we've seen quite a few things happen to Sens players, boarding hits where the head was crushed into the boards, high sticks to the head and face, glove punches to the head and crosschecks into the boards that were far more worthy of suspension and most weren't even called on the ice. Tonight the boarding on Chabot on the back boards was much more intentional and dangerous IMO. Some Vegas players were going out of their way to take 3 steamboat hits on our young D well after the puck was gone.

 

[L'Aveuglette]

You have no fear of him following in the footsteps of guys like Perry, Mike Richards, Backes, Lucic, Dustin Brown, etc., who all fell off cliffs and could not keep up as they approached 30?

It's harder and harder for these guys to survive as they age with the amount of young speed entering the league each year. And with how wide open the game is being played, when these types of players lose a step, it's becoming a big time problem. Most contracts given to these guys who lack great skating and get by on his hockey sense, guile, grit, etc become regrettable deals Midway through. A guy like Corey Perry went from a 30-40 goal threat to a guy who can barely pot 15 in the blink of an eye.

I'd rather invest in someone with the skill set of Duchene.

Mark Stone is 26, not 30. You give him a 6-year contract and if he's slowing down too much near the end you trade him. As of now he's a great player and is basically irreplaceable in this org.

 

[solidprospect]

It's surprising the amount of blocked shots we had and they still had all those shots on goal. 29 blocks + 53 shots on net , that's at least 82 shots directed at our net, not counting missed shots.

The players we're missing would help out a little, we've essentially lost an entire penalty line set with Smith-Pageau-Boro-Harpur out not to mention our 4th overall pick.

Fwiw 14 shots were on their powerplay. Tuch and Marchessault combined for 16 shots lol.

 

[GuyBoucherEvilGenius]

Mark Stone is 26, not 30. You give him a 6-year contract and if he's slowing down too much near the end you trade him. As of now he's a great player and is basically irreplaceable in this org.

That's my point though, the same thing was said about all of those guys I mentioned. Stone will be 27 when he hits UFA. Perry was 27-28 when his deal was coming up as well. By the time he hit 30-31, the contract became an albatross and is now unmovable. Hes a bottom six forward getting paid 8M a year.
When the guys I mentioned were in their mid-20s, people were singing the same tune that people are singing about Stone now. He's a great player right now, you have to sign him, it's hyperbole to suggest he will become a burden. It's easy to say oh just cap dump the guy when he falls off. Yet we've seen first hand how hard it is to move one of those contracts (especially when you won't eat money) when the guy slows down and is still due 7M+ over 4 four years. Bobby Ryan is a former 30+ goal scorer who is absolutely untradeable. No one is touching the likes of Lucic, Backes, Seabrook with a ten foot pole.

I know Stone is a fan favorite b//c of the way he plays the game and his character. Stone is a solid player. He's not an elite player. And there are elements of his style of play and skill set that, to me, are a cause for concern when considering a long term deal.

 

[Tundraman]

Mark Stone is 26, not 30. You give him a 6-year contract and if he's slowing down too much near the end you trade him. As of now he's a great player and is basically irreplaceable in this org.

I too have concerns about his longevity and saddling the Sens with a deal they can't get out of. I'd sign him for 5-6 years at $7.5 maybe just a bit more with a reasonable $2M signing bonus in the 1st 2 or 3 years. Problem is that Stone can probably get that or maybe even more as a UFA so he will probably hold out for 8 years, ask top dollars at $8M to $9M and want a big up front bonus in each year of the deal making it harder to trade him and financially crushing to buy out so as to make it near impossible if he goes belly up. If he doesn't sign by the deadline then the Sens will have no choice but to trade him.

 

[L'Aveuglette]

I too have concerns about his longevity and saddling the Sens with a deal they can't get out of. I'd sign him for 5-6 years at $7.5 maybe just a bit more with a reasonable $2M signing bonus in the 1st 2 or 3 years. Problem is that Stone can probably get that or maybe even more as a UFA so he will probably hold out for 8 years, ask top dollars at $8M to $9M and want a big up front bonus in each year of the deal making it harder to trade him and financially crushing to buy out so as to make it near impossible if he goes belly up. If he doesn't sign by the deadline then the Sens will have no choice but to trade him.

Well, tbh any deal upwards of 8 years is risky for any player above 25.

 

[L'Aveuglette]

That's my point though, the same thing was said about all of those guys I mentioned. Stone will be 27 when he hits UFA. Perry was 27-28 when his deal was coming up as well. By the time he hit 30-31, the contract became an albatross and is now unmovable. Hes a bottom six forward getting paid 8M a year.
When the guys I mentioned were in their mid-20s, people were singing the same tune that people are singing about Stone now. He's a great player right now, you have to sign him, it's hyperbole to suggest he will become a burden. It's easy to say oh just cap dump the guy when he falls off. Yet we've seen first hand how hard it is to move one of those contracts (especially when you won't eat money) when the guy slows down and is still due 7M+ over 4 four years. Bobby Ryan is a former 30+ goal scorer who is absolutely untradeable. No one is touching the likes of Lucic, Backes, Seabrook with a ten foot pole.

I know Stone is a fan favorite b//c of the way he plays the game and his character. Stone is a solid player. He's not an elite player. And there are elements of his style of play and skill set that, to me, are a cause for concern when considering a long term deal.

I have no doubt that Stone will still be a valuable player at 31-32, so I have no problem giving him 6-7 years now. It'll totally be worth getting 5 more good years of Stone even if he slows down in the last year of two.

 

[AchtzehnBaby]

One more time. Trade Stone when he has value.

 

[Micklebot]

Missed most of the game, sounds like they really took it to us.

Not surprised given that Boro was out 15 mins into the game and we barely played McCormick. Basically playing 2 guys down all game.

I think our depth is really being tested early this season. Not many teams look good down 4 roster players, but on the bright side, looks like Anderson had a game.

 

[OmniSens]

We didn't deserve that game, at all. Our defense is scary bad. Boro deserves 5 games, Andy stole a point and I don't blame Stone one bit for his play to end the game.

Turn the page, onto Arizona on Tuesday.

 

[Burrowsaurus]

You don't get to complain all offseason about how we're not going to win a game this year AND complain when we eek out a point against one of the best teams in the league.

I was actually one of the guys saying we would surprise because of league parity..... but for arguments sake we didn't eek out anything.. our goalie did... the forwards and defence may as well have not even been present.

 

[Burrowsaurus]

This is going to be a running theme now. Utterly caved in in the D zone and no forward depth. The adrenaline has worn off and now reality is starting to set in.

I think partly its overcoaching. this isn't a team to get technical with.. like some were sayeing before, this team is a mix of differet players that don't really compliment eachother… high paced offensive game is what we need to do get it in deep and forechec

 

[Burrowsaurus]

Lol okay. Yeah that was it. Fear of penalties.

I don't underestimate this... does force you to play timid, if only subconsciously. but we got smacked either way

 

[Burrowsaurus]

playing .500 hockey is like climbing to the top of the mountain for this team. IMO its the most that we should expect and if we do it its an achievement

100% I agree. last game was not exactly frustrating because we got slammed... its just frustrating when the game is within reach and we cough it up by missing chances taking bad penalties.

 

[Silencio]

lol at Vegas piling onto the ice like they won the Stanley Cup

 

[BatherSeason]

Whatever tho, there's more serious issues with the team to worry about than relying on calls from the officials.

Is there?? Its really hard to tell because the media just keeps pointing out the one or two positives every game and completely ignores any negatives aspects of the team's play. Seems like they are worse than usual, PD and Eugene's cry about the media seems to have worked, seenms they are all #influencers.

According to TGOR this morning the only two talking points from last night's game were Anderson's AMAZING performance and the Boro hit. Nothing else.

Personally, I still thought Andy let in a couple of stinkers, but all in all, he did keep us in the game. The biggest talking points need to be how and why this team is giving up so many shots. Would love for the media to actually discuss some of the tactical aspects of the Sens play instead of just grasping onto the one or two positive talking points and blaming the rest on "the rebuild".

 

[Viletho]

I think partly its overcoaching. this isn't a team to get technical with.. like some were sayeing before, this team is a mix of differet players that don't really compliment eachother… high paced offensive game is what we need to do get it in deep and forechec

Look at Mtl..

I don't see how that roster is more talented then ours, at least on paper. But you know what they do well?

Skating
Skating fast
Passing is mostly tape to tape. Is there a team that has to clear the puck as much as the Sens? It seems we are almost never in control, aside from a few player.
Also, by watching a lot of game.. how many puck do we pass to the front of the net blindly with none of our player there..
All these reverse play on the board to... no one..

Just for two example that came to mind last night.

1. Pyatt on the forcheck, there is a change I believe, he get to the puck first and pass it to his left.. But there is nobody he was alone.. Why not get to the puck and try to protect it until the other come? Easy to say from my computer and nobody skating at me, but that's their job.

2. Colin White does a good play starting the cycle with Boedker and Ryan.. Mostly Ryan.
White give it to Ryan who skate it and gave it back to White who has pressure skating the right board who send it down behind the goal line because that's the only play available but Boedker is standing in front of the net, not ready to go to that pass.. The puck was out immediatly. That's simple hockey.. But they are not doing it..

I hope, that with time.. This team will be able to make 3 pass in a row WITH CONTROL of the puck.

 

[BatherSeason]

You give him a 6-year contract and if he's slowing down too much near the end you trade him

Stone wants a max deal, why would he want 6 years?