Post-Game Talk: St.Louis @ Senators - 7:30 p.m. - "Remember Hull" Edition

[Xspyrit]

How can any of these lines be label a good line when the game starts and they proceed to do nothing productive on the ice?

Have you noticed there's no first line?

 

[Back in Black]

What a good game it was right up until it was 4-4.

Soooooo close!

 

[robsenz]

Have you noticed there's no first line?

Good third and forth lines can still shutdown first lines. Most of our guys can barely keep up to the play.

 

[tardigrade81]

Have you noticed there's no first line?

That’s the strategy in beating Tampa. Having no first line. Like having a baseball team having a bullpen day with no starter.

We got this.

And by got this I mean keep the tank alive and lose.

 

[BonkTastic]

Like having a baseball team having a bullpen day with no starter.

I love the analogy of our roster = bulk relievers with no real starting pitchers.

 

[tardigrade81]

I love the analogy of our roster = bulk relievers with no real starting pitchers.

Lmao!

 

[Spartachat]

HFBoard is going all Melnyk with the game day threads. 3 hours before the game and nothing yet.

 

[Xspyrit]

Good third and forth lines can still shutdown first lines. Most of our guys can barely keep up to the play.

Not sure about that. From watching the games so far, extended highlights and advanced stats, I really don't think Sens had trouble keeping up. Leafs are a regular season powerhouse so their top players burned the Sens in the end and the main difference in the other 2 games was probably goaltending. Even against the Leafs, the first 2 Leafs goals were ridiculously bad, with the puck rolling at Andy's feet, losing track of the puck so easily. They weren't far from beating them, until that Hainsey goal disallowed where Ryan was offside by hair before passing it to him. Against the Blues it was also very close, Nilsson just couldn't make any save without the puck hitting him.

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It's going to be the story of the season, Sens will lose many games because they have no top line to take over a game and shaky goaltending. Add Dzingel-Duchene-Stone and the forward group is pretty solid, assuming you still made the other moves. Duclair wouldn't be in the line-up normally (Dzingel) but you could still acquire him for a song

Dzingel-Duchene-Ryan
Tkachuk-White-Stone
Duclair-Anisimov-Namestnikov
Ennis-Pageau-Brown
Sabu

Dzingel-Duchene-Stone were basically replaced by Duclair-Namestnikov-Brown (so a 1st line for the definition of 2nd/3rd tweener line)...

Other replacements :

Smith by Anisimov
Paajarvi by Ennis
Balcers/Batherson+ by Abramov (for now)
Paul/McCormick/Gibbons/Lindberg by Sabourin

On defense, Brannstrom, wouldn't be here but Karlsson would (in a Melnyk-less world). Heck in that Melnyk-less world, Zibanejad would probably still be here too. Of course, you still made that Ceci trade and hired Hainsey unless you actually traded Hoffman for a D-man instead of a foward with a diminishing salary (Melnyk favorite)

Chabot-Karlsson
Wolanin-Zaitsev
Hainsey-Jaros
Boro/Lajoie