Pre-Game Talk: The All Purpose Off Day Thread

[FreeBobbyFarnham]

Finally, Archibald gets to play. I've been waiting for either Kuhn or Reaves (or both, really) to sit for a while. Hope it stays that way.

I think DiPauli is getting called up soon. He was supposed to sign autographs at the PNC bank, but he's been replaced by Adam Johnson.

 

[ColePens]

Kuhn finally scratched maybe? Thank you hockey gods

And this is what I wanted to see. Sully has done this before where he's tried something out for a period of time but he never fully goes Bylsma where he refuses to change it. Hopefully this is a start to many good decisions.

 

[WayneSid9987]

Sorta figured Archie would get another chance cuz of Kuhn's sucktitude lately on the PK.

I do think JR's paying attention tho to the kids scoring/playing well in the A. It's not as simple starting out to keep the depth but you're at a point in the season where you can try a few WB kids via waiving non-performing #13-14 guys.

I think theres a chance they waive McKegg when Rowney returns cuz Sully's getting further and further away from using him.

ETA: Just a note on DiPauli. Practiced today in a non-contact jersey.

 

[NMK11]

So now that horny is back one line one, does Sid pout again?

Also, that third line is now a classic shutdown line and I love the speed. Maybe throwing all the snake bitten guys on one line will cancel out each other's negative juju.

 

[Gurglesons]

So now that horny is back one line one, does Sid pout again?

Also, that third line is now a classic shutdown line and I love the speed. Maybe throwing all the snake bitten guys on one line will cancel out each other's negative juju.

I think the more important question that will be answered is was Sheahan just producing because he was playing with our teams second and third best wingers atm.

 

[Andy99]

Why is Hags playing RW? Shouldn't it be Hags-Sheahan-Rust?
I like the first two lines but no one will score on this third line. It's like the checking line. Therefore, if we're playing from behind again, Sid and Geno will continue playing 20+ minutes a game. It's not a way to consistently win games and be in the best position to succeed in the playoffs.
Fully support bringing the kids up already and giving them a shot until a trade can be made...

 

[Gurglesons]

Why is Hags playing RW? Shouldn't it be Hags-Sheahan-Rust?
I like the first two lines but no one will score on this third line. It's like the checking line. Therefore, if we're playing from behind again, Sid and Geno will continue playing 20+ minutes a game. It's not a way to consistently win games and be in the best position to succeed in the playoffs.
Fully support bringing the kids up already and giving them a shot until a trade can be made...

Yeah, that struck me as really odd.

Also, I think Sully is trying to do HBK all over again by pairing fast players with Sheahan when what Sheahan really needs is offensive creativity because dude just flat out refuses to shoot the puck.

I don’t think he has had over three shots in a game this year.

 

[Randy Butternubs]

Yeah, that struck me as really odd.

Also, I think Sully is trying to do HBK all over again by pairing fast players with Sheahan when what Sheahan really needs is offensive creativity because dude just flat out refuses to shoot the puck.

I don’t think he has had over three shots in a game this year.

Riley had 4 shots in the game against Vancouver.

The Hockey News

 

[Andy99]

Yeah, that struck me as really odd.

Also, I think Sully is trying to do HBK all over again by pairing fast players with Sheahan when what Sheahan really needs is offensive creativity because dude just flat out refuses to shoot the puck.

I don’t think he has had over three shots in a game this year.

Yeah Sheahan needs someone who can accept a pass from him and finish since he won't shoot. Gee, maybe we have someone in WBS who fits that description

 

[Mr Jiggyfly]

Kuhn finally scratched maybe? Thank you hockey gods

He made a huge mistake on the first goal last game and that shit can't happen, especially to guys who are only in the lineup to PK.

 

[NMK11]

And this is what I wanted to see. Sully has done this before where he's tried something out for a period of time but he never fully goes Bylsma where he refuses to change it. Hopefully this is a start to many good decisions.

He does make some head scratchers from time to time, but never gets married to anything which is all you can ask for in a coach.

Yeah Sheahan needs someone who can accept a pass from him and finish since he won't shoot. Gee, maybe we have someone in WBS who fits that description

Sheahan also needs someone to be the creative guy as well. Really, he needs to be the defensive specialist on his line and let all the offense come from his wings.

 

[WayneSid9987]

I'm pretty indifferent on the lines.
Bottom line is they need a formidable top 9 to consistently have the ability to gain pts every night.

I liked the ARI/OTT lines but they gotta find a way to get Sid goin'(Hagelin too)...
If these don't get it done, i'd try the Hags-Sid-Horny trio that worked well vs FLA a couple weeks back that they never went back to. Sid sorta knew all 3 had to go to work using their speed with that line and it sparked him some. Would look like:

Hags-Sid-Horny
Jake/Rust-G-Phil
Sheary-Sheahan-Jake/Rust

That or simply go back to the ARI/OTT lines cuz it was about the best this top 9 has looked 5on5 in awhile.

 

[EightyOne]

Do you want to expand on this?

Now, I doubt Pouliot works here..but..Look...we have a guy like him with potential and only help to utterly destroy it the way he was moved/dealt with.

Yet are content in trading current draft assets and players to get guys like Corrado. He is okay, but, we probably already had the tools here.

Instead they use a wrench as a hammer and end up trading a Snap-On ratchet for a 20% Off coupon at Harbor Freight. Like. Why Mckegg even on this team as a starter? Really no options in our system to start over this guy?



I'm also a little stupid and contrarian. So. Yeah.

It could just be the organization is three steps ahead..Like..if they promote everybody and find success they'll just have to pay larger contracts soon to young players. Instead keep some cards in backup, artificially deflate stats, bring em up farther down the line.

We as fans hate to see poor play and struggle. But the only care the actual team as a corporation has is being just good enough to make playoffs. Then they really earn money. And that's all the owners want.

 

[Sidney the Kidney]

At this point, it's on the players. Shouldn't matter what the line combos are (at least in the top nine), there's enough fire power that they should be torching the league. Instead, they're lucky to score more than 2 goals.

Some minor stuff I blame Sully for -- Kuhnhackl playing, Letang on the top PP unit -- but ultimately it's on the players to get shit done.

 

[EightyOne]

Since when do we not care about lines?

Wasn't the dart board approach to lines one of the most hated things about our last two coaches?



The talent available to him this year is the least he has had to work with so far in his tenure though. Which begs the question, did he find magically the combos the last few years, or was it really just the players on the ice?

If it's all on the players, how much credit should Sullivan even get for the last two years?

 

[Sidney the Kidney]

Since when do we not care about lines?

Wasn't the dart board approach to lines one of the most hated things about our last two coaches?



The talent available to him this year is the least he has had to work with so far in his tenure though. Which begs the question, did he find magically the combos the last few years, or was it really just the players on the ice?

If it's all on the players, how much credit should Sullivan even get for the last two years?

What? Sullivan's using the same lines (or very similar) as he did last year when we won the Cup. The difference is Sid played at a Conn Smythe level and Jake lead the playoffs in goal scoring, while this year both guys look pretty crappy. That's not on Sullivan or his line combinations.

Sullivan's tried various combos. None have worked because a few of our big guns simply aren't producing.

So I'm not sure how it's NOT on the players at this point. It's not like Sullivan's line combos are so bonkers that it's impeding the players from succeeding. 90% of the time the lines are what we, the fans, want to see.

 

[Peat]

Instead they use a wrench as a hammer and end up trading a Snap-On ratchet for a 20% Off coupon at Harbor Freight. Like. Why Mckegg even on this team as a starter? Really no options in our system to start over this guy?

Blueger might be... but he's probably better off playing a lot of minutes at WBS right now. Ditto Adam Johnson, who also sounds like he needs a season in the gym. And only might.

I'm happy for the organisation to take the slow route if it results in a better play-off team.

At this point, it's on the players. Shouldn't matter what the line combos are (at least in the top nine), there's enough fire power that they should be torching the league. Instead, they're lucky to score more than 2 goals.

Some minor stuff I blame Sully for -- Kuhnhackl playing, Letang on the top PP unit -- but ultimately it's on the players to get **** done.

Can't agree with that. Balance and chemistry matter.

Also we've scored 3 or more goals in 4 of our last 6 games. See if it lasts, but looks like we're refinding our way to offensive respectability now we're back at home.

 

[ncm7772]

Agree with Madden's article for the most part.

Yes. Kuhnhackl has stunk, Archibald deserves a shot.

 

[Sidney the Kidney]

Can't agree with that. Balance and chemistry matter.

Also we've scored 3 or more goals in 4 of our last 6 games. See if it lasts, but looks like we're refinding our way to offensive respectability now we're back at home.

Which line combinations would you say Sullivan's really mucking up, considering what he has available to him?

He's tried both Guentzel/Rust and Sheary/Hornqvist with Sid, and Sid still isn't on fire. He's tried various wingers with Malkin/Kessel. What exactly should he do?

The only complaints I have are with him playing Kuhnhackl all the time, and when he decided Kuhn should play next to Geno. Apart from those two, I'm not really sure what more he is expected to do before it's on the players to produce.

 

[Peat]

Which line combinations would you say Sullivan's really mucking up, considering what he has available to him?

He's tried both Guentzel/Rust and Sheary/Hornqvist with Sid, and Sid still isn't on fire. He's tried various wingers with Malkin/Kessel. What exactly should he do?

The only complaints I have are with him playing Kuhnhackl all the time, and when he decided Kuhn should play next to Geno. Apart from those two, I'm not really sure what more he is expected to do before it's on the players to produce.

I'm not saying Sully is making a mistake with these lines, I thought you were saying lines didn't matter at all. Looking back I think I misread you.

That said... I'm not sure Sid and Horny is a good idea right now, and Sheary-Sheahan-Horny was going well. I thought Sid was showing some sparks with Guentzel and Rust. I'm not sure he needed to change the lines. But what do I know? Its not an unreasonable change.

Guentzel-Malkin-Kessel is one hell of an attacking line though.

 

[WayneSid9987]

The talent available to him this year is the least he has had to work with so far in his tenure though. Which begs the question, did he find magically the combos the last few years, or was it really just the players on the ice?

If it's all on the players, how much credit should Sullivan even get for the last two years?

On one hand it's looking more like JR needs to get Sully more usable parts(via trades or both trades+using the youth bubbling up) but on the other some of the most reliable parts are in funks(Sid, Letang, little bit of Jake and Hags).
This season just might be 14-15 all over again. JR needs to rebuild the roster on the fly again to potentially bring it back up to contending. Good news is, you couldn't see how they'd retool in 14-15. Now, theres some better parts to work with/more flexibility.

 

[Sidney the Kidney]

I'm not saying Sully is making a mistake with these lines, I thought you were saying lines didn't matter at all. Looking back I think I misread you.
.

Nope. I was saying that people blaming Sullivan for his line combinations, and not the players for not playing to their potential, is misguided.

For the most part, Sully has used lines that the majority of us want to see. Yet, the results still aren't there. So at that point, it's on the players to start playing well.

Like I said, Sully's got some nonsensical stuff going on like his love for Kuhnhackl and with Letang being on the top PP unit. But for the most part, the line combinations he's used should be producing much better offensive results than we're seeing. And that's on the players.

 

[Peat]

See, I feel like people have been complaining about line combos most of the season

 

[Mr Jiggyfly]

Nope. I was saying that people blaming Sullivan for his line combinations, and not the players for not playing to their potential, is misguided.

For the most part, Sully has used lines that the majority of us want to see. Yet, the results still aren't there. So at that point, it's on the players to start playing well.

Like I said, Sully's got some nonsensical stuff going on like his love for Kuhnhackl and with Letang being on the top PP unit. But for the most part, the line combinations he's used should be producing much better offensive results than we're seeing. And that's on the players.

I don't even have a problem with Letang on the first unit. I haven't seen a noticeable difference in their ability to convert with Schultz, but I'd like to see the numbers.

 

[ColePens]

He made a huge mistake on the first goal last game and that **** can't happen, especially to guys who are only in the lineup to PK.

I love that it still irkes you today. That shows you understand x's and o's and the game. I get the same way (in a healthy and fun way).