When is the coaching staff going to realize that Brodin is just better than Scandella. Scandella needs to be our 3rd pairing LD. Really sick of seeing Brodin mis-used and his development hurt because someone on the coaching staff has a hard on for Scandella.
There is a common thread between Brodin's ( earlier in the year) sub par play and Scandella's later sub par play. Their D partner, Dumba. He doesn't make anyone look good in the defensive end, let alone pick them up when they make a mistake, like any good D partner.
I think Scandella might also get tired of being one of the few guys who plays physically on the team. We are having these mediocre teams just walk in to the slot area on us more or less untouched. What happens when we play a team like LA, STL, or ANA? There gets a point where you feel you are the only guy sacrificing the body, and you give up.
Remember the game recently where Dumba got in the fight? After that, Coyle went nutz for a couple of shifts and ran into EVERYONE on the other team, absolutely rocking them. That is SO rare on this team. I understand that it is a long season and that you can't play all out for 82 games, but the Wild are so easy and unthreatening to play against now. It used to be we'd terrorize then with speed and the forecheck...how is Poms, Vanek, Stoll, and Schroeder gonna do that? For all the crap that Zucker gets, I see a guy that consistently gets in there early to negate icings. Nino seems to have woken up and found his game....just in time for Coyle to fall asleep.
I would love to see a Coyle Haula Nino line out there, or maybe Granlund in place of Haula. This team desperately needs Granlund to be a legit top 6 player....I've not been a fan, but he has been playing better. He could be one of those guys who is maturing late...sort of the anti- Mackinnon.