Embarrassing. They made the Bruins first line look like the 80's Oilers. At this point I rather Kakko was away from this team. The Pack are dominating this year. They appear to have an awesome coach. I think Kakko should go there and play 20 minutes a game and get away from this cess pool.
They don't do anything particularly well. Don't defend, don't pass well, not quick, not very tough, not accurate shooting and they appear to be tuning Quinn out imo.
Yeah. I agree. Team is starting to look like they did with Torts at the end. I think maybe these guys look at him like a college coach.
I don't think it has anything to do with playing for a college coach. I think it has everything to do with us having 6 forwards who are essentially 4th line guys right now. Andersson, Haley, Howden, Lemieux, McKegg, and Smith Add in Zib playing 6:31, and a young D, and it is no wonder we are a mess. Until we have some depth upfront we will be in trouble I think. On that note Chytil called up today (Lindgren as well). Zib most likely out tomorrow night. I wonder who sits for Lindgren.
Dude, Howden, Andersson and Lemieux are not 4th line guys. If you look around the league, most teams are getting little to no scoring from their 3rd and 4th lines. They play defense which this team doesn't do.
Wouldn't be surprised if they give Skjei a 'maintenance' day but it could be Staal. Trouba and DA need to stop being so indecisive on the PP and shoot the puck. Way too predictable with the side shots. Of course it would help if Kreider was providing more of a net presence right now.
That is funny. While ideally in the future Howden and Andersson will be very solid 3rd line guys, today they are absolutely 4th line guys. And at best they are lower 3rd line guys. And Lemieux is a 4th line guy period. If you look around the league, what separates the best is a balanced roster (Boston's super line not withstanding). We have numerous 4th line guys playing every single game. We also have no 2nd line C as well. If you think this lineup today is deep enough and a winning mix I couldn't disagree more. This is not a winning lineup, and that is compounded by having a lot of youth. That's the reality of the situation, not that we have a college coach (who BTW, everyone seemed to love last year).
Strongly disagree that Lemieux is "a 4th line guy period". He showed last year he has the talent and skill level to play on the 3rd line while also mixing in other elements that we can use more of, not less. I also dont know that I agree Andersson is "absolutely a 4th line guy today". Unlike Howden he hasnt been given a chance yet to prove otherwise, so I dont think its fair to make that determination in such absolute terms. Why not try a 3rd line of Lemieux-Andersson-Fast or Lemieux-Andersson-Strome? Energy on the left and in the middle, and a vet right hand shot on the right, and giving Lias some more skill around him. Seems like the perfect balance to try out. The reason people are frustrated with this coach is that instead of trying things like this he plugs a defenseman into that third line spot, keeps Lias on the 4th line and Howeden in the top 9 and wonders why the offense isnt working. A good coach works with what he has and puts his team in the best situation possible. Not sure he's doing that right now.
Yep. You had a kid in Lias score 2 g 1 A in the pre-season. drafted 7th overall, played better than most of our forwards and you banish him on the 4th line from day one. Lemeiux had double digit goals last year in about 8 minutes of icetime. Nonsense they are 4th line players. The reason this team is losing is not offense. It's defense. The amount of shots they have let up all season is pathetic. Rangersfan, it's almost as if you watch the games with your eyes closed. This team ranks dead last in shots against, allowing 36.9 shots per game. That is a disgrace. They are 3rd worst in GA average in the league. They are 20th in the league on the PP, 17th in the league on the PK. That is why they are losing you tool. Not because of the enough forwards scoring.
Lineup not set for tonight yet, but Quinn said Chytil will play with Kreider and Buchnevich. That is spot on. A young C with top 6 potential playing with top 6 wingers. He handled his demotion like a man, went to Hartford and took care of business. I hope Quinn's confidence in putting this trio together means that will be a line going forward. Panarin-Zibanejad-Kakko Kreider-Chytil-Buchnevich Lemieux-Andersson/Howden-Strome Smith-Andersson/Howden-Fast That should be our lineup on Saturday when Mika is back. Thank god he is not more seriously hurt or this season could have gotten ugly quick.
I can't fn believe this team is letting up 37 shots per game. There is no need to look further as to why they suck. That is comical.
I'm still not sold on Chytil being a C long term but for now it's worth trying. If this type of roster is going to even sniff the playoff race they need to be near the top 5 on the PP.
Lemieux and his career max of 17 points is not a 4th line guy, okay that totally tracks. And as for Lias, right now he is a 4th line guy as well. Do I think he projects to be more in the future, yes, but now he is a 4th line guy. As is Fast. As long as we view guys like Fast and Lemieux as 3rd line guys, and Strome as a 2nd line guy, we'll struggle.
Your sarcasm is duly noted. I prefer not to judge a guy with with 70 career games played by jumping on his Wikipedia page to see his “career max” in points. Winnipeg is one of the most wing heavy teams in the league and he only saw 4th line minutes there. He got a chance to play third line minutes after we acquired him and I saw a young player with enough skill and hockey sense to hold his own on the third line while adding additional toughness this lineup needs more of.
Tonight at least they look like an NHL team. Staal is not in the lineup and they look much better defensively.
Happy you noted my sarcasm, thanks for that. Put whatever spin you want on it, Lemieux's career to this point is a 4th line guy. As is Fast's. As is Lias'. As is Howden's. As is Haley's. As is McKegg's. As is Smith's. Not going to say some of those guys will never be more than that. I would expect Lias and Howden will be, but today now they are 4th line guys. And we play many of them every night. And that doesn't even address the fact that 8th or 9th forward Strome is our # 2 C.
I'd have to side with Chuck on the Lemieux debate. I don't see enough offensive potential in his game to be a 3rd liner on a good team. Which is ok, be a great 4th liner like Fast and provide the team toughness. Andersson on the other hand as the 7th overall pick is someone you'd hope to be a top 6 player but he doesn't project there. No reason he can't pair with Howden and TBD to be a really good 3rd line going forward. Kravtsov may top out there, who knows?
Can't really judge Andersson by playing scrub minutes on the fourth line with scrubs. I would love to see Andersson get top line minutes before you can seriously judge him.
