1/1 - There’s actually a game today (Sabres)

PedroSpecialK

Comes at you like a tornado of hair and the NHL sa
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Dec 12, 2004
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From what I remember reading...

Marchand - Bergeron - Smith
Hall - Haula - Pastrnak

Not sure if Coyle is good to go yet or not
 

Salem's Lot

Andy Moog! Andy God Damn Moog!
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Jul 15, 2005
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Gallows Hill
Every shot is an easy perimeter bunny. And unlike our goalie, theirs hasn’t let one of those in yet.
 

ArmyBoSoxFan

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Jul 17, 2005
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Irvine, CA
Same story as last year, lack of secondary scoring and when the top line doesn’t score the team has no chance. Combined with worse goaltending this year and the team is looking like a wild card team at best. Overall it just seems like there is a lack of chemistry in the D pairings and the 2nd line. I wonder how much of this is on the players versus Cassidy?
 

TSC

SoSH's Doug Neidermeyer
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Oct 25, 2007
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There's just...nothing interesting about this team.

There's no creativity, no toughness..they're a boring, bad team. Which is insane, considering some of the talent they have. McAvoy, Pastrnak, Marchand, Hall, Bergeron - this should be a really good team. Pastrnak is on pace to have his worst season since being a rookie. DeBrusk is broken. Coyle is broken. Carlo has regressed. None of the young guys coming up from PVD are doing anything.

At this point there's no one to blame but the coach. The system isn't working.
 

Salem's Lot

Andy Moog! Andy God Damn Moog!
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Jul 15, 2005
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There's just...nothing interesting about this team.

There's no creativity, no toughness..they're a boring, bad team. Which is insane, considering some of the talent they have. McAvoy, Pastrnak, Marchand, Hall, Bergeron - this should be a really good team. Pastrnak is on pace to have his worst season since being a rookie. DeBrusk is broken. Coyle is broken. Carlo has regressed. None of the young guys coming up from PVD are doing anything.

At this point there's no one to blame but the coach. The system isn't working.
I agree. They are definitely not the most talented team in the league, but they absolutely playing way below their actual talent level, and that’s on coaching.
 

Ale Xander

Hamilton
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Oct 31, 2013
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If neither the Celtics nor the Bruins are playing in May, I will be utterly depressed
 

durandal1707

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Apr 18, 2007
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I think the most frustrating thing about the Sweeney regime is that most of his acquisitions, when viewed in isolation, make sense or are otherwise defensible. Well, except for Rinaldo and Forbort. But when you look at the aggregate, you see a clear trend toward "safe" mediocrity that's just sapped this team of any kind of standout skills.
 

Salem's Lot

Andy Moog! Andy God Damn Moog!
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Jul 15, 2005
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I think the most frustrating thing about the Sweeney regime is that most of his acquisitions, when viewed in isolation, make sense or are otherwise defensible. Well, except for Rinaldo and Forbort. But when you look at the aggregate, you see a clear trend toward "safe" mediocrity that's just sapped this team of any kind of standout skills.
I mostly agree, however today they are playing probably the worst team in the league. They have way too much talent to look like against these guys.
 

Salem's Lot

Andy Moog! Andy God Damn Moog!
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Jul 15, 2005
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Nah - it was Cassidy’s fault he missed that.
No it’s not. Clifton sucks, and that’s on Sweeney, (who should be gone first, IMO) but you don’t think maybe a different voice in the room, or style of play might help get a little more out of this roster? Look, I think Cassidy is a good coach, but every coach has their message fall on deaf ears after awhile.
 

durandal1707

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Apr 18, 2007
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I'm hoping this team misses the playoffs. Though Sweeney et al will probably avoid getting shitcanned "because COVID" or whatever.
 

PedroSpecialK

Comes at you like a tornado of hair and the NHL sa
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Dec 12, 2004
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Nah - it was Cassidy’s fault he missed that.
I have my quibbles with Butch but I'm at the point where I don't know what people really expect of him, or this team overall. He's picking between Haula and Coyle for 2C. His GM has almost $10m in cap space tied up in Haula, Foligno, and Forbort. We can argue about whether Bruce has done DeBrusk, Studnicka, etc a disservice in their development based on prior usage, but I'm struggling to see where the untapped potential on this roster is.
 

TFP

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Dec 10, 2007
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I have my quibbles with Butch but I'm at the point where I don't know what people really expect of him, or this team overall. He's picking between Haula and Coyle for 2C. His GM has almost $10m in cap space tied up in Haula, Foligno, and Forbort. We can argue about whether Bruce has done DeBrusk, Studnicka, etc a disservice in their development based on prior usage, but I'm struggling to see where the untapped potential on this roster is.
Haha yeah that’s basically what I’m getting at. Obviously I was being sarcastic.
 

Salem's Lot

Andy Moog! Andy God Damn Moog!
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Jul 15, 2005
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I have my quibbles with Butch but I'm at the point where I don't know what people really expect of him, or this team overall. He's picking between Haula and Coyle for 2C. His GM has almost $10m in cap space tied up in Haula, Foligno, and Forbort. We can argue about whether Bruce has done DeBrusk, Studnicka, etc a disservice in their development based on prior usage, but I'm struggling to see where the untapped potential on this roster is.
I agree with this, and that the organization needs a major FO overhaul, but I look at sequences like that 2nd goal as evidence that maybe they could use a coaching change. That was the leaders of the team loafing it out there after busting their ass to tie the game. It just reeks of frustration.

And I would definitely try a coaching change before letting the guy that brought in Haula, Foligno, and Forbort trade any assets for “upgrades” or sell any players for futures.
 

Maximus

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Jul 18, 2005
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Way too many JAGS on this team taking up cap space this year. The Krejci loss is significant.
 

Salem's Lot

Andy Moog! Andy God Damn Moog!
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Jul 15, 2005
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Way too many JAGS on this team taking up cap space this year. The Krejci loss is significant.
Buffalo has way too many JAGS as well. They are way to talented to be losing to this team at home. Something is seriously wrong in that room.
 

PedroSpecialK

Comes at you like a tornado of hair and the NHL sa
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Dec 12, 2004
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Cambridge, MA
Haha yeah that’s basically what I’m getting at. Obviously I was being sarcastic.
Oh ya I knew you were lol, mainly my $0.02 on the talk about the coach being the issue or the room having tuned him out (the latter doesn't seem that farfetched, but brings us back to 'what is the potential of this team at 100%?')
 

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SoSH's Doug Neidermeyer
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Oct 25, 2007
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The high volume of shots from low danger areas, with a lack of high danger area shots has to be a coaching/system by-product, right? If that's an incorrect assumption, then sure - Cassidy is absolved of blame.

But if that's what Cassidy is coaching up, or if that's what his system creates - then I'm not sure how he escapes critisicm, even with the garbage on his roster he has to deal with.
 

PedroSpecialK

Comes at you like a tornado of hair and the NHL sa
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Dec 12, 2004
27,164
Cambridge, MA
Finally Foligno.

That was created by DeBrusk loafing over to the left point and not covering for his pinching defenseman, so he had to regroup and gather speed in center ice to create the chance
 

Salem's Lot

Andy Moog! Andy God Damn Moog!
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Jul 15, 2005
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Need more of that from DeBrusk.

Edit: going to the net with speed, not the loafing that let the puck get out in the first place.
 

PedroSpecialK

Comes at you like a tornado of hair and the NHL sa
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Dec 12, 2004
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Cambridge, MA
Ullmark freezing it on a puck that came in from behind the red line... be smarter than that please
 

TSC

SoSH's Doug Neidermeyer
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Oct 25, 2007
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It really sucks when DeBrusk has a game like this, because clearly the talent is there - and he can be a game changer when he's on. But like, it's once every 15 games.