8/25 - @ Lightning (Game 2). Let's win another game.
- Thread starter The Napkin
- Start date
Defense allowed two completely preventable goals off the rush and they still almost won despite lack of possession all game. Make some adjustments and win tomorrow.
100% need Kuhlman in for Ritchie and arguably Lindholm for Bjork tomorrow. On the back end, maybe getting Clifton or (gasp) Carlo out for Lauzon wouldn't be the worst thing in the world.
Gotta flush it and win tomorrow. It's going to be a grinder of a series. Got to find a way to not let Tampa just dominate the puck for stretches and elevate some of the pressure on Halak.
Bruce can fuck off with this 4th line bullshit.
That line played basically the same amount as the 2nd line. They were out shot 15-2, out chanced 9-1, 5-0 high danger, outscored 2-0. Way to keep running that train wreck out there. It was only a matter of time before it came back to bite.
That line played basically the same amount as the 2nd line. They were out shot 15-2, out chanced 9-1, 5-0 high danger, outscored 2-0. Way to keep running that train wreck out there. It was only a matter of time before it came back to bite.
Yup. 52/14/20 were the 3rd line tonight because Coyle had to carry two stiffs. Time to make some changes there.
Tampa basically walked into the zone all night and set up shop. Won every puck. Didn’t see much desperation from the Bruins outside of the equalizer.
ES really hurting with guys not at 100%. Pasta can still make some plays but is clearly not himself.
ES really hurting with guys not at 100%. Pasta can still make some plays but is clearly not himself.
Chara was the worst one out there IMO. Can’t pivot and lost like 20 pucks in his skates.
Halak has to play better too. Just not strong enough tonight, although he didn’t get much help.
Sometimes the statistics reveal something you didn't see, and sometimes they show exactly what you think you saw.
I'd go with this tomorrow. Need some more speed and playmaking ability with Studnicka and Kuraly on the 3rd line and got to shake up the 4th line. They were just overmatched. I'd also consider playing Chara less and less. In a B2B, how effective can he be? If he was this bad tonight, what the heck can they expect from him tomorrow?
Marchand-Bergeron-Pasta
DeBrusk-Krejci-Kase
Kuraly-Coyle-Studnicka
Nordstrom-Lindholm-Wagner
Chara-McAvoy
Krug-Carlo
Grz-Lauzon
Halak
Marchand-Bergeron-Pasta
DeBrusk-Krejci-Kase
Kuraly-Coyle-Studnicka
Nordstrom-Lindholm-Wagner
Chara-McAvoy
Krug-Carlo
Grz-Lauzon
Halak
Not great when you can make a case for half the D to take a seat.
This is well-put.
Halak with 2 goals he could have prevented. Not much help, but those are goals you want back in the playoffs. Should have gloved the one in OT.
Ritchie just floating around in OT, not seeing much of a contribution from him to justify them keeping him in the lineup.
Tomorrow should be real interesting... I wonder who has the advantage with the b2b...
Ritchie just floating around in OT, not seeing much of a contribution from him to justify them keeping him in the lineup.
Tomorrow should be real interesting... I wonder who has the advantage with the b2b...
Yeah - he gets a bit of a pass from me given how disproportionately he gets d-zone starts, particularly against Kucherov, but he needed to be better tonight. Still don't think he's in their bottom 2 d-men by way of effectiveness, Krug, Carlo, and Clifton all stunk out loud tonight.
The D just had no ability to punish Tampa for an over-aggressive forecheck. D-men pinned up against the boards hoping for some help or shuffling it up the boards. Need to move faster.
Exactly. A good majority of the board would be calling for Rask’s head.
Sure. But Rask makes 7 million and is the clear #1 goalie.
Halak is a backup for a reason, and expectations of him aren't going to be the same for Rask.
The Coyle line was actually OK. They may have won the game if they got more shifts. They generated 5 scoring chances, allowed 6, and scored a goal. Not great, and they were on the ice for 2 against, but they were far better than the 2nd and 4th lines.. Krejci and Kuraly's lines combined to generate a total of 3 scoring chances while allowing 15 and the 4th line was on the ice for the other 2 goals against. It was a fire drill in our end when those 2 lines were on the ice, at least Coyle's line got a little something going. But the pitch forks and torches are out for Ritchie and Bjork.
I'd take Ritchie out for Lindholm tomorrow to try and fix the 4th line. Maybe Kuhlman in for Wagner as well.
Kuraly - Coyle - Bjork
Nordstrom - Lindholm - Kuhlman
Something like that. Maybe Wagner stays because they've had some success with 20-26-14
The lack of execution was frustrating, particularly since the transitions were crisp in game 1. Couldn’t consistently get it to neutral ice.
He should have been burned with them out there in the final minute of regulation. Bruce needs to clean it up fast.
Halak seemed fine overall, but I have my doubts about him carrying them to the Cup. He’s let in a few softies. They’ll have to turn it up quite a bit to go deep.
I would but I've been saying you needed to steal a game with Vladar in an early round B2B. Im guessing it's gamesmanship though and it will be Halak.
I like the idea of Kuhlman buzzing around on the fourth line but I doubt Cassidy runs without Wagner’s grit.
If he bumps Kuraly back up to the third I’d put Studnicka in as well. Studnicka is not super strong on the boards (yet) but he clicks with Coyle and adds creativity. But Coyle would have to be the shooter on that line.
(I think Bjork still has room to grow but would shake things up for game 3).
No chance Vladar plays tomorrow. They didn’t do it in round 1 when Halak was the option, they aren’t going to do it here when it’s a kid with no experience.
Yeah was talking about it offline with a couple others - my take is Bruce is immune from criticism (rightly so) if he rides a relatively healthy Halak and if they drop the next 3. That changes massively if they start Vladar for even one game and they end up losing the game (and/or series).
.936 AHL sv% is great, but even Murray / Binnington had at least a dozen NHL games under their belt with strong performance before being thrown into the playoffs fire
.936 AHL sv% is great, but even Murray / Binnington had at least a dozen NHL games under their belt with strong performance before being thrown into the playoffs fire
I wouldn't start vladar either, but if he doesn't I hope it's not because he's worried about media/fan criticism, he's earned enough rope already that that shouldn't matter.
I think that's fair, but to advance you need a bit more from the goalie in the playoffs. If you put it to Halak, he'd probably tell you he should have had them. That said, it's not fair for me to ignore the remainder of a well played game by him - which is why I said he didn't have much help. I'm not in any way blaming Halak, we could name 3-5 players who didn't do enough tonight.
Earlier in the OT (not that long before the end, I don't think), Pasta took a shift with Coyle and Ritchie.
I love Clifton, but I agree he needs a game or two off. He's fun to watch when he's in control, but he was out of control for the entire game last night, including on the bad interference penalty.
I really only watch hockey in the playoffs and it’s extremely tough to grade goalie performance but reading through the last few pages of this thread I’m surprised that Halak isn’t taking more of a beating.
2 of the 4 goals he gave up looked to be extremely soft and his inability to catch the puck in OT led fo the GW goal.
Am I missing something (honest question not being snarky)?
2 of the 4 goals he gave up looked to be extremely soft and his inability to catch the puck in OT led fo the GW goal.
Am I missing something (honest question not being snarky)?
Not to me, you're not. My personal opinion is that he was terrible last night. That's just me though.
If Tuukka called tomorrow and said he was willing to come back and go through protocol to get cleared I'd welcome him back gladly. The difference between him and Halak is very stark indeed. But obviously his family comes first and he needs to prioritize them right now.
Any thought to dressing 7 D tonight to mitigate Chara’s ice time? Rotate forwards through so the top 6 play more.
Would having Lauzon out there to cycle in and out be any less useful than Ritchie or Bjork?
I dont know about 7D, but I think Lauzon might free up Grzelcyk a bit, as pairing him with Clifton made him the "defensively responsible one" of that pair.
He's definitely had some rough moments, but I think people are adjusting their expectations with him. I would imagine most people aren't expecting him to play like a Vezina candidate and he's earned some leeway with how he's played the first few games of the restart so the pitchforks are duller than if it had been Tuukka allowing similar goals.
You could kill him for a few plays through out the playoffs, but there's a reason he's a backup, he's going to let in some leaky goals or occasionally pass it to the other team in the slot from behind the net. Look at the cratering in net for the Avs when Grubauer went down, at least Halak has kept them competitive.
On a side note since apparently I'll die on this hill, he's also on pace for quite a work load compared to most of the season, not unexpected with Tuukka out and the playoff bubble schedule. But looking into the numbers (yes massively small sample sizes):
His games by month (most in sliding 10 day cluster):
October: 5 (3 in 10 days)
November: 5 (3 in 10 days)
December: 7 (3 in 10 days)
January: 7 (5 in 10 days)
February: 6 (3 in 10 days)
August 6 (5 in 10 days)
The closest cluster of games that he's been exposed to during the season that we could expect to see him in the playoffs was January 9th to January 21 when he played 6 games in 13 days. His stats over that run in January was: 3-2-1 with 88.7 SVP and 3.15 GAA.
The 6 games of the restart he's sitting at 4-1-1 with a .916 SVP and 2.50 GAA. You toss out the round robin stinker vs PHI and that stat line looks even better. He's played about as well as you could hope your number 2 to play.
He has started one set of B2B all year, its going to be interesting to see how he can handle the compressed playoff schedule.
Agreed family first for sure.
Just got outplayed last night. I kept waiting for Krejci to get supercharged again, but it never came. 2nd line didn't do fuck all. Pasta is not moving much, but that line is still effective. Bottom 2 lines were liabilities all night. Halak squeakers are frustrating, but have to tighten up the D and clear the zone to give him a chance. Very frustrating night. Correct this tonight.