GDT: 12/19/24 - 7:00PM EDT - St. Louis vs Tampa Bay

[These Are The Days]

Can we NOT f***ing do this? We don't even have a player past their own blue line when the Blue regroup in their own zone

 

[TheDaysOf 04]

2 shots on goal this period. None in the last 10 minutes

 

[Bozo Nicholson]

Gonzo might be in over his head

 

[TheDaysOf 04]

Can we play the shell on the pp?

 

[TheDaysOf 04]

Need Guentzel on the ice once St. Louis pulls their goalie to keep his streak alive

 

[Rschmitz]

Pretty awful game by Geekie tonight, seemed like one of his skateblades fell off the number of times he lost his balance or control of the puck.

 

[DarrylshutzSydor]

Pretty awful game by Geekie tonight, seemed like one of his skateblades fell off the number of times he lost his balance or control of the puck.

He was using AI

 

[Felonious Python]

Kuch is furiously banging on the boards with his stick to get on the ice right now.

 

[TheDaysOf 04]

Paul, Point, and Guentzel out there. Last chance for Guentzel

 

[TheDaysOf 04]

soo close for Guentzel.

 

[JTBF81]

2 points secured! 4 in a row and 6 out of 7!

 

[RDTBay4]

That was pretty bad. How do you miss the empty net that many times?

 

[Rschmitz]

Hedman misses a wide open net

Water is wet

Great win nonetheless, Vasy very quietly with 32/33 stat line and probably won us the game.

 

[ccman68]

Weird game. We didn’t get many shots but still could’ve easily scored 6 if we buried some of our chances. Vasy was good, but for the most part we kept them to the outside so he didn’t have to do much.

 

[TheDaysOf 04]

6 wins in 7 games in December is helping reinforce that the shell is a good thing. I worry about that later on. But otherwise, 2 more points in the bank. Hard to be too critical of how the team has played this month after a rough November.

 

[Rschmitz]

I always get a kick out of the contradiction, leading the league in goals per game but playing the shell.

A random visitor to this forum would be forgiven if they thought we were talking about shelling the hell out of the other team, not a defensive strategy.

 

[ccman68]

 

[Rschmitz]

View attachment 948456

Vasy stopped a lot of long distance shots tonight, usually his Achilles heel. Good news moving forward.

 

[These Are The Days]

I always get a kick out of the contradiction, leading the league in goals per game but playing the shell.

A random visitor to this forum would be forgiven if they thought we were talking about shelling the hell out of the other team, not a defensive strategy.

Dropping snowmen will inflate the hell out of your goal totals. We are probably one of the most predictable and boring teams in the league on the nights that doesn't happen

 

[DFC]

Dropping snowmen will inflate the hell out of your goal totals. We are probably one of the most predictable and boring teams in the league on the nights that doesn't happen

Same as every other team that scores a lot. They get their big wins too.

Trying to get Cooper away from a system that won two cups... good luck.

 

[RussianGuyovich]

I didn’t read this thread but: Lightning good.

 

[Hoek]

Not much to complain about. Can tell in the number of posts, lol.

 

[LightningStrikes]

And thus we quietly crawl ahead of Boston with 4 games in hand on them.

 

[Rschmitz]

Dropping snowmen will inflate the hell out of your goal totals. We are probably one of the most predictable and boring teams in the league on the nights that doesn't happen

We have scored at least 3 goals in 24/30 games and lead all teams in 1st period goal differential, but I get it. The shell is definitely a thing, and not entertaining.

In 2019 we blew the doors off of every team we faced. That team was entertaining, but forgot how to play when the puck wasn’t on their sticks. Our GA was kept down due to puck control and shot suppression, but once open ice disappeared in the postseason we had no idea how to play without the puck.

Based on player interviews, I feel like it’s clear that the shell is a deliberate attempt to make sure that doesn’t happen again.

 

[DFC]

We have scored at least 3 goals in 24/30 games and lead all teams in 1st period goal differential, but I get it. The shell is definitely a thing, and not entertaining.

In 2019 we blew the doors off of every team we faced. That team was entertaining, but forgot how to play when the puck wasn’t on their sticks. Our GA was kept down due to puck control and shot suppression, but once open ice disappeared in the postseason we had no idea how to play without the puck.

Based on player interviews, I feel like it’s clear that the shell is a deliberate attempt to make sure that doesn’t happen again.

The shell was initially the way CBJ swept us (and to a lesser extent, the way Washington beat us). We couldn't beat em, so we joined em. And we took the most talented team in the league and played a style that was normally used to win cups for less talented teams. And we bulldozed our way to two cups.

I think sometimes we use regular season games like practice for the playoffs. We definitely did that in 2020. We were not a good team as we transitioned to this style of play. But we figured it out. Most teams have learned that the way to win in the playoffs is, on defense, just give up the perimeter and murder anyone who tries to get inside.