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GDT: 2/1/25 - 7:00PM EDT - New York Islanders vs Tampa Bay

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Nice to steal a point at the end but the better team won. Islanders probably played to the best of their ability in that one, stuck to the gameplan and looked pretty good considering their roster.

Another vanilla performance from the Bolts with no variance to their game at all, just no ability to switch things up nor the personnel. These are the games where you need some big bodies, physical presences to get an ugly goal and do some work down low and disrupt. Remember how the Maroon line used to cycle like clockwork? I cannot think of one single shift like that all season with this group. Just not built to go all the way.
 
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JTBF81 said:
Well I doubt JBB makes a move before the break, but the sooner he adds some F depth to the middle 6,the better.
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Unfortunately I think he will wait until the TDL to maximize available cap space, which really sucks because this team could use a little bit of a shakeup right now.
 
Rschmitz said:
Unfortunately I think he will wait until the TDL to maximize available cap space, which really sucks because this team could use a little bit of a shakeup right now.
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It's true that the closer he waits to the deadline, the more they accrue. I guess much will depend on how the next few games go, both before and after the break, to see where they stand and if the offense can start getting back to a 3+ gf/g average instead of where they have been the last couple of weeks or so.
 
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Master P said:
How many breakaway saves does an average goalie make?

And how much is "much less often"?
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I have no idea if such advanced stats exist. Maybe you know? But purely based on the eye test, it seems to me that Vasy very rarely saves on breakaways, which is also funny, because at the same time he is good in shootouts. Not quite the same, i know
 
RussianGuyovich said:
Chaffee could not have less NHL tools. So crash the net. Like that’s all you got.
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Disagree. He has the tools, he's just shit for brains at putting them together. His skating is better than Geekie. He's got a heavy shot, good release, and finishes his checks. The issue is that nothing gets put together. He doesn't do much after hitting someone to actually WIN the battle and create space. He doesn't position himself to actually get open or make the opponent lose him for an open look. He doesn't have great hands in tight so unless it's a wide open look either in stride or alone, he doesn't create dangerous chances. It's incredibly mental with him and his body language is so telling. He's got the demeanor and posture of someone regretting his last stride and pass, but never learning from it. It's frustrating because he's a;

RW
Right shot
Bigger than the bottom 6 dwarfs

Yet does very little on a consistent basis to separate himself from them.
 
Stammertime91 said:
Disagree. He has the tools, he's just shit for brains at putting them together. His skating is better than Geekie. He's got a heavy shot, good release, and finishes his checks. The issue is that nothing gets put together. He doesn't do much after hitting someone to actually WIN the battle and create space. He doesn't position himself to actually get open or make the opponent lose him for an open look. He doesn't have great hands in tight so unless it's a wide open look either in stride or alone, he doesn't create dangerous chances. It's incredibly mental with him and his body language is so telling. He's got the demeanor and posture of someone regretting his last stride and pass, but never learning from it. It's frustrating because he's a;

RW
Right shot
Bigger than the bottom 6 dwarfs

Yet does very little on a consistent basis to separate himself from them.
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To clarify (because i was vague in the heat of the moment) I meant “nhl tools” as in, ability to play at that level of competition. Of course Chaffee can skate and shoot well, but his inability to acclimate to the speed of the nhl game - making small plays in tight spaces while having milliseconds to spare - is what point does well. That’s nhl tools to me. And Chaffee ain’t got it. Which is cool, you can still play in the nhl and not be that type of skill player. But you better jeannot your way to the net so you can pick up the scraps. Chaffee isn’t going to make us better sitting in the slot waiting on a one timer when the puck is already getting driven to the net. He’s got to get dirty. Obligatory OLD TIME HOCKEY chant.
 
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RussianGuyovich said:
To clarify (because i was vague in the heat of the moment) I meant “nhl tools” as in, ability to play at that level of competition. Of course Chaffee can skate and shoot well, but his inability to acclimate to the speed of the nhl game - making small plays in tight spaces while having milliseconds to spare - is what point does well. That’s nhl tools to me. And Chaffee ain’t got it. Which is cool, you can still play in the nhl and not be that type of skill player. But you better jeannot your way to the net so you can pick up the scraps. Chaffee isn’t going to make us better sitting in the slot waiting on a one timer when the puck is already getting driven to the net. He’s got to get dirty. Obligatory OLD TIME HOCKEY chant.
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Yeah and it looks mental. He's got this weird sulking body language nearly every shift. The only thing saving his place right now is being a RW and RH shot. Gotta imagine PP time and moving up is (1) a chance for him to prove himself or (2) show that he's nothing more than a 10-15 goal guy we can dangle and include in a trade.
 
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Chaffee also has less than a full NHL season under his belt, being pushed into roles he’s never experienced at this level, expectations should match. His role on the PP hopefully becomes a moot point soon and we acquire someone with more than a few dozen PP's to their name to help out there. The fact that he's out there at all is a credit to his shot.
 
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Stammertime91 said:
Yeah and it looks mental. He's got this weird sulking body language nearly every shift. The only thing saving his place right now is being a RW and RH shot. Gotta imagine PP time and moving up is (1) a chance for him to prove himself or (2) show that he's nothing more than a 10-15 goal guy we can dangle and include in a trade.
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I agree. That was my, admittedly, bad point. He’s got to adapt better. Cutthroat go to the net and start making goalies and defenseman uncomfortable. Take the shots to the back. The face washes. Cirelli does it. It can be done! I know he’s coached to play the slot for a bumper, but when the play demands he has to take that next mental step like you mentioned, and improve his fat ass to the net.
 
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Anyone know our average goals scored per game through Dec 31st and then from Jan 1st on?

Got a strong suspicion it's a decent fall off.
 
T REX said:
Anyone know our average goals scored per game through Dec 31st and then from Jan 1st on?

Got a strong suspicion it's a decent fall off.
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We've scored 43 goals in 16 games since the start of the year and I think i counted 4 of that total is empty nets. That gets us up to a whopping 2.68 goals per game down from the 134 we had in our first 34 games at 3.94 goals per game. To say we have fallen apart is an understatement. We are at 2.43 goals per game without empty nets.

As soon as Cirelli/Hagel slowed down we turned into a 1 line team with a PP featuring Mitchell Chaffee. Thankfully things are not worse than I feared in the offseason. This is more or less exactly what I expected


At this point: don't trade the kids. Wait for cap space
 
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Someone mentioned crashing the net. TB doesn't have that besides a couple players who are on the smaller side and the punishment will eventually catch up to them, if it hasn't already. You rarely see anyone just stop and set up shop in front of the net. If it does happen, any legit d-man will clear them out like they're swatting a fly. A heavy cycle game to wear down the opposition, even for a single shift? I literally cannot think of one time it has happened all season. This is the most one-dimensional offense this team has had in years, and it's exactly what you'd expect by looking at the roster.

The results are not surprising, and I would argue this team isn't even underachieving. Luckily, we have some of the best players on earth to give us a fighting chance every night. But this past month or so has exploited the weaknesses in a big way. As good of a GM as he is, it's entirely on BriseBois. Could see it coming a mile away. There's truth to the "chances are bound to go in" angle but we're also seeing how badly the team struggles to score in different ways, especially against styles like the Islanders.

Edit-One of the most common things you'd hear about the B2B cup teams was "they can play any style of game". The opposite is the case now.
 
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