GDT: 2024-25 season game 14 LA Kings Minnesota Wild @5:00pm 11/5/24

[Surf Nutz]

MN are 8-2-2. They may not be elite but they are in great form and last night was their first home regulation loss (3-1-1). It’s a great win, no matter how you slice it.

Speaking more generally, given there are still some question marks and they are clearly still figuring out the system the record is outstanding. There are a few guys that simply have got to the races yet and they are winning through character more than free flowing hockey at times. The good stuff is in patches only.

Hiller is doing something right and they are clearly playing for him, so there is definitely untapped upside still to find. I’m not suggesting this team is a contender as plenty of teams will also improve but I do find some of the pessimistic posting… amusing. It’s definitely a better record than we should’ve expected at this stage. Much depends on QB finding his mojo and I actually think Turcotte is more important than we realise, hopefully he’s back quickly (I.e. it’s not a concussion).

I would bet its a concussion.

You could see it on his face after the hit.

Plus he went back for the next shift then was pulled.

 

[Surf Nutz]

Well some guys are still showing up whether their forecasts are rain or shine and I give them credit.

But some guys just disappear when the "Good Times Roll."

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

Just watched the highlights… of course Byfields goal wasn’t a shot but a redirection… has a breakaway and misses the net completely. This dude’s brain is a bag of cats.


To be fair though… Byfield is a second overall player who’s light years away from the player Kopitar was at his age. I understand the different circumstances but at the end of the day putting sport tires on a Kia soul isn’t going to make it faster than a m2 competition.

There are nights to complain about Byfield

Complaining about a sweet tip when he's 1g 1a +2 with not a second of PP time and the below impact despite seeing only 13 even strength minutes is just being salty

https://x.com/i/web/status/1854006761562267868

 

[Sol]

There are nights to complain about Byfield

Complaining about a sweet tip when he's 1g 1a +2 with not a second of PP time and the below impact despite seeing only 13 even strength minutes is just being salty

https://x.com/i/web/status/1854006761562267868

Oh come on 1 goal in the season is not the time to meat ride him.

 

[Schrute farms]

Well some guys are still showing up whether their forecasts are rain or shine and I give them credit.

But some guys just disappear when the "Good Times Roll."

lol, i literally was going to say the same about you -- like your buddy Axl. Posting a ton after wins....invisible after losses. Just stay consistent. Being a clown homer is fine -- just own it.

 

[Chazz Reinhold]

There are nights to complain about Byfield

Complaining about a sweet tip when he's 1g 1a +2 with not a second of PP time and the below impact despite seeing only 13 even strength minutes is just being salty

https://x.com/i/web/status/1854006761562267868

The last two games have been his best two "eye-test" games from my perspective as far as him moving his feet and hounding the puck like he did last year.

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

Oh come on 1 goal in the season is not the time to meat ride him.

No one is meat riding, just saying it's a step in the right direction and the results are matching the eye test and stats, and you picked a silly night to motherf*** him because he scored a goal that wasn't pretty enough for you, even though those hands to make that shot are sick to most people that know hockey.

 

[Sol]

No one is meat riding, just saying it's a step in the right direction and the results are matching the eye test and stats, and you picked a silly night to motherf*** him because he scored a goal that wasn't pretty enough for you, even though those hands to make that shot are sick to most people that know hockey.

Night doesn’t matter when you’re pacing almost 7 goals for the season. Don’t go pearl clutching just because he’s scored one goal when he’s skymailed plenty of good chances. And yes it does matter that his wrist shots are awful.

 

[FSL KINGS]

There are nights to complain about Byfield

Complaining about a sweet tip when he's 1g 1a +2 with not a second of PP time and the below impact despite seeing only 13 even strength minutes is just being salty

https://x.com/i/web/status/1854006761562267868

#3!!!!!!

Lewis making an impact at 800k!

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

Night doesn’t matter when you’re pacing almost 7 goals for the season. Don’t go pearl clutching just because he’s scored one goal when he’s skymailed plenty of good chances. And yes it does matter that his wrist shots are awful.

I'm just pointing out that this is that thing you do that you latch on so hard to things you don't like about guys that even when they have a good performance you just look for ways to be a hater

goal wasn't pretty enough? Come on bro. 1. it was and 2. that's stupid.

 

[AbsentMojo]

The last two games have been his best two "eye-test" games from my perspective as far as him moving his feet and hounding the puck like he did last year.

Yes the last 3 for me, reminded me of last season when he looked good but wasnt getting any results.. they were even taking assists away from him and then finally he started cashing in and looked like one of the better players on the team. There is something alarming about his extensive downswings.. hard to understand.

 

[AbsentMojo]

There are nights to complain about Byfield

Complaining about a sweet tip when he's 1g 1a +2 with not a second of PP time and the below impact despite seeing only 13 even strength minutes is just being salty

https://x.com/i/web/status/1854006761562267868

It was a nice tip. And he should keep focusing on tips and greasy goals until he can get his mind right about his shot. He is making Trevor Lewis look like Joe Sakic in comparison.. he's missed the entire net from the slot on several occasions.. and quite a few crest shots while not under pressure. His issues with shooting are about on par with Steve Sax throws to first.. just so far off that its bizarre. As I recall in juniors his shot was considered solid.. this scouting report gives him an above average shot but not top tier.. certainly not horrible like it seems to be now.

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/1727987/2020/10/06/pronmans-scouting-report-why-quinton-byfield-is-a-top-nhl-prospect/

 

[GoldenBearHockey]

Yes the last 3 for me, reminded me of last season when he looked good but wasnt getting any results.. they were even taking assists away from him and then finally he started cashing in and looked like one of the better players on the team. There is something alarming about his extensive downswings.. hard to understand.

Simple answer to that: AGE. He's young....there are not a lot players that can come in at 18,19,20,21,22,23 even 24 ,and CONSISTENTLY put up good numbers/points etc, that takes time and maturity

 

[Herby]

Simple answer to that: AGE. He's young....there are not a lot players that can come in at 18,19,20,21,22,23 even 24 ,and CONSISTENTLY put up good numbers/points etc, that takes time and maturity

This is simply not true, one can go to eliteprospects or hockeydb and see that plenty of players, and in fact the majority of players taken with Top 3 picks over the last two decades had clearly established themselves by now. Since you like to accuse me of BS'ing when I say something like this, would you like to see a chart?

And if your response is, "well he's not as good as any of those players" well that is fine, but if that is the case we should stop treating him as a future star and franchise player and maybe just accept he's more pre-Kings PLD than the next Malkin and maybe admit it was a huge mistake to go forward without a locked in young 1C established.

 

[Lt Dan]

This is simply not true, one can go to eliteprospects or hockeydb and see that plenty of players, and in fact the majority of players taken with Top 3 picks over the last two decades had clearly established themselves by now. Since you like to accuse me of BS'ing when I say something like this, would you like to see a chart?

And if your response is, "well he's not as good as any of those players" well that is fine, but if that is the case we should stop treating him as a future star and franchise player and maybe just accept he's more pre-Kings PLD than the next Malkin and maybe admit it was a huge mistake to go forward without a locked in young 1C established.

 

[GoldenBearHockey]

This is simply not true, one can go to eliteprospects or hockeydb and see that plenty of players, and in fact the majority of players taken with Top 3 picks over the last two decades had clearly established themselves by now. Since you like to accuse me of BS'ing when I say something like this, would you like to see a chart?

And if your response is, "well he's not as good as any of those players" well that is fine, but if that is the case we should stop treating him as a future star and franchise player and maybe just accept he's more pre-Kings PLD than the next Malkin and maybe admit it was a huge mistake to go forward without a locked in young 1C established.

He's talking about consistency, not established themselves, there's a difference,

Same draft class, Lafrenierre, JUST started being consistent, end of last year, beginning of this year
Stutzle took a year or two
Raymond took 2 years

DRaft before

Kaako doesn't have it
Jack Hughes took 2 years
Dach doesn't have it

Draft the year after

Berniers doesn't have it
Power doesn't have it
McTavish doesn't have it.

All of those have established themselves as players, but not all of them are consistent.

 

[King'sPawn]

And if your response is, "well he's not as good as any of those players" well that is fine, but if that is the case we should stop treating him as a future star and franchise player and maybe just accept he's more pre-Kings PLD than the next Malkin and maybe admit it was a huge mistake to go forward without a locked in young 1C established.

It can be (correction) neither.

He could grow to be a consistent 1C without needing to be a hall of famer like Malkin.

There's this odd binary thinking that every top pick either needs to be a hall of famer or bust. Like Mark Scheifele.

 

[lumbergh]

Yes the last 3 for me, reminded me of last season when he looked good but wasnt getting any results.. they were even taking assists away from him and then finally he started cashing in and looked like one of the better players on the team. There is something alarming about his extensive downswings.. hard to understand.

It's not that uncommon, actually, for a 20 goal scorer. You just notice the downswings because every Kings fan absolutely needs Byfield to explode offensively. Everyone thinks that a 20 goal scorer should score a goal every 3-5 games consistently. But that's not what actually happens.

I went on a probability simulator and had the site throw a coin with a 25% probability of heads as a substitute for goals. After 84 consecutive tosses there were streaks of 14 straight and 13 straight where no heads appeared. Cold streaks happen every season.

I'll use Anze Kopitar, Mr. Consistency, as an example. Last season he scored 26 goals in 81 games. Had a mid-season streak of 12 games with no goals. Finished the regular season with no goals in 7 games. Phillip Danault has averaged 20 goals a season as a King, yet just broke a 20 regular season game goal-less streak dating back to March 23 (25 games if you include playoffs) a week ago.

Streaks happen. They always happen. They happen to rookies. They happen to veterans.

 

[AbsentMojo]

It's not that uncommon, actually, for a 20 goal scorer. You just notice the downswings because every Kings fan absolutely needs Byfield to explode offensively. Everyone thinks that a 20 goal scorer should score a goal every 3-5 games consistently. But that's not what actually happens.

I went on a probability simulator and had the site throw a coin with a 25% probability of heads as a substitute for goals. After 84 consecutive tosses there were streaks of 14 straight and 13 straight where no heads appeared. Cold streaks happen every season.

I'll use Anze Kopitar, Mr. Consistency, as an example. Last season he scored 26 goals in 81 games. Had a mid-season streak of 12 games with no goals. Finished the regular season with no goals in 7 games. Phillip Danault has averaged 20 goals a season as a King, yet just broke a 20 regular season game goal-less streak dating back to March 23 (25 games if you include playoffs) a week ago.

Streaks happen. They always happen. They happen to rookies. They happen to veterans.

Good point. Interesting that you did that.. I did something similar before going to vegas to play blackjack.. i wrote a simulator that played blackjack and found that losing 10 hands in a row wasnt uncommon.. so that old strategy of doubling your bet after a loss could bite you when you hit the table max bet limit.

 

[AbsentMojo]

Simple answer to that: AGE. He's young....there are not a lot players that can come in at 18,19,20,21,22,23 even 24 ,and CONSISTENTLY put up good numbers/points etc, that takes time and maturity

2 goals in 40 games is alarming to me.. 2 goals in 20 games wouldnt be. Thats what im referring to as alarming... but I agree with your point otherwise. I think he is a two steps fwd, 1 step back kind of developer. and there are plenty of guys that dont really kick into gear til older like TNT and JT Miller... so after watching him get it going last season I have plenty of hope still.. at least we know his floor isnt bust, his floor is middle sixer.. the ceiling is the big question.

 

[King'sPawn]

It's not that uncommon, actually, for a 20 goal scorer. You just notice the downswings because every Kings fan absolutely needs Byfield to explode offensively. Everyone thinks that a 20 goal scorer should score a goal every 3-5 games consistently. But that's not what actually happens.

I went on a probability simulator and had the site throw a coin with a 25% probability of heads as a substitute for goals. After 84 consecutive tosses there were streaks of 14 straight and 13 straight where no heads appeared. Cold streaks happen every season.

I'll use Anze Kopitar, Mr. Consistency, as an example. Last season he scored 26 goals in 81 games. Had a mid-season streak of 12 games with no goals. Finished the regular season with no goals in 7 games. Phillip Danault has averaged 20 goals a season as a King, yet just broke a 20 regular season game goal-less streak dating back to March 23 (25 games if you include playoffs) a week ago.

Streaks happen. They always happen. They happen to rookies. They happen to veterans.

Even Ovechkin, poised to break Gretzky's goal-scoring record, hit a 7-game goalless streak when he scored a career-high 65 goals.

And his longest goal-scoring streak that season was 6 games.

There's no doubt that in general, you need your top players to produce more. But you also need to look at what they're doing when the points aren't coming.

 

[FSL KINGS]

Byfield is adjusting to a new position, new linemates, new system, new coach, new responsibilities (PK). He hasn't been showing those good plays to set up linemates for scoring chances. Last game, think he had two of those little plays. He's got a lot going on right now.

 

[Schmooley]

I'll use Anze Kopitar, Mr. Consistency, as an example. Last season he scored 26 goals in 81 games. Had a mid-season streak of 12 games with no goals. Finished the regular season with no goals in 7 games. Phillip Danault has averaged 20 goals a season as a King, yet just broke a 20 regular season game goal-less streak dating back to March 23 (25 games if you include playoffs) a week ago.

Streaks happen. They always happen. They happen to rookies. They happen to veterans.

When I said Byfield being streaky I didnt just mean points.
Throughout his career even when Kopitar isnt scoring hes an absolute workhorse in all 3 zones game after game.
Byfield has gone through some streaks where the points werent there and he wasnt imposing his will either.
But he has shown he can be a complete player in all zones and I am hoping he can be that workhorse going forward. He was the best forward for a bit last season.

 

[AbsentMojo]

Fun fact: Danault, Moore, Byfield all with 1g6a

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

When I said Byfield being streaky I didnt just mean points.
Throughout his career even when Kopitar isnt scoring hes an absolute workhorse in all 3 zones game after game.
Byfield has gone through some streaks where the points werent there and he wasnt imposing his will either.
But he has shown he can be a complete player in all zones and I am hoping he can be that workhorse going forward. He was the best forward for a bit last season.

Disagree, I think the only stretch in the last couple of years where everything was going wrong were the first 10 games this season, and even then him and Foegele are arguably the best forward PK unit in the league.

AT worst he's typically at least f***ing up the opposing passing lanes and mucking up his whole shift, but the start of this season he was 'bad' defensively as well, which I think you can fairly chalk up to a new role, new system, new linemates. The rope should continue to shorten of course.

He's definitely had those stretches where he and his line generate like crazy and you wonder 'how did he/linemate NOT score there' and he even had a few of those moments in the first 10 games too though tnot as frequently but 1. I don't think you can fairly compare byfield to Kopitar, he's a unicorn and 2. I really don't think he's as ineffective as is suggested when the production faucet isn't on, that sounds frankly like people (not you in particular) overselling their frustrations.