GDT: #8 ⋅ ANA @ NJD ⋅ 4:00 PM PDT

[HanSolo]

It was apparent last season the offense was a dud, but too many people kept saying "the injuries, the injuries" like they were mimicking Tattoo from Fantasy Island, "De plane, de plane!" Same system, new season, same result. Cronin is waiting in individual effort to shine through in sparse moments for his offensive system.

TBF, we looked better later in the 3rd period because Cronin reverted back to his old lines that did work vs the Rangers. We see the difference in SOGs in the third period. Still, the offense remained missing in action.

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Another point of concern that some of us brought up when we traded away Rico and Carrick was, "How are we going to win FO's now when we lost two out of our top-3 FO specialists?" We are currently ranked 32nd in the league. The more we lose at the FO circle, the less time we have of puck possession. Less puck possession time means we aren't getting better offensively.

Yeah the injury excuse is dead. The first year with a new coach excuse is dead. This was the year for Cronin to prove he's at least capable and early returns are shit. Especially after admitting he took the hands off the wheel for the last 20 games to "learn" what the players would do if left to their own devices and "learn" what they needed from him as a coach. It seems that was just 20 games utterly wasted.

And yeah, we're not only dead last in faceoffs, we're a whole 2% worse than the next worst team. When you're getting into league wide degrees of separation, that's enormous.

 

[Hamilton Bulldogs]

Ugliest game of the year for sure.

I’m not really down on any of the youths but it is concerning that all of them appear to be playing below their potential.

 

[Ducks DVM]

Yeah the injury excuse is dead. The first year with a new coach excuse is dead. This was the year for Cronin to prove he's at least capable and early returns are shit. Especially after admitting he took the hands off the wheel for the last 20 games to "learn" what the players would do if left to their own devices and "learn" what they needed from him as a coach. It seems that was just 20 games utterly wasted.

And yeah, we're not only dead last in faceoffs, we're a whole 2% worse than the next worst team. When you're getting into league wide degrees of separation, that's enormous.

This was against a 51% team.

The funny thing about #31 on the list is that it’s Colorado.

 

[HanSolo]

Ugliest game of the year for sure.

I’m not really down on any of the youths but it is concerning that all of them appear to be playing below their potential.

Meh. I think most of them are fairly coming along the way they should except for our older young guys.

Leo still has some issues with faceoffs, d zone coverage and occasional timing issues, but he's also been one of our better forwards at advancing play into the zone and generating chances. That and he's improved his acceleration, game long endurance with PK time on top, and he's been knocked off his skates less which indicates an increase in strength even if he's not all the way there yet.

Minty is still learning how to increase the likelihood that he sets up offense, but he's been steadier in his own zone and one of the better defensemen on the team at dzone exits and ozone entries (though the entries could still use work).

Zell has been one of the better guys at moving the puck around the ice with speed, though his decision making in ozone 5v5 and PP set ups needs improvement and his defensive marking does look worse than last year.

Luneau is hit or miss when it comes to decisions with the puck but he has the least playtime out of anyone on this team the past year's worth of hockey. He still shows flashes of good individual puck skill and occasionally has good solo rushes with the puck out of the defensive zone and through the neutral zone. Defensively he has his trouble moments but he's also shown good defensive instincts on shutdowns.

Lacombe has made some rough and critical errors with the puck at times but as a whole he does look to be a lot more composed with and without the puck. He strikes me as a guy that if/when this team starts playing with better systems, he'll be a solid #4 type guy.

Cutter is clearly struggling at making proper plays under defensive pressure but he has the least NHL time out of any of these kids. It's not weird that he needs time to adjust jumping from the NCAA to the NHL. I mean look at Will Smith. Actually try watching him. At least Gauthier manages to make plays that advance the puck towards the net in the ozone. Every time I've watched Smith, even going back to the rookie tourney, he's been a ghost who occasionally pops out of nowhere when someone finds him with a good pass in a good spot.

All these kids are 21 or younger and have less than a full season of NHL experience. Of course they're going to be playing below their potential. Guys like Bedard, Michkov, etc. are the exception. Not the rule.

Zegras and McTavish on the other hand? Those two really concern me, and their current state only adds to my fear that too much more time with Cronin behind the bench runs the risk of f***ing the development of all our young players.