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Around the NHL — Episode XLXVII

Draisatl with his 4th straight 100 point season.

After McDavid, Draisatl is the next best forward in the league. MacKinnon and Kucherov are below him. Draisatl has been a top 5 scorer since his 4th season in the league.

Stupid Oilers with 3 generational talents.
 
Ottawa is a mix of 2012 L.A. Kings being the best 3-2 team in hockey, and the 2010 Blackhawks were fans don’t realize how good our blue line is. I remember being blown away by Keith, Seabrooke and their compete levels and how fast they could move the puck, Campbell, Buf who also played up front, Hajalmersson solid and big. I think Ottawa blue line could surprise people this playoffs, great balance and compete, Matinpalo adds an element of size that helps if he can compete in the playoffs,
 
BigRig4 said:
What’s the ideal outcome for us in the NYR-CBJ game?
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A CBJ win imo. A Rangers loss and Sens win tonight effectively puts us 7 points ahead with a game in hand which at this point of the season is a huge gap they would be unlikely to make up.

Plus even if we place 8th we probably play Washington as opposed to Florida so that’s fine.
 
Sens of Anarchy said:
Be nice to have him here on the 4th line
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Yeah losing Kelly and Kastelic, and replacing them with Highmore and Gaudette is a downgrade. Gaudette has some nice goalscorer streaks, but that's about it. Highmore is there, but doesn't add anything.

Kelly and Kastelic had a nice physical edge that would have been ideal for the 4th line. The top of the lineup has some physicality in Brady and Grieg. Along with guys who have size and or can play physical like Bath, Cozens, Stutzle, Pinto.

Having a really strong forechecking presence on the 4th line would be a great complement. Cousins will add some of that when he returns, but his speed isn't what it used to be.
 
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Dionysus said:
Yeah losing Kelly and Kastelic, and replacing them with Highmore and Gaudette is a downgrade. Gaudette has some nice goalscorer streaks, but that's about it. Highmore is there, but doesn't add anything.

Kelly and Kastelic had a nice physical edge that would have been ideal for the 4th line. The top of the lineup has some physicality in Brady and Grieg. Along with guys who have size and or can play physical like Bath, Cozens, Stutzle, Pinto.

Having a really strong forechecking presence on the 4th line would be a great complement. Cousins will add some of that when he returns, but his speed isn't what it used to be.
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Agreed... I would not mind giving Jenik a few games at C to see if he can bring more hard to play against elements. Ostapchuk was the guy to take over there but he's a goner now too. Need some more jam.
 
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Dionysus said:
Yeah losing Kelly and Kastelic, and replacing them with Highmore and Gaudette is a downgrade. Gaudette has some nice goalscorer streaks, but that's about it. Highmore is there, but doesn't add anything.

Kelly and Kastelic had a nice physical edge that would have been ideal for the 4th line. The top of the lineup has some physicality in Brady and Grieg. Along with guys who have size and or can play physical like Bath, Cozens, Stutzle, Pinto.

Having a really strong forechecking presence on the 4th line would be a great complement. Cousins will add some of that when he returns, but his speed isn't what it used to be.
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I liked Kelly. Kastelic was a huge disappointment last year, wasn’t nearly physical enough.
 
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FunkySeeFunkyDoo said:
I liked Kelly. Kastelic was a huge disappointment last year, wasn’t nearly physical enough.
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Kastelic didn't bring it consistently, one of the reasons he is gone. When he did, he was a presence. Didn't seem to come natural enough to him. Hard to play that way on a team that was out of the playoff race by December again though.

He has the size and straight line speed to be a menace in the playoffs.

Kelly played well after JM took over last year. Was a bit surprised they didn't get a deal done. A casualty of the poor cap management situation left over from the last regime.
 
NyQuil said:
They look like a cross between Captain America and the Flash.

Thumbs down from me.
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I'll give them credit for trying something different in a sport that doesn't often try different things, but those are some ugly helmets.... Maybe try just the racing stripe, or just the side Det winged wheel decal? Looks too busy as it stands
 
At the beginning of the year, Kastelic was off to a hot start. Playing physical. Putting up points. It's mid March and he's got 14 points in 59 games. That means he's got what maybe 5 points in the last 45?

we're deeper than we've been in years. Gaudette and Highmore are part of that.

With Gaudette Highmore and Zetterlund, we're closing in on 700 nhl games on the 4th line.
Over the past 10 years, half the 4th liners we've iced probably shouldn't have been in the league. It's working
 
JD1 said:
At the beginning of the year, Kastelic was off to a hot start. Playing physical. Putting up points. It's mid March and he's got 14 points in 59 games. That means he's got what maybe 5 points in the last 45?

we're deeper than we've been in years. Gaudette and Highmore are part of that.

With Gaudette Highmore and Zetterlund, we're closing in on 700 nhl games on the 4th line.
Over the past 10 years, half the 4th liners we've iced probably shouldn't have been in the league. It's working
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That's fine, but Gaudette and Highmore can certainly be improved upon, and hopefully that begins at the latest, next season.
 
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JD1 said:
At the beginning of the year, Kastelic was off to a hot start. Playing physical. Putting up points. It's mid March and he's got 14 points in 59 games. That means he's got what maybe 5 points in the last 45?

we're deeper than we've been in years. Gaudette and Highmore are part of that.

With Gaudette Highmore and Zetterlund, we're closing in on 700 nhl games on the 4th line.
Over the past 10 years, half the 4th liners we've iced probably shouldn't have been in the league. It's working
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Gaudette and Highmore are not good 4th liners and have nothing to do with the success we are experiencing.

Both Kastelic and Gaudette haven't contributed anything to their teams offense since the first couple months of the season, but at least Kastelic at least brings solid two-way play, physicality and faceoff ability.

We'd be much better off with guys like Kastelic on our 4th line than Gaudette and Highmore, regardless of games played totals.
 
The only thing that'll suck if a majority of the Canadian teams make the playoffs is that our first round games might get relegated to Sportsnet One. :laugh:
 
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