GDT: Avs VS Panthers - Ekblad back on #1 PP!

[KW]

No joking - I kind of think there's something to that. At the beginning of the season, they had Barkov and Tkachuk out, and then the Finland trip that got the team going. Now, it's just the grind... God, for a team that was used to be the best defensive team in the league, we're looking awful. Good thing that the Atlantic is so bad right now that we can afford to be in a slump. Just hoping it is indeed just a slump and the team will wake up at some point...

Well, we’re worse than Montreal, San Jose and Anaheim combined, so mediocrity should be the next goal for Paul.

 

[Jean Luc Discard]

No joking - I kind of think there's something to that. At the beginning of the season, they had Barkov and Tkachuk out, and then the Finland trip that got the team going. Now, it's just the grind... God, for a team that was used to be the best defensive team in the league, we're looking awful. Good thing that the Atlantic is so bad right now that we can afford to be in a slump. Just hoping it is indeed just a slump and the team will wake up at some point...

Furthermore, since Zito couldn't/wouldn't hold on to guys like Lomberg, Montour, Cousins, Marchment, Gudas, etc. it was expected that the fun factor of this team would decrease significantly. ofc they still have Benny and Chuck there but imo it just isn't the same as it used to be. I'm probably in the minority when I would've rather seen Lomberg + Montour in the lineup instead of one-foot-in-the-grave Ekblad.

 

[Dread Clawz]

Swaggy is a minus 15 now in 21 games.
Maybe if he tried to play some D.
Bob wouldn’t be struggling.

Yeah, the goalies have been fine. The team as a whole is not playing well, not playing together as a five man unit (which is especially critical for us), and they are not playing good team D. The blueline is also thin.

 

[batting1k]

Damnit

 

[IdleTraveller]

Furthermore, since Zito couldn't/wouldn't hold on to guys like Lomberg, Montour, Cousins, Marchment, Gudas, etc. it was expected that the fun factor of this team would decrease significantly. ofc they still have Benny and Chuck there but imo it just isn't the same as it used to be. I'm probably in the minority when I would've rather seen Lomberg + Montour in the lineup instead of one-foot-in-the-grave Ekblad.

I mean, we couldn;t have afforded Lomberg and Montour this year anyway with having to pay Reinhart, which I think we would agree was worth it. So I agree Montour over Ekblad (at least at the moment), but we couldn't move Ekblad so we didn't have much choice. I know goaltending is not the main reason for our losses but still missing Stolarz...

Given the pay rises for Reino, and now for Swaggy and Benny (at the very least), the only way for us to be sustainable even with the cap rising is to find players on the cheap/reclamation projects, particularly on D, and hope that they can plug and play within our system. That's what's worked for us in the past - in part due to our system/great scouting, but also luck played a huge factor: that we got the right players and they peak at the right times.

Who knows? Maybe this is just a slump in motivation and the team gets back to it - as someone said earlier - D is where you see the team motivation the most and they did start the season really well. It could still work out but going to the SC Finals three years in a row is pretty ridiculous - I know Tampa did it but that was COVID years with fewer games played. And add in the 4 nations when most of our big dogs are playing, I'm trying to resign myself to seeing this year more as a transition year.

 

[Jean Luc Discard]

Damnit

but we couldn't move Ekblad so we didn't have much choice.

Ekky has a modified nmc for this season so Zito could've traded Ekky albeit for a meagre return.

There's ofc a chance that they're in the midst of a traditional mid-season slump and they'll eventually readjust their game but imo this is a situation where Zito needs to make a trade. It'll take a few more losses in order for Zito to commit to making a trade and the other teams becoming more assured they need to trade one of their players for picks/prospects.

 

[FinlandPanther]

So true!
The main reason for me to stop watching basketball was that the slightest touch was called a foul. Guess the game is turning to Iceketball, but with all the negative parts of both sports

Agreed. I’m all about protecting the goalies but if you cant even have the edge of your skates on the blue paint without impeding the goalie at all then this game is going to become even softer than it already is. Goalies might as well just bump into you on surprise every time since they will get the call. Screens should just be made illegal. Tomas Holmstrom would have been a career AHLer if this was how it was in his time.

 

[Gizmo Tkachuk]

Damnit

Don’t worry, Sullivan should be available soon

 

[FinlandPanther]

I mean, we couldn;t have afforded Lomberg and Montour this year anyway with having to pay Reinhart, which I think we would agree was worth it. So I agree Montour over Ekblad (at least at the moment), but we couldn't move Ekblad so we didn't have much choice. I know goaltending is not the main reason for our losses but still missing Stolarz...

Given the pay rises for Reino, and now for Swaggy and Benny (at the very least), the only way for us to be sustainable even with the cap rising is to find players on the cheap/reclamation projects, particularly on D, and hope that they can plug and play within our system. That's what's worked for us in the past - in part due to our system/great scouting, but also luck played a huge factor: that we got the right players and they peak at the right times.

Who knows? Maybe this is just a slump in motivation and the team gets back to it - as someone said earlier - D is where you see the team motivation the most and they did start the season really well. It could still work out but going to the SC Finals three years in a row is pretty ridiculous - I know Tampa did it but that was COVID years with fewer games played. And add in the 4 nations when most of our big dogs are playing, I'm trying to resign myself to seeing this year more as a transition year.

I think at the end of the day they’ll be fine. Just an ugly funk they’re in but we are right at the cap which sucks. Kulikov and Mikkola together is bad because neither can skate the puck out. That’s why Mikkola and Montour were so great together.