Anyways, I have some actual thoughts on everything. It’s a lot of text but curious if people agree/disagree
I thought all of Myers, Cole, Zadorov ended the regular season really strong. I don’t know how much of it is sustainable, but they’ve all been very good. It’s funny because it felt like there was a very clear separation between our top three and bottom three D most of the season, but on a relative scale, I think the bottom three have heavily exceeded expectation and the top three have come up short through these four games
I still don’t think we should sign Zadorov. A lot of miles and that contract will be ugly. It’s also just as simple as we only have so much money to give out.
Hronek. Man. Has continued the form that trailed off in the second half. Such an interesting situation and I don’t want to relitigate it
Hughes - I think he’ll figure this out sooner rather than later. I think he’d benefit a lot from if we can close it out in five and can have some extra days to heal, practice, watch film. Decision making has been bad. He didn’t look great in his own zone the last ten of the regular season as well and I assumed it wouldn’t continue… but it has
Forwards -
Pettersson line - Mikheyev has to come out. That line just sucks. Hoglander has gotten incrementally better every game. Pettersson has looked like Emil Pettersson / Linden Vey hybrid we saw years ago. The stuff about how he’s given up with his big contract is dumb. He’s been bad all year. The points at the start of the year were a mirage and his overall play has looked similar - just with a difference in confidence finishing plays and execution. Feel like I remember very clearly wondering where the 200 foot energy, motor, lack of movement, aggressiveness was when he was top five in scoring early. This game today reminded me of when he got killed at 5v5 by Torts hard matching f***ing Nic Deslauriers in Philly earlier this year.
Suter - Boeser - Miller combo I’ve been a fan of all year and I continually have advocated for the whole Suter’s production doesn’t matter thing when his line wins their matchup every night for the most part. There was a two year stretch where I was totally out on Brock. And that 18-19 season as well. But I said before this season that I’d rather he score 40 than us make the playoffs given what he’s gone through mentally. Nice that both happened. Miller I thought wasn’t much different than Pettersson in the first two but the last two he’s been back on it.
I really have not liked that Lindholm line the last three games. Lindholm and Garland have looked OK but Joshua in particular I thought has looked bad the last three. Like Pettersson level bobbling pucks, getting knocked off, looking behind it. I’m very much in favor of splitting them up. I think there’s a few options there, but I’d just simplify it and start with Blueger back between the two and Lindholm centering Pettersson and Hoglander. They haven’t tried that line for a while. And Pettersson can’t really whine about shifting to the wing right now.
I’ve been very impressed with the fourth line. It’s been our second best line through four games. They’ve had good shifts in every game. I know pulling Blueger off it would change the dynamic, and it sucks to split up a performing line, but I think you go PDG - Lafferty - Podkolzin. I think Podz should be back in. The last two games, I think we’ve been the second most physical. It’s not a huge difference but Podkolzin was very consistent at being fast, direct, and physical on the forecheck down the stretch. Mikheyev’s done nothing.
At the end of the day, we only have two lines going, and when one of them is your fourth line, it does not matter if Blueger gets pulled off if it gets one of your middle six lines going - and in a perfect world, maybe both of them going.
We need to win a game properly. Hughes with a 30 minute game where he’s just evading every Nashville forecheck, Pettersson showing life skating through the NZ and showing some shiftiness in the OZ, Joshua/Garland/Hoglander just being the most irritating guys on the ice. And when I say irritating, I don’t mean penalties or chasing hits - I mean that theyre getting shit on net, bouncing off every hit, etc.
I didn’t like Tocchet’s refusal to change the lines until the last five minutes of the game.
—— one thing to add ——
you know the pettersson stuff. like brock after 2019, 2022, 2023 said he needed to get better. he did two of those times. obviously was awful in 22-23. hughes after that 2022 season said he needed to get better. he did. he went from being a guy who i wasn’t sure could handle second pair leverage es minutes (he was awful defensively and giving up more the other way and he owned this) and now has been the best D in the league over the past 16 months. Yes he’s struggled the past two weeks in his own end but whatever.
Regardless, I’ve advocated selling on both those guys in the past. And when I think about Pettersson, Pettersson was far superior of a player at younger ages than those two. Much more mature game. He’s been so dogshit all year. Like god awful, and I don’t get why people cope about this
But like, I think recent history shows that he’s going to probably come back strong next season. And obviously at some point he needs to put together good seasons consecutively. I think being frustrated right now makes sense but long term, I don’t think I’d bet against him figuring it out. There’s just way too much talent. And it’s clear he cares. Heck even if he’s emil pettersson again next year, Brock had two god awful ones before this 40 goal one so it’s tough. I don’t know. I just think there’s a dominant Barkov level player hidden in there if he can put it together.
