I feel like Waltz comment says whatever the reader wants it to, it's a litmus test for bias, one way or the other
I think his quote is his quote. IMO he was saying Florida had to get its act together effort wise primarily. You can be a player that is hard to play against when you give it. But you need to give it. My point was he did not say "Ottawa is very hard to play against". He said they play with some jam and they play hard. He was trying to prompt more effort out of the way Florida was playing at the time.
His quote is his quote, you're right. And you gave an opinion of what he meant by it, others have a different opinion, the exact meaning he wanted to convey isn't clear, as evidenced by the fact that people came to different conclusions.
I think there is certainly room to interpret it as two different things. If our 5 on 5 goal differential is in Arizona Coyotes territory, we're not that hard to play against, even if we're full of effort, finishing every check, and beating the shit out of our opponents (which I also enjoy).
Do you think the injuries to goaltending all last yr had something to do with that & youth?
Our youth is 4 years older and we have significantly better pieces than DJs first year but the results are similar, that's the problem.
Our youth is 4 yrs older today, but you mentioned the last 4 yrs & in those yrs the young guys were maturing while still making mistakes. The results are not similar, the previous season they were one of the worse teams in the league while last season they were fighting for a playoff spot right to the end of the season, that's significant improvement. We could all see they were playing much better & were in most games & IMO it was losing the two NHL goalies that cost them a playoff spot near the end of the season.
We added Sanderson, who was awesome, Giroux, Car, and had an unbelievable year our of Stutzle, only losing Norris, and we still had the same ES production.
Because we are not getting the secondary scoring from the bottom six which has been mentioned & they are saying they will improve for next season. And given the defence they now have should also help increase defence scoring which was also down due to injuries. And if they can add a good goaltender who can stay healthy should also cut down on the goals against. These are the three areas that need to improve secondary scoring, defence scoring & goaltending. It's easier said than done especially if they are still filling holes with rookies or young prospects who need to learn the ropes.
Stats are all good & well, but isn't there something missing from stats like injuries for example? Also if you are not getting secondary scoring from your bottom six than your top six has to play more minutes & when they play more they make more mistakes. Stats are great, but they are also misleading in that they don't take into account that the two AHL goalies are not going to be as good as the two NHL goalies just by definition.
Secondary scoring isn't the issue.
Secondary scoring was an issue last yr, it has been mentioned numerous times, even Dorion said they have to improve the bottom six for next season. You need good defencemen to have good structure, remember Zaitsev, he was roasted on here for yrs. They should have much better defence next season because they have better defencemen now, but they also have to stay healthy given both Chabot & Zub were also injured last yr which resulted in less defensive production.
Yes, while those guys had some good games they also had some stinkers at bad times. And when we needed great goaltending on that western trip both goalies were injured & we had to go with two goalies with next to no NHL experience. Goaltending was a huge problem last yr & IMO was probably the biggest reason they didn't have enough pts to make the playoffs.
I agree with you. The excuses are all used up. Be in the playoffs all season. No chasing or scrambling or streaks. Consistant hockey from start to finish. If it's the 8th spot from the start...perfect.
Wanted to stop reading there, but was hoping for some proof,
the NHL today is a dynamic league. Virtually nothing stands still.
Motte started off well and was good on the PK.. He was injured and was not the same when he came back. He should have been a 4th liner vs a 3rd liner.
So last year we finished with 259 goals scored. Pittsburgh was 16th with 261. We had a pretty major jump from the year prior and definitely a little more depth scoring easily bumps us up a few spots.
How many of those goals were scored by the top two lines & how many goals were scored by the bottom six? IMO the top two lines were obviously way ahead & bottom six scoring is what needs to improve dramatically going into next yr. I agree the goals against have to improve as well & hopefully with a good #1 goalie that will improve as will the defence with the D we have now. Hopefully, Norris offsets the loss of DBC in the scoring department.
Breaking out of our own end should improve next season with Chabot, Sanderson, Chychrun & Zub as our top 4 D.
Agreed.
