GDT: Faulking Reunion in STL

[WreckingCrew]

The ambivalence is even present in their interviews. What a funk.

Ambivalent is the perfect way to describe a team captained by a Staal

 

[spockBokk]

Bright side to maybe missing the ‘yoffs this year would be having Anton Lundell slip to them at the tail end of the lottery....or just win the lottery and pick 11OA as well with the TOR pick...

 

[the halleJOKEL]

looks like we played rather poorly

 

[GoldiFox]

Bright side to maybe missing the ‘yoffs this year would be having Anton Lundell slip to them at the tail end of the lottery....or just win the lottery and pick 11OA as well with the TOR pick...

Lafreniere with the Canes lottery win and Lundell/Askarov/Quinn at Toronto's #11-15. Let's go.

Trying not to get too sour watching the Canes get stomped by a great team like St. Louis but I'm there anyway. Mrazek is a sieve and the team looks uninspired. Why Rod wouldn't go with Reimer either to start or early in the game is baffling to me.

 

[Joe McGrath]

Because I’m a masochist, I rewatched the 1st goal against. Live I saw it and thought basically Necas made a rookie defensive mistake as he is known to do. Not a big deal. I watched it again and now I’m a bit more concerned. He’s standing next to the eventual goal scorer, Pesce looks at him, points at him and tells him the goal scorer is Necas responsibility now, and then he skates into the empty corner of the ice on the opposite side of his wing leaving the guy who scored all by himself. Pesce turned around saw what happened and had the same look on his face I do when my 4 year old is doing the exact opposite of what I told him to 10 seconds before.

 

[spockBokk]

YouTube hates Canes fans. This video popped up on my recommended views today:

 

[Svechhammer]

Anyone who tries to explain this away with "well, StLouis is a great team, this is what they do" is kind of ignoring the fact that we've had a game like this coming for a while now. We have come out flat in so many games this year that its easier to track the games where the team came out firing. Even early on we had games where we would just look incredibly flat against bad teams and then clear our heads in comeback fashion late. But that was against the easier portion of the schedule, and we're still doing this now and teams are absolutely punishing us for it. Our team defense needs work, absolutely, but I think a lot of this has to do with the fact that many of our forwards are still young and are still learning by firing squad. That part I'm not so much worried about, with the staff and team we have, I have faith that accountability on defense is there and will be handled down the line.

Where I am worried is that I don't think we have a solution in goal right now. Mrazek is a complete headcase and I'm not sure its really worth it to see if he can play through it. At least his salary is relatively cheap, but he should no longer be our #1 guy, and if Ned ever gets the call-up, Petr probably needs to be scratched to make room for him. We're doing ourselves no favors by putting him out there as often as we do. Yes, the defense has issues, but this man can't stop a damn thing anymore. I saw someone run he numbers yesterday, and if it seems like we give up a lot of early or late goals with Mrazek in net, the numbers back that up. At this point, Reimer is the better play and the more consistent guy. Its time to make the switch.

And I'm not sure playing Staal the minutes he gets is really worth it anymore. He's painfully slow out there, has stone hands, and misplays the puck often in the offensive zone. I get it that he's our defensive center, but for a team that is struggling to score, having him play the minutes he does is just blatantly counter-productive. And for the reputation he has of being a faceoff wizard, he's only winning just over 50% of them this year. Its starting to look like he's on the rapid decline of his career, and we haven't realized it, yet.

 

[Sens1Canes2]

Because I’m a masochist, I rewatched the 1st goal against. Live I saw it and thought basically Necas made a rookie defensive mistake as he is known to do. Not a big deal. I watched it again and now I’m a bit more concerned. He’s standing next to the eventual goal scorer, Pesce looks at him, points at him and tells him the goal scorer is Necas responsibility now, and then he skates into the empty corner of the ice on the opposite side of his wing leaving the guy who scored all by himself. Pesce turned around saw what happened and had the same look on his face I do when my 4 year old is doing the exact opposite of what I told him to 10 seconds before.

Two of the first four goals (which were the important ones), there were Blues left alone - WAY ALONE - in front of the net. Just basic, run of the mill defensive zone coverage stuff that should be instinctive. Very odd.

 

[Joe McGrath]

Two of the first four goals (which were the important ones), there were Blues left alone - WAY ALONE - in front of the net. Just basic, run of the mill defensive zone coverage stuff that should be instinctive. Very odd.

The 4th one was just a complete breakdown from all 4 guys on the PK. Pesce chases the puck carrier off the draw all the way to the point for no good reason, Staal and/or McGinn didn’t cover his spot and Ed with the play in front of him somehow let 2 guys get behind him. It was complete incompetence all around.

 

[GoldiFox]

Not to be outdone by Necas leaving his man wide open on the 1st goal, the 4th goal was a 2-on-0. At one point every one of Staal, Pesce, and McGinn were closer to the blueline than the dots while the puck was in the crease. And Edmundson was turned the wrong way while two blues hacked at Mrazek. Staal and Pesce lazily glide back watching the play as it happens.



Like, what were Staal/Pesce even doing? Reminds me of the Ovechkin disconnected controller GIF. Two of the Canes best defensive players pressuring one guy at the edge of the point on the PK.

 

[RodTheBawd]

I think a trade needs to happen to send a clear message. Raleigh is a great place to play, but there isn't as much scrutiny as in larger cities. I think this team is a bit too comfortable.

Yeah, because they certainly haven't seen a bunch of guys traded over the last couple of years...

Because I’m a masochist, I rewatched the 1st goal against. Live I saw it and thought basically Necas made a rookie defensive mistake as he is known to do. Not a big deal. I watched it again and now I’m a bit more concerned. He’s standing next to the eventual goal scorer, Pesce looks at him, points at him and tells him the goal scorer is Necas responsibility now, and then he skates into the empty corner of the ice on the opposite side of his wing leaving the guy who scored all by himself. Pesce turned around saw what happened and had the same look on his face I do when my 4 year old is doing the exact opposite of what I told him to 10 seconds before.

I was ready to counter this and say that Pesce blew his assignment... then I watched the replay. Did Necas think the ref was a Blue?

Not to be outdone by Necas leaving his man wide open on the 1st goal, the 4th goal was a 2-on-0. At one point every one of Staal, Pesce, and McGinn were closer to the blueline than the dots while the puck was in the crease. And Edmundson was turned the wrong way while two blues hacked at Mrazek. Staal and Pesce lazily glide back watching the play as it happens.



Like, what were Staal/Pesce even doing? Reminds me of the Ovechkin disconnected controller GIF. Two of the Canes best defensive players pressuring one guy at the edge of the point on the PK.

Pesce playing too aggressive and Staal didn't switch. Perfect example of how the entire team seems to have no f***ing concept of structure and assignment.

 

[TK 421]

I was able to see your team in person last night and I saw a lot of questionable positioning by Mrazek. Not sure what his deal is but I was surprised by Rod not putting Reimer in.

I was on the end the Canes defended twice so was able to watch Pesce directing traffic. Obviously they had a rough night defensively but I liked how Pesce took control out there, reminded me of ROR. Really enjoyed seeing Aho and Slavin as well, lot of fun players to watch.

 

[Tryamw]

Alas our defending was equal to herding cats

 

[hblueridgegal]

Confidence, chemistry and morale all appear to be fairly low right now - are the players understanding and buying into the reasoning behind the coaching decisions of late? Is the messaging on point? The players get a lot of criticism but how about the coaching and the organization's decision making?

It feels like Williams return to the line up wasn't entirely plotted out beforehand. While JW is obviously contributing positively, the net result for the team looks a lot like dysfunction. The chaos resulting from the constant line redesigns, fear of being the scratch, the coach's blinders, trade rumors, isn't resulting in many positives. Were 1 or 2 of the players sort of a placeholder for JW in theory? For 4 months, these players had steady roles on the team and now it's different. Their previous results weren't perfect but they were doing ok. Could all this uncertainty be taking a toll instead of being motivational? Something has these folks in a performance funk.

Obviously, the effects of the loss of Dougie are huge, too. However, other teams have handled lots of adversity this season and even thrived in certain cases because the ones given the opportunity to shine stepped up.

My dad was a referee and umpire for many years. So, while growing up I got to see how team dynamics and the mental aspects often play a role in sports outside of pure talent, luck, etc. It's always been a fascination, I guess.

 

[Meatwagon]

This is a snipet from the game last night. Thought you might enjoy the shot. I dont take any credit for the photo.

 

[Stickpucker]

Pesce got them crazy eyes