GDT: Game 3: Sharks @ Stars 5:00pm NBCSCA

[ChompChomp]

You bench a guy for 20 mins what do you expect

To not take a lazy SO attempt.

 

[Alaskanice]

Rats.

We earned the point. Good stuff.

 

[one2gamble]

Blackwood is horrible at shootouts by the way

 

[Mrs Ski]

Well that was terrible.

 

[Zarzh]

terrible call, ought ya se

I think Zetterlund has lowkey flown under the radar with his subpar play early this season as well

Poor coaching usage, Zetterlund and Kostin should never be on the same line.

 

[Beethovens 10th]

Welp, we got outplayed but we got a point. At least it was frustrating to watch.

 

[TheBeard]

I don't know what's going on in his head, but it feels like Smith really needs a confidence boost. He's had a couple of odd puck baubles these first three games.

War has given him no reason to be confident. He's done himself no favors either.

 

[SJSharksfan39]

Blackwood made all these great saves but in the shootout, he couldn't get one.

 

[Tw1ster]

To not take a lazy SO attempt.

We see the same attempt by well established players on a nightly basis, chill the f*** out on the kid

 

[TheBeard]

Hey, we may be the first team to lose our first three games three different ways. Regulation, OT and SO.

 

[hohosaregood]

Poor coaching usage, Zetterlund and Kostin should never be on the same line.

yea. Smith is not ready to be the distributor for those kind of guys.

 

[sampler]

Lucky to get a point. Blackwood kept em in it.

Warsofsky has some learning to do. The way the sharks mismanaged the puck in OT was horrific. And the 5 on 3 effort was not ok.

Win or lose, you need to have effort and smarts. Those two things are in your control. Warsofsky needs to address the strategy in OT and the 5 on 3.

Nevertheless getting a point in Dallas is a win.

 

[Juxtaposer]

To not take a lazy SO attempt.

Yeah, teenager in his first shootout attempt in the NHL, definitely gonna phone it in.

Take a lap.

 

[The Nemesis]

This game was infuriating to watch. But not because of what was on the ice. Because Sportsnet Plus kept freezing on me for some reason. By the end of the game I had to back out and restart the stream almost every 2 minutes because it would stop like it was buffering and just never resume.

Hopefully I can figure out why this is happening before it becomes a season-long issue.

 

[Sharksfan83]

At least a bit of fight in this team, top line could be good. Different team with Macklin in it

 

[Shut Yer Five Hole]

Shark Point™ Achieved

 

[sampler]

They definitely need Mack. And gush.


They need guys who can contribute offensively.

 

[vortexy]

Probably overreacting but Smith loves to dangle in shootouts, here he just goes for a plain shot. I think he’s lost some confidence and I dont blame him. Gets little to no PP time and benched the whole OT and last 5 minutes of the game

 

[sampler]

The shake have been tied or leading in the 3rd all three games. Playing well when the game is on the line is also a coaching thing.

 

[TheBeard]

At least a bit of fight in this team, top line could be good. Different team with Macklin in it

What's surprising is the top line without Mack is NOT good right now. I'm not really seeing Zetterlund or Eklund taking the next step. They've been ok, but no more than that.

So far this season has had a rough start. Celebrini hurt, Mukh hurt, Smith struggling...

 

[Lebanezer]

Genuine question for people, do you think this season is about winning games, or development?

 

[OrrNumber4]

War has given him no reason to be confident. He's done himself no favors either.

I don't know. At this level, even if you are a kid, you need to find a way to get yourself around mental blocks and cold streaks. A coach shouldn't expect to cater to you...

The same reason I can criticize the coaching staff for benching Guchshin is why I have to understand why they don't play Smith more.

Genuine question for people, do you think this season is about winning games, or development?

The best way to develop players is to play winning hockey

 

[TheBeard]

Probably overreacting but Smith loves to dangle in shootouts, here he just goes for a plain shot. I think he’s lost some confidence and I dont blame him. Gets little to no PP time and benched the whole OT and last 5 minutes of the game

That's part of it. The other part is he's struggling to adjust to the speed and size of the NHL. He's 19. He wasn't gonna come in and light it up, but I definitely saw enough warning signs in preseason.

 

[sampler]

Probably overreacting but Smith loves to dangle in shootouts, here he just goes for a plain shot. I think he’s lost some confidence and I dont blame him. Gets little to no PP time and benched the whole OT and last 5 minutes of the game

Yep. Playing in a league above your level where you are outmatched (he’s like 1 for 20 in the circle too) is a great way to lose confidence. Hence why I am broken record.

Btw, giving smith more ice won’t boost his confidence. It’ll give him more minuses, more dialed shootouts. More lost face offs. More of all those things.

 

[Skeksis25]

Benching Smith isn't helping him in any way. If the staff thinks he doesn't deserve much ice time, send him down. He needs to be playing 17-20 minutes a game. Whether that be undeserved minutes with the Sharks, or earning them with the Barracuda. I really don't think playing him sporadically for 10 total minutes a game is doing him any favours.