GDT: Game 5 - Anaheim Ducks vs Boston Bruins, 5:30 PT

[Hockey Duckie]

Compared to yesterday's game, I thought the ducks did a better job of having a net front presence. But still not good enough to make a good goalie uncomfortable. Cronin's point about shooting more is of course correct, but part of scoring on the types of shots he wants to take is getting rebounds and scoring them.

Z seems to be rounding into form - that will be a big help. Henrique and Fowler can only get better. And Leo will play most games. So there is upside left in this team.

Also, I am very encouraged by the young D-Men and the overall improved structure of the team, particularly on defense. Even if the wins are not there, it is so much better than last year and is a much better brand of hockey to watch.

I will be a bit contrarian. Lyubushkin has been just ok in my view. It is crazy to say, but Minty is really carrying him - and they do seem to play well together which obviously helps. But Lyubushkin seems a bit slow and often caught in no man's land (i.e., out of position).

And to beat a dead horse, the Tracey over Kaliyev (or for that matter Shane Pinto) pick is really a killer. Kaliyev in particular would be a huge upgrade.

Lyubushkin is doing what he does best, be a complementary stay-at-home D-man so Minchy can "roam if you want to... roam around the world".

As for your Tracey over Kaliyev pining, let's counter with comparing top-10 selections between the Kings and Ducks. Would you rather have Turcotte, Byfield, and Clarke over Zegras, Drysdale, and McTavish? I'm pretty sure Kings fans would believe having the Ducks' selection would be a far more significant upgrade.

 

[Kalv]

2 goals in 66 SOG over two games is pretty brutal. The 0 for X PP unit certainly isn't helping much either. A lot of our shots seem to be low danger nothingburgers straight into the goalie's chest.

We really need a high-end, pure shooting wing on this team. All of our top forwards are pass-first guys that have huge cold streaks putting pucks in the net. I think we're destined to trade one of our D prospects in a package for someone eventually just because we can't seem to develop one. I know we were probably never seriously in on DeBrincat, but man he looks really good right about now...

While I think what you said is totally valid, this was a stretch where we face really really good teams while missing a few players.

Things need to be adressed for sure. I'm just wowed at not being outshot by double every night and actually having some bite

 

[Masch78]

I think we have seen peak Terry (Prove me Wrong Terry). I think he's a 60-70 point guy who will likely end up around a 25-30g avg. But yes, we probably all need to understand he will go through stretches being snake bitten.

That said, I think Eakins at one point in Terry's 37g season, he stressed shot volume. Cronin sounds like he's going to revisit that idea.

60-70 pt guy potting 25-30 goals is exactly what he gets paid. And imho that is totally fine.

 

[Kalv]

Fun fact, Poitras was drafted right after Luneau last year at the end of the 2nd round. Both seem to have really nice post-draft development

 

[Zegs2sendhelp]

While I think what you said is totally valid, this was a stretch where we face really really good teams while missing a few players.

Things need to be adressed for sure. I'm just wowed at not being outshot by double every night and actually having some bite

Pretty much… we played some really good teams the first 5 games of the season, and we’ve played them well considering we’re icing up to 3 rookies on the back end.

The team is unlearning everything Eakins brought, and learning cronins systems and ideas…. There is going to be a transitional periods. Terry and zegras are snake bitten but will get going eventually and we had a lot of talent sitting last game(arguably our 1c, 2d, 3c and 1w)

 

[Kalv]

Pretty much… we played some really good teams the first 5 games of the season, and we’ve played them well considering we’re icing up to 3 rookies on the back end.

The team is unlearning everything Eakins brought, and learning cronins systems and ideas…. There is going to be a transitional periods. Terry and zegras are snake bitten but will get going eventually and we had a lot of talent sitting last game(arguably our 1c, 2d, 3c and 1w)

Yup. Seems that we have a lot left in the tank (pun NOT intended, lol). More players coming back from injuries, and what should be improved chemistry all around from learning the Cronin's system more and more. Not like some other years where we have a nice stretch to start when it seems everything's firing on all cylinders but then it just falls off at some point. Now we have a lot of stuff going against us that should improve over time. Perhaps our rookies will hit a wall eventually tho, but still. This is exciting, despite the losses.

 

[The Midnight Burrito]

Cronin does not seem to be a guy who's much for the moral victory. I like him... a lot.

He's not wrong - we possessed the hell out of the puck and spent a lot of time just dicking around with it. Maybe having the puck on their stick in the offensive zone is so unusual to this group that they're overcome with the novelty of it and once that wear off they'll be more likely to shoot.

To Stephens's question about why they're not shooting: "I don't know, Eric. I don't ask them. We just tell them to shoot."

 

[Zegs2sendhelp]

Yup. Seems that we have a lot left in the tank (pun NOT intended, lol). More players coming back from injuries, and what should be improved chemistry all around from learning the Cronin's system more and more. Not like some other years where we have a nice stretch to start when it seems everything's firing on all cylinders but then it just falls off at some point. Now we have a lot of stuff going against us that should improve over time. Perhaps our rookies will hit a wall eventually tho, but still. This is exciting, despite the losses.

Ya still some fat in the line up
-Silf should be replaced at some point(maybe regenda gets a look during last half of the season), just too slow at this point
-Henrique should be moved at deadline(I think Lundy will be back by then, so that’s essentially taken)
-groulx is okay as a 13/14 forward…. But I think he’ll eventually lose out his spot to gaucher.
-lybushkin has been okay but we could def find better

Need to improve
- Jones if he plays like he did vs boston I have no issues with him in bottom 6…. But he needs to be more consistent
- fowler looks a bit off so far… def needs to be more impactful
- terry decision making has been iffy, passing up shots, holding onto puck too long

Pleasant surprise
-leason has been great, was awaful last year but this year looks like he could be what I thought Jones would end up
-lacombe I thought would be a bottom pairing dmen at best but he’s showing he can be impactful on both ends and play effective mins

The rest are playing basically where I expected them

 

[alsmiss94]

You can't really expect our goalies to out-goalie their opponent when this team seems to incapable of scoring or getting high danger chances. The two goals Gibby let in weren't good but he played very well over all and definitely gave them more than enough to win. What are you supposed to do when you only let in 2 but your team can't score more than 1?

Getting Carlsson in and Killorn back should help with the scoring. Z is also snake bitten as hell but there is definitely a lack of talent up front combined with lack of shooting mentality.

Defense is night and day from last season. A lot of that comes from guys like LaCombe and Minty who can actually move the puck but also I think Eakins was just a f***ing disaster. I know he had a terrible roster but seeing this team with an actual system and plan just makes you realize what a joke he was. Not surprising we're suddenly getting decent goaltending without him as well.

 

[Deuce22]

Cronin does not seem to be a guy who's much for the moral victory. I like him... a lot.

No patience for dumb questions.

 

[Deuce22]

Lyubushkin is doing what he does best, be a complementary stay-at-home D-man so Minchy can "roam if you want to... roam around the world".

As for your Tracey over Kaliyev pining, let's counter with comparing top-10 selections between the Kings and Ducks. Would you rather have Turcotte, Byfield, and Clarke over Zegras, Drysdale, and McTavish? I'm pretty sure Kings fans would believe having the Ducks' selection would be a far more significant upgrade.

This narrative that Mintyukov needs a stay at home guy with him so "he can roam" is tired and obsolete. He is making a ton of plays in the defensive zone and preventing zone entries. He isn't an offensive dynamo, defensive liability.

 

[LuGBuG]

I missed most of this game because I had hockey. How did we look?

 

[The Midnight Burrito]

I missed most of this game because I had hockey. How did we look?

Other than finishing, that might have been the best overall game they've played. Outplayed Boston for long stretches.

 

[LuGBuG]

Other than finishing, that might have been the best overall game they've played. Outplayed Boston for long stretches.

Man. I feel like it’s gonna be the old ketchup bottle with Selanne analogy. This team if we could score goals could be 4-1 or at worst 3-2. That’s even considering we had a million penalties.

 

[Reveille1984]

You can't really expect our goalies to out-goalie their opponent when this team seems to incapable of scoring or getting high danger chances. The two goals Gibby let in weren't good but he played very well over all and definitely gave them more than enough to win. What are you supposed to do when you only let in 2 but your team can't score more than 1?

Getting Carlsson in and Killorn back should help with the scoring. Z is also snake bitten as hell but there is definitely a lack of talent up front combined with lack of shooting mentality.

Defense is night and day from last season. A lot of that comes from guys like LaCombe and Minty who can actually move the puck but also I think Eakins was just a f***ing disaster. I know he had a terrible roster but seeing this team with an actual system and plan just makes you realize what a joke he was. Not surprising we're suddenly getting decent goaltending without him as well.

Yeah, mentality is a good word for it. Especially Zegras/Terry, they're always going to be pass first guys naturally. You can see it when they start to lose scoring confidence. They'll fall back into this "comfort zone" of holding onto the puck too long, skating in circles trying to find perfect passes and losing possession because of it.

I think that's why a lot of people were surprised we didn't draft Fantilli, since compared to Leo his ability to bury pucks is something we just don't have in our system. I believe Leo is going to end up the more prototypical, well-rounded "1C" player that you can build a franchise around. These guys are obviously hard to find outside of the draft and probably more valuable as compared to scoring wings, but it's still something we lack.

 

[Hockey Duckie]

This narrative that Mintyukov needs a stay at home guy with him so "he can roam" is tired and obsolete. He is making a ton of plays in the defensive zone and preventing zone entries. He isn't an offensive dynamo, defensive liability.

Projection much?

Did anyone say Minchy can't defend? Nope. You're projecting.
Did anyone say that Minchy cannot prevent zone entries? Nope. You're projecting.
Did anyone say that Minchy is a defensive liability? Nope. You're projecting.

We go from Minchy is carrying Lyubushkin to Minchy narrative of needing a stay-at-home d-man to play. Identifying Lyubushkin as a "complementary" stay-at-home d-man escapes some people to behave like they're from CTP to focus on Minchy when the supposed trigger word "roam" is cited. A complementary player helps accentuate the stronger player's game. A non-complementary player does not improve or can degrade the stronger player's game.

Let's look at Lindholm-Drysdale pairing. Drysdale gobbled up 32 points as a rookie while playing as a top-pairing. Drysdale's -26 rating while Lindholm had +0 rating. The reason Lindholm has a +0 rating is because at the end of close games, Drysdale is on the bench and is replaced with Manson or another defensive (stay-at-home) D to complement Lindholm's defensive game. Drysdale wasn't a complementary player to Lindholm, but rather being babysat for the season.

You really need to take in scope b/c your projection is belittling your credibility. Speaking of credibility, I am waiting on you to harp on Cronin's inability to produce a good PP since you've always placed blame on Eakins for a terrible PP. Or maybe you can tell yourself in the mirror that your false narrative on Eakins' PP "is tired and obsolete".

 

[TheGoodShepard1]

No patience for dumb questions.

I think it’s more repetitive than anything. Cronin strikes me as a guy who doesn’t like making the same mistakes twice, so he’s got no time for them asking the same question after every game if he can avoid it

 

[DuckDuckGetz]

Other than finishing, that might have been the best overall game they've played. Outplayed Boston for long stretches.

Which is ironic, because it's the first time we've iced our Finnish player this season

 

[Deuce22]

Projection much?

Did anyone say Minchy can't defend? Nope. You're projecting.
Did anyone say that Minchy cannot prevent zone entries? Nope. You're projecting.
Did anyone say that Minchy is a defensive liability? Nope. You're projecting.

We go from Minchy is carrying Lyubushkin to Minchy narrative of needing a stay-at-home d-man to play. Identifying Lyubushkin as a "complementary" stay-at-home d-man escapes some people to behave like they're from CTP to focus on Minchy when the supposed trigger word "roam" is cited. A complementary player helps accentuate the stronger player's game. A non-complementary player does not improve or can degrade the stronger player's game.

Let's look at Lindholm-Drysdale pairing. Drysdale gobbled up 32 points as a rookie while playing as a top-pairing. Drysdale's -26 rating while Lindholm had +0 rating. The reason Lindholm has a +0 rating is because at the end of close games, Drysdale is on the bench and is replaced with Manson or another defensive (stay-at-home) D to complement Lindholm's defensive game. Drysdale wasn't a complementary player to Lindholm, but rather being babysat for the season.

You really need to take in scope b/c your projection is belittling your credibility. Speaking of credibility, I am waiting on you to harp on Cronin's inability to produce a good PP since you've always placed blame on Eakins for a terrible PP. Or maybe you can tell yourself in the mirror that your false narrative on Eakins' PP "is tired and obsolete".

Funny, coming from one who has been constantly pumping up LaCombe's defensive responsibility and saying the Mintyukov needed to start the year in the AHL. As for the PP, if Cronin sits back all year and doesn't do anything about it, we can have a discussion. It's been 5 games.

 

[McDonald19]

The Ducks had only three guys below 50% xGF% at 5-on-5 in that game according to naturalstattrick: Gudas, Leason, and Carrick (who was at 0% - the 4th line was not good last night). Everyone else was above, and most well above.

First bad game for the 4th line. Leason was soft on the first goal.