GDT: Game 5: Anaheim Ducks vs Los Angeles Kings, 5pm PT

[70sSanO]

Part of a coach's job is being a motivator. Having a good captain helps with this, but the head colach is the primary guy directing messaging to his players.

I keep going back to the inaugural VGK team at my own risk knowing full well they're a hated rival, but that was a team that-yes, was a better set of individuals than people gave credit for. And yes that was a team filled with guys dead set on proving that they, as individuals, deserved better than being cast aside by their former teams. But they also bought into their coach's plan for every game and were one of the top performers in the league because they outskated and outworked their opposition almost every night. When Gallant took his foot of the gas and publicly admitted he was letting the players take accountability for themselves and put trust in them to play their game, that same team stopped skating as hard, stopped outworking their opponents, and saw their fitness tank. And the coach was eventually fired because he couldn't get the group back on target.

As for passing, I refuse to believe that this group of players fundamentally do not know how to pass the puck. They wouldn't have made it this far if that were the case. Execution of core hockey skills at an NHL level comes down to ability, quality of game preparation (e.g. drilling fundamentals and game scenarios at practice), and chemistry between players. The lack of chemistry can explain some of the problem currently facing this team and sometimes a coach can't help that. But this team also fundamentally struggles to make proper passes when faced with the most simple defensive pressure and that comes from poor drilling. They panic in the face of this kind of defensive pressure because they aren't being properly prepared for how to deal with such pressure in a game scenario.

I kept seeing takes like this in defense of Carlyle before he was fired. Anyone who has played a team sport knows that unless your team is just head and shoulders above the field in terms of ability, the coach's ability to prepare a team in practice is the most important element for success. Their job involves a lot more than simply instructing on what is expected on the ice and running line changes. If a team isn't ready to play at least competent hockey any given night, that's a failure in coaching.

The only problem with the comparison to the Knights is they had the misfits and rejects label to motivate them.

Get a group of talented players that have a chip on their collective shoulders and you have the recipe for success.

And Galant’s brand of hockey literally changed the league. It wasn’t the grinding safe playoff style. Vegas just overwhelmed most teams. It was the most glorious spectacle to behold.

John

Edit added: It also destroys the building chemistry myth. Take 25 players who hadn’t played together and from day 1 they are cohesive. It is really about buying in and putting the team first.

The horrible Route 91 tragedy did bring the entire city together and the Knights embraced it.

 

[LuGBuG]

So much optimism after the Utah game. So much sadness now.

 

[TheStuntman]

Dont get me started on him... Sometimes I feel like his Hockey IQ is way below than where it should be..

I'm hoping Mason doesn't turn into another Nick Ritchie for the Ducks. He's slowly heading in that direction.

 

[HanSolo]

The only problem with the comparison to the Knights is they had the misfits and rejects label to motivate them.

Get a group of talented players that have a chip on their collective shoulders and you have the recipe for success.

And Galant’s brand of hockey literally changed the league. It wasn’t the grinding safe playoff style. Vegas just overwhelmed most teams. It was the most glorious spectacle to behold.

John

Edit added: It also destroys the building chemistry myth. Take 25 players who hadn’t played together and from day 1 they are cohesive. It is really about buying in and putting the team first.

The horrible Route 91 tragedy did bring the entire city together and the Knights embraced it.

I agree with everything you said but over an 82 game stretch of games you still need someone to keep you motivated. And it's not like the Knights played every period with the same intensity. They had lulls and plenty of games where they needed to dig deep and fight to come back in games. At least part of that comes from the coach reminding them of their goal and maintaining the message. And buying into systems that worked.

It's precisely because teams like Vegas, Pittsburgh and Tampa changed the way the game is played at this level that coaches in today's NHL have a taller task in drawing more out of their players. To even play competent hockey at this level coaches need to get a team ready to face and play relentless forecheck, tight defensive pressure and fast/hard skating offense with proper execution of passes on the rush.

Anaheim doesn't look equipped to deal with any of that. I can't make any conclusion aside from: they weren't prepared for this season in training camp and practices between games aren't helping. This team lacks fully developed talent but that's how you explain potentially missing the playoffs this year. Looking this inept is a coaching problem.

 

[Deuce22]

Didn’t like Cronin’s answer when asked about LaCombe. Something like he had a lot of good shifts but two bad ones. The bad ones turned a tie game into a 2-0 deficit, Greg. Are we shaking it off if Zegras lapses lead to two goals against?

 

[FlyingV09]

Part of a coach's job is being a motivator. Having a good captain helps with this, but the head colach is the primary guy directing messaging to his players.

I keep going back to the inaugural VGK team at my own risk knowing full well they're a hated rival, but that was a team that-yes, was a better set of individuals than people gave credit for. And yes that was a team filled with guys dead set on proving that they, as individuals, deserved better than being cast aside by their former teams. But they also bought into their coach's plan for every game and were one of the top performers in the league because they outskated and outworked their opposition almost every night. When Gallant took his foot of the gas and publicly admitted he was letting the players take accountability for themselves and put trust in them to play their game, that same team stopped skating as hard, stopped outworking their opponents, and saw their fitness tank. And the coach was eventually fired because he couldn't get the group back on target.

As for passing, I refuse to believe that this group of players fundamentally do not know how to pass the puck. They wouldn't have made it this far if that were the case. I mean watch some of the best NHL teams' fourth lines and see how they pass the puck relative to our top 6 if you don't believe me. Execution of core hockey skills at an NHL level comes down to ability, quality of game preparation (e.g. drilling fundamentals and game scenarios at practice), and chemistry between players. The lack of chemistry can explain some of the problem currently facing this team and sometimes a coach can't help that. But this team also fundamentally struggles to make proper passes when faced with the most simple defensive pressure and that comes from poor drilling. They panic in the face of this kind of defensive pressure because they aren't being properly prepared for how to deal with such pressure in a game scenario and the guys without the puck are not getting open.

I kept seeing takes like this in defense of Carlyle before he was fired. Anyone who has played a team sport knows that unless your team is just head and shoulders above the field in terms of ability, the coach's ability to prepare a team in practice is the most important element for success. Their job involves a lot more than simply instructing on what is expected on the ice and running line changes. If a team isn't ready to play at least competent hockey any given night, that's a failure in coaching.

I don’t disagree that part of the coaches job is to motivate, and I would agree that part of this teams problem right now is coaching.

It’s just, for me, watching that game last night, it was poor execution and a lack of effort. I put that on the players. We’re at home playing a rival and that’s the best you got? Motivation isn’t entirely on the coach.

Everybody blamed Newell Brown for our PP last year. We have a new PP coach and the PP looks the same. What if it doesn’t improve this year? At what point is it on the players? Genuine question.

 

[TheGoodShepard1]

Didn’t like Cronin’s answer when asked about LaCombe. Something like he had a lot of good shifts but two bad ones. The bad ones turned a tie game into a 2-0 deficit, Greg. Are we shaking it off if Zegras lapses lead to two goals against?

I legitimately could not believe he wasn’t stapled to the bench after the 2nd goal. That was egregious

 

[Deuce22]

I don’t disagree that part of the coaches job is to motivate, and I would agree that part of this teams problem right now is coaching.

It’s just, for me, watching that game last night, it was poor execution and a lack of effort. I put that on the players. We’re at home playing a rival and that’s the best you got? Motivation isn’t entirely on the coach.

Everybody blamed Newell Brown for our PP last year. We have a new PP coach and the PP looks the same. What if it doesn’t improve this year? At what point is it on the players? Genuine question.

It’s simpler to just blame everything on the coach. The truth is more nuanced, coaching isn’t great and players aren’t executing. The effort wasn’t there last night AND the systems are flawed (especially on the PP).

 

[ohcomeonref]

Didn’t like Cronin’s answer when asked about LaCombe. Something like he had a lot of good shifts but two bad ones. The bad ones turned a tie game into a 2-0 deficit, Greg. Are we shaking it off if Zegras lapses lead to two goals against?

He would have Zegras tarred and feathered, displayed in front of Honda Center.

 

[Deuce22]

I legitimately could not believe he wasn’t stapled to the bench after the 2nd goal. That was egregious

If the young players are going to be held accountable is a real thing, where was the accountability last night?

 

[Rooch]

I don’t disagree that part of the coaches job is to motivate, and I would agree that part of this teams problem right now is coaching.

It’s just, for me, watching that game last night, it was poor execution and a lack of effort. I put that on the players. We’re at home playing a rival and that’s the best you got? Motivation isn’t entirely on the coach.

Everybody blamed Newell Brown for our PP last year. We have a new PP coach and the PP looks the same. What if it doesn’t improve this year? At what point is it on the players? Genuine question.

It's not on the players; it's on Verbeek. Beyond Dumoulin and Fabbri, this is the same team as last season. Insanity is doing the same thing over again and expecting a different result, right? The GM failed to address our weaknesses in free agency (despite telling season ticket holders HOW he planned to do so) and we are still underperforming. It's not a motivation issue; the team is just not good.

 

[robbieboy3686]

I legitimately could not believe he wasn’t stapled to the bench after the 2nd goal. That was egregious

That’s the norm for lacombe. Egregious errors, with 75% of this board defending him and saying “ he’s young and we should focus on the rest of the game where he played well”

 

[Static]

Didn’t like Cronin’s answer when asked about LaCombe. Something like he had a lot of good shifts but two bad ones. The bad ones turned a tie game into a 2-0 deficit, Greg. Are we shaking it off if Zegras lapses lead to two goals against?

His comments make sense in context. For one, he's not wrong, and second, he made a big deal about being too hard on him last year. Lacombe knows what he did and doesn't need a public flogging for it.

 

[70sSanO]

If you run flawed systems I don’t know how players don’t play a safe and tentative execution. Which can translate into a lack of effort.

John

 

[Deuce22]

That’s the norm for lacombe. Egregious errors, with 75% of this board defending him and saying “ he’s young and we should focus on the rest of the game where he played well”

I like LaCombe but there needs to be consistency. Zellweger needs to be sent down because his D is poor, but LaCombe is defended with masses of charts and graphs when he and Fowler were abused over and over last year.

His comments make sense in context. For one, he's not wrong, and second, he made a big deal about being too hard on him last year. Lacombe knows what he did and doesn't need a public flogging for it.

I’m looking for consistency. Honest assessment of poor play and good play.

 

[Static]

The issue I have with the coaching staff is that they are trying to mold players into their system (my opinion, I could be wrong) instead of creating a system that matches the strengths of the players we have.

The dump and chase just doesn't work with this forward group. We aren't particularly heavy or particularly fast, so you are relying on great positioning for the system to be effective. We aren't good at that!

Our defensive core should be more aggressive in the offensive zone, but either because the players are worried or the coaching staff is hedging, they play very conservatively.

Everything is so passive all over the ice, and again, it can be difficult to tell if that is by design or lack of confidence.

 

[robbieboy3686]

I like LaCombe but there needs to be consistency. Zellweger needs to be sent down because his D is poor, but LaCombe is defended with masses of charts and graphs when he and Fowler were abused over and over last year.

Lacombe also is a few years older than minty lunea zell… which imho, also means he should be held to a higher standard. There doesn’t exist a world where both zell/lacombe are long term main stays on this team. Not while the Viking solberg is around.

 

[Static]

I like LaCombe but there needs to be consistency. Zellweger needs to be sent down because his D is poor, but LaCombe is defended with masses of charts and graphs when he and Fowler were abused over and over last year.


I’m looking for consistency. Honest assessment of poor play and good play.

I'd like cronin to publicly crack down on effort rather than physical mistakes.

 

[Deuce22]

Lacombe also is a few years older than minty lunea zell… which imho, also means he should be held to a higher standard. There doesn’t exist a world where both zell/lacombe are long term main stays on this team. Not while the Viking solberg is around.

Good point about age/experience. Comparing LaCombe to Zellweger, Luneau, and Mintyukov is deceiving. He should be more advanced defensively.

 

[Leonardo87]

I'll say this about Zegras, he is trying to set an example by playing better defensively, and it shows, but Cronin has clipped his wings of creativity. Like to see him up with Leo, and Killorn moved down. Let the Mac line become the 3rd line at this point....

Gauthier - Leo - Z
Vatrano - Strome - Terry
Fabbri - Mac - Killorn

 

[KelVarnsen]

I'll say this about Zegras, he is trying to set an example by playing better defensively, and it shows, but Cronin has clipped his wings of creativity. Like to see him up with Leo, and Killorn moved down. Let the Mac line become the 3rd line at this point....

Gauthier - Leo - Z
Vatrano - Strome - Terry
Fabbri - Mac - Killorn

I tend to agree. Mac, IMO, is hurting his line as is Killorn. Make them the third line to try and get easier matchups.

I do know the lines as presently formed are not working. Anyone with a brain can see that. I was so frustrated at the Utah game as Cronin put Vatrano with Leo and they immediately had some chances. Then to start the third, he went right back to his original lines and offense struggled.

Killorn sucking and Cutter not appearing to be ready are killing Leo. Mac and his dumbshit decision making and non skating effort are killing Z.

SWITCH THINGS UP!!!!

 

[Firequacker]

If you run flawed systems I don’t know how players don’t play a safe and tentative execution. Which can translate into a lack of effort.

John

I think this really might be it. I mean if we're gonna go off Cronin's own words, he made sure to say in between all the "I don't know why, they're just not skating" that he doesn't think it's laziness. Maybe that's just BS to not completely lose the room, but it would also line up with the team overthinking into inaction because he's trying to impose a bad system that doesn't play to the strengths of the players he actually has.

Hard to do something unintuitive fast, especially when the difference between fast and painfully slow is measured in fractions of a second.

 

[Static]

I do wonder how much of this is because of how otherworldly awful we were defensively two years ago. Now we are merely poor both defensively and offensively trying to shove a bunch of kids into a conservative system.

Ideally, with a forward core of zegras, terry, carlsson, Mac, and Gauthier, we fill the other spots with guys who can defend and hunt pucks. Mcginn is actually good at this, so maybe that trade isn't as stupid as we thought.

Killorn and strome though, can't f***ing move. Vatrano is a feisty sniper who is really bad at possession and defense. You could insulate him on a better roster that we don't have.

I just think verbeek meant well in trying to invest in vet presences, but swung at the wrong types of players. Our entire bottom six needs to change, in my opinion, for this roster to work.

It would be very funny if the key to unlocking our potential does indeed lay with guys like gaucher, myatovic, and lopina (kidding!).

 

[Zegs2sendhelp]

I do wonder how much of this is because of how otherworldly awful we were defensively two years ago. Now we are merely poor both defensively and offensively trying to shove a bunch of kids into a conservative system.

Ideally, with a forward core of zegras, terry, carlsson, Mac, and Gauthier, we fill the other spots with guys who can defend and hunt pucks. Mcginn is actually good at this, so maybe that trade isn't as stupid as we thought.

Killorn and strome though, can't f***ing move. Vatrano is a feisty sniper who is really bad at possession and defense. You could insulate him on a better roster that we don't have.

I just think verbeek meant well in trying to invest in vet presences, but swung at the wrong types of players. Our entire bottom six needs to change, in my opinion, for this roster to work.

It would be very funny if the key to unlocking our potential does indeed lay with guys like gaucher, myatovic, and lopina (kidding!).

To be fair. Verbeek swung at basically every high profile player in free agency…. Seems like no one wants to come here, and I don’t blame them

 

[All Mighty]

I feel like the special teams is 100% coaching…. I think the players constantly looking lost or not knowing what to do is 100% coaching.

You say they look lost, I say they look scared/timid, which is on the players IMO. Every one of them has to dust off the puck before moving it somewhere else. And by the time they feel comfortable with the puck on their stick, there is pressure on them so they have to dump it around the boards or to a player that isn’t in a great position to receive it. They all seem too afraid to be the one to make a play with the puck and they don’t want to be the reason the puck gets turned over, so they shove it onto someone else.