I think when Tavares left he became the defacto top scoring threat or points getter on the team. Maybe he felt he had to carry the load of the team's offense once Tavares left which also appears what some of his detractors here have implied and yes as a result maybe he pushing the issue by overplaying the puck at times. The blessing in disguise with his current injury is that it forced the other lines to step up and "rediscover" their scoring touch which Roy's giving them every opportunity to do with the new system he put into place.
See above. It's not that they improved it's that it forced them to get involved. At any point in time Barzal only plays with 2 other forwards on the ice. He has nothing to do for example with how Pageau or any of our 2nd or third liners play their game. His absence forced the other players to step their game up. Now if he was a goaltender, you might have a good point but he's only one forward. But if you expect only one line to carry the load that's when the team runs into trouble. That's when detractors start getting on Barzal's case or assume when he's out of the line-up the team magically does better. It's not magic. It's called effort.
With all the opportunities they were getting they just forgot how to pull the trigger. As the confidence grows the scoring will come. If it all comes together this team has another playoff run in them and who knows what happens after that. Things are definitely looking better.
I have the exact same players for lines 1-3 as well. I would like to see Cizikas with Holmstrom and Foudy on the 4th line for a spell. I could see the argument of Holmstrom playing up in the lineup. He could be a late bloomer and seems to be trying to shoot more. I hope he turns into a Sherangovich type for this team. Solid W last night
That’s probably the player Lou expected when he signed him to infinity.
It’s not in the highlights, but the goal called off in the 3rd, Tsp totem poled Raty - there’s limited views of it, but if you check that time frame, it’s a solid move but shows he’s built like a block of cement.
I think the fourth line is absolutely a drag on the team; it's been a rotating cast of non-contributors who have combined for two goals (or just one if you take Cizikas as a third liner). Maclean is a team worst -8, and the rest of them are doing nothing either - including contributing on the PK, which is almost league worst. I know that teams do not live and die by the by the fourth line, but it's a definite problem
When 3 lines are contributing you can get away with a 4th line that does nothing but eat minutes and doesn’t surrender a goal ir take a penalty. But yeah 17-32-26 brings nothing.
