Post-Game Talk: GM 32 | Golden Knights def. Canucks | 3-1 (Blueger) | Royal(ly) Flush(ed)

[valkynax]

Ouch

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[Bobby9]

this is actually all of our faults. We still think they’re the wagon that played from Oct 2023 to Jan 2024.

When they’re actually the team that played from Feb till now. A .500 team.

 

[geebaan]

We don’t have that come back magic this year

 

[Quinton Byfield]

People act like we didn't score more with a worse roster under Boudreau. I'm all for more defensive conscience but if you can't format a system for when we're down/need offense, then your coaching has serious deficits.

 

[valkynax]

this is actually all of our faults. We still think they’re the wagon that played from Oct 2023 to Jan 2024.

When they’re actually the team that played from Feb till now. A .500 team.

Find it strange that the team was able to weather much of the adversity earlier in the season. But yeah the team is in a bit of a disarray to say the least.

Mr. Clean and Moleman, balls in your court. If you want to see Hronek's return and whole team healthy before making any decisions, there might not be a season left when that happens.

 

[PavelBure10]

Miller, Pettersson and Boeser, I don't know ow what to say other than they have been non existent too much for too long. Sherwood, Blueger, and Suter looked like far superior players tonight.

Getting tired of Tochetts system, and I wouldn't be surprised if the players are too.

Really wish we didn't resign Myers.

I am fully ready to make a Major trade. I am starting to believe other than Hughes, that this core is done.

One thing forsure though, time to upgrade the defense.

 

[valkynax]

I wonder, do they really think they can wait til Hronek's return before making major decisions about the roster?

If they do, then someone needs to get me the contact of mangement's dealer. Whatever they are smoking/chewing/shooting, I want in.

 

[Just A Bit Outside]

Team isn’t good.

Allvin should have made a trade.

 

[Jyrki]

People asking for Tocchet's head are absolutely nuts. Our top two forwards are completely dysfunctional and probably beefing with each other, we've lost our #1 RHD long term, no one outside of Hughes can move the puck effectively from the back and we had to play Silovs for a quarter of the season. We're still sitting at .594 right now. Without him getting the team to gut out a lot of great road efforts and Lankinen stepping up we'd be pretty deep in the shitter.

About the only thing I could maybe fault him for is not being able to reign in whatever the f*** is going with Miller and Pettersson. Maybe still having a guy like Zadarov in the room, who may not always make the right calls but will confidently tell it like it is, helped check some egos last season.

 

[Bobby9]

People asking for Tocchet's head are absolutely nuts. Our top two forwards are completely dysfunctional and probably beefing with each other, we've lost our #1 RHD long term, no one outside of Hughes can move the puck effectively from the back and we had to play Silovs for a quarter of the season. We're still sitting at .594 right now. Without him getting the team to gut out a lot of great road efforts and Lankinen stepping up we'd be pretty deep in the shitter.

About the only thing I could maybe fault him for is not being able to reign in whatever the f*** is going with Miller and Pettersson. Maybe still having a guy like Zadarov in the room, who may not always make the right calls but will confidently tell it like it is, helped check some egos last season.

I think it’s the dump, retrieve, pass to the point and shoot system that has people like me going nuts.

Our players are built for run and gun. He has us playing like the Wild of early 2000’s

 

[crazychimp]

Didn’t see the game but looking at the standings we are the only team with a goal differential of “0”, which is a great representation of this years team. They’re good at times and bad at times but have no true identity.

 

[BoHorvat 53]

This game and the last one were more or less scheduled losses.

The game against the Sens though will be interesting - losing that will bring urgency and almost guarantees a trade as soon as roster freeze is over.

The Miller/Pettersson situation needs to get figured out, it's just not healthy for the team + it's hanging over their heads like a dark cloud.

 

[Nucker101]

I think it’s the dump, retrieve, pass to the point and shoot system that has people like me going nuts.

Our players are built for run and gun. He has us playing like the Wild of early 2000’s

Didn't Bruce try run and gun? How'd that work out?

Look at teams like Buffalo trying to play like that too. We don't have the puck movers on the back end to do it, although you can argue that the roster is constructed that way at Tocchet's request.

If the team adds a legit top 4 dman who can move the puck well and once Hronek is back, then sure open up the system but right now you can't with this team. I dislike the boring hockey too, but it does raise the floor of this team.

 

[Lawzy]

I don't have much positive to say tonight but I will say I thought the game was refreshingly well reffed.

 

[afrocentric]

I think it’s the dump, retrieve, pass to the point and shoot system that has people like me going nuts.

Our players are built for run and gun. He has us playing like the Wild of early 2000’s

This drives me absolutely insane... so predictable at this point, worse is the fact our defense can't get it past the high man. That and everyone thinks they have to absolutely rip the puck, to the point it always misses wide.

Its an embarrassment at this point.

 

[Tinhorn1]

I think it’s the dump, retrieve, pass to the point and shoot system that has people like me going nuts.

Our players are built for run and gun. He has us playing like the Wild of early 2000’s

Pettersson is built for run and gun for sure. Never been good on the wall and this dump and chase stuff. Boeser has gotten a lot better at it, though.

Unfortunately this defense can't do anything but chip it out, and the forwards mostly just chip it in as well. It's good for a low-skill team and gets wins if you put max effort into get scoring chances. I don't know. Maybe it's all they can do with this roster. Certainly with this defense.

Not sure what's up with Tocchet cycling AHLers through the top six, though.

 

[VibinCanuck]

Tocc couldn't even last 80 seconds this time in the post-game interview.

Only this time his answers are even more soft and delusional. It's getting downright comical

 

[Slapshot_11]

Get rid of miller. First horvat, now ep

See what happens after then act accordingly

 

[Draino]

Those Vegas D men all look big, most can skate and make break out passes, contribute in the O zone....then I looked at our back end that requires the forwards to play perfect defensive games and to do all the puck transitioning (outside of Hughes of course)...this team has a long way to go to beat that team in a 7 game series. It will require Upgrades on 3 defencemen....and our top 2 centers going back to 90-100 point players.

 

[Nuckles]

 

[LemonSauceD]

Just wasting Hughes career at this point. Guy deserves better support.

 

[kanucks25]

I think it’s the dump, retrieve, pass to the point and shoot system that has people like me going nuts.

Our players are built for run and gun. He has us playing like the Wild of early 2000’s

Our players are built for run and gun?

We have 1 D-man who can make tape to tape passes consistently. Imagine the other 5 guys trying to spring guys with stretch passes, or defending numerous rushes per game where the other team is coming down with speed, space and numbers.

We have like 3 forwards that are dangerous when it comes to their skating ability and right now that list doesn't include our top 2 centers.

Speaking of our top 2 centers, right now one can't seem to make a play to save his life and the other alternates between making a good play and then a bad one (if not several).

Passing to the point is a thing every team does if you don't have an option down low. The thing is, good teams have 3-4 D-men that are competent on the point who can make a play or at least get a good shot through. Again, we have 1 of those guys.

I'd love if someone who keeps parroting nonsense about "Tocchet's system" could actually explain to me in detail what is wrong with the system and what adjustments they could make that would fix it. Yet I doubt many people here can actually do that, and instead just see low shot totals and assume the coach is telling them to defend for 60 minutes and try to win 1-0 on 1 scoring chance per game.

If we still have the same issues when Hronek is back and we add another good D-man (AKA when we actually have a competent defense on paper), then sure. But until then, we simply don't have the players to be too much higher in the standings.

 

[RobertKron]

I think it’s the dump, retrieve, pass to the point and shoot system that has people like me going nuts.

Our players are built for run and gun. He has us playing like the Wild of early 2000’s

You're out of your mind. If this team tries to regularly stretch things out and play track meet hockey they will get absolutely annihilated.

Like, f***, they currently have 1.5 defensemen who can actually make a pass. There won't even be any gun. It'll just be run. And they only have a handful of guys who can even run. It'd just be the forwards fire drilling out of the zone, the D chipping it toward them, the opponent intercepting the puck for an odd-man rush over and over and over.

 

[CanucksSayEh]

I don't know the specific x's n o's of any NHL team, but I do know that that under Toch, going entire periods with 1-2 shots, and taking a full minute before getting a shot attempt on PP1, has been a constant problem.

Hughes is the only player that looks like he wants to score goals, and it's cuz he's just too god tier to be contained by any team, nor opposing teams strategy.

 

[ohnoeszz]

I still like Tocchet but I have some issues with what we are doing positionally.

It seems to be a designed strategy recently to keep our 3rd forward high at the blueline in the center. Multiple times we had 2 forwards down low and the 3rd was Center blueline. Pettersson and Miller this game. Boeser last game.

We are trading creativity for defensive positioning in the offensive zone - that 3rd forward that high may create som odd defensive issues for the defense but it relegated our offense to shots from the outside through traffic hoping for tips.

Our system should not create battles. Waaaay too much dumping of the puck. You have a system to connect possession of the puck and to support missed plays - it should reduce the need to battle for the puck by providing a framework to keep possession. You can't ask your forwards to commit back defensively to get the puck out and then get through the neutral zone without speed.

This is not a forward group built to dump and chase - we are not big or fast enough to be threatening as a group in that style.

This isn't a new issue but we are reaching a breaking point - we need more playmaking from the backend.

We need to free up our forwards to be creative on the breakout and zone entry. As we are, we are asking all our offense to come from forechecking - we need other sources. We need rush chances and we are near incapable of breaking through the neutral zone vs a set defense.

We were way too content to sit back and play defense with a 1 goal lead. Too content to flip it out of our zone because the forward came back to dig the puck out and there is no one up. Too content to dump it into their zone because we got the puck up but we only have 1 forward there vs 2 defenders.

We need to allow an offensive focus into our game in the defensive zone. We are so worried about odd man rushes against that we will play our 3rd forward high in the Ozone but in our dzone the forwards will creep well below their defensemen.

We need upgrades on D but I don't like how we have sacrificed our forwards on the breakout to aid the D. It's like we've decided that since the D can't make those passes on a consistent basis we've abandoned the attempts at them. Opposing Dmen must be so comfortable knowing they won't deal with speed through the neutral zone against us.

We are repeatedly getting the puck up to 1 forward who has no options because of how we've brought the rest of the team back. They dump or tip the puck in and we play another round of defense while asking the forwards to snap up ice for dump and get all the way back on D.

Tocchet has commented at a couple points that he doesn't like all the dumping and would like guys to hold the puck more to make a play but I suspect the forwards are suffering mixed messages trying to sort through what they are supposed to do situationally.

There is a lack of forward support for the F1 on the breakout and holding to make a play is going to create more horizontal passing situations which seem hated by this coaching staff. The dumps happen because better options aren't there.

We need defensive upgrades yesterday.