I still have a thing for my Ex.

[Vagrant]

Nino sucks. if patches and kase stayed healthy, we probably wouldn't be down so bad right now. but honestly, we're not even down that bad. we just feel bad because sometimes you have stretches in a season where you don't play well for whatever reason. Kotkaniemi is a flat tire and Seth Jarvis looks unrecognizable after that Trouba hit. he used to dictate play on his shifts and he's just not all the way back. Teravainen has played this season like someone else. I would have been very down on our chances of being even remotely competitive if someone had told me that TT, KK, Kase, Patches, Stastny, Stepan, Fast, and Jarvis would have 6 goals combined at the 20 game mark. we're surviving this, but variance is about to break in our direction soon with all these hard luck cases.

Jani Hakanpaa never made sense to let go for me. Edmundson is missed as well but he's priced too high to be our 5th. those two are exactly the kind of fire we need. we probably have to wait for Nikishin.

 

[bleedgreen]

I agree with Hakanpaa. I would’ve paid him to stay too. He was a good fit and the money wasn’t overboard.

 

[WreckingCrew]

I don't really remember HankyPanky doing much of anything...he wasn't nearly as physical as we thought/hoped

 

[chaz4hockey]

Nino sucks. if patches and kase stayed healthy, we probably wouldn't be down so bad right now. but honestly, we're not even down that bad. we just feel bad because sometimes you have stretches in a season where you don't play well for whatever reason. Kotkaniemi is a flat tire and Seth Jarvis looks unrecognizable after that Trouba hit. he used to dictate play on his shifts and he's just not all the way back. Teravainen has played this season like someone else. I would have been very down on our chances of being even remotely competitive if someone had told me that TT, KK, Kase, Patches, Stastny, Stepan, Fast, and Jarvis would have 6 goals combined at the 20 game mark. we're surviving this, but variance is about to break in our direction soon with all these hard luck cases.

Jani Hakanpaa never made sense to let go for me. Edmundson is missed as well but he's priced too high to be our 5th. those two are exactly the kind of fire we need. we probably have to wait for Nikishin.

Good points.

Re Jarvis: I’d add that early in this season on the early road trip he got two pretty viscous head shots too. FWIW: that combined with the playoff hit could cause the decline. What sucked too was that no one on the team took exception to that (LY we had Smith).

This year’s team has no one that will stand up to bullying. If we do make the playoffs I expect the usual suspects of Tampa, rags, Boston to take shots at our smaller players with no retribution (and knowing our PP sucks).

 

[Unsustainable]

I don't really remember HankyPanky doing much of anything...he wasn't nearly as physical as we thought/hoped

That goes for most tough guys we bring in don’t end up being tough here.

 

[Nikishin Go Boom]

Jani Hakanpaa never made sense to let go for me. Edmundson is missed as well but he's priced too high to be our 5th. those two are exactly the kind of fire we need. we probably have to wait for Nikishin.

Hakanpää, like Edmundson, don’t work here. If the defender isn’t a pure skater they won’t work here. Our system doesn’t allow for defenders like that to just hit guys relentlessly either. Hakanpää was beat far too often during the one on one plays we put our defenders in. Defenders like that play in a slow trapping style defense where everything stays in front of them. Our style wants defenders to be aggressive and sometimes has to play defense skating towards the goal.

 

[ndp]

Hakanpää, like Edmundson, don’t work here. If the defender isn’t a pure skater they won’t work here. Our system doesn’t allow for defenders like that to just hit guys relentlessly either. Hakanpää was beat far too often during the one on one plays we put our defenders in. Defenders like that play in a slow trapping style defense where everything stays in front of them. Our style wants defenders to be aggressive and sometimes has to play defense skating towards the goal.

But shouldn’t different lines/defensive pairs have different strategies when on the ice? If feels like our lines all play the exact same way, the strategy isn’t different if it’s the first of fourth line, first or third pair.

 

[Nikishin Go Boom]

But shouldn’t different lines/defensive pairs have different strategies when on the ice? If feels like our lines all play the exact same way, the strategy isn’t different if it’s the first of fourth line, first or third pair.

When the offensive scheme requires the D to be aggressive all the time, I don’t see how the lines would have a separate strategy.

 

[Negan4Coach]

Play better Jasperi, please. Trocheck is not a high bar. 14 in 20 is solid, but under the hood, it’s 7 with consistent 1st unit PP time and just 7 EV.

Holy rationalizations batman

 

[bleedgreen]

Yeah. It felt like Trocheck was pretty under valued around here at times. He was pushing Aho in pts one of the years most of the season, on top of playing in pretty much all key situations. Even if Koko had pts he isn’t bringing the same presence at all, but at least pts would be pts.

 

[Borsig]

Good points.

Re Jarvis: I’d add that early in this season on the early road trip he got two pretty viscous head shots too. FWIW: that combined with the playoff hit could cause the decline. What sucked too was that no one on the team took exception to that (LY we had Smith).

This year’s team has no one that will stand up to bullying. If we do make the playoffs I expect the usual suspects of Tampa, rags, Boston to take shots at our smaller players with no retribution (and knowing our PP sucks).

We've hardly EVER had anyone who stands up to bullying.

 

[ndp]

We've hardly EVER had anyone who stands up to bullying.

I would say since Ferland we haven’t really had THAT guy. We’ve had a few that I think are capable, but I think some of that is being coached out of them. Staying out of the box, not getting hurt seems to be a priority.

 

[ndp]

When the offensive scheme requires the D to be aggressive all the time, I don’t see how the lines would have a separate strategy.

I guess my thought was, for example when the 4th line is out the D doesn’t jump as much, if at all. Let them do their thing without having to worry so much about pinching defensemen and making sure they’re rotating out to cover the points.

 

[Boom Boom Apathy]

Holy rationalizations batman

I think you totally misread his post.

 

[Big Daddy Cane]

Holy rationalizations batman

What am I rationalizing? Trocheck was okay 5v5 here overall. Nothing special. His Covid-shortened season of 21 that we all got excited about was driven by some flukey PP production; the split was similar to what we’re seeing now (21/18 5v5/PP). That didn’t sustain itself and he barely crossed 50 points last season with the same friendly usage. He’s only a painful loss right now based on Kotkaniemi’s underperformance.

 

[Stickpucker]

Nino sucks. if patches and kase stayed healthy, we probably wouldn't be down so bad right now. but honestly, we're not even down that bad. we just feel bad because sometimes you have stretches in a season where you don't play well for whatever reason. Kotkaniemi is a flat tire and Seth Jarvis looks unrecognizable after that Trouba hit. he used to dictate play on his shifts and he's just not all the way back. Teravainen has played this season like someone else. I would have been very down on our chances of being even remotely competitive if someone had told me that TT, KK, Kase, Patches, Stastny, Stepan, Fast, and Jarvis would have 6 goals combined at the 20 game mark. we're surviving this, but variance is about to break in our direction soon with all these hard luck cases.

Jani Hakanpaa never made sense to let go for me. Edmundson is missed as well but he's priced too high to be our 5th. those two are exactly the kind of fire we need. we probably have to wait for Nikishin.

Yet when Hakinpaa got here he was physical for like one game then you got the sense Rod sat him down and asked him to play cleaner than a choir boy.

Same goes for Burns. First game he is mixing it up after the whistle. After that nothing.

Rod is too worried the boys will give up a pp to want them to play with an edge.

 

[Stickpucker]

I would say since Ferland we haven’t really had THAT guy. We’ve had a few that I think are capable, but I think some of that is being coached out of them. Staying out of the box, not getting hurt seems to be a priority.

Svech used to try to....

Kokomiami did a little. Brendan Smith showed 4x the heart of most of these guys.

That made me a little excited for playoffs last year seeing the boys stand up to bullies....until they all stopped.