Post-Game Talk: Jets fall to the Stars 5-1

[LowLefty]

Trouba sucks on to the next game

Aaaaanyways.

You guys remember when Perreault used to score goals and do stuff? He's just been getting steadily worse out there. He can't even seem to execute basic plays anymore. He just spins around, falls down a lot and turns over the puck.

I'd be looking to move him out asap. We can pay Dano much less to do that

Myers had some good moments and some mistakes. Buff is very lucky he didn't get suspended, he needs to get his head back in the game. Trouba was bad. Morrissey was ok.

Chiarot and Morrow were about average. Unless Kulikov is hurt again I'd bring him in to play with Myers and I'd try Morrow with Buff, sit Chia for a game or two.

Mattie is going to rely on linemates as much as the next guy - say for instance Little . . .

 

[Mortimer Snerd]

Maurice needs to fix the ice time distribution. It’s not normal to play your first line like that.

You'd never know that Jets are deep at forward by the TOI distribution. That looks like a 1 line team.

 

[surixon]

Agreed but for all of Myers offensive ability he is horrible in transition, in fact he largely grinds it to a halt. His inability to make quick passing decisions in transition kills me. He's just such a plodding player to watch at times.

Agreed, there was a play on the PP where one of their players went down and we had a 5 on 3 going the other way and he stickhandles himself into tight coverage and the passes it to Wheelers skate and this the attack was over. Just awful at it. I still have no idea how Morrissey isn't used on the PP yet.

 

[Ducky10]

There was nothing wrong with Littles game. He made a mistake and the puck ended up in our net. He's not getting the quality minutes he used to so he is not going to score like he used to. He still has an important role on this team.

Poor execution on that play by Little but Myers put him in a bad spot on that play. He's not making quick enough decisions with the puck, which is kind of his M.O.

 

[jepjepjoo]

That was my exact point - Laine is starting to do what he needs to do - glad you were able to pick up on that

Sure... And Little was so stellar at not getting in the way. It's like a match made in heaven.

 

[LowLefty]

Sure... And Little was so stellar at not getting in the way. It's like a match made in heaven.

You expect Little to dig out all the pucks - are you even paying attention?
Laine is showing something that wasn't there last year - be happy

 

[winnipegger]

Watched the game. Not impressed. Except for Kyle Connor everyone sucked. Oh well. I don't come to any hard conclusions until 10 games are played. Still getting used to playing. Dallas is no joke. I think they are in the thick of things this year they look good.

 

[Joe Hallenback]

FIRE EVERYONE!

 

[Halberdier]

Not going to panic yet. We started off last year playing just about exactly this same way. It wasn't just the first 2 games either. As I recall it was 5. That included a couple of wins (2? 3?) where we were largely outplayed. Then they turned it around and the rest was history.

So, a little patience is in order. There are 80 games to go.

Obviously no need to panic. The team is even more talented it was one year ago. PoMo just should start earning his money. Even if he doesn't Jets will make it into playoffs for just their pure material advantage over most of the teams.

Looking at material, Jets are definitely TOP-TOP-3 and possibly even TOP-1.

 

[Halberdier]

You expect Little to dig out all the pucks - are you even paying attention?
Laine is showing something that wasn't there last year - be happy

He expects Little to do at least his share of puck retrieval and playmaking. Probably expected that already two years and still waiting that to happen. You know, miracles do happen sometimes.

 

[Eyeseeing]

FIRE EVERYONE!

Because I’m a masochist I ventured to the Leafs board.
Just like this one
Relax it’s only game 2

 

[razorsedge]

This is one of most toxic pgt I've ever seen. Wow.

 

[Jack722]

I personally don't believe in hockey Chemistry - does poor chem mean everyone is playing well and doing what is needed to be an effective line, but it doesn't work anyway? That doesn't make any sense.

Hockey isn't just a matter of doing the "correct" thing and avoiding the "incorrect" thing. Everyone has a different style and different way that they see the game.

Surely you've played sports with guys where you made a pass to the left and they went right and the whole play broke down. Whereas other times you're playing with guys and you know what they are going to do even before they do, so you know where to be and what to do and everything clicks.

Yeah you can alter your play to play with people you simply don't 'click' with, but it sacrifices some of your sporting intelligence and you have to play in a more 'basic' way and use less of your instincts. Just IMO.

 

[Jack722]

That was my exact point - Laine is starting to do what he needs to do - glad you were able to pick up on that

So Laine just needs to learn to play as if he has no linemates at all?

 

[Duke749]

So Laine just needs to learn to play as if he has no linemates at all?

Do you know how hockey works?

 

[DashingDane]

Stay out of the box and we win that one. On to the next one.

Excited to see how the toi distribution shakes out for the first home game.

Connor is looking fantastic! Skinny Laine makes me smile at the thought of how good he can become

 

[LowLefty]

Hockey isn't just a matter of doing the "correct" thing and avoiding the "incorrect" thing. Everyone has a different style and different way that they see the game.

Surely you've played sports with guys where you made a pass to the left and they went right and the whole play broke down. Whereas other times you're playing with guys and you know what they are going to do even before they do, so you know where to be and what to do and everything clicks.

Yeah you can alter your play to play with people you simply don't 'click' with, but it sacrifices some of your sporting intelligence and you have to play in a more 'basic' way and use less of your instincts. Just IMO.

You learn to "Click" just like you learn to play together - there is nothing stopping 3 players from learning each others tendencies.
Usually they call that practice - and I've heard the term "building chemistry" which is exactly that - practicing to learn each others game.

If your point is that you can potentially pick up on one persons game quicker than another, I'll agree to that. But there is no reason why you can't learn each others game due to "chemistry"

At the end of the day, chemistry isn't holding this line back

 

[LowLefty]

So Laine just needs to learn to play as if he has no linemates at all?

Is this your "take" on this discussion?

I see you at least got yourself a couple of "likes" for that comment - good for you.

 

[AWSAA]

Little can't skate the puck anymore. He rarely draws an extra defender to help and when he does it's closed down quickly.
Average-below size, strength, speed. That's only getting worse with age. He's not skilled enough to make up for it.

 

[JetsFan815]

Yup. Actually, Little has been very good defensively, and has made some good plays on offense. If the Jets D can move the puck from their own zone, they'll score plenty. They need to improve in their own zone and on the PK.

I'd like to see them switch up their D. Chiarot is too much of a drag on Buff, so Morrow or Kulikov would be a better option for puck moving.

44-8
70-33
5-57

If Myers doesn't improve soon, I'd like to see Poolman there sooner rather than later.

If Mo is healthy scratching a 4.3 million dollar player in favor of Chiarot/Morrow, one has to assume that he is quite far from being able to play the game at the level required.

The answer here is in the minors. I was symathetic to Niku/Poolman being sent down but the way Chiarot/Myers have played, there is no way those other guys can be worse.

 

[surixon]

You'd never know that Jets are deep at forward by the TOI distribution. That looks like a 1 line team.

Yeah Maurice has a nasty habit if over playing the first line when the team is losing. There is so much talent on the 23rd he needs to trust it more

 

[Jack722]

You learn to "Click" just like you learn to play together - there is nothing stopping 3 players from learning each others tendencies.
Usually they call that practice - and I've heard the term "building chemistry" which is exactly that - practicing to learn each others game.

If your point is that you can potentially pick up on one persons game quicker than another, I'll agree to that. But there is no reason why you can't learn each others game due to "chemistry"

At the end of the day, chemistry isn't holding this line back

My point is that chemistry exists. I think it's obvious that some people play better with each other than with others due not only to not having learned each others' games, but actual differences in approaches and playstyles. To me, this = chemistry.

Can you learn to have better chemistry with another person? I think so... Laine could make all sorts of changes to the way he approaches and plays hockey in order to better mesh with Little. He could study Little's game and figure out what Little likes to do and Laine could change his own game to better mesh with Little's.

But I'm not 100% sure that's the right idea for Laine's development. While I think it's always good to learn aspects of the game - boards, cycling, defending, etc (especially these things Little is good at) - I believe that Little and Laine actually have SIMILAR styles offensively, and that those styles don't mesh very well. Both IMO like to read off of what their teammates are doing and hang back for opportunistic chances and playmaking. This is the style of game that got Laine drafted #2 OA and I'm not sure changing it in order to suit our declining #2 centre is a worthwhile effort.

I also don't see very much value in Laine learning to mesh with Little when Little is not who Laine will be spending the majority of his career with anyway.

Shrug, I could be wrong.

Is this your "take" on this discussion?

I see you at least got yourself a couple of "likes" for that comment - good for you.

I thought it was funny that your example of the line playing well involved Little doing precisely nothing.

 

[LowLefty]

My point is that chemistry exists. You said that you don't believe in it, whereas I think it's completely obvious that some people play better with each other than with others due not only to not having learned each others' games, but actual differences in approaches and playstyles. To me, this = chemistry.

Can you learn to have better chemistry with another person? Of course you can. Laine could make all sorts of changes to the way he approaches and plays hockey in order to better mesh with Little. He could study Little's game and figure out what Little likes to do and Laine could change his own game to better mesh with Little's.

Do I believe that that is a good idea for Laine's development? I'm not so sure. While I think it's always good to learn aspects of the game - boards, cycling, defending, etc - I believe that Little and Laine actually have similar styles, and that those styles don't mesh very well. Both IMO like to read off of what their teammates are doing and hang back for opportunistic chances and playmaking. This is the style of game that got Laine drafted #2 OA and I'm not sure changing it in order to suit our declining #2 centre is a worthwhile effort.

I also don't see very much value in Laine learning to mesh with Little when Little is not who Laine will be spending the majority of his career with anyway.

Shrug, I could be wrong.

I thought it was funny that your glowing example of the line playing well involved Little doing precisely nothing.

IMO, an important part of the reason Laine is playing with Little is to learn a few aspects of the game that Little does well - tracking down pucks, cycle / possession. I'd consider working with an experienced well rounded center like Little time well spent and important for Laine's development.

You can also learn from an experienced player without spending your career playing with him.
There is no doubt Laine is moving on at some point - some think that should happen now and he can learn with Wheels / Scheif. Some would suggest he learn first and leave the highly productive first alone for now.

BTW, Laine is developing with this current line mates - he looked good in period one as noted - really good. I don't expect Laine's die hard fans to give Little any credit for that growth - and who cares as long as Laine is growing.


My take is not to blame -
One poster thought it was important to point out that Little didn't touch the puck during those first couple of shifts - and he completely missed the point. The second line is about building Laine's game, not Little's.
Another recent poster decided to add that Little has done nothing over the last 2 years - I decided to ignore that particular poster - that's just Little hate from a fan who isn't paying attention.

 

[204hockey]

Laine-Seheifele-Wheeler
Ehlers-Little-Perrault
TLC
Whatever is left

Swap perrault with Connor and I agree

 

[Jack722]

IMO, an important part of the reason Laine is playing with Little is to learn a few aspects of the game that Little does well - tracking down pucks, cycle / possession. I'd consider working with an experienced well rounded center like Little time well spent and important for Laine's development.

You can also learn from an experienced player without spending your career playing with him.
There is no doubt Laine is moving on at some point - some think that should happen now and he can learn with Wheels / Scheif. Some would suggest he learn first and leave the highly productive first alone for now.

BTW, Laine is developing with this current line mates - he looked good in period one as noted - really good. I don't expect Laine's die hard fans to give Little any credit for that growth - and who cares as long as Laine is growing.


My take is not to blame -
One poster thought it was important to point out that Little didn't touch the puck during those first couple of shifts - and he completely missed the point. The second line is about building Laine's game, not Little's.
Another recent poster decided to add that Little has done nothing over the last 2 years - I decided to ignore that particular poster - that's just Little hate from a fan who isn't paying attention.

Yep fair enough. I also think Laine can learn some of what Little does well. My problem is that they do indeed seem to have chemistry issues... I haven't seen much from them in year so far that suggests there's any potential there.

I like Little, too. I wouldn't mind seeing Wheeler-Little combo again, to be honest.