I thought he tailed off a bit prior to the playoffs actually, but first half of year was good. To be honest, for me, his best hockey was two years ago, everyone he paired with suddenly looked good. He's really plateaued for me, and I'm not sure I trust him in a tough series just yet. The pressure is on now, slip and you sit with the adds, so let's she how he responds.
With this many D, Keefe must start icing those who want to compete. Otherwise, what is the point? I've seen no reason to take Benoit out over nearly everyone else. We need players who can handle pressure, the playoffs are not comfortable. Ice those who earn it and remove them when they stop giving a shit. If they want back in, earn it again.
I've really been impressed with Benoit's poise, especially under duress. That should translate well and with Lil to me his biggest fault is he falls apart mentally when pressured, the "moves the puck" narrative becomes mindless panic passes up the wall to the other team. Anyways, not going to cheer against him, I just don't feel it's deserved atm.
We now have a chance to keep people fresh for the playoffs we aren't catching Boston know.
They should start resting guys soon. They are locked into third place at this point, so might as well keep everyone as fresh as possible.
I thought I remembered him and Gio being a great 3rd pairing but Keefe went away from it after McCabe and Schenn were brought in, could definitely be mistaken tho.
You would have seen a bobble if you had your "Marner can do no wrong" glasses on.
This is how it will be. We need an ex-leaf to say how nice it is to not get called for everything all the time.
