The team had Kane last year and playoffs. Thats a major alpha blow not having that. This being an individual that can kick the snot out of anybody or run them through the boards. Contending teams need at least one guy like this. No way the Canadiens yrs ago beat the Flyers without a Larry Robinson. If you got one guy that can go to the opponent bench and say "who wants me" and nobody does thats a victory of sorts before puck is even dropped.
Who hasn't played a team that has a tough guy that can make you life miserable for the night if they even feel like it. Detente matters in hockey. Kane just being in the lineup makes it easier for everybody else. Some teams have multiple of these sorts of players. We have none.
lol by the way at Michaels saying "theres Darnell Nurse mixing it up just as expected" crap, Nurse is the king of ineffective face washing since the big contract.
Without Kane in the lineup none of our opponents are "finding out".
Yep Nurse has not looked engaged at all from what I've seen (granted I missed the Chicago game).
Kane is a big loss, the lineup looks so much better with him in there. And he's a $5 million player, that's a big hole in anyone's lineup. But guys get hurt, others have to step up.
Usually the issue with this team is the depth, but it's the big guys that have let us down so far. I thought Skinner looked pretty good against Calgary, but Hyman, Nuge, McDavid, Draisaitl, that's our identity, they're gonna have to drag this team into the battle. To my eye, Podkolzin is trying, so I'm glad it looks like he's getting a little bump.
I've liked Brown, Ryan, and Perry's games, I really don't think this start is on them.