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Player Discussion: Ryan McDonagh

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DFC said:
He wore one against... I want to say Minnesota. But one of our recent games.

There's really no rhyme or reason to our As.
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I figured he wore the "A" in Minnesota b/c his whole family was there (and the high school he took to a state championship is three blocks from the arena). That's not to say he probably doesn't deserve a letter anyway.
 
DFC said:
He wore one against... I want to say Minnesota. But one of our recent games.

There's really no rhyme or reason to our As.
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There's probably not much of a point to the letters anyway. We have a ton of veterans on this team who have been deep. The letter is just an attaboy.
 
LightningStrikes said:
Give this guy a letter on his chest!
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DFC said:
He wore one against... I want to say Minnesota. But one of our recent games.

There's really no rhyme or reason to our As.
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Actually, there sort of is a pattern. There's usually four main rotating Alts. This year it's been the following...

Oct. 8 vs FLA No alts.
Oct. 11 vs VAN No alts.
Oct. 13 vs CBJ No alts.
Oct. 16 vs CAR Hedman, Strålman
Oct. 18 vs DET Hedman, Callahan
Oct. 20 vs MIN Strålman, McDonagh
Oct. 21 vs CHI Strålman, McDonagh
Oct. 24 vs COL Hedman, Callahan

Former Captains such as Callahan and McDonagh seem to get the A right away. Palat was one of the four regular A's last season.
 
TeslaCoilFan said:
Actually, there sort of is a pattern. There's usually four main rotating Alts. This year it's been the following...

Oct. 8 vs FLA No alts.
Oct. 11 vs VAN No alts.
Oct. 13 vs CBJ No alts.
Oct. 16 vs CAR Hedman, Strålman
Oct. 18 vs DET Hedman, Callahan
Oct. 20 vs MIN Strålman, McDonagh
Oct. 21 vs CHI Strålman, McDonagh
Oct. 24 vs COL Hedman, Callahan

Former Captains such as Callahan and McDonagh seem to get the A right away. Palat was one of the four regular A's last season.
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We really should put a permanent one on Hedman. I mean, I guess it doesn't matter, but he's been here like a decade now.
 
But seriously this guy is just killing it right now. It's more than likely Richards has the defense humming due to his improvements but McDonagh being settled in like this is making such a huge difference. Assume all goes right and we make the playoffs.... We can literally split him and Hedman to where one or the other is on the ice at all times in even strength and PK situations.

And if McDonagh is playing like this.......




Hold me



But hey thats best case scenario and a long way out. At least McDonagh is playing well enough for me to dream a little bit
 
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The biggest difference this year compared to last year is his gap control. He still had the zone around him which Engblom raves about, so I think it's more of a comfort thing than a physical thing. Now that he has confidence in which areas he is allowed to play in, he's inserting himself more into the play and being an imposing, disruptive force.

His open ice physicality is extremely rare and beautiful to watch. Some crazy agility to get the kind of torque he gets on unrushing forwards while skating backwards.
 
I've recently found out Mac's uncle lives in Florida and loves the place most next to Minnesota plus he's a summer guy and all. Maybe that's why he joined the Lightning and got his energy back or something. I can see the environment can be quite a big factor for many players even if your workplaces are in the arenas.
 
AlwaysSunnyInTampa said:
But seriously this guy is just killing it right now. It's more than likely Richards has the defense humming due to his improvements but McDonagh being settled in like this is making such a huge difference. Assume all goes right and we make the playoffs.... We can literally split him and Hedman to where one or the other is on the ice at all times in even strength and PK situations.

And if McDonagh is playing like this.......




Hold me



But hey thats best case scenario and a long way out. At least McDonagh is playing well enough for me to dream a little bit
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I think it's both. The improvements on D in general can be seen in Stralman, who's making a case that he can still be a #2, after it seeming like those days were over. Maybe the contract year has him motivated. And, of course, playing with McD doesn't hurt. But still.

It seems like the only thing we have to complain about when it comes to D are some rookie mistakes by Sergachev and old man mistakes by Girardi, and, in Girardi's case, it's not even really fair because we all know he's not properly slotted right now. All of this is a testament to how well our D is operating right now.

It's not like I follow changes implemented by assistant coaches, but Richards has really given our team a makeover in the past few years, and might have had a bigger impact than anybody else in his position, league-wide. Special teams have become our biggest strength. That would have been unthinkable in 2016.
 
LonLon Lei said:
I've recently found out Mac's uncle lives in Florida and loves the place most next to Minnesota plus he's a summer guy and all. Maybe that's why he joined the Lightning and got his energy back or something. I can see the environment can be quite a big factor for many players even if your workplaces are in the arenas.
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I think all of this factors in to his play, plus he is comfortable with the system and he is healthy.
One thing that Bolts fans have to know is that McD is a warrior. He, sometimes to a fault, will play through almost anything. But, when healthy, McD a top 10 D in the game.
 
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The S5 said:
I think all of this factors in to his play, plus he is comfortable with the system and he is healthy.
One thing that Bolts fans have to know is that McD is a warrior. He, sometimes to a fault, will play through almost anything. But, when healthy, McD a top 10 D in the game.
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Pretty much what we're seeing. At least in the D zone. He breaks up plays all night long. And he's so consistent about it. That, combined with how competent the other D look... We're just not used to this.
 
TeslaCoilFan said:
Actually, it seems that his nickname from the players here is just Mac. No Truck involved. :laugh:

Kinda like how Strålman's Ranger nickname of Stralsy morphed into just Strals from the Lightning players. Cally is still Cally, Girardi is G and Miller is Millsy.
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Those are all false. Here is a complete list

Stamkos is Stammy
Hedman is Header
Point is Pointy
Gourde is Gord-o
Johnson is Johner
Kucherov is Koocher
Palat is Pal
Stalman is Straller
McDonagh is Mac Daddy
Coburn is Burn Daddy
Sergachev is Chevy
Killorn is Ornsy
Joseph is Josephy
Cirelli is Cirelly
Girardi is Girardy
Callahan is Callahand me my stick i cant bend down to pick it up ill hurt my back
Erne is Ernsy
Martel is Martel
Koekkoek is Benchy bencherson
 
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Steazy Doo said:
Those are all false. Here is a complete list

Stamkos is Stammy
Hedman is Header
Point is Pointy
Gourde is Gord-o
Johnson is Johner
Kucherov is Koocher
Palat is Pal
Stalman is Straller
McDonagh is Mac Daddy
Coburn is Burn Daddy
Sergachev is Chevy
Killorn is Ornsy
Joseph is Josephy
Cirelli is Cirelly
Girardi is Girardy
Callahan is Callahand me my stick i cant bend down to pick it up ill hurt my back
Erne is Ernsy
Martel is Martel
Koekkoek is Benchy bencherson
Click to expand...

lol at Koekkoek and Coburn.
 
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