Post-Game Talk: SENS @ Minnesota, Tuesday 8pm

[GCK]

Its unfortunate DJ hasn't identified Zaitsev as the weak link with Holden on that 2nd pair .. and waits for a game like last night to make a change on the road.

Zaitsev's effect on his partners is clear and measurable.

Now he'll probably only want to make 1 change so as not to disrupt 2 pairs which means Mete or Brown and the bigger issue remains. Pulling Mete or Brown when they are playing to their level of competence is not a solution.

What is needed imo is

Mete Holden
MDZ .. Brown/Zaitsev.

Zaitsev should be on the 3rd pair. On this team with our current D personnel we have to identify Holden to stay there and find him a partner that can work. Is that Mete, MDZ or Brannstrom.. we have to answer.

And for this game he should be pulling Zaitsev.

We have two problems here. One is DJ's rose colored glasses for Zaitsev and the bigger problem is the quality of the depth on D.. DJ is forced to pick between 3rd pair D , arguably #6 D to play on the 2nd pair. What is clear to me is that Holden Zaitsev isn't working. Zaitsev has been a fixture on the 2nd pair and has not worked with anyone. Dorion's inability to find an effective 2nd pair D is holding this team back and is hurting growth and development. We need to be able to exit the zone. That's not 100% all on the D ; but with young forwards learning Dzone reads at the NHL level.. its a very large piece.

I pray to all that is holy we see this tonight.

Chabot Zub
Del Zotto Holden
Mete Brown.

 

[Alex1234]

Its unfortunate DJ hasn't identified Zaitsev as the weak link with Holden on that 2nd pair .. and waits for a game like last night to make a change on the road.

Zaitsev's effect on his partners is clear and measurable.

Now he'll probably only want to make 1 change so as not to disrupt 2 pairs which means Mete or Brown and the bigger issue remains. Pulling Mete or Brown when they are playing to their level of competence is not a solution.

What is needed imo is

Mete Holden
MDZ .. Brown/Zaitsev.

Zaitsev should be on the 3rd pair. On this team with our current D personnel we have to identify Holden to stay there and find him a partner that can work. Is that Mete, MDZ or Brannstrom.. we have to answer.

And for this game he should be pulling Zaitsev.

We have two problems here. One is DJ's rose colored glasses for Zaitsev and the bigger problem is the quality of the depth on D.. DJ is forced to pick between 3rd pair D , arguably #6 D to play on the 2nd pair. What is clear to me is that Holden Zaitsev isn't working. Zaitsev has been a fixture on the 2nd pair and has not worked with anyone. Dorion's inability to find an effective 2nd pair D is holding this team back and is hurting growth and development. We need to be able to exit the zone. That's not 100% all on the D ; but with young forwards learning Dzone reads at the NHL level.. its a very large piece.

The right side of the D will always be a problem until they address it properly
But hey we needed Sanderson over Drysdale (who played on ANA 1st D units vs MTL) so ...

 

[GCK]

The right side of the D will always be a problem until they address it properly
But hey we needed Sanderson over Drysdale (who played on ANA 1st D units vs MTL) so ...

Anaheim should be careful with Drysdale, he is getting absolutely caved in. He’s such a great talent, but I’m worried about what they are doing to him

 

[Sens of Anarchy]

The right side of the D will always be a problem until they address it properly
But hey we needed Sanderson over Drysdale (who played on ANA 1st D units vs MTL) so ...

We needed to address both sides. The issue for prime growth years for Norris, Batherson, Tkachuk, Stutzle and Pinto is more immediate.
Top prospects like Drysdale and Sanderson still need to have solid D to pair with.

 

[bert]

Watson returns and MDZ draws in.

I may be wrong, but I can't see Mete or Brown coming out after last night. Maybe MDZ draws in for Holden or Zaitsev. As much as Holden was great to start the season, his past 3 games have been terrible. Zaitsev has obviously been pretty brutal all year.

What's the one constant for Holden the last 3 games?

 

[OccidentalSoothsayer]

Was at the canucks home opener and the wild are a suffocating team with a good counter attack. We will need to be at our best to have a chance.

 

[The Devilish Buffoon]

What's the one constant for Holden the last 3 games?

There are two constants: playing with Zaitsev and playing second pairing.

What’s one constant for Holden’s entire career? Playing 3rd pairing.

Neither guy should be on the 2nd pair. That said, I would happily sit Zaitsev. Doesn’t mean I give Holden a free pass for his play.

 

[Sens of Anarchy]

There are two constants: playing with Zaitsev and playing second pairing.

What’s one constant for Holden’s entire career? Playing 3rd pairing.

Neither guy should be on the 2nd pair. That said, I would happily sit Zaitsev. Doesn’t mean I give Holden a free pass for his play.

That's fair but I'd like to see him with a mobile puck mover to see how he does.

 

[Joeyjoejoe]

What the D pairings should be:

Chabot-Zub
Braanstrom-Holden
Mete-MDZ/Brown.

 

[The Devilish Buffoon]

That's fair but I'd like to see him with a mobile puck mover to see how he does.

I would love to see him with Brann and Mete or Del Zotto with Zaitsev or Brown on the 3rd pair. Play them all 15-17 min, depending on who looks good that day.

At this point, though, the only guys who I am confident belong in the lineup are Zub and Chabot.

I would give Holden a bit more rope than the other guys because of his strong start, but he needs to start performing again if he wants to be afforded that security. And, given DJs love for Zaitsev (+ the RH factor), I may be understating the level of security he actually has.

 

[bert]

There are two constants: playing with Zaitsev and playing second pairing.

What’s one constant for Holden’s entire career? Playing 3rd pairing.

Neither guy should be on the 2nd pair. That said, I would happily sit Zaitsev. Doesn’t mean I give Holden a free pass for his play.

Holden has been good with literally everyone else. He has got put in some really tough spots the last couple games and for a player that is at best a number 4 its very difficult to have success. Things snowball you lose your confidence, and when your partner is a disaster you have to play different, hang back more play with less confidence.

Zaitsev has statistically neutered every single player he has played with this year. He is the problem.

What the D pairings should be:

Chabot-Zub
Braanstrom-Holden
Mete-MDZ/Brown.

Yes MDZ, Mete and Brannstrom should be interchangeable whoever plays best plays. Period.

 

[SensFactor]

We better come to play. Wild are coming off back to back 4-1 losses and will be hungry at home.

MDZ with the game winner

 

[Loach]

I pray to all that is holy we see this tonight.

Chabot Zub
Del Zotto Holden
Mete Brown.

Unholy as well

 

[cudi]

looking forward to seeing Filly Goose play tonight

 

[2CHAINZ]

The Goose get ya loose

Stutzle please lord, I am not sure how many more loans I can secure.

 

[Egg]

Gus gets the start

3-2 Ottawa win. He gets 36 saves. Stands on his head. Again.

Put it in the bank.

Winning goal, assisted on by Tkachuk.

 

[Sens of Anarchy]

looking forward to seeing Filly Goose play tonight

 

[bicboi64]

I don't care how "good" Stuetzle is looking, its time for some results. 0G 4A in 8 games is not acceptable. He needs to step up and show signs of being a game changer. Even if its a lucky or dirty goal, I hope he gets one to build some momentum and we start seeing some offense from someone not named Norris and Batherson. Tkachuk has to make his presence known on the score sheet as well. I can respect how he's been a warrior, blocked some brutal shots yesterday, but lets see a run towards the net and some havok.

C'mon Sens, lets make it hard for Minnesota to do anything this year (cuz they'll be extra screwed next year with the dead capspace!)

 

[bert]

I don't care how "good" Stuetzle is looking, its time for some results. 0G 4A in 8 games is not acceptable. He needs to step up and show signs of being a game changer. Even if its a lucky or dirty goal, I hope he gets one to build some momentum and we start seeing some offense from someone not named Norris and Batherson. Tkachuk has to make his presence known on the score sheet as well. I can respect how he's been a warrior, blocked some brutal shots yesterday, but lets see a run towards the net and some havok.

C'mon Sens, lets make it hard for Minnesota to do anything this year (cuz they'll be extra screwed next year with the dead capspace!)

This is a ridiculous post for a 19 year old that is creating this much in the league. Id much rather this than him being terrible but getting a bunch of lucky goals.

 

[Nova Stutzlia]

I don't care how "good" Stuetzle is looking, its time for some results. 0G 4A in 8 games is not acceptable. He needs to step up and show signs of being a game changer. Even if its a lucky or dirty goal, I hope he gets one to build some momentum and we start seeing some offense from someone not named Norris and Batherson. Tkachuk has to make his presence known on the score sheet as well. I can respect how he's been a warrior, blocked some brutal shots yesterday, but lets see a run towards the net and some havok.

C'mon Sens, lets make it hard for Minnesota to do anything this year (cuz they'll be extra screwed next year with the dead capspace!)

4A - thought he only had 3, so I checked and found that they finally gave him (and Bath) assists on their 1st goal on Friday.

 

[aragorn]

After the top pair the rest of the defence is okay at best & a tire fire at worse. They need 4 new defencemen, but that won't happen until after the TDL & hopefully over the summer they try fixing it again. It's a work in progress that is progressing at a snail's pace. I expect that J. Brown & Holden will both be moved by the TDL & probably replaced by prospects, so it could potentially get worse too.

 

[DrEasy]

I don't care how "good" Stuetzle is looking, its time for some results. 0G 4A in 8 games is not acceptable. He needs to step up and show signs of being a game changer. Even if its a lucky or dirty goal, I hope he gets one to build some momentum and we start seeing some offense from someone not named Norris and Batherson. Tkachuk has to make his presence known on the score sheet as well. I can respect how he's been a warrior, blocked some brutal shots yesterday, but lets see a run towards the net and some havok.

C'mon Sens, lets make it hard for Minnesota to do anything this year (cuz they'll be extra screwed next year with the dead capspace!)

Stutzle isn't exactly paired with world beaters. If only he had someone on his line who could shoot the puck, maybe we'd see better results.

 

[2CHAINZ]

Stutzle isn't exactly paired with world beaters. If only he had someone on his line who could shoot the puck, maybe we'd see better results.

He needs to realize he is that guy and make Paul and Brown go fetch him the puck while he takes it to the house like Giannis.

 

[bicboi64]

This is a ridiculous post for a 19 year old that is creating this much in the league. Id much rather this than him being terrible but getting a bunch of lucky goals.

Having a goal or two in 8 games isn't an unreasonable expectation for a 3rd overall pick, and our most touted young player. We need Jimmy to be a game changer if this team is going anywhere and that means driving his line.

 

[Micklebot]

Having a goal or two in 8 games isn't an unreasonable expectation for a 3rd overall pick, and our most touted young player. We need Jimmy to be a game changer if this team is going anywhere and that means driving his line.

I think he's done enough that he probably should have had a goal or two, but small samples and puck luck is why he's still got a donut and Tierney is on pace for 41 goals.

He'll get one, the floodgates will open and it will all even out