GDT: whaler night 2025 - maybe roleplaying as a bad team will make us good instead of trying to be a good team (which is making us bad)

[Tryamw]

I am not expecting much

 

[Svechhammer]

I am not expecting much

 

[A Star is Burns]

I'm not going to let shit get to me like it does some. This is going to turn around sometime, so why not tonight?

 

[LakeLivin]

HF26 has two modes. Right now we're at:

Hoping tonight gets us back to :

 

[robbieberns]

As down as I’ve been the last few games, this one is really being laid out on a plate to be a major reset and kickstart for the rest of the season. Confidence and momentum can be such a finicky thing, and a huge win on Whalers night with Rantanen popping off in particular could really be what makes things turn around for us. I chose to believe.

 

[Surrounded By Ahos]

I think it’s about time we worked up a number six on ‘em, boys and girls

 

[Bunch of Jurcos]

I think it’s about time we worked up a number six on ‘em, boys and girls

Out of respect to some of our best posters here, the number six ball has been cancelled.

 

[AhosDatsyukian]

Probably the most important factor is that we're playing at home. We typically are much, much better at home

Yes we are better at home like all teams but I don’t think it’s “much much” better. Our road record is the 5th best since Rod took over at .605 win %, compared to .709 at home.

Not looking at every team to compare home/road differential but the Lightning for example have a much higher gap than us at .729 and .584.

 

[Joe McGrath]

Yes we are better at home like all teams but I don’t think it’s “much much” better. Our road record is the 5th best since Rod took over at .605 win %, compared to .709 at home.

Not looking at every team to compare home/road differential but the Lightning for example have a much higher gap than us at .729 and .584.

Maybe in the past - this year they are very good at home and absolute ass on the road.

 

[AhosDatsyukian]

Maybe in the past - this year they are very good at home and absolute ass on the road.

this year is a pretty small sample size, but sure.

 

[Joe McGrath]

this year is a pretty small sample size, but sure.

Why would including games where they had a very different roster matter with how they play this year?

They were good on the road before because their top 4 D were all really good and matchups didn’t matter as much. Now they are thinner at all positions and matchups matter a lot more.

 

[robbieberns]

playoff results have been closer to a .900/.100 split which doesn’t help the narrative

 

[AhosDatsyukian]

Why would including games where they had a very different roster matter with how they play this year?

They were good on the road before because their top 4 D were all really good and matchups didn’t matter as much. Now they are thinner at all positions and matchups matter a lot more.

Not dismissing that as a factor but it's the same core, same coach, same system. We've had years in the past with considerable road success where I would say our roster was as "thin" as it is right now. I don't fully buy the matchups narrative. It's been too much of a drop off on the road. I think the biggest factor for the road struggles is team motivation/regular season burnout -- guys who have been great on the road in the past are doing absolutely nothing out there on the road this year. Aho and Svech in particular. I don't think matchups alone explains that. With Aho it could be family life situation too.

Either way, I'm not concerned about our road struggles this regular season yet. Our playoff road struggles are a different matter -- one almost entirely explained by PP/PK.

 

[Joe McGrath]

The goalies setups are clean AF