I wish I had something unique to say about the Penguins game tonight, but I don’t. We have a good understanding on how these teams match up and it isn’t favorable for Philadelphia. Sean Couturier is going to try and test things out in warm ups to see if he can play. He won’t be 100% although beggars can’t be choosers. The Flyers need all the help they can get.
Patric Hornqvist skated this morning. He is going to miss Game 5. Pittsburgh is in a good spot being up 3-1 in the series. They have the opportunity to ease Hornqvist back in the lineup. If they were tied or down in the series I can’t say for sure that Hornqvist would play, but I’m pretty confident he would find his way into the lineup.
In other news the Toronto Maple Leafs are on the brink of defeat. They are a good team. They are up against who I would consider the Eastern Conference favorite. There was a good tweet I came across regarding the Maple Leafs and Mike Babcock.
He continues:
It’s just … “oh Mike Babcock. He’s the best.” Any other coach with that track record over that long is a dead man walking. I don’t know at the end of the day I’ts a bottom line business and if we’re going to hype somone up as the unquestioned best you should expect his teams to do something wihthin the past decade? He hasn’t finished higher than third place in his division since 2010-11. Imagine if someone told you him and Dan Bylsma have the same playoff winning percentage and that Bylsma won the only head to head matchup.
The legend of Mike Babcock started with the surprise run by the Anaheim Mighty Ducks in 2003 to Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final. It was fueled by Jean-Sebastian Giguere’s god-like playoff performance. It was so good he won the Conn Smythe in defeat. I don’t believe for one second that Mike Babcock isn’t a good coach. I just don’t think there’s anything that leads me to believe he is infallible like his reputation perceives him to be.
His Detroit Red Wings teams were some of the best rosters assembled during the cap era. This was before Ken Holland lost his fastball. He won with great rosters. Although, I would say losing to the 2009 Penguins was a huge upset considering the roster that Red Wings team had. Since then his NHL teams have been average while his international teams have done amazing. His international rosters enter each tournament with the best roster. I think Mike Babcock does well when coaching great talents. I’m not so sure his results with less than spectacular rosters shows me anything that screams elite. I find that his strengths are tactical and not player usage. He is guilty as any other coach of having issues with how he allocates ice time and roles. He still plays the Matt Martins and Roman Polaks just like every other guy. To me an elite coach wouldn’t fall into those kinds of traps. An elite coach would also hold veterans and younger players accountable for the same things instead of punishing younger players for similar mistakes.
I guess this is just a long winded point alluding to what Adam said. Perhaps coaching impacts aren’t really all that great and the players are driving this bus. The best way to succeed in the NHL as a coach is to be a great communicator and to play your most skilled players. Embrace the players that can create and not the ones who play safe with no upside. And hope your GM isn’t terrible.
Thanks for reading!
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