Phone it in to Hak. I can stop by Boruks house to ask him to pass it on for you. Oh wait, you dissed his suit so I doubt he'll do it
- TheGreat28

I'd be fine with that. I'd also be fine at giving Leier a look. He's been playing very well and he brings some more speed to the lineup.
- BiggE

Not sure they have cap room for Leier

I'm ok with it, but here's the thing. Is he really exponentially better than anyone he'd be replacing? Who are you taking out of the top 9 to add Leier in?
- TheGreat28

I was talking about using him to replace Vinny on the 4th line.

Not sure they have cap room for Leier
- Jsaquella

Yeah, that sucks.

they better play better tonight i am going to the game and hate when we lose in buffalo....there fans can be brutal

Well, hey, they lead the league in shots per game. Of course, they also are third worst in shots against per game. So, yeah.

Interesting.

How about this:

24-28-17
89-10-93
12-21-20
Tim Brent-25-76

Lecavalier showed last night that he's not a fit. Call up a Phantom(which they're going to do for the road trip anyhow) and play him.
- Jsaquella

Thinking more about this. I'm really interested to try it. Here's the thing. I still maintain that the team needs to figure out it's center rotation. I still think Couturier and Laughton are best suited for the same spot. Not everyone agrees, and for me it's not yet a conclusion either, but more of a working hypothesis.

I'd like to see Schenn at 2C until Couturier comes back, particularly with some decent wingers. Over the course of the year they can then see if Couturier and Laughton are 2C and 3C respsectively, or if the answer lies outside the organization.

I was talking about using him to replace Vinny on the 4th line.
- BiggE

Fine with it then. I do like using the 4th line more, but it's not going to make a huge difference either.

My 2c from last night is they do miss Couts and Bellemare.
Sure they should be able to win without them but with them the PK is a hell of a lot better and they gave up 2 on PK last night.

They miss them on 5v5 as well.
PEB in , coach rolls 4 lines and he adds speed and skill to the checking line.
Without PEB, VLC plays and his minutes get shortened leading to line juggling and maybe more fatigue.

Couts while not speedy has shown ability to control pucks down low and on the boards which leads to cycle time on offense. They had nearly no cycle last night and were on their heels backing up way too much. Couts would have helped. Change the outcome? Idk.

They are not that deep at forward that they can easily overcome being without those two especially with 93 in a deep funk.

I really would love to see Luke and Gudas play.
Manning looked better on left D though and I don't mind Manning as much as most here.

VLC was as expected. He was not a positive or negative unless you view limiting his ice time as negative, which is valid.

My 2c from last night is they do miss Couts and Bellemare.
Sure they should be able to win without them but with them the PK is a hell of a lot better and they gave up 2 on PK last night.

They miss them on 5v5 as well.
PEB in , coach rolls 4 lines and he adds speed and skill to the checking line.
Without PEB, VLC plays and his minutes get shortened leading to line juggling and maybe more fatigue.

Couts while not speedy has shown ability to control pucks down low and on the boards which leads to cycle time on offense. They had nearly no cycle last night and were on their heels backing up way too much. Couts would have helped. Change the outcome? Idk.

They are not that deep at forward that they can easily overcome being without those two especially with 93 in a deep funk.

I really would love to see Luke and Gudas play.
Manning looked better on left D though and I don't mind Manning as much as most here.

VLC was as expected. He was not a positive or negative unless you view limiting his ice time as negative, which is valid.
- Marc D

That was WAY too fair and objective

I know its doom and gloom around here, but just a tiny glimpse into the future can make us feel a bit better...

Provorov and Sanheim are 1& 3 respectively in scoring for D-men in the WHL

Konecny is 2nd in the OHL

That was WAY too fair and objective
- TheGreat28

NJD were the way better team last night. Faster, anticipated better, passed better, team game better, better on faceoffs. Wasn't even close. Give them credit. Made Cory Schneider's night very easy indeed.

I know its doom and gloom around here, but just a tiny glimpse into the future can make us feel a bit better...

Provorov and Sanheim are 1& 3 respectively in scoring for D-men in the WHL

Konecny is 2nd in the OHL
- jak521

Thinking more about this. I'm really interested to try it. Here's the thing. I still maintain that the team needs to figure out it's center rotation. I still think Couturier and Laughton are best suited for the same spot. Not everyone agrees, and for me it's not yet a conclusion either, but more of a working hypothesis.

I'd like to see Schenn at 2C until Couturier comes back, particularly with some decent wingers. Over the course of the year they can then see if Couturier and Laughton are 2C and 3C respsectively, or if the answer lies outside the organization.
- TheGreat28

I went Schenn at 2C, because they're getting killed at the dot. Schenn might not be better, but at least he is an attempt at different

I went Schenn at 2C, because they're getting killed at the dot. Schenn might not be better, but at least he is an attempt at different
- Jsaquella

Agreed

I went Schenn at 2C, because they're getting killed at the dot. Schenn might not be better, but at least he is an attempt at different
- Jsaquella

Man, I miss the days when we could roll out Lindros, Brindy, Otto and MacT and just own the dot.

I am not opposed to trying Read as top line LW, given the sadly limited options. Raffl is willing to dig in the corners and go the "dirty areas," as they say, but it seldom adds up to anything. When healthy, Read is slightly harder to contain than Raffl, has a bit more finesse, and might draw some attention away from Jake and Giroux. As it is now, opposing teams are content to one-on one Raffl while the two stars get smothered.

That said, I'm also not opposed to a trade. As we all know, this is a bad mix of players. I never thought I'd say this, even as recently as this summer, but Wayne Simmonds (bobblehead night notwithstanding) is likely to fetch us the highest return. Teams covet a guy like him and his cap hit is friendly. He might return a speedy left winger. Yes, Wayne Simmonds is a great team guy and an asset, but you have to give up something to get something, and how long are we going to keep hanging onto popular players if the wins are not coming?

Man, I miss the days when we could roll out Lindros, Brindy, Otto and MacT and just own the dot.
- BiggE

Yup.

I am not opposed to trying Read as top line LW, given the sadly limited options. Raffl is willing to dig in the corners and go the "dirty areas," as they say, but it seldom adds up to anything. When healthy, Read is slightly harder to contain than Raffl, has a bit more finesse, and might draw some attention away from Jake and Giroux. As it is now, opposing teams are content to one-on one Raffl while the two stars get smothered.

That said, I'm also not opposed to a trade. As we all know, this is a bad mix of players. I never thought I'd say this, even as recently as this summer, but Wayne Simmonds (bobblehead night notwithstanding) is likely to fetch us the highest return. Teams covet a guy like him and his cap hit is friendly. He might return a speedy left winger. Yes, Wayne Simmonds is a great team guy and an asset, but you have to give up something to get something, and how long are we going to keep hanging onto popular players if the wins are not coming?
- ChoclitLeClair

You could flip Simmonds and answer the defense issues, but most teams that would want him wouldn't have the pieces to fit the needs up front.

Speed is fine, but they need a finisher

Earlier this week I posted that I thought Hak had changed things here and that we'd come out strong vs some teams we need to beat to compete for a playoff spot. Boy was I wrong. They got outplayed by Buffalo and fought back for a point which I can live with, but from the highlights of last night's game vs NJ, I am glad I missed it. I have no idea why that team owns us like they do, but I will tell you I never shed a tear missing those games. They are normally so boring that I'd rather watch paint dry especially in Newark. Just horribly boring. There's got to be a way we can improve vs that team.

Earlier this week I posted that I thought Hak had changed things here and that we'd come out strong vs some teams we need to beat to compete for a playoff spot. Boy was I wrong. They got outplayed by Buffalo and fought back for a point which I can live with, but from the highlights of last night's game vs NJ, I am glad I missed it. I have no idea why that team owns us like they do, but I will tell you I never shed a tear missing those games. They are normally so boring that I'd rather watch paint dry especially in Newark. Just horribly boring. There's got to be a way we can improve vs that team.
- Hextall271

for the first time ever watching a game, i dozed off

A fact not mentioned enough is how bad Laughton is on face-offs.
- Mononoke

It's mainly an age thing isn't it?

Guys like Sid, G, Bergeron were all kinda iffy in the dot to start their careers. Then they learned the opponents, got a feel for when/how to cheat, and became all buddy buddy w/ the linesmen.

for the first time ever watching a game, i dozed off
- -davies-

That's happened to me as well... I don't know how the announcers stay awake.

It's mainly an age thing isn't it?

Guys like Sid, G, Bergeron were all kinda iffy in the dot to start their careers. Then they learned the opponents, got a feel for when/how to cheat, and became all buddy buddy w/ the linesmen.
- Tomahawk

Get Bob Clarke out there to give him some instruction ASAP!

There's a lot that goes into the offensive side. Couturier's hands are not mediocre, and his speed is fine. He's not fast, but he skates well enough. His hockey sense and anticipation offsets that.
- MJL

i dont agree with your opinion on his hands/puck handling... i will say he seems to have a nice wrister but has to be set up nicely to use it... as for his hockey sense, yes defensively he knows what to do, but offensively, he's had too many deer in the headlight moments for me to credit him with :good/great/above average, hockey sense. imo he's a mediocre offensive player.