Phil Housley is and has been my guy and I'm sticking to it. He coaches the defensemen and power play down here in Nashville (both groups were dominant in yesterday's game). Anyone the Preds plug into the lineup on defense seems to play well. Guys like Matt Irwin, Yanick Weber, and Anthony Bitteto hold their own even though they're basically journeymen. I think that is a tribute to coaching (and/or a good system) as much as anything.
I agree that Byslma runs a tired, outdated system. But, I still don't think this team has enough talent to compete with the "big boys." We have some nice players in Kane, Risto, Eichel, and Okposo. But, compare our roster to Washington or Chicago or Pittsburgh or Nashville or San Jose or Minnesota... and we just don't stack up top-to-bottom.
For my money, the Preds have the best group of offensive defensemen in the league 1 through 6. The Preds transition game is like night and day compared to the Sabres'. Until GMTM fixes our defense, this team will continue to suck. We give up the most shots in the league and other than Risto, our defensemen are all woeful offensively.
Rinne runs very hot or cold and tonight is one of the nights that he can't stop a beach ball. Unfortunately, the Sabres hardly put any shots on him during the last two periods.
I watch them all the time so I'll point out the obvious... this Preds team can really skate. And, their defensmen are soooooo much better than Buffalo's.
Dump all the UFAs (Franson, Kulikov, Gionta, Nilsson). Then in the off-season trade any combination of guys not named Eichel, Reinhart, Ristolainen or Ryan O'Reilly for a defenseman who can skate, pass, and shoot the puck where the goalie isn't.
I was there last night and threw my hat when Forsberg scored his third goal... some fat guy picked it up and left the arena with it. .
Marty Erat for Phil Forsberg... one of the most lopsided trades ever (although the Caps are just fine without Phil).
Colorado is pathetic, but at least we held serve on home ice. 60 points and counting. Probably too many teams in front of us to pass, but you never know...