SwampD Posted October 4, 2019 Report Posted October 4, 2019 Every line played great. Every line made mistakes. Great team win. I thought Vlad looks like he always does, and that line was pretty good. Great to see the third line produce. Samson is a stud and Jack was quietly amazing tonight. He is so good. Joker was shaky at times but also great at other times. I don’t think RaKru should change a thing until it doesn’t work. He certainly should not put Pilut in for Scandy (unless he thinks he has made a huge improvement from last year) and Okposo is better than ERod. Dahlin. He is,... Dahlin. Loved the style of play. That was fun. 81 more please.
SDS Posted October 4, 2019 Report Posted October 4, 2019 1 minute ago, SwampD said: Every line played great. Every line made mistakes. Great team win. I thought Vlad looks like he always does, and that line was pretty good. Great to see the third line produce. Samson is a stud and Jack was quietly amazing tonight. He is so good. Joker was shaky at times but also great at other times. I don’t think RaKru should change a thing until it doesn’t work. He certainly should not put Pilut in for Scandy (unless he thinks he has made a huge improvement from last year) and Okposo is better than ERod. Dahlin. He is,... Dahlin. Loved the style of play. That was fun. 81 more please. I’m gonna wait for the charts… 3
Thorner Posted October 4, 2019 Report Posted October 4, 2019 (edited) 4 minutes ago, SwampD said: Every line played great. Every line made mistakes. Great team win. I thought Vlad looks like he always does, and that line was pretty good. Great to see the third line produce. Samson is a stud and Jack was quietly amazing tonight. He is so good. Joker was shaky at times but also great at other times. I don’t think RaKru should change a thing until it doesn’t work. He certainly should not put Pilut in for Scandy (unless he thinks he has made a huge improvement from last year) and Okposo is better than ERod. Dahlin. He is,... Dahlin. Loved the style of play. That was fun. 81 more please. Not snark, could you be swayed from that view on line 2 depending on how the underlying numbers looked? And, if so, (re: bolded 2) would you still prefer to stay with the set-up as, is due to the win, even if your view on one part of the line combos changed? Edited October 4, 2019 by Thorny
Doohicksie Posted October 4, 2019 Report Posted October 4, 2019 50 minutes ago, Thorny said: He was 5th at 5 v 5 though, and it wasn't by a small amount. Maybe things would have been altered with a different score, but the TOIs were what they were. He was behind heading into the 3rd, as well. But it's only 1 game. Ralph Krueger put him in a position to succeed. And his goal was critical to the team's success. 3
Doohicksie Posted October 4, 2019 Report Posted October 4, 2019 49 minutes ago, Taro T said: Vesey can kill a penalty. Who knew? You didn't watch preseason? He's the offensive threat complement to Jack on the PK. They keep the PP team off balance with the threat of a fast break the other way.
SwampD Posted October 4, 2019 Report Posted October 4, 2019 1 minute ago, Thorny said: Not snark, could you be swayed from that view on line 2 depending on how the underlying numbers looked? And, if so, (re: bolded 2) would you still prefer to stay with the set-up as, is due to the win, even if your view on one part of the line combos changed? It would depend on the numbers. Case in point. Middle of the third. There is a play to the left of Hutton, scramble for the puck, Risto doesn’t really have a play on the puck because another Sabre got to it, and for no reason at all (read: nothing that will appear on a stat sheet) he just blasts Malkin. It was awesome and absolutely had an impact on the game. LGR and Shopp won’t care. I though it was great. I’m sure the coaches and teammates did too. 1 1
Thorner Posted October 4, 2019 Report Posted October 4, 2019 4 minutes ago, Doohickie said: Ralph Krueger put him in a position to succeed. And his goal was critical to the team's success. I'm not arguing against these things, though. 1
Taro T Posted October 4, 2019 Report Posted October 4, 2019 Just now, Doohickie said: You didn't watch preseason? He's the offensive threat complement to Jack on the PK. They keep the PP team off balance with the threat of a fast break the other way. You didn't watch tonight? In the 3rd, with the 2 goal lead, he was separated from Eichel and paired with Sobotka. He was solid on the kill. 1
Doohicksie Posted October 4, 2019 Report Posted October 4, 2019 Vlad the Disrupter, and Speedy Vesey. Good pair.
Randall Flagg Posted October 4, 2019 Report Posted October 4, 2019 Love that Jack is willing to, and seems to be able to, kill penalties. I read somewhere that when Auston was asked if he ever had, he basically said "no and I won't ever." That said, I would almost never use Jack on the penalty kill. 1
Doohicksie Posted October 4, 2019 Report Posted October 4, 2019 2 minutes ago, Randall Flagg said: That said, I would almost never use Jack on the penalty kill. In the past he was typically a late-PK substitution to tilt the ice away from the Buffalo goal as the penalty ended. 1
Taro T Posted October 4, 2019 Report Posted October 4, 2019 1 minute ago, Randall Flagg said: Love that Jack is willing to, and seems to be able to, kill penalties. I read somewhere that when Auston was asked if he ever had, he basically said "no and I won't ever." That said, I would almost never use Jack on the penalty kill. Well, totally different era, but Gretzky was on the ice when the Eulers were shorthanded a lot. (Notice, didn't say he killed penalties.). Because SH goals are killers. And Eichel doesn't have to cheat to the neutral zone to create chances at the other end. He just needs the puck. Pretty sure I'd have Johansson there before Eichel regularly (likely for similar reasons you don't want Eichel killing) but can't really think of anybody else on the roster that dressed tonight that should be there before Jack. 1
SwampD Posted October 4, 2019 Report Posted October 4, 2019 1 minute ago, Taro T said: Well, totally different era, but Gretzky was on the ice when the Eulers were shorthanded a lot. (Notice, didn't say he killed penalties.). Because SH goals are killers. And Eichel doesn't have to cheat to the neutral zone to create chances at the other end. He just needs the puck. Pretty sure I'd have Johansson there before Eichel regularly (likely for similar reasons you don't want Eichel killing) but can't really think of anybody else on the roster that dressed tonight that should be there before Jack. Halfway through last season, Jack’s defense has become sublime. 1
Thorner Posted October 4, 2019 Report Posted October 4, 2019 (edited) 14 minutes ago, SwampD said: It would depend on the numbers. Case in point. Middle of the third. There is a play to the left of Hutton, scramble for the puck, Risto doesn’t really have a play on the puck because another Sabre got to it, and for no reason at all (read: nothing that will appear on a stat sheet) he just blasts Malkin. It was awesome and absolutely had an impact on the game. LGR and Shopp won’t care. I though it was great. I’m sure the coaches and teammates did too. Just from watching the game, Skinner didn't look dangerous. That wasn't all Sobotka of course, but he clearly, to me, didn't help. Johansson looks pretty good to me, so it leaves me thinking we might need a third offensive contributer on that line to get Skinner going, which is the reason he's on the second line at all, right? If he can't score there, no reason he shouldn't be back on the top line. So if that line continues to look offensively mediocre, I'd try moving a Vesey or Sheary there for Sobotka before moving Skinner back to line one and taking Olofsson's chance away. Edited October 4, 2019 by Thorny
Randall Flagg Posted October 4, 2019 Report Posted October 4, 2019 1 minute ago, Taro T said: Well, totally different era, but Gretzky was on the ice when the Eulers were shorthanded a lot. (Notice, didn't say he killed penalties.). Because SH goals are killers. And Eichel doesn't have to cheat to the neutral zone to create chances at the other end. He just needs the puck. Pretty sure I'd have Johansson there before Eichel regularly (likely for similar reasons you don't want Eichel killing) but can't really think of anybody else on the roster that dressed tonight that should be there before Jack. Yeah, the "almost never" is a reference to what Doohickie mentions or when we need a goal. In general, I like the idea of trying hard to get Jack as much offense as possible, and spending effort on the PK is valuable but not in that way, and we have good PK forwards 2
WildCard Posted October 4, 2019 Author Report Posted October 4, 2019 9 minutes ago, Randall Flagg said: Love that Jack is willing to, and seems to be able to, kill penalties. I read somewhere that when Auston was asked if he ever had, he basically said "no and I won't ever." That said, I would almost never use Jack on the penalty kill. I'd like to see where you saw that. Seems like a bold thing for him to say
SwampD Posted October 4, 2019 Report Posted October 4, 2019 Just now, Thorny said: Just from watching the game, Skinner didn't look dangerous. That wasn't all Sobotka of course, but he clearly, to me, didn't help. Johansson looks pretty good to me, so it leaves me thinking we might need a third offensive contributer on that line to get Skinner going, which is the reason he's on the second line at all, right? If he can't score there, no reason he shouldn't be back on the top line. So if they continue to look offensively mediocre, I'd try moving a Vesey or Sheary there before taking Olofsson's chance away. But they had their chances. Quite a few. I wouldn’t change it just yet.
Randall Flagg Posted October 4, 2019 Report Posted October 4, 2019 1 minute ago, SwampD said: Halfway through last season, Jack’s defense has become sublime. You know who was almost completely missing today, despite usually being a staple in these games? Sidney Crosby. You know who Jack played against more than any other forward? Sidney Crosby. 8
Thorner Posted October 4, 2019 Report Posted October 4, 2019 (edited) 5 minutes ago, SwampD said: But they had their chances. Quite a few. I wouldn’t change it just yet. Like in preseason? Ya I guess. Wasn't there a game where Johansson was at C and there was someone else on his wing? And they looked good if I remember correctly. Johansson's first game there. May have been Reinhart though. Anyways, I'm just not sure how many games we need to give Sobotka there to prove it's not working, I guess that's my main thing. When there's guys with more offensive upside that can be moved there. There's SO much sample size already on file from last year. It shouldn't take long to pull the trigger. Edited October 4, 2019 by Thorny
Randall Flagg Posted October 4, 2019 Report Posted October 4, 2019 1 minute ago, Thorny said: Like in preseason? Ya I guess. Wasn't there a game where Johansson was at C and there was someone else on his wing? And they looked good if I remember correctly. Johansson's first game there. Johansson-Asplund-Olofsson is the preseason line you're thinking of. Johansson at C 1
SwampD Posted October 4, 2019 Report Posted October 4, 2019 (edited) 6 minutes ago, Thorny said: Like in preseason? Ya I guess. Wasn't there a game where Johansson was at C and there was someone else on his wing? And they looked good if I remember correctly. Johansson's first game there. May have been Reinhart though. Anyways, I'm just not sure how many games we need to give Sobotka there to prove it's not working, I guess that's my main thing. When there's guys with more offensive upside that can be moved there. There's SO much sample size already on file from last year. Preseason is about individual talent evaluation. Not line creation. Not sure how much you should glean from k But don’t you think that Pittsburgh knows about Skinner and line matched him? Even with that, they got their chances. Just because they didn’t score, doesn’t mean they were bad. Edited October 4, 2019 by SwampD
Taro T Posted October 4, 2019 Report Posted October 4, 2019 (edited) 12 minutes ago, Thorny said: Just from watching the game, Skinner didn't look dangerous. That wasn't all Sobotka of course, but he clearly, to me, didn't help. Johansson looks pretty good to me, so it leaves me thinking we might need a third offensive contributer on that line to get Skinner going, which is the reason he's on the second line at all, right? If he can't score there, no reason he shouldn't be back on the top line. So if they continue to look offensively mediocre, I'd try moving a Vesey or Sheary there before taking Olofsson's chance away. There were only 2 guys in the press box tonight so another guy can get brought up. I'd try Rodrigues or Thompson there before breaking up the 3rd line. They had 3 lines and 3 pairings working tonight. (And even that line that "didn't work" wasn't awful.) With the players they have in the "or-gan-i-za-tion" would be hesitant to disrupt line 3 to get line 2 working. Realizing that seems counterintuitive (They should want to optimize 2 over 3, right.) But not convinced they have the personnel to fix 2 without hurting line 1. (And I want line 1 optimized, especially as it seems unlike last year optimizing 1 won't screw up 2 & 3.) So, if they can't fix 2 (which isn't a given as I believe it will be better W/ E-Rod or Tage), don't mess up 3 as well. Have at least 1 of those 2 working. (2 would be the better 1 to work, but beggars can't be choosers.) Edited October 4, 2019 by Taro T 1
Thorner Posted October 4, 2019 Report Posted October 4, 2019 1 minute ago, SwampD said: Preseason is about individual talent evaluation. Not line creation. Not sure how much you should glean from k But don’t you think that Pittsburgh knows about Skinner and line matched him? Even with that, they got their chances. Just because they didn’t score, doesn’t mean they were bad. Well, ya. I mean if you think they were good I can see why you wouldn't want to change the line. To me Skinner seemed a non-threat, he wasn't quickly pouncing on rebounds, because they weren't generating rebounds, and that's Skinner's jam. They gave up more than they took tonight, as well. Eichel played against the Crosby line mostly, and the Sobotka line actually did well against the Malkin line and poor against the rest.
Thorner Posted October 4, 2019 Report Posted October 4, 2019 3 minutes ago, Taro T said: There were only 2 guys in the press box tonight. I'd try Rodrigues or Thompson there before breaking up the 3rd line. They had 3 lines and 3 pairings working tonight. (And even that line that "didn't work" wasn't awful.) With the players they have in the "or-gan-i-za-tion" would be hesitant to disrupt line 3 to get li e 2 working. Realizing that seems counterintuitive (They should want to optimize 2 over 3, right.) But not convinced they have the personnel to fix 2 without hurting line 1. (And I want line 1 optimized, especially as it seems unlike last year optimizing 1 won't screw up 2 & 3.) So, if they can't fix 2 (which isn't a given as I believe it will be better W/ E-Rod or Tage), don't mess up 3 as well. Have at least 1 of those 2 working. (2 would be the better 1 to work, but beggars can't be choosers.) I agree that there are options to try first, and it's LIKELY they'll yield better results than Sobotka there. But I'd certainly disrupt line 3 to get 2 going because of the Skinner factor. Him "on" is going to score more than Sheary "on".
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