Malgin is going to be really good. Issue is that he doesn't really fit the mold of a 4th line center. Need someone who is great in the faceoff circle and can kill penalties. Really hope they try bjugstad and/or malgin at wing and create 3 really good lines. The potential is there for this team to be scary good. The defense is starting to cut down on the catastrophic errors and if the forwards ever get healthy, the depth on this team would be insane
makes the team so much deeper. Allows McCann to go to the AHL and continue to develop, and pushes rau to the 4th line.
Not a panic...they were just not on the same page at all as far as team direction. They were likely looking for the opportunity to fire him for a while.
Yea, it is pretty clear they weren't on the same page. I remember my conversation with Gallant last year where he said that he didn't use advanced stats when making lineup decisions but did use them for who would take a faceoff. Things clearly weren't going well, but at the same time he is a good coach and stood up for his players. There is a reason there are more than a few whispers that players are unhappy with the decision. There is no doubt that something is wrong with this team, but I don't think gallant was the problem. At the same time I don't think the roster is the issue either. The talent is there, but the consistency isn't. The panthers are something like 0-5-0 against Toronto, Buffalo, Carolina, and Philly. That is simply unacceptable. Normally you blame the coach, but these are vets making boneheaded plays and decisions with the puck. At some point the onus falls on the players to get their heads out of their asses
So this team has only won TWICE in regulation since the start of november and still sucks complete ass on the power play.
My biggest issue right now is that they aren't doing everyting to help Barkov. And by that I mean take jagr off his line. It was fun last year but obviously it's not working. Both coaching staffs have only switched the LW. But holy hell jagr could be holding him back this year. Hell out Malgin up there so skate hard and create space. Jagr has great vision and is methodical but I want to see Barkov on a line that opens up play.
The problem is who do you play jagr with? Every other line relies on speed so jagr wouldn't make sense. Another issue is that jagr has been known to check out if not given a role he wants. Do you risk him checking out before huberdeau gets back and you have a chance to see if that line still works?
Jagr should play half his shifts. Save him for power plays. Let him sit when the face off is in your own zone. i had a feeling he was probably done after last year but he was so good that you have to try him and at this point the guy is so big that it's hard to just cut him. There is a role for him but the coach has to be very smart about it
I agree that they need to be managing his minutes better. He shouldn't be playing b2bs and skipping defensive zone draws. But the guy wants to play every game. It's a thin line the panthers have to walk with him.
I kinda don't care right now. Priority 1 is getting the most out of our best players and we aren't with Barkov. And he isnt playing bad...he's just carrying his right wing with him. So I don't care how you figure it out. But give Barkov and this team a true top line.
5 regulation wins in 23 games. Injuries are no longer an excuse to at least be decent. Bjugstad has had little impact since returning. I totally forgot Jokinen was even on the team since he came back. All of that offseason focus on the power play and it's absolute fucking garbage. Looks like a bad basketball team....pass around the perimeter until someone just fires a contested shot. Other teams are applying pressure and we cant handle it. It's a miracle we have been good in 3on3. We deserve last place.
Jokinen hasn't been invisible, He's been terrible. Constantly turning the puck over in bad areas that lead to odd man rushes, flubbing passes, not taking open shots, etc. He's been the worst player on the roster and it isn't close. Seems to be his MO. Will be great for a year or 2 with a new team, fall off a cliff, get waived, then start the process over. I give Bjugstad a pass because he is essentially in pre-season mode because he didn't get any games in the AHL prior to returning. Here is the problem, the list of guys underperforming is exponentially longer than the guys playing well. Underperforming Jokinen Reilly Jagr Ekblad Mattheson Overperforming Marchesault That doesn't include guys like Demers and Barkov who were underperforming but have started to turn it around over the past 5ish games.
I think Ekblad is fine...he's just being asked to do too much. IE. EVERYTHING. He lost his guy last night but overall I cant really complain about him except for his role in the lack of PP production. But his ice time and other roles may be holding him back too. Yandle was supposed to come in a captain a PP that blows. I put more on him. These guys are also killing a ton of penalties which I'm sure is draining on everyone...even though we are actually really good in that area atm. I dont know if Jagr is underperforming. I just think this is him. He was elevated playing between Huby and Barkov all of last season. He shouldnt be on the top line. I want to see Barkov between Jokinen and Smith and see if it gets all of them going.
Jokinen and barkov just don't work together. Every time they play together it is a disaster. Same thing happens when they play on team Finland together, they start off every tournament on a line together and are broken up by the 2nd game. As for Yandle, I blame the PP scheme more than him. The PP was the baby of Gallant and Kelly and it was a disaster. Rowe hasn't had any time to really make any changes and now won't have Yandle for the forseeable future. Also, Yandle had started to put up points and was playing very well on both ends of the ice. As for Ekblad, his play just hasn't been up to his standards this year. I am sure having to be The Guy is affecting him, but at the same time, his decision making in the defensive zone has been awful this year. The weakest part of Ekblad's game is his skating. The goal against last night was a perfect example. He got left in the dust by that Bruins player. Last year he made up for his lack of speed by always being in the right place at the right time and making great decisions when the puck is on his stick. This year he has been caught out of position numerous times and has made some brutal decisions with the puck in the defensive zone that either keeps the puck in the zone for another 40+ seconds or results in a high danger scoring chance. He needs to be better. I'm not in panic mode when it comes to ekblad, but he needs to be more consistent.
That first period was a microcosm of the season. even the periods they dominate end up with a tied score because of one dumb mistake
42-23 in shots. 0/2 power play. Gave up another goal on a tip in front because we can't clear anyone away ever. Overtime.
Brutal use of possession in overtime too. What the fuck was any of that. Yandle just loves careless shots instead of possession too apparently. Other guys just throwing things at the net at first chance instead of setting anything up. Everyone is desperate and they look careless.
It's not about catching breaks. This team doesn't deserve them. Careless possession, passing up grade B+ chances to try to create A+ (and failing), poor accuracy, terrible power play setup and movement, bad D play in our own slot/crease area. The goaltending has been good to very good. But this team not winning is no longer an accident. It can't be.
You are right. But at the same time 2 of the goals they gave up tonight were complete flukes. When was the last time you saw the panthers score a fluke goal? I agree with you that you make your own luck in this league, but at the same time you need a little gift from the hockey gods to help end all this losing. I mean shit. Mason has been trash all year and he's played like a god both games against the panthers. I do agree that they were terrible in OT for the second night in a row. No sustained possession.
Second goal I'm not calling a fluke. We are giving up a staggering amount of tips and layups on our doorstep. Even if the deflection is awkward, we are open to all of those. Jagr's goal against Chicago is a good recent flukey goal. Also his goal before that (forget the game) where he barely touched it while falling back. Ekblad's OT winner vs Montreal. This is just off the top of my head.
I was talking about the game winner. Puck rolls on matheson and instead of getting cleared out of the zone, ends up in the back of the net. Reading the advanced/regular stats from last night is so depressing.
I've seen 2 odd man rushes and jagr blindly throw it behind his back to the center to one when he was almost alone on goal. 0 shots in all of those.
So typical of a young team after a successful year...not to mention how your management is a total cluster fuck. It's normal to have a bit of a down year after last year but the firing of gallant was mismanagement imo. Just too fast, panicky and brought nothing. This new guy is a complete unknown, no experience, players don't seem to like him. Just weird that the owners would let these things fly.
He actually has a lot of experience as a coach. If it had been under different circumstances, it would have been hailed as a guy finally getting a shot at coaching after slugging his way up the ranks.
of course he is. the whole situation is really weird. I just want the hockey to get better. Is that too much to ask?