dudacek

The reason fancystats guys pay so much attention to those stats is that they are predictive of wins over the long haul. Of course that also means sustaining them over the long haul. It's why they were down on the 10-game win streak two years ago — the underlying numbers said it was a mirage, and the underlying numbers were right.

He had an edge as a junior. A bit of a temper that we haven't seen much of. His idol was Forsberg and it would be nice if he started approaching the game that way. That said, I thought he was excellent two games ago and pretty good last game. He's been playing the point with authority and attacking more offensively. Can't wait until he starts connecting with Hall and Staal and Skinner on those Hail Mary passes.

I don't think this is true, but I do think people believe it is and therefore devalue him.

Please explain what his numbers show we should be doing. I'm seeing a strategy that is allowing all four lines to outchance their opposition.

Rangers are fragile. Stay fast and disciplined they will crumble if things start to go wrong.

That's what you got from IKP's post?

The goal is not to stay with other teams, it's to climb over them. These are the kinds of games we need to win to make the playoffs.

Territorially sure. But theyve combined for one ES goal in 7 games. How long do you stay patient?

Wait, you’re saying that Ralph’s lineup choices are actually supported by analytics?

No, it’s the coach’s job to win hockey games. Im sure if you got Ralph to be honest, he’d say he is maximizing Skinner - within the context of this team - by putting him with and against players that minimize his defensive flaws, create the O-Zone chaos he needs and don’t get frustrated with what @Kelly the Dog aptly referred to as his puck hog tendencies. You’re exactly right that it’s not about pampering a player. It not about punishing him either. Ralph is doing what he thinks will give the team the best chance to succeed. I’m not saying he’s right in the way he’s using Skinner, I just don’t think he is doing it to send him a message or that he should change things up just because it would be better for Skinner. I don’t think Skinner should get a shot with Eichel to get Skinner going, but I’m open to him getting a shot with Eichel to get the first line going. If the first line was playing better I would probably feel differently.

I agree with Samuelsson/McCabe comparison: similar talent level and role, on and off the ice.

Anything to do with that sexual harassment suit involving the former assistant coach? Doubt this was planned at all, or Botterill, Fitzgerald and Guerin would not have taken jobs elsewhere.

That is interesting. Wonder how picky, or how pricey he's been.

He's about 75th in games coached all-time in the NHL and 225th in winning percentage. He's had three shots at being an NHL head coach. His record is 187/227/57. He missed the playoffs 4 out of 6 years and has only won one playoff series ever. His NHL coaching record is similar to Jeff Blashill, Mike Milbury and whole lot of names you've probably forgotten. I like Ted, but in the context of his resume, the fact that he is not coaching in the NHL isn't that that strange at all.

I still think Samuelsson is devalued because people too easily slip him into a dead-puck era model stereotype. He's not Dana Murzyn, he can skate well enough to defend. He will be killing penalties and manning the walls of the Alamo for a long time.

Damn, Wheeler really high on Portillo off a relatively small sample size.

No Mittelstadt, Borgen, Bryson or Thompson in there, eh? What does Sabrespace think? Are they still prospects, or have they maxed out as minor leaguers/tweeners?

LOL, it's amazing how embedded this is in our collective psyche, even though last night's 3rd was the first time we've seen it all year. I'd go as far as to say that we haven't seen much of it since the Lindy days. Those years with Robin Lehner turning 2-1 leads into 3-2 losses weren't the true Alamo because there was no conscious decision to go to a prevent defence then. That was just about teams waking up because they were about to lose to a really bad team.

Did I miss something? Wasn’t he out there to close things out on the PK?

This is certainly the way Krueger sees it and so far it has been supported by analytics. But as long as Skinner isn’t scoring the argument isn’t going to get a lot of support, especially with the top two lines not producing either at even strength. Me, I’m just going to judge on wins and losses.

You went back five years. Joki and Miller played one of those, Montour 1 and a bit, and Dahlin 2. I just don’t think the 2015 to 2020 cumulative run has much to do with this collection of players. The current numbers reflect the fact that four of our five most frequent shooters -Eichel, Hall, Dahlin and Skinner - have combined for 2 goals. Do you expect their abysmal results to continue?

Miller’s been a heavy risk/reward player his entire career. His struggles tonight weren’t about Dahlin. Dahlin’s -2 tonight was much more on the guys he was playing with (the Eichel line) than anything he did.

They are dressing six forwards who were here last year and only 4 who were here two years ago.

That was one for Kevyn Adams and the Kevyn Adams type players he filled out the bottom six with this year. Ralph alluded to it in the post-game: Rieder Eakin Sheahan and Lazar win faceoffs, get in faces, and take care of the details in a way the Conor Shearys and Jimmy Veseys refused to ever fully invest themselves in doing. Dont take this as an endorsement of the way Skinner is being used, but damn, that line is a pack of wild dogs at the slaughterhouse sometimes on the cycle and forecheck. It’s a treat to watch and has to be one of the league’s more effective “4th” lines. Matt Irwin’s skill level is pretty much non-existent, but he played far better tonight than I ever imagined he could. As a unit, Jack, Sam, Taylor, Colin and Ras were really bad in our zone. Eric Staal is growing on me. His body is slow, but his mind still functions at a very high NHL level. Looking forward to watching chemistry with Cozens develop. A lot of people on here seem to think the Victor Olofsson we saw last year was as good as he’s going to get. I’m seeing a guy who is getting more pucks and making better passes. After a good debut, Kyle looked like a guy who hadn’t played in while. Another good finish by Linus. The fact he let in an undeflected point shot for the second game in a row is a worry. Having a good 2nd PP unit is a thing? Wow. Uneven game against an uneven team. Good teams win those games, then come back with better games the next time they hit the ice. Looking forward to see what Thursday brings.

I suspect the forwards are the way Ralph pictures them ideally in his mind.