Trettioåtta

1) This game isn't on Johnson. 2) Johnson has not made one big save all game. He has played pretty poorly in general (overplaying 2 on 1s). 3) Lehner is much better 4) Eichel is not looking anything close to captain material - is he actually playing tonight? 5) This is probably RORs best game (but he is still playing poorly) 6) Jack sure isn't living up to his contract these last few games - its only because Kane is playing like a man possessed he has any points 7) Kane has his flaws but he plays hard every shift of every game - take not Jake 'Coaster' Eichel

Time for Jack to do something and put this team on his back. At $10 million a year you have to do more than just put up the points - you have to put them up when they matter

This is an awful game. They have looked sloppy from the start. Toronto has scored 12 goals in 4 periods. We have scored 2 and let 3 shorties in. The opponent has scored 3 times as many goals on OUR pp. Urgh.

Maybe play a controlled game rather than a fast one?

Oh yeah I'm all for training guys to be fantastic at it. I just don't think it has to be our best players, simply those who appear to be the best in the shootout. Some tactics in the shootout too - e.g. maybe if the first two simply shoot and get nothing the third should do something else

Agreed something seemed off with ROR tonight

At best, this season we are probably a bubble playoff team. So occasionally being dominated is expected. The difference is this season we should be doing it to the other team as well and it was so refreshing seeing the D try and keep the play alive rather than skate back to the centre line once the puck was chipped in

In fairness, I don't believe a single forward has scored in the shootout with Lehner in goal

Alex Ovechkin is crap in the shootout too, yet is probably one of the top 5 goal scorers of all time. Some guys skills don't translate well to it - Jack is clearly one of them. Meanwhile number 10 was at 52% and is a fourth liner

So Lehner could make 10 saves in the shootout and let the 11th in but that would be his fault because there were still like another 9 skaters who could have scored if they had had their turn

And even if he had made two more saves we wouldn't have won the game. The whole team sucks at shootouts but frankly they are low down on the priority list. We need to win games properly - tonight was a good effort. Rather than limp on and flop at the shootout we were the dominate team for most of the game (who then flopped in the shootout). If people are going to be disappointed about anything this game they should be annoyed our forwards only chipped in two goals and thus expected our goalie to put up a .975 save effort to win the game

He had a .950 game... Seriously I just don't get the goalie rhetoric around here

I guess us going 0-3 in the shootout is irrelevant. Lehner lost us this game... Anyway that was mostly a very enjoyable game and I thought we mostly played very well

How has Moulson not been waived?

Maybe half a season at most? I try to watch highlights of every game at the very least. My current job is quite flexible, so my aim is to watch 28 of the first 41 games (annoyingly the Western trip is at a really irritating time for me so i'll miss those). I think this is why I have been quite pessimistic in the last year - i resent missing sleep for poor performances :p

Yeah fair point. In all honesty, I'm trying hard to keep my optimism at bay - last year I was so ready for us to take the next big step and we absolutely didn't. I didn't watch a ton of the preseason (staying up till 3am with work the next day for pointless games isn't my thing), but I was just hoping to see this team come out swinging (especially in the scoring department - if we are going to lose, let's at least lose games 5-4 rather than 2-1). That said Colorado were like 4 - 0 in their preseason last year... Plus I like the more active and aggresive D. It feels like there is more chance for a scoring play to develop rather than just give up on the play at first chance

Did we win any games this pre-season? I think we possibly won one in overtime? So we were 1 - 5? It made me think we will be a bottom 5 - 10 team, but that's basically normal now. At least the games were more interesting (although we still can't score). Disappointed Eichel had a much quieter one with about 2 points than Laine, Mathews and McDavid who all absolutely dominated.

Malkin and Crosby putting on a clinic for how to destroy EIchel

May struggled to get out a sentence most times he opened his mouth

I think that's true to an extent, but as a third line forward he should be against lower calibre players compared to when he was a first liner. So yes he'll get less opportunities due to less time, but he should be able to capitalise on them more. I don't think it makes sense for a third line player to put up more points against tougher opponents simply due to time on ice. To clarify, I think Girgensons' ceiling is a good third line centre who can step up to the 2nd line if someone is injured

You have to qualify him at (least) 10% above what he made last season (otherwise they become a UFA). So the Sabres could either have let him walk, or given him at least $1.25 million a season. So he is earning 350,000 above what he had to be. Let's move on folks

Pre-Bylsma: 0.4 ppg (52 in 131) Bylsma: 0.23 ppg (34 in 146) Honestly, I said it when we signed him - Bylsma is a crap coach and if you can only win one cup with Sid and Geno on your team that proves it. I'm giving everyone a clean sheet this season

Plus he is an RFA at the end of this (6 years service)

The draft is meant to be pretty strong this year... :ph34r:

Is he RFA or UFA after this?