Broken Ankles

the "precogs" have spoken.

Mongo Whomp!!

I’ll attempt to get you back on. And by no way am I suggesting he had a good game but consider this: 4 defensive zone starts and 8 defensive zone face-off’s. Dahlin in comparison took zero D face-offs and only 2 DZS. Risto took 5 Ozone face-offs, Joki and Dahlin had 11 each. Paired with a rookie playing his second game, and was caught on the ice multiple times with defenders like Joki and Bryson for extended shifts. Miller, Bryson, and Joki all had a worse xGA for the game 5v5. And Samuelson was extremely close. Multiple shifts he worked to clear the zone and exited before a forward registered a shot. One sequence occurred at the end of the second period where the Sabres had pressure including a scoring chance with less than 20 seconds remaining. He doesn’t get credit for being on ice for a SoG, but Bryson and Miller change (WTF - worst decision ever considering it’s the long change) and Boston’s gets two shots before Toker freezes it. Then with 8 seconds, the Bruins win the face-off (insert joke about the significance of this) and Bergeron almost scores to end the period. That’s three shots against. Not just shot attempts. In another sequence, where the Bruins score their second goal, it’s a defensive zone face-off the Sabres lose again followed by extremely poor play by Artu and Bjork to clear and then a poor save/kick in by Toker. He played well on the PK with almost 2 minutes on ice. Would have played more but was in the box for a dumb penalty against. He played 4 minutes on the PP and outside the abomination of the final 6-3, a few of the PPs looked much improved. This against the leagues best PK. And while I know you are carrying the proverbial cross on the Face-off crusade, the fact is losing 62% against a good team hemmed them in their own zone and allowed Boston to maintain possession throughout the game. No stats, just observation. On any given evening an NHL team is maybe losing 51-55% of face-offs. Losing 34 of 55 put them behind the eight ball all night. Six blocked shots isn’t a bad thing, as implied in the tweet. Kinda good. No stats on who he was on the ice with, but it seemed liked 3/4 lines. Asplund, Bjork, and Sheahan did not have good games. A few random thoughts why “underlying” stats can be deceptive.

This was a horrible idea.

Much better effort lately on the Sabres power-play. Bruins have a very good Pk unit and the Sabres had good movement and ozone time.

No reason to play Dahlin and Joki against that line.

More Weed

Why does Dustin have only one profile picture and Michaela have two? And God bless you Michaela for the work you do each and every day.

I listened to the Pittsburgh broadcast and like most opposing broadcast teams they were extremely complementary of Risto’s play. Replaying some of his harder hits against. They are abundantly knowledgeable about his historical poor analytics and career plus minus, but they maintain any coach would love to have him. Should be an interesting summer. Based on the Seattle thread I have come to believe he and Miller should be exposed, for no other reason than what WB could become under our control and the contribution over the next 3+ years vs one year of Risto. Makes me sad but perhaps...

Or 4, he is pissed that the ‘Reinhart sign him or trade him’ thread by Sweet Lou will not go away. He was reported to have said after the game, “goddamnit PI, I am a positive +/- since taking over at Center in April, what the ***** else do you want me to do?”

Great question. I can see Skinner wanting to do Adam’s a solid after firing RFK. But isn’t the tag like an all or none? As in you can’t “temporarily” lift the NMC clause and then get it back?

Cole is pitching, so the probably won’t lose it until the 8th. You’ll be fine.

Mildly Woke

Dougie is a UFA I believe. So just a matter of overpaying for the big Free Agent. If you move on from Risto and Miller you can afford him.

Might? I wouldn’t be surprised if Eakin wore a Medical Alert bracelet.

Overheard somewhere near Broadway and at St. Stanislaus church in the morning... “Dat der Toe-KAR-ski, he’s a real hockey player.”

Mostly Wild

Hate "The Drake".

In bold - unlike Vegas, Seattle will probably take an approach of slower development/not winning immediately, as GM's will act differently learning the lessons of the Vegas mistakes. Speaking of which, was Jonathan Marchessault or Reilly Smith net negative values? Of course not. How about Eric Haula? But sacrificed to protect another player(s). If I have a chance to start from scratch do I want a younger player still developing, cost controlled and guaranteed on my roster for at least 3-5 years or an over-priced player in his prime (with less skill - my opinion) who has an option to leave in UFA next season? The decision isn't even close.

What are you offering to take Miller? He’s not been good. I would require a second at minimum to take this player. And then you have to ask yourself, is that satisfactory value to save the development invested in Asplund and Borgen. It might be, but what if Seattle says they need our Second (not Boston) this year and next years third, what then?

Can we end Eakins season right now? Useless, worthless, ineffective, and inadequate in every way. The fourth line is just no bueno. Is it not better to have Reider in his place for PK and defensive shifts? Could you not double shift another C to play with KO and Sheahan/Roch Forward? And I think Cozens needs time on the PK. I love how the Kings rotate top six guys on their PK like Kopi, Iafallo, Carter, and Kempe.

Ma$$hole Wipes p.s. FU T. Hall

Seems like it. Never heard an interview that long with Curtis. He kind of cooled off a few games before his injury, but I loved his physical game this year. I thought it was one of the few good decisions by Adams to move on from Larsson. Lazar was a cost effective replacement to the 4th line center position with better goal scoring abilities. And as noted earlier, he was leading the team in hits at one point. p.s. Just like Harrington to monopolize and ask three questions. Add the Boston Media to his ever growing fan club.

From HF boards..... Bjork was very much a skill guy at Notre Dame and not at all projected to be the checking forward he has sort of turned into here. Some of us have compared him to Dan Paille in that sense. I personally think he still has untapped offensive upside and I think a lot of what has held him back is that he's spending too much time thinking about playing sound 2-way hockey and keeping the coach happy and that has totally overridden his offensive instincts. I think with a longer leash offensively he could finally figure it out. He still occasionally has flashes where he'll take over a whole shift and leave you wondering why you don't see that guy all the time. I don't think it's for lack of effort, though. With that said he has had I think 2 shoulder surgeries so maybe the shot just isn't want it could have been. But he's fast and works hard.