JohnC

What's both encouraging and discouraging at the same time is that Kulich looks better than Quinn, so far. If Quinn can get back to form, then that line second line should be more productive. Right now, my inclination is that Cozens is better on the wing. I would love to have him prove me wrong.

You are the type of guy when everyone says up, you say down. When someone says go, you say stop. When a coach says a player is "not 100% you oddly say that he is robustly healthy. If the coach acknowledges that a player is not "100%", he is essentially saying the player is playing hurt (injured). We have seen Dahlin when he was healthy, and we have seen him when he was plagued with an injury. How about using some common sense and trust your eyes!

Dahlin's play is a shadow of what it was not long ago. I'm starting to have suspicions that he is hurt. Compared to how freewheeling he used to play, he seems to be unable to cut it loose and make plays. Maybe he is having difficulty adapting to Lindy's tighter approach to playing defense, resulting in him thinking too much rather than reacting? We should get a better sense of what the problem is, if there is a problem, after a few more games. I suspect he is dealing with an injury that is inhibiting his play.

Even if it is for the short-term, Cozens needs to be moved to the wing. Maybe that will relax him and allow to think less and play more reactively. He's clearly pressing. Moving him to the wing would not be a punishment. It is making a change to get him back to his previously productive form. Even if moving him to another position is a temporary move to change the dynamic of the situation, it might be the right response to jolt him into better play.

https://www.nhl.com/video/buf-at-chi-recap-6363507672112 I didn't watch the game because I couldn't find a station to view it. Based on a five-minute clip of the game taken from NHL.com it appears that UPL made some critical stops that prevented us from letting this game slip away. Based on the clip, it seems that our first line played as a first line in this game. Tage seems to be moving well and playing with confidence.

In a legitimate process with the primary criteria established of having experience he would have been a prime candidate, and a worthy selection. You may disagree but it was a reasonable outcome within a charade process. I half agree and disagree with your conclusion that both Cozens and Tage should be on the wing. Tage needs space to work with in order to be effective. So I would keep him in the center spot. Cozens is pressing and doesn't have the vision of a center. I would put him on the wing. Maybe that change of position will also relax him enough to do less thinking and more reacting.

I thought this game would be on my MSG station in Maryland. It's not. So listening to WGR. Just get a freaking win!

You make keen points about the utility that could have been made by seriously interviewing a number of experienced candidates for the open job, even if Lindy was pre-selected in the hollow search for a new coach. One of them is that you can learn something from "outsider eyes" about the weaknesses and strengths about your organization and roster. It was a second-rate effort from a second-rate organization. I'm not as negative about this team and season as many already are. But it is exasperating to watch how this organization continues to fumble doing the basic stuff, such as hiring staff. It's ridiculous.

I believe that the hiring process that resulted in Lindy being hired was a charade. On the other hand, even with a full and legitimate hiring process Lindy would have been a good pick for a number of reasons, including experience and willingness to hold players accountable. In my view, he was the right hire in a bogus hiring process.

I'm not arguing to trade away our top prospects such as Helenius or even Östlund. My frustration is directed at some of the perplexing decisions that our GM has recently made. I still am perplexed by the Mitts for Byram trade? And even more perplexing is why the GM couldn't have added another second line player/wing this offseason when he had more than enough cap and assets to parlay. I have no doubt that the GM is a good guy, but as a GM he is bland. He lacks the creativity and savvy to improve the roster. I'm not giving up on this season. It's clear that players are adjusting to the new coach. They are obviously pressing. Cozens and Dahlin are examples of that. The last offseason was the time to tweak the roster and make some judicious adds. Our GM stumbled and didn't make a consequential move to upgrade this roster. The GM is the head of the hockey operation. He's simply mediocre.

I never understood the reasoning why he was not signed to an extension when we not only had the opportunity to do so, but also the player was willing to sign the extension. The GM nonsensically put him on hold. He then exercised his prerogative to leave. So the organization was forced to trade him. We had him, and we lost him because of this organization's own obtuseness. The accumulation of bad decisions/judgments has suffocated this withering franchise. It makes no freaking sense!

Being in a constant negative and environment is exhausting and depleting. I'm not bringing up the issue of whether it is warranted or not (it is) so much that being in the vicinity of so much negativity does have a depressing effect on others. It's simply toxic. I'm taking it game by game and making a point not to be so immersed in the play. That's what I can control.

Trading Mitts for Byram was not a smart move. The money saved from shedding Skinner allowed more financially flexibility for the GM to sign Mitts, a player who can play both wing and center. A line composed of Cozens/Mitts/Quinn would be more appealing than what we have now on the second line. I'm not knocking Byram as a player. From a talent standpoint, the Mitts and Byram deal was reasonable. However, from fitting together a roster, it set us back. Our GM is mediocre. He is a checkers player in a chess competition. He's simply overmatched. His record attests to that.

Have you considered entering the beer chugging Olympics? You would be a medal favorite. If I go to a bar where you frequent, I hope there would be more than one urinal. If not, there will be bar patrons who will be upset with you hogging that over-flowing urinal. 😀

I respectfully but strenuously disagree with the comparison where you put Risto in the same class as Cozens from a player and contract standpoint. Cozens is somewhat struggling and not producing offensive stats. But the effort and willingness to go to the dirty/tough areas is apparent. My suspicion is that he might be better suited as a winger. In the International Tournaments he has thrived on the wing against high end competition. That's one of my arguments why the Mitts trade was a bad deal for us. I thought putting Cozens on Quinn on the wings with Mitts centering made a lot of sense. I strongly recommend being a little more patient with him and even Quinn. The player that has perplexed me is Dahlin. He's simply not the same player that he was under Granato. Right now, it seems as if he is resorting back to the Krueger era being tied to a system instead of allowing his copious talent to take over. Maybe it is too much thinking and not enough free flowing???

Why are you blaming the desultory play of Dahlin on Joki or any other partner he is assigned with? I don't know what is causing Dahlin's lackluster play but something is off kilter with him. In general, I would say that Joki is playing well.

I'm disappointed that we didn't get the win but one positive takeaway from this road game is that we got a loser point. In previous years, the team would exit the arean with zero points. Another positive is the play of JJP. He's fast and he can shoot. His goals were from laser shots into small openings. I read a criticism of UPL's play in this thread. My question is: What game were you watching? He kept us in the game with more than solid play. One of the encouraging things about our disappointing early record is the play of our two goalies. If we get that standard of play for most of the season, then this should be in the playoff fray. As someone mentioned, and I have previously mentioned, Cozens may be a better winger than center. That's why a consider the Mitts trade for a defenseman a mistake. A line of Cozens/Mitts/Quinn made a lot of sense. And you still could periodically interchange the wing/center positions between Cozens and Mitts. Our GM seemed to have outsmarted himself. Little things to like: the play of Clifford. If we can get a win in Columbus it will take some of the sting away from this Pitts game.

I have a different priority than the forecheck you mentioned. It is shooting more accurately when the scoring opportunities exist. The King game really aggravated me. For two periods, we definitely outshined the Kings. We simply dominated in those first two periods. And during that interval we had more than enough opportunities to score. However, the accuracy wasn't sufficient to take advantage of them. In the two home games, I felt that this team played the grittier way that Lindy advocates. There seems to be a greater emphasis and determination to place more bodies in front of the opposing net. My hope is that the shooters will be more accurate.

They are not retaining any money.

There are a variety of roles that a good team needs to be successful. From a hockey skills standpoint, there is nothing special about him. He's certainly not a very fast or quick skater. But he makes up for that deficiency by his sound positional play. As a shooter, he certainly is not a sniper. But his value lies with his size and willingness to play big. He's not just a big fellow but a rugged player on a team that in recent history has been too finesse oriented. His brand of physical play is something that this roster has needed for a long time. As you smartly noted, he's not the type of player/talent that you should overpay; but he is the type of player you want on your roster to better round it out. Without question, so far, he has not only been one of our better players but also one of our most consistent players. He is definitely a Lindy player.

I would say that our own draft steal was JJP. The GM moved back up in the second to ***** him. His relatively quick production has proven that the trade up was an astute move. And it is evident that he has even more potential to draw from to make that year's draft maneuver to be very smart and calculating.

Fantastic physical feats! You are this room's iron man. If you get in a quarrel with your usual combatants just challenge the rogues to a road race. You will leave them in the dust! You are the Aud Room's Lance Armstrong (without the steroids--just expresso coffee).

As you noted, there are a variety of reasons why this team seems to be playing better since the first half of the previous year. A significant factor may be that last year in the second half of the season UPL played the bulk of the games and was consistently good. And for the most part, our netminding has been solid. If we can have this level of play from both of our goalies, then we should be in the playoff mix. It's going to be intriguing to watch how the competition ultimately turns out with UPL and Levi vying for the primary role.

When has NHL referring not been inconsistent? You deal with it and play on. No more excuses.

I thought Power played well. When evaluating the play of defensemen over emphasizing the scoring sheet doesn't always indicate the caliber of play. Clifton may not be racking up stats but I have been pleasantly surprised by his play. What you are doing is resorting to a pre-written script. It's simply too soon to do that. It will serve you well to be a little more patient before slamming the door closed.