Doohickie

Yeah, that's what I figured. Where can I find the FO stats at that level?

One thing that comes up in a lot of interviews is the sense that the team has an identity of being hard to play against, staying above the puck defensively, getting greasy goals but also using skill. I think Granato was all about the skill and it was important to develop that, but Lindy gives them more tools to employ, and like I said, they're getting a sense of the identity of the team. I think Granato tried to instill an identity but there wasn't enough substance to his game style... it was just kill with skill and if the opponents could neurtalize/slow down the skill they were left with nothing.

Watched the Peyton Krebs postgame presser and he mentioned he's getting powerplay time, in part because of his faceoff ability; said he's been working on that a lot. Krebs is second on the team with 65.1% faceoff wins. Sitting 100% is JJP, but I suspect that's for only one or two faceoffs. It's good to see Krebsie having a skill that differentiates him from other forwards and really helps the team.

On every team there are contracts that are overpays and contracts that are underpays. I tend to not worry about that too much.

Same. They're 3-2-1 since then which is fine. And now they've won two in a row, one against a 5-1 team. They're trending the right way all of a sudden. Destroy the Wings and beat the Panthers and they could be literally in first place in their division Monday (depending on what other teams do in the meantime).

They laid three stinkers to start the season and have gone 3-1-1 since then. For a team going to a new system, the slow start was to be expected.

But he was never a centerpiece. He was an add-in with some upside, an unproven prospect. Tuch was always the centerpiece and he's lived up to his end of the bargain. Anything out of Krebs and the draft picks are bonus imo.

You forgot the Assist Machine part.

Quinn and Benson will both be fine. But let them fight for and earn their ice time.

Several people including myself noted that he smartly waited until it was clearly below the bar before swinging at it. Jack Quinn, Dylan Cozens, Jiri Kulich and Zach Benson will all be fine. All players go through ups and downs. They'll find the magic again. If the other three lines are holding them up, it will give them time to work things out.

Curious what people think of Krebs, especially in light of recent games. He scored the first goal on Dallas Tuesday which was a pleasant surprise. He seems like he's becoming quite the irritant to other teams. But I've also seen him working effectively on the rush and the offensive zone. He may never be a top six player but I think he's rounding out into decent bottom six form.

He'll come around. I think it might be time for Lindy to mix deployments. Give the Cozens line O zone starts and limited minutes and let them work it out while the McLeod line gets second (or like tonight... first?) line minutes. I personally don't have a problem with McLeod getting more minutes than Tage's line; I kind of like the idea of keeping Tuch-Tage-JJP fresh for later in the game.

I would say Tage is finding the attitude/mojo he had at the end of his 47 goal season. He's using his size and reach to make plays and take over a shift, but he's smarter than he used to be; when he draws opponents toward him he's ready to dish to a linemate. He's starting to be that "top 15 center" that other thread questions that he can be.

Your hockey posts are good but you need to stop mocking other posters if you want to be here. You call that "mocking"? Really?

Since their 0-3 start, they're 3-1-1.

Ruh oh

Okay time for an EN goal and quiet these Stars down.

Yeah a 4-2 terrible team with wins against NJ, LA, TB, and the Penguins. lol Don't care. They could be 6-0 and they'd still be awful.

Cozens making some nice defensive plays tonight.

Coupla gorgeous plays by Krebs there. He's really playing well.