We have had some absolute ass luck. We've also shot ourselves in the foot a few times as well. Every game we have some really high danger chances. IT'S RIGHT THERE! But it just didn't go our way. Last night should have been easily 5-3 in our favor. It just didn't get elevated. Or the shot was a fraction of a second too late or too early. However, we still have a really good looking team. Let's not doom and gloom until the break at least. The D looks way better than it has. We still need to clean up penalties and awful passes at the line or neutral zone. We're learning a new defensive scheme. But these are things we should be able to iron out. I stand by the hot takes that Hedman can clean his shit up big time. Lilleberg, while getting a lot of penalties, still has good speed. Hence a decent back check when the puck gets fumbled with Gourde as a very honorable mention. Lastly, Hagel needs to stay on a line with AC. Other than those kinks, I still think we look pretty solid. We can score. We added size and presence. They are all finding their place as the season goes on. Can we please not doom and gloom before the break? I think that's a fair time to know if we're neck deep in shit or not.
- What are your thoughts on what's going right vs. What's going wrong?
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They don’t play a full 60 and they’re still giving up too many high da anger opportunities. With that being said they are trying to find the right line combinations that will work and I’m optimistic they’ll turn it on soon. I like Geekie and Goncalves game so far and I think they’ll have a strong year
It’s a small sample size but the only positive I can take out of it so far is the 3rd line
I’m not a knee jerk guy, so I’m not saying it’s over. But the early sample isn’t good and it goes deeper than bad puck luck.
Kuch has been sick, but before that he was a turnover machine.
Hagel is off, not sure if it’s the repeated head injuries or what, but just not himself.
Hedman has gotten burned, several time.
Second thought, it’s not just Kuch, the whole team has been a turnover machine.
It’s not all negative, there are positives. Jake has looked good, he’s at least shooting the puck. After the first couple of games, Vasy got much more steady. JJ is a serviceable backup. 3rd line has been generally solid, Moser has been solid since his return.
If any coach can fix things, it’s Coop. If it continues as it has, then maybe it’s time to jump into a retool. But it’s not time to make that call yet.
Nothing about the way they’ve lost games suggest luck had a single thing to do with it. They’ve played like shit, and they’ve lost because of it.
Lilleberg is also terrible, and while he is not the team’s main issue, the fact he drags down whomever he plays with and basically cripples the pairing hurts the team a lot. Not to mention the 1-2 guaranteed ass penalties per game. But, the entire defense also looks in shambles at the moment, so it’s not just them.
We know they can be better, but it will take time for them to adjust to the new strategies and get out of the slump. Just have to hope it happens in a reasonable time frame.
They still haven’t fixed the AHL caliber player problem at the bottom of the defensive lineup and Hedman/McD who are needed to cover up the deficiencies look another year older and slower.
Offensively out of sync. Kucherov looks disjointed, Point and Hagel are invisible, and Coop is icing a 4th line that has no business being in the NHL in the name of fake toughness. Toughness comes from grit and physicality throughout the lineup, not putting a couple goons out there for 5 minutes per night.
I think Coop needs to jolt the lineup a bit. Try some other options around the edges
Surprisingly, for JFresh’s model on Twitter/X, expected GF/GA for TB are 2.63 (12th) – 2.67 (22nd). Despite our horrific shots on goal per game, we’re generating some pretty good lucks and not burying them.
Of course, this means:
– Vasy hasn’t had a great start to the season at all, and
– If we get *more* shots on net, maybe there will be *more* good chances and *more* goals. Sign me up as assistant coach.
A lot of our dried-up offence is certainly because of Hagel’s slump and Kucherov not playing at the level we expect him to play at. Two top-line players, statistically, going missing for a large portion of this start, is going to drag down a team’s offence. Better to slump early than later, but I hope returning to Tampa allows for better practices and cleaning up some of the little parts of the games that are going wrong.
We have great players. They just need to play great together.