How long is Ruff going to keep Bennguin apart? Obviously it's been a complete bust...
According to Mark Stepneski's report, it looks like Lindy will start with the re-shuffled lines:
Benn-Spezza-Nichushkin
Janmark-Seguin-Sharp
Roussel-Eakin-Sceviour
Faksa-Fiddler-Eaves
Goes without saying that isn't how they'll finish more than likely, unless they have better luck finding the back of the net than they did against the Jets. Niemi in net, Oleksiak in for Nemeth with Jordie out again.
Your beer mug isn't half-empty, your just half-way to the next refill.....
How long is Ruff going to keep Bennguin apart? Obviously it's been a complete bust...
What did we learn tonight?
1) The Stars really need this long break to rest tired legs.
2) That reviewing goalie interference is idiotic.
2a) Your not allowed, to use a Razorism, to optically inconvenience a goalie by standing in front of him.
3) Seriously, limit video reviews to offsides only.
GI has become almost as muddled as what constitutes a catch in the NFL. If it's going to be subjective then it shouldn't be open for review.
Your beer mug isn't half-empty, your just half-way to the next refill.....
With Hemsky back from his IR stint the old lines are pretty much back:
Benn-Seguin-Sharp
Janmark-Spezza-Hemsky
Roussel-Eakin-Nichushkin
Moen-Fiddler-Eaves/Sceviour
Faksa was re-assigned back to the Texas Stars. Look forward to seeing him in a full time role as the #3 or 4C in 2016-17. He's been as advertised by the folks who cover the Texas Stars.
Your beer mug isn't half-empty, your just half-way to the next refill.....
It's going to be strange, a Tuesday night and no Stars game. They only play 6 times between now and the end of the month, then basically play every other day in February. That will be a good test to see how they've adapted to this grind since Christmas, and what lessons they've taken from it. It showed in their play, especially from the Devils game on.
Your beer mug isn't half-empty, your just half-way to the next refill.....
How long is the Demers, not Klingberg, on the top PP experiment going to last?
I can't promise I'll try but I'll try to try.
I can't begin to offer a guess, Lindy and company are in full flail mode. Lindy went with what had until recently always worked to light a fire under them, namely shuffling, or Ruffling if you'll pardon the pun, his lines. It hasn't worked obviously.
It's been startling this sudden fall from grace. How can this team that finished calendar year 2015 by taking apart the Blues, Hawks, and Preds suddenly go so wrong? Every aspect of their game has failed them. Special teams, goaltending, you name it. Everything. Absolutely everything.
- To address Klingberg, he has not dealt with this new physical focus well at all. Teams are ramping up the physical game against him, trying not only to take him off his stride but in some cases to straight up injure and take him out. He's gone from Klingbeast to deer in the headlights at times. He's always been a target because of his slim frame, but teams have taken it up a couple of notches. To me he looks rattled at times and isn't making the good reads like he used to. He's got to learn to deal with it, at least until they get some big bodies out there that will make opponents pay for taking runs at him, and others.
- Teams have played them much, much tighter on the forecheck and the Stars have had no answer for it. And on the flip side, to start the season, the Stars themselves were much more aggressive on the forecheck. Now, unless the opponent takes the puck back behind their net to start a controlled breakout there's not a Stars forward within 20 feet of the puck carrier. Not only that, it's just one. Everybody else is laying back inside the blueline at the Stars end. Teams are getting too much space and time to operate coming out of their end and through the neutral zone which in turn has the Stars playing catch up because the opponent hits their zone with momentum.
- To start the season the Stars were much improved at getting sticks and bodies into shooting and passing lanes. Not anymore. They played much improved gap control on D, and same as above, that has deserted them. They need a full system reset, but I don't know if Lindy has figured out what that entails.
- Lastly, I think these guys need to see an optometrist. They need glasses bad. They can't seem to see the opposing player standing right in front of them and routinely fire passes, or clearing attempts, right to them. More often than not, right on the tape.
At this point I don't think anybody has any quick, easy answers to what ails them. It's as if when the clock struck midnight on January 1st, our calendars went to 2016 and theirs went to Jan. 1 2015, because they are currently playing like last season's underachieving trainwreck, not the team that came firing out of the starting blocks in October.
Your beer mug isn't half-empty, your just half-way to the next refill.....
Interesting stat.
https://mobile.twitter.com/JoshBogor...5111374848?p=v
Stars have lost by one goal in 5 of the last 8 gms. In those, they are 3/22 on the PP (13.6%) & 18/25 on the PK (72%). Game defining numbers
10 Team, Points Only, Cash League
25 Man Roster (no position), top 20 point getters count at end of month
Keep 20/25 at seasons end, Cut 5 to FA for redrafting
Goalie points W=2pt L=-1pt SHO=2pt
Stamkos, Tavares, Eichel, Mercer, JRobertson, RThomas, Kucherov, Nugent-Hopkins, Tuch, KConnor, Necas, Point, Konecny, SJarvis, Cozenz, Morrissey, Bouchard, Josi, Novak, Tolvanen, Peterka, Brink
G- Vasilevskiy, Sorokin, Oettinger
"Cleavage is like the sun. You can look, but dont stare.. Unless you're wearing sunglasses."
Can someone please tell me why Seguin has gone ICE COLD over the past 10 games or so?
What the hell is going on with Seguin!?!? Dude is colder than an ice cube. I should really bench him but I can't bring myself to do it.
It's just nature of today's game. Nobody will be hot for the whole season. Kane is defying the odds right now
This guy is almost as cold as Mark Stone... on the verge of costing me yet another H2H during this shortened week
All sports are a punch/counter-punch affair. Teams have figured out how to shut down Bennguin, and in the larger scheme of things how to defeat the Stars speed and transition game. Now it's down to Ruff and the players to find the counter-punch and make teams back off and give them the room to operate, or at the very least to make them pay for the style of play they are using against them.
It all comes back to being part of a team that is rising but not yet peaking. If a Stars fan is telling you they expected the results we got prior to the calendar flipping to 2016 they're being dishonest or delusional. Oh make no mistake, we expected the Stars to be a much improved team this season. They had the talent to be a playoff team last season and as such were a major disappointment. Are they the juggernaught that came out of the blocks to start this season? No. Make no mistake though, with a few tweaks and the right additions by Jim Nill, this is a team that is poised to become a dominate team among the league's elite in the years and seasons to come. Just not this season, barring some huge trades between now and the deadline.
Your beer mug isn't half-empty, your just half-way to the next refill.....
Here's a good read from Mike Heika, giving his thoughts on how the Stars D core could shake out with the pending UFAs.....
http://sportsday.dallasnews.com/dall...-one-outside-d
Your beer mug isn't half-empty, your just half-way to the next refill.....