Good news is that Bourque is/has developing into a solid producing forward… top line! Maybe since it’s clicking we keep it the same when Rant returns! Let Rant work w Dutch and Benn until Hintz gets back. Then try Rant Hintz Bunting… And put Steel Dutch Benn back together for the playoffs???
Crap game. It looks like the team has hit a wall, mentally and physically. They can’t get back Moose and Roope soon enough. Roope in particular was noticeably missing in this game with his skating speed up the middle.
This team's best makes me feel hesitantly optimistic. this team's worst makes me lack any confidence they have what it takes to win a Cup. it's harder to hold on the the optimism as a fan, regardless of their overall record. And that's in large part because their fancy numbers aren't great for teams considered trued contenders
Will we see Petro or Capo on the blue line any time soon? Seems we'd give the top six some rest and get those guys some fresh ice time should we need them in the playoffs, particularly Petro who has done well in playoff hockey the last two years. Capo adds some offense from the blue liners and could provide some spark to our o-zone work. It couldn't hurt to mix it up and shake this recent funk.
No way to slant this game other than “it’s a long season and stuff happens.”
For several years I have marveled at the ability of these athletes to play 82 games in dozens of cities over 6.5 months and still produce a competent, competitive game. How in the world do they do that?
How many rock songs have you heard where they sing about the difficulty of being on the road for long concert tours? And they’re not skating up and down the ice at 20+ mph and getting pummeled by other big, fast athletes.
Add in the injuries and you have a lot of guys who have stepped up and played on higher lines and more minutes than they or the Stars would’ve expected. Then the crazy schedule due to the Olympics.
I’m not making excuses for last night- they were inept, slow and undressed last night in the first. But I’m also resolutely keeping my finger from pushing the panic button due to the current losing streak.
And it could get worse- the Stars’ worst winning percentage is against the East. I also would not be surprised to see Gulutzan and staff “manage” ice time over the final couple of weeks to try to keep key guys fresh for the playoffs.
But help is coming- Miko and Roope before the playoffs start, and hopefully Radek soon after?
We just have to hold on and grind through these next couple of weeks- just like the players. It might not be fun, it might occasionally be hard to watch. But let’s wait until the playoff end before we judge them too harshly.
Stars are getting eviscerated defensively on the rush. Every game the last 10 days seems to feature multiple breakdowns resulting in breakaways and clean odd-man looks for opponents. Need to clean that up pronto.
Good news is that Bourque is/has developing into a solid producing forward… top line! Maybe since it’s clicking we keep it the same when Rant returns! Let Rant work w Dutch and Benn until Hintz gets back. Then try Rant Hintz Bunting… And put Steel Dutch Benn back together for the playoffs???
Crap game. It looks like the team has hit a wall, mentally and physically. They can’t get back Moose and Roope soon enough. Roope in particular was noticeably missing in this game with his skating speed up the middle.
This team's best makes me feel hesitantly optimistic. this team's worst makes me lack any confidence they have what it takes to win a Cup. it's harder to hold on the the optimism as a fan, regardless of their overall record. And that's in large part because their fancy numbers aren't great for teams considered trued contenders
Will we see Petro or Capo on the blue line any time soon? Seems we'd give the top six some rest and get those guys some fresh ice time should we need them in the playoffs, particularly Petro who has done well in playoff hockey the last two years. Capo adds some offense from the blue liners and could provide some spark to our o-zone work. It couldn't hurt to mix it up and shake this recent funk.
No way to slant this game other than “it’s a long season and stuff happens.”
For several years I have marveled at the ability of these athletes to play 82 games in dozens of cities over 6.5 months and still produce a competent, competitive game. How in the world do they do that?
How many rock songs have you heard where they sing about the difficulty of being on the road for long concert tours? And they’re not skating up and down the ice at 20+ mph and getting pummeled by other big, fast athletes.
Add in the injuries and you have a lot of guys who have stepped up and played on higher lines and more minutes than they or the Stars would’ve expected. Then the crazy schedule due to the Olympics.
I’m not making excuses for last night- they were inept, slow and undressed last night in the first. But I’m also resolutely keeping my finger from pushing the panic button due to the current losing streak.
And it could get worse- the Stars’ worst winning percentage is against the East. I also would not be surprised to see Gulutzan and staff “manage” ice time over the final couple of weeks to try to keep key guys fresh for the playoffs.
But help is coming- Miko and Roope before the playoffs start, and hopefully Radek soon after?
We just have to hold on and grind through these next couple of weeks- just like the players. It might not be fun, it might occasionally be hard to watch. But let’s wait until the playoff end before we judge them too harshly.
Stars are getting eviscerated defensively on the rush. Every game the last 10 days seems to feature multiple breakdowns resulting in breakaways and clean odd-man looks for opponents. Need to clean that up pronto.