I’m not dissatisfied, but I do find it a little concerning that one thing Gulutzan preached was practicing playing playoff hockey in the regular season. The last two games have not exactly looked like that. There has been several great moments but also clear moments of them getting absolutely caved in, and allowing teams back into the game as a result of that.
Granted, these have been weird games, but you would hope they could at some point take the late game tilted ice back. The Wild have played more games and were on a back to back road game here. Doesn’t look great to be more deflated than them in the third period.
For a non-homer take on the hit, my perspective is that, while the ref decisions regarding the hit were justifiable, I think there was intent to hurt Duchene. Middleton does not “explode up” as was repeated ad nauseam on the broadcast. He is level from the moment he commits to the hit. The problem is that Duchene is the one who mitigates damage *entirely by accident* by lifting his head by the time contact is made. If I recall the play correctly, Middleton and Duchene aren’t set to collide when Duchene received the puck. Middleton initiates and takes a very aggressive angle into him. That’s fine. But if you have time to get that angle on him, you have time to lower down and make sure it’s all body. That’s not just a hard hit. That’s a dangerous play where the aggressor did nothing to mitigate the danger. It was somewhat mitigated by accident.
I've liked what I've seen from Nils so far this year. One thing I'd like to see though is a little more puck attack when he's defending the rush. He's trying to read plays and get to the right areas which is good, but he often concedes a lot of ground in order to do so when guys are skating at him or wheeling the puck around the boards. I'd like to see him pick a few more spots to aggressively try to disrupt those plays, rather than try to put himself into a reactive space for a later pass attempt. Hard to stop a cross-ice pass from the center of the ice than it is to try to stop it as it comes off the passers stick.
Eye test says that Miro isn't quite the Miro of the past right now; feels like he hasn't shifted into a higher gear yet...The Stars need to move Harley to drive the first power play unit. His shot is so much more lethal than Miro's and with Miro, the Defense just lays back. Hey, it's early yet, we have 6 out of 6 points against our own division playoff opponents, I'll take it.
Not complaining too much since we got to go to the game last night, but the actual 9pm start on opening night is b.s. Get rid of the NHL TV rule, or start the East Coast game earlier. No one on the East Coast is up at 1AM to watch the Wild/Stars play anyway. How does one bring their kids to this type of game when there's school the next day...
The hit to the head wasn't a dirty hit, but it also should be a penalty. There is clear movement of Dutch's chin before the body rocks backwards indicating that the head was the primary point of contact first. I don't think it should be suspendible or fine worthy, but it should have been a 2-4 minute call.
If a player hits another player in the face with his stick, even if it's an accident, the high sticking penalty is called (usually) because a player is responsible for his stick. In the same vein, a player should be responsible for how they engage in contact during a hit on an opponent, and even accidental contact should be grounds for a penalty, as it's a danger to the opponent's health.
Into another topic... Roope still didn't pass the eye test for me. Maybe in wat hung his game wrong, but he still gives up too easily on too many plays; he just stops skating. Currently, I have him in my bottom 6 in eye-test lineup. I need to learn more about the fancy stats so I can become a much better evaluator, but I didn't love what I saw. His 2 primary assists were: a bump back to Lindell near the point, and a pass to Wyatt who the. Made multiple moves before absolutely throwing shade into the oppo corner... Ultimately, a point is a point, but his looked pretty empty tonight.
The only play I loved him on tonight was his ENG, which he didn't give up on.
This looks like the exact same team as last year and many before that . Another slow start , eventually get going then appear to have no energy in third period plus stupid penalties , Blackwell doing a Marchment impression . It’s only 3 games but the last two have been poor efforts
My eyeballs see an extra bit of hustle out of the Stars' legs so far this szn, especially on the forecheck. Problem is, it looks so far to be effort for the sake of effort, and it typically stems from only one or two skaters - never all five of them in-sync. I'm praying for the day they play "a full 60 minutes" against elite competition.
I'd be curious to learn how the Stars' conditioning levels compare to other NHL clubs. Are their flameouts in 3 straight WCFs as simple as them being a little less fit than the opposition?
It's like David explained sometimes ago. The Panthers success is based mainly on a total commitment of all players, including the star players, to play a certain way.
If Gulutzan wants to change either systems/culture/way to play, he needs every player to commit, especially the top players.
If he cannot, then he needs to either change his approach or prepare his resume.
I feel like the fix for the Stars in these games where the ice is tilted is all in their pursuit of the puck and execution on exits. It felt like a lot of the third period last night you would see forwards over pursue pucks along the wall, and end up behind the play. Then the defenseman behind them runs the puck and rinse and repeat. I get trying to transition up ice quickly but you also need to secure possession first and exit the zone clean first, right?
I’m not dissatisfied, but I do find it a little concerning that one thing Gulutzan preached was practicing playing playoff hockey in the regular season. The last two games have not exactly looked like that. There has been several great moments but also clear moments of them getting absolutely caved in, and allowing teams back into the game as a result of that.
Granted, these have been weird games, but you would hope they could at some point take the late game tilted ice back. The Wild have played more games and were on a back to back road game here. Doesn’t look great to be more deflated than them in the third period.
For a non-homer take on the hit, my perspective is that, while the ref decisions regarding the hit were justifiable, I think there was intent to hurt Duchene. Middleton does not “explode up” as was repeated ad nauseam on the broadcast. He is level from the moment he commits to the hit. The problem is that Duchene is the one who mitigates damage *entirely by accident* by lifting his head by the time contact is made. If I recall the play correctly, Middleton and Duchene aren’t set to collide when Duchene received the puck. Middleton initiates and takes a very aggressive angle into him. That’s fine. But if you have time to get that angle on him, you have time to lower down and make sure it’s all body. That’s not just a hard hit. That’s a dangerous play where the aggressor did nothing to mitigate the danger. It was somewhat mitigated by accident.
I've liked what I've seen from Nils so far this year. One thing I'd like to see though is a little more puck attack when he's defending the rush. He's trying to read plays and get to the right areas which is good, but he often concedes a lot of ground in order to do so when guys are skating at him or wheeling the puck around the boards. I'd like to see him pick a few more spots to aggressively try to disrupt those plays, rather than try to put himself into a reactive space for a later pass attempt. Hard to stop a cross-ice pass from the center of the ice than it is to try to stop it as it comes off the passers stick.
"But Hintz led the forwards in icetime through the first two games, and looks faster than usual." - Reason: he grew his hair back out
Eye test says that Miro isn't quite the Miro of the past right now; feels like he hasn't shifted into a higher gear yet...The Stars need to move Harley to drive the first power play unit. His shot is so much more lethal than Miro's and with Miro, the Defense just lays back. Hey, it's early yet, we have 6 out of 6 points against our own division playoff opponents, I'll take it.
Not complaining too much since we got to go to the game last night, but the actual 9pm start on opening night is b.s. Get rid of the NHL TV rule, or start the East Coast game earlier. No one on the East Coast is up at 1AM to watch the Wild/Stars play anyway. How does one bring their kids to this type of game when there's school the next day...
The hit to the head wasn't a dirty hit, but it also should be a penalty. There is clear movement of Dutch's chin before the body rocks backwards indicating that the head was the primary point of contact first. I don't think it should be suspendible or fine worthy, but it should have been a 2-4 minute call.
If a player hits another player in the face with his stick, even if it's an accident, the high sticking penalty is called (usually) because a player is responsible for his stick. In the same vein, a player should be responsible for how they engage in contact during a hit on an opponent, and even accidental contact should be grounds for a penalty, as it's a danger to the opponent's health.
Into another topic... Roope still didn't pass the eye test for me. Maybe in wat hung his game wrong, but he still gives up too easily on too many plays; he just stops skating. Currently, I have him in my bottom 6 in eye-test lineup. I need to learn more about the fancy stats so I can become a much better evaluator, but I didn't love what I saw. His 2 primary assists were: a bump back to Lindell near the point, and a pass to Wyatt who the. Made multiple moves before absolutely throwing shade into the oppo corner... Ultimately, a point is a point, but his looked pretty empty tonight.
The only play I loved him on tonight was his ENG, which he didn't give up on.
This looks like the exact same team as last year and many before that . Another slow start , eventually get going then appear to have no energy in third period plus stupid penalties , Blackwell doing a Marchment impression . It’s only 3 games but the last two have been poor efforts
My eyeballs see an extra bit of hustle out of the Stars' legs so far this szn, especially on the forecheck. Problem is, it looks so far to be effort for the sake of effort, and it typically stems from only one or two skaters - never all five of them in-sync. I'm praying for the day they play "a full 60 minutes" against elite competition.
I'd be curious to learn how the Stars' conditioning levels compare to other NHL clubs. Are their flameouts in 3 straight WCFs as simple as them being a little less fit than the opposition?
It's like David explained sometimes ago. The Panthers success is based mainly on a total commitment of all players, including the star players, to play a certain way.
If Gulutzan wants to change either systems/culture/way to play, he needs every player to commit, especially the top players.
If he cannot, then he needs to either change his approach or prepare his resume.
One other thing. What the hell Steel is doing on the first line.
Steel is the perfect 4th liner IMO, and maybe a thir liner.
Besides having wheels and tenacity, I don't see what he can bring to Rantanen and Hintz.
New coach, new systems, some new players…And the same types of games as last year.
In other words and through 3 games, it’s the same Stars as last year getting outshots, out chances and bailed out by Oettinger.
All of this on top of slow starts and letting the other teams close up the gap in the third.
I feel like the fix for the Stars in these games where the ice is tilted is all in their pursuit of the puck and execution on exits. It felt like a lot of the third period last night you would see forwards over pursue pucks along the wall, and end up behind the play. Then the defenseman behind them runs the puck and rinse and repeat. I get trying to transition up ice quickly but you also need to secure possession first and exit the zone clean first, right?