kipwinger

2 for Kasper tonight. Didn’t catch the game but this is very good news.

Yeah, I am. I didn't catch much of either game last night. Kasper also had the primary assist on Sodorblom's goal. He's has been looking better and better for a few weeks now. Cossa too. Given their ages and the positions they play I'm absolutely thrilled with them both at this stage of their development.

Maybe it's all b.s., what do I know? I've just heard enough players talk about it, and seen enough teams change their game to think there's something to it. Osgood taking over for Hasek in 2008 comes to mind. Our team looked day and night different once they had steady goaltending behind them.

Players talk about it all the time. I'm trying to remember the game but just the other night I watched an pre-game interview and a player commented that his team needed to "tighten up defensively" because they had a rookie goalie playing. I've also heard it the other way where a player will say something like "getting Fluery back (or whomever) really allow us to play our game", or things to that end.

Nah, it’s true. They play differently for all kinds of reasons. They’re very susceptible to superstition because they’re so particular about how they mentally prepare. No reason to think that they wouldn’t worry about a soft goalie just as much as they worry about how they tape their stick or lace their skates.

This. Lyon has been good lately, but the team is playing really well in front of him. His biggest contribution is the fact that the team has enough confidence in him that they can play the run and gun game they want to play. When our boys aren't sure their goalie can make a save they play more conservatively. That doesn't play to our strengths as a team. We're at our best when we play fast and aggressive. Can't do that if you aren't sure your goalie has your back. It was hard fought but Lyon rose to the top and through his play has convinced his teammates he's got their backs. I'm all in on this guy. He may not be the best goalie but he's the right one for this team right now.

Agreed. I really like that line. They play really really hard minutes against the best the opposition has to offer. The fact that they add a little offense too shows just how good those guys have been.

Chychrun is pretty good. He was also overrated around NHL circles forever based on his physical tools. I posted a comparison between he and Hronek right around the trade deadline last season and their careers are remarkably similar (at that time). But he was often treated by media types like he was the next big thing. He wasn't. In reality he was the next Cam Fowler.

Greaaaaaaat game from the boys so far.

Hit the post twice so far in the 3rd. Looking good right now.

Excellent effort by Rasmussen on Fabbri’s goal.

He also got benched (again) the other night by his coach for half-assed play. Second time this season that's happened. SY dodged a huge bullet not bringing this guy back on a long term deal.

Good news. I thought it was his hip for sure when you look at the hit he took against the boards right before the backcheck.

That's what Lalonde said during his post game interview, and that's where media got that story. But if you go back and look at the two plays in question both of them involved his hip so I'm not terribly optimistic.

I don't think they've given any updates. I think he's done for a while.

Yeah definitely, but I think they're getting back to where they were. Last night's game was as good as they've played all season long. Other than dumb penalties handing TO the momentum in the 1st I don't have any complaints.

It was a big confidence game. After their crazy travel, to come in without much prep time to be a divisional rival on the road is huge. Especially when you're chasing them in the standings. To do so by completely manhandling them in the 3rd period is enough to make any group of guys feel pretty good.

I'm still feeling good about that game last night. That's the closest we've looked to early season form in quite a while. We were all over them in the 3rd period and competing HARD on pucks. To do it without Walman and Kostin in the lineup is even more encouraging considering how much they typically contribute to possession. Hats off to Reimer as well. He still scares me in net but he was solid enough to get the win last night and that's all you need from your backup. I was seriously questioning Lalonde's decision to start Lyon and Saturday and Reimer on Sunday but it all worked out well enough. Can't say enough about what a big win that was. Yes it was important in the standings but it was WAY MORE important for the guys to play correctly against a top team and see the results. That should drive home the fact that when we're skating and we're aggressive on pucks we can compete with the big boys.

That was a hell of a win! Played absolutely great too. Won every board battle and every 50/50 puck. Toronto does not like the lumber.

Great period for the PK and we are getting chances at even strength. Reimer looked sharp too. Hope it’s easy going for him the rest of the night.

I agree he makes too much money.

Sure. I want Seider to score 60 points this season and Veleno to score 20 goals too. But I wouldn't give either of them a "D-" grade just because those things are unlikely. I'd like to see more offensive out of Rasmussen too, but the rest of his game is impactful enough that I'd argue the OP's grade is too low. This is fair, but not really what I meant. I guess I'm saying that most teams can afford to have one guy on the defense that's not the best defender in the world but is good at other things. Coaches tend to just shelter these guys on the 3rd pair. I wouldn't mind if that guy was Chiarot in Detroit. Trouble is that we've got Gostisbehere already occupying that space, so Chiarot really can't be as sheltered as he needs to be to mitigate his obvious defensive issues.

Ken Holland drafting the dude too high 7 years ago affects his mid-season grade in 2024 how?

This is a huge confidence game for the boys. We're coming off a very solid effort against Edmonton that we could have won but managed to get a point out of. If we follow that up tonight with a win against the Kings that gives us a ton of momentum coming into tomorrow night's game against Toronto (which is a must-win). This stretch of games might decide our season. If we can take 50% of the points available over the next 6 games I think we're sitting pretty considering this is the hardest stretch on our schedule for the remainder of the year. This would be a huge game for guys like Seider and Raymond to step up and take over. LGW!!!

I don't agree with this assessment at all. Kasper is 19 years old, has points in 5 of his last 6, and since taking over roles in the PP and PK the Griffins have won 5 of their last 7 games. Lombardi too has big roles on both special teams and has seen his using climbing at the same time the team has been on a roll. Kasper has gotten consistently better but missed a full offseason rehabbing from the injury (same injury that is still affecting Rasmussen) AND is learning the North American style game, in a very tough pro league, at a position with the most responsibilities. He's not Lucas Raymond, he was never going to make the team at 19 years old because he's a center and he had a very serious injury. That doesn't mean he's not going to be really good. Lombardi's "issue" is simply that he's undersized and is going to need time to put strength on (think of him like Berggren or Gus Nyquist). Probably won't be an NHL regular until he's 22/23 but when he does he's be a consistent offensive threat.