Faxes from Uncle Dale

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  • Game #22 – Hawks vs. Panthers: Q&A With Frank Rekas

    Game #22 – Hawks vs. Panthers: Q&A With Frank Rekas

    Frank Rekas is the editor of PantherParkway.com. Follow him on Twitter @FrankRekas.

    Let’s start with just what “the plan” is in Florida. They fired all the guys they hired to take the team in a more modern and analytic direction after about 12 minutes, and brought back Dale Tallon. But the team doesn’t appear to be any better and in fact there have been a couple bewildering decisions. What’s going on here?

    The Florida Panthers are good at one thing: Being consistently inconsistent.  When Dale Tallon came to town in 2010 he had his “Blueprint” which was going to steer the Panthers in a winning direction.  Within two years the Panthers won the Atlantic Division and went to the playoffs for the first time in 10 years.  It’s been said they they may have peaked too early, or that a lot of players had career seasons that year and it was just luck.  Regardless, that was as fun of a season as South Florida had seen in years.  But good things in South Florida don’t last forever and that season was followed by the lockout year, and then the wheels fell off in 2013-2014 and Kevin Dineen was fired because, why not?  It must have been his fault.  It was a roster that was put together with duct tape and staples.  Nothing went right other than re-acquiring Roberto Luongo at the trade deadline.  With new ownership in place, changes were going to be made and they were, starting with a new head coach Gerard Gallant.  The team improved by 25 points in Gallants’ first season behind the bench, followed by another division championship and playoff birth in 2015-2016. THAT’S when the demolition began.  The executives lead by what some of us call the Army Math Team and Pentagon Trading LLC decided that even though the team had it’s best season ever, they needed to make changes cause of analytics.  I’m personally not a fan of Corsi and Fenwick, but I do know that it’s a part of hockey.  They don’t measure however things like character, hockey sense and leadership.  After that season, the Panthers traded fan favorite and an up and coming leader in defenceman Erik Gudbranson.  This pissed off Gallant to no end, but he dealt with it. Until he was fired.  Replaced by then General Manager Tom Rowe, who is about as qualified for either of those positions as any one of us is.  We could likely have done better.  The 2016-2017 season was a dumpster fire.  Now to the present, where Dale Tallon is back in as the General Manager left to fix the mess that Rowe left behind.  The Tom Rowe experience in my mind has set the organization back at least two to three years.  The defense is young and inexperienced, except for Keith Yandle who doesn’t play much defense.  If you can stop the top line from scoring, you pretty much have the game won, and they aren’t tough to play against.  Beyond all this, things are great.  We’ve been told to be patient, which I responded with this,
    On the plus side, Vincent Trocheck is over a point-per-game and on his way to a career year. Any difference in his game for this or riding the percentages a bit?
    Trocheck is one of those special players.  He’s not big by NHL standards, but he plays like he is.  Never takes a shift off and is probably the real heart and soul of the team.  As one of my favorite former NHL coaches would have said, he’s gone through the “maturation process” and he’s producing like he should.  He’s on pace for a career year at a point per game clip so far, and if he had any decent wingers to play with, who knows how much he’d produce.  But he needs help.  This pace that he’s on can’t last with the linemates that he’s been given.  Hopefully that changes cause Vinny is a good kid that deserves better.  It’s been fun watching him progress and develop into the player he is today.  He has a very bright future, but will that future be here?
    We tend to separate NHL coaches and GMs on a binary scale, either Idiot or Not An Idiot and that’s it. What is Bob Boughner?  
    Well I’m not fond of his attire, something I joke about on Twitter and have offered to take him shopping.  That being said, it’s 21 games into the season, and he doesn’t really have much to work with.  While it’s too early to say he’s one or the other, he’s made some questionable moves for sure, and insists on keeping Keith Yandle and Aaron Ekblad together as the number one defensive pair.  Do you remember when the Hawks had Doug Smolek and Brad Brown on defense?  Dirk Graham was the coach for the Hawks that year and we know what happened to him. For a coach that played defense during his career, Boughner hasn’t been much of an influence.  He needs a better roster, and there are a few players that need to look in the mirror.  Otherwise Boughner is trying to get blood out of a rock.  There are some nights he looks like he’s in over his head.  Learning on the job isn’t fun, especially in South Florida.
    Jared McCann has some pretty impressive underlying numbers so far. Did the Cats steal this kid from the Canucks?
    I think it’s too early to tell on this one.  Last season he clearly wasn’t ready, and this year, up until his recent injury he looked much better.  He’s been back for a couple games, but he’s also suffering from a mixed bag of linemates.  To be honest, I’d like to reverse the trade.  Gudbranson brings more to the table, despite his poor analytics, than McCann.  The Panthers need Gudbranson’s heart, soul, and toughness.  Let’s see a full season of McCann before we pass judgement on his value.
    What’s it going to take for the Panthers not to just spasm a playoff berth every so often, but to be a consistent playoff team to build a platform to something more?
    They need to stop with all the changes and decide on a direction, other than a consistent swirl down a drain, only to come up for air once every few seasons.  It’s hard to attract players and coaches to an organization when there’s so much change and a history of turmoil.  Yes, it’s sunny South Florida where there’s no state income tax, but honestly, why do you think so many over 35 year old free agents like it here?  No media attention, South Beach, perfect weather during the season, and a great place to retire. Which some players have done while still under contract.  But there’s no pressure to win.  Mediocrity and complacency are being touted as patience.  With the deal the team has with the arena, they aren’t going anywhere, yet with attendance down again, and the team unable to string together three consecutive wins, it’s depressing.  The owners haven’t been afraid to spend money, that’s not the issue.  It’s how they’ve spent it that’s the concern.  That unfortunately is a much longer discussion. The other issue is that the cupboard is thin.  No one in the minors appears to be ready to step in and contribute.  After having been touted as having a plentiful minor league system just a few seasons ago, there’s nothing.  The fan base deserves and wants more.  Patience is thin.  What’s it going to take?  It’s going to take an attitude that losing isn’t acceptable for starters.  Players will need to be held accountable no matter how much money they’re making.  And it’s going to take a change in culture.  The team has no chemistry and it shows.  They were on the way to respectability just two seasons ago.  But ownership apparently isn’t aware of one of the most common phrases:  “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”.  Unfortunately they thought things needed to be fixed and they were wrong.
  • Game #22 – Hawks vs. Panthers: Douchebag Du Jour – Radim Vrbata, Master Of The Goal That Doesn’t Matter

    Game #22 – Hawks vs. Panthers: Douchebag Du Jour – Radim Vrbata, Master Of The Goal That Doesn’t Matter

    Did you know Radim Vrbata has played over 1,000 games in the NHL? We bet you didn’t. He’s been around now for 15 seasons, if you can believe it. And that comes straight, there was never a year where Vrbata bounced between the AHL and NHL. He was called up, and he’s been here ever since.

    He’s piled up 282 goals in his NHL career, and how many of them mattered? Well, he has eight career playoff goals in four tries in the postseason. Only once has Vrbata been past the first round, that 2011 Coyotes run you remember so fondly. And even with 16 playoff games that year, Vrbata managed two goals. That three-year run in Glendale comprises almost all of Vrbata’s playoff experience, with a brief glimpse in ’15 with the Canucks when they somehow goofed a playoff spot before getting impaled by the Flames, who themselves weren’t really any good either.

    Vrbata has spent a lifetime in the shadows, scoring enough goals for teams that don’t really matter to mark himself out for that team or another team needing somewhat cheap scoring. He’s hockey’s version of Brian Roberts or late-career Adam Dunn or Jhoulys Chacin. He’s hockey’s running back, eminently disposable but effective enough to find work, like Darren Sproles or Marion Barber. If this were the NBA he’d be the shoosty swingman off the bench, a hockey Joe Johnson. He just keeps popping up and doing just enough to be forgotten.

    But hey, he had that streak of shootout goals against the Hawks, and all were a deke and a backhand. You, like most of the Hawks fans you know, were screaming at your TV because you knew what was coming. Chances are Corey Crawford did, too. And it didn’t matter. You already knew what it looked like, and yet you sat there watching it unfold again. And then it faded.

    Pretty much encapsulates Vrbata’s career.

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  • Game #22 – Hawks vs. Panthers: I Make A Lot Of Graphs

    Game #22 – Hawks vs. Panthers: I Make A Lot Of Graphs

    All at even-strength except where noted.

    Expected Goals: Goals team “should” have scored and given up based on amount and types of chances created and surrendered, given neutral goaltending. 

    Time On Ice Percentage: Share of team’s even-strength time player skates

    Off. Zone Start Percentage: Ratio of shifts for player that start in offensive zone

    TOI% of Competition: Time On Ice Percentage of competition player skates against

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  • Game #22 – Hawks vs. Panthers: Lineups

    Game #22 – Hawks vs. Panthers: Lineups

    All analytic stats at even-strength.

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  • Tonight I’m Gonna Rock You Tonight – November 24th

    Tonight I’m Gonna Rock You Tonight – November 24th

    Lots of afternoon stuff today, so we’ll get this out early to get you ready for your viewing as you avoid going anywhere that might have any retail shops anywhere near it.

    First Screen Viewing

    Predators vs. Blues – 7pm

    Those who would be king against those who simply won’t vacate the throne at the moment. This would be a good time for a “St. Louis and throne-as-toilet” joke, but I’m still coming down from tryptophan and scotch. So you’re going to have to deal with me at less than full speed today. The Blues are head and shoulders above the Central and West as a whole, and if any team is going to haul them in in the division it’s probably Nashville (and maybe Calgary in the conference overall). The Preds have only lost once since Kyle Turris showed up, and they’ve piled up 23 goals in those six games. Pretty tidy. The Blues can’t seem to lose either, and it’s kind of a wonder there isn’t more play about how Mike Yeo is a better coach than Ken Hitchcock right now as he’s doing this with a worse and more injured roster than the one Hitch got himself fired from last year. Food for thought. With all apologies to the Jets (meaning none), these are the two best teams in the Central right now and if the Preds are going to make a charge, they probably need this one as a seven-point-gap even only a quarter of the way through a season is more than miniscule.

    Second Screen Viewing

    Oilers vs. Sabres – 6pm

    First off, it’s funny because both these teams blow when their entitled fanbases thought they could actually be something this year. But really, this is just another chance to bitch about how the NHL markets itself. Here you have a day that the NHL is actively trying to mark out some territory in, as they’ve surrendered Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day to the NFL and NBA, and when the former encroaches on New Years Day the NHL is all too happy to move it’s signature, regular-season event, too. But Black Friday seems to be something where they see an opportunity. And every year, it’s some combination of Rangers, Flyers, Bruins, Penguins. That’s it. Because they’re all in the East and can be shoehorned into the noon time-slot because the NHL is too chicken-shit to try and put it at a real time and NBC also just has to show… looks up…Ellen’s show? And hey, I love Ellen to an irrational degree but come on here.

    So here’s a game between two of the game’s biggest young stars, including the best player in the league right now. What would be more interesting? McDavid and Eichel (with the latter playing for a rabid and large fanbase which is the only thing the NHL cares about when scheduling this) or another game between two teams the hockey world has already gotten bored of? I’ll hang up and listen for my answer.

    Other Games

    Penguins vs. Bruins – noon

    Jets vs. Ducks – 3pm (Ha, the Hawks were replaced by the Jets for this traditional game)

    Avalanche vs. Wild – 3pm

    Islanders vs. Flyers – 3pm

    Lightning vs. Capitals – 4pm

    Sharks vs. Knights – 5pm

    Canucks vs. Devils – 6pm

    Red Wings vs. Rangers – 6pm

    Senators vs. Blue Jackets – 6pm

    Maple Leafs vs. Hurricanes – 6:30

    Kings vs. Coyotes – 8pm

    Flames vs. Stars – 8pm

     

  • Game #21 – My Way, Your Way, Anything Goes Tonight – Hawks 2, Ning 2 (Lightning Win Three-Legged Race)

    Game #21 – My Way, Your Way, Anything Goes Tonight – Hawks 2, Ning 2 (Lightning Win Three-Legged Race)

    Box Score

    Hockey Stats

    Natural Stat Trick

    After an electric 1st period, the Hawks saw why the Lightning are the best team in the NHL. To the bullets.

    – This game was a goaltending clinic. Between Crawford stoning the best power play in the league and Vasilevskiy making several unbelievable saves against Saad, Panik, and Kane in OT, there was no shortage of magic in the crease. Only injury will keep these two from being Vezina finalists.

    – The PK was brilliant yet again. Despite six straight minutes of shorthanded time in the 1st period, 42 seconds of which were of the 5-on-3 variety, the Hawks escaped unscathed. You can thank Crawford yet again for coming up large on the 5-on-3, stopping three shots, but the PK as a whole looked tight throughout.

    – What Patrick Kane giveth, Patrick Kane taketh away. He was a complete dynamo in the 1st, lifting a sharp wrister over Vasilevskiy’s glove and burying a horrible-angle shot on the Hawks’s 5-on-3 later in the period. But from the 2nd period on, Kane obviously began to think more about the night he will inevitably spend slicking copious amounts of gel through both his and Jon Cooper’s slimily coifed, over-fragranced hairdos as they hop from humid dive bar to humid dive bar. He had a sloppy drop pass on the PP in the 2nd that nearly led to the Ning’s second SH goal, and he continued to leave drop passes in bad spots throughout. And while Vasilevskiy is obviously the real deal, you still expect him to pot a breakaway opportunity in OT. Kane’s performance was reflective of the Hawks’s as a whole: incredible start, leftover-turkey fart to finish.

    – I’m getting really itchy about Brandon Saad’s inability to score lately. He had two excellent opportunities that he just couldn’t finish. The first was on a 3-on-1 on the PP. It looked like he wanted to bank the shot off Vasilevskiy’s pad for a rebound to Wide Dick, but with a 3-on-1, I was hoping for a centering pass. Maybe the angle was off for a pass, but the shot selection seemed a bit desperate and rushed. Of course, when that shot didn’t go in, the Ning turned around and scored (Kane’s spaciness on the far boards was also a factor), and continued to tilt the ice. Then in the 3rd, after a sweet feed from Toews, Saad couldn’t finish again. His shooting percentage is now at 5.4% when you discount the first two games, well off his career pace. I’m confident he’ll find it, but sooner would be better than later.

    – Saad wasn’t the only guy to biff prime chances tonight. Panik, Schmaltz, and Forsling all had near misses, with Forsling’s being the least egregious with a shot off the post in the 2nd. But Panik getting denied by Vasilevskiy in the 3rd after Saad’s denial was especially frustrating. Again, Vasilevskiy is excellent, but with a yawning net, it’s got to go in. It’s now been 12 games since his last goal. And Schmaltz’s wide shot after a prime feed from Anisimov on the doorstep on a 2-on-1 is inexcusable for a guy with hands that good.

    – This was one of Connor Murphy’s best games. His even-strength Corsi was an absurd 78.95%, and his positioning and physicality throughout the game were consistently outstanding and well-placed. I want to see him get more time on the ice, both in general and on the PK, but in nearly 14 minutes tonight (0:55 on the PK), he showed the defensive prowess that the Hawks brought him in for.

    – The Hawks CF%s at evens tonight by period: 59+, 26+, 46+. So you’ll take the pity point.

    – Three-on-three OT is still stupid, but it was fun watching Crow and Vasilevskiy trade amazing saves.

    If and when the stable of Toews, Panik, and Saad pull their shooting percentages out of their ass slings, the Hawks are going to crack off some sort of 20-points-in-10-games streak. You feel this team starting to jell, but time is of the essence.

    Safe holidays to everyone this week.

    Booze Du Jour: Woodford Reserve

    Line of the Night: Everything, because I didn’t have to listen to Mike Milbury at all.

  • Gameday Beer Of The Week: Alesmith Old Numbskull

    Gameday Beer Of The Week: Alesmith Old Numbskull

    Happy Thanksgiving everyone! I hope you’re well into your planning and prep for your meal. With the holiday coming up tomorrow, it only feels right to talk about something you should bring to the table if you’re the kind that drinks beer instead of wine with your meal… I generally do both. Now in general, you can’t go wrong with a good pilsner with your meal. Generally light and dry won’t overpower anything but also won’t back down.

    But that’s not as much fun as something big and complex. So if you’re looking grab something at the store today or tomorrow, might I suggest Old Numbskull. Old Numbskull is an award winning Barleywine from AleSmith, based out in San Diego, CA. I won’t go too into the history of Barleywines but just know they are strong, rich, boozy beers that compliment Thanksgiving meals perfectly. Old Numbskull is 11%, a perfect sipper that ought to improve throughout the meal as the beer warms up. Most barleywines have an remaining sweetness from the malts up front that will transform into a biting bitterness from its aggressive hopping at the end. Plenty of toffee and burnt sugar wrapped up with roasted malts and dark red fruitiness. Buy two now, enjoy one tomorrow and save the other for next year to see how the beer changes. Or just drink them both tomorrow and get fucked up. Barleywine is life.

  • Game #21 – Hawks vs. Lightning Preview/Jewelry Heist: Follow Me Light Bulb

     vs. 

    RECORDS: Hawks 10-8-2   Lightning 15-3-2

    PUCK DROP: 6:30

    TV: NBCSN Chicago for the locals, NBCSN proper for the non-locals

    FLORIDA MEN: Raw Charge

    The degree of difficulty certainly goes up for the Hawks tonight. While fashioning together a modest two-game winning streak against the hottest team in the league but flawed Rangers and the defending champs but scuffling Penguins, the Hawks will get a face-full of the best team in the league in the Tampa Bay Lightning. If you’re already feeling a small shiver, don’t worry. A) you’re not alone, and B) it’s Blackout Wednesday so either you won’t remember this one or won’t even see it at all as you prepare to spend the day tomorrow with weirdos who share your last name/blood/both.

    We’ll start in the obvious place with the Bolts, which is their top line that is simply a boom-stick right now. Namestnikov-Stamkos-Kucherov is probably the best line going, and they’ve only combined for 88 points in 20 games so far. Stamkos is off to the best start of his career, with 35 points in the first 20 games which  puts him on pace for 143 for the season. Kucherov is on a 70-goal pace, and if he gets out there against Seabrook consistently tonight that pace might jump to a 105. Kucherov is an under-the-radar Hart candidate and was last year as well, but will struggle to get votes as the crusty hockey media try and wheel pose their way into handing every award to a Canadian who can barely read but has a name they can pronounce.

    But it’s not just a one-line team. Brayden Point has emerged as a weapon for all occasions, being asked to take on the top lines of other teams and providing scoring of his own with Baby Hossa Ondrej Palat and Yanni Gourde, which no is not a physical condition or a Mediterranean dish/singer. Tyler Johnson and Alex Killorn are being used in a creative way where they are the line that’s short a winger in their seven-defensemen look, and can be used to boost scoring as a straight up checking line. Ryan Callahan, J.T. Brown, and Chris Kunitz all get a look there, but Kucherov or Palat can also get extra shifts there if the Lightning need offense.

    The back end has the same problems it always had, but less of them. There are still definite plodders and creatures in Dan Girardi, Braydon Coburn, Andrej Sustr. But their roles have been relegated to third pairing. Victor Hedman hasn’t hit the heights of the past yet, but is still one of the more dynamic d-men you’ll find. Mikhail Sergachev has been the second puck-mover they’ve always needed behind Hedman, and has allowed Anton Stralman to age into the more conservative partner role.

    All of that’s backed up by Andrei Vasilevskiy, who has been a Chicago construction crew in his first full year as a starter, stopping anything that’s in front of him. He’s at .928 for the season.

    Clearly it’s an impressive package. There’s a reason they’ve only missed out on eight points of the 40 on offer and are simply horsing the East right now. And they can play it however they need to. Jon Cooper, while not sorting his various oils and balms, is one of the league’s leading #NotAMorons, and usually has the Bolts playing up-tempo and high-pressure. They’re almost always fun to watch, with Hedman and now Sergachev they can run with anyone. But if they have to they can lock it down as well through Johnson, Point, Killorn, Palat, Callahan, and their various clydesdales blocking shooting lanes down low.

    So yeah, tall timber here.

    For the Hawks, they’ll roll out the same lineup that got one over the Penguins, and there’s no reason to expect that Corey Crawford won’t have a lot of work to do tonight. Cooper will certainly look to get his matchups, and when his top line is out there against… well, really any pairing, it’s going to be an adventure. And it won’t be a slow one. Good way to go into the holiday. Enjoy it.

     

     

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  • Game #21 – Hawks vs. Lightning: Spotlight – Steve Yzergone

    Game #21 – Hawks vs. Lightning: Spotlight – Steve Yzergone

    For most of our existence, we’ve done our best to mock Steve Yzerman’s reign as GM of the Tampa Bay Lightning. The scars of damage inflicted during his playing days do not heal so fast, or at all, dear friends. We simply wouldn’t relent. And as the Lightning struggled at times, we laughed and pointed and mocked. It was made even better at Red Wings fans cried their usual rivers of tears and motor oil (all of which they dump in Flint) that Yzerman was allowed to leave Detroit at all.

    And yet, here we are, and Yzerman is leading the best team in the league at the moment and almost certainly the Cup favorite. And they were that before the season. And we have to admit…hang with us here…this isn’t going to be easy…

    Steve Yzerman is pretty good at his job.

    His drafting record is among the best you’ll find. The first one in 2010 didn’t go so well, but did provide two NHL-ers in Brett Connolly and Radko Gudas, even if the latter should be sitting in front of a parole board/firing squad at the moment. The following year netted the Bolts Vladislav Namestnikov, Nikita Kucherov, Nikita Nesterov, and Ondrej Palat. The following year saw Slater Koekkoek, Andrei Vasilevskiy, Cedric Pacquette, and Jake Dotchin. 2013 brought Jonathan Drouin, which turned into Mikhail Sergachev. Brayden Point was taken in 2014. That’s 12 players that either are on this team now, have contributed heavily in the past, or were turned into pieces that are contributing now. And in Kucherov he’s got a potential Hart Trophy winner.

    Yes, Yzerman inherited Stamkos and Hedman, which are the two big building blocks and any GM should be rated on the the foundational pieces he brings in. But certainly Kucherov and Palat are building blocks as well. Sergachev may well turn into one.

    Yes, Yzerman has had a blind spot on his blue line, where contracts have been handed out to Braydon Coburn, Dan Girardi, Jason Garrison, and one or two other overgrown sloths with gloves. That’s been balanced this year by Sergachev and Anton Stralman a few years ago. It clearly hasn’t killed them.

    Where Yzerman’s real creativity has come in has been dancing around the salary cap. “CAPOCALYPSE!” has been predicted for the Lightning for a few years now, and it just hasn’t materialized. The big piece was convincing Steven Stamkos that the no-state-income-tax in Florida would benefit him greatly, even if his salary wasn’t as high as it would have been in New York or Toronto or Montreal. Stamkos on pace for 120 points at $8.5 million sure seems value now. Tyler Johnson’s $5 million a season might be a bit of an overreach, but hardly scandalous. Same with Alex Killorn’s $4.4, though the fact that runs from here until President’s Warren’s swearing-in might be an issue.

    What’s more is that the Lightning have two or three years more to this window that’s already seen them get to a Final and a Game 7 Conference Final. Kucherov is due new paper after next season, and considering the numbers he’s putting up he could ask for something in the $10 million range. Certainly in the Stamkos range, even if he will be only a restricted free agent. But that same offseason will see the Lightning clear Stralman, Coburn, and Girardi off the books. Only Namestnikov is due an extension after this season of any player who matters. Even if Kucherov needs the moon Yzerman will have $11 million or so to play with to give to him if need be. That doesn’t even factor in whatever raise the cap will have by then.

    All told, the Lightning should get a run of four or five, maybe six, years at the top of the league. That’s about the maximum anyone gets in a cap world. You can’t argue.

    Of course, this kills us. The orchestrator of so many of our nightmares running a team the way we’d like to see one run. It never ends, the horrors never leave, the pain is always present.

    Happy Thanksgiving.

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  • Game #21 – Hawks vs. Lightning: Q&A George Fitzgerald

    Game #21 – Hawks vs. Lightning: Q&A George Fitzgerald

    George is a contributor to RawCharge.com. You can follow him on Twitter @GeoFitz4. 

    Best record in the league, four guys averaging more than a point per game, with Stamkos nearly at two points per game. Is there anything to complain about in Bolts-land?
    – Only real complaint has been the usage of Slater Koekkoek. Jon Cooper has used seven defensemen for all but a handful of games this season. This was actually something I predicted would happen earlier in the off-season. With three young defensemen, it allows Associate Head Coach Rick Bowness to  balance the ice time of the younger kids and protect them. So far, Koekkoek and Andrej Sustr have rotated in-and-out of the 7th defenseman spot. It’s been a little bit frustrating because we feel that Koekkoek has played well in the time he’s been given, while Sustr has regressed and his flaws have been more exposed than ever. Koekkoek is a smooth skater and was once looked on as a potential #3 defenseman. He had three shoulder surgeries (two on one, one on the other) before even starting his professional career and that stunted his development a bit. In the grand scheme of things, it’s a minor complaint.
    Brayden Point is already halfway to his rookie point total from last year. What do we need to know about him?
    – Recently I’ve seen some comparisons of Point to Blackhawks Captain Jonathan Toews. Not saying that he’s up to Toews level… yet… but he’s the kind of player that does the little things right. He’s not a master at any one thing, but he’s just a very solid all-around player that plays great defense and produces offensively. His line, with Ondrej Palat and Yanni Gourde on either wing, have been tasked with taking on top lines. Expect his line to be out there a lot against Toews and Saad. Point was overlooked in his draft year despite his offensive output (36-55-91 in 72GP in WHL with Moose Jaw) because of his size and some minor questions on his skating according to reports at the time. Since then, he’s picked up a couple inches and probably 15-20 pounds. That extra size and the work he has put in with renowned skating coach Barb Underhill allowed him to really bring his game to the next level. He was the first AHL-eligible professional rookie to make the Lightning out of training camp under Steve Yzerman. That’s just not something that happens with this organization anymore.
    Mikhail Sergachev has 14 points and was the offseason’s big acquisition. Is he already the second puck-moving d-man the Lightning have needed behind Hedman. 
    – Most definitely. The Lightning had a bit of a luxury in having three elite forwards on the roster. But they really only had one elite defenseman, as good as Anton Stralman is. Sergachev is proving to be that second player and he has more goals and points than Jonathan Drouin this season. Habs fans though will rightfully point out that Sergachev has a much better supporting cast in Tampa than he would of had in Montreal and he likely wouldn’t be producing like this north of the border. He’s a smart, charismatic kid that has a great work ethic and it comes through in the Russian interviews RawCharge has translated. He’s mostly been paired with Anton Stralman who has proven to be a great compliment to him. Stralman had career offensive seasons when he joined the Lightning but cooled off last season away from Hedman. But what he did with Hedman is the same thing he can do for Sergachev – give him a solid defensive presence that is an excellent communicator and will let him do his thing. He’s also earned his way on to the second power-play unit and has shown a knack for getting pucks on net through bodies.
    How is Dan Girardi rocking positive underlying numbers when he was an utter disaster in New York?
    – So, funny thing about that. @LoserPoints, our resident advanced stats experts, was just chatting with the rest of the staff about Girardi’s numbers a few days ago. With the Lightning using seven defensemen, it means that everyone is getting a chance to play with everyone else. When Girardi has been with Sergachev, he’s posted some ridiculously good numbers. With every one else, his numbers are mostly in the negative. A lot like his normal partner Braydon Coburn, he doesn’t push the pace offensively, but he has been better at limiting defensive chances for the Lightning. He’s been able to compliment Sergachev in the limited time they’ve played together and Sergachev’s offensive instincts has helped to buoy Girardi’s numbers. Girardi also mentioned in interviews before the season that last year he was slowed down by a nagging foot injury. That’s healed (though it’s only a matter of time before he’s hurt blocking a shot) and that has shown through in his positioning.
    If this team doesn’t come out of the East, it will be because….?
    – Injuries, particularly to Andrei Vasilevskiy or Victor Hedman. Vasilevskiy in particular is one of the big keys to this team going deep. While the offense is bound to cool off sooner or later, they do have tremendous scoring depth in the top eight forwards. There are some replacement options up front in the AHL in the form of veteran Cory Conacher and prospects Adam Erne, and Matthew Peca. The blue line is a little bit shakier, but the team could weather an injury there, maybe two. Having kept Koekkoek and Sustr, the Lightning are carrying eight NHL defensemen. In the AHL though, the depth just isn’t there. Jamie McBain is the lone defenseman with any NHL experience, though his experience is ample with over 300 games in the NHL. Beyond that, there’s one AHL veteran that could fill-in, one that is already on the bottom of the AHL line-up, a third-year pro, and then two each in their first and second years in the AHL. The goaltending depth picture did get a little bit better with a trade for Louis Domingue to replace Michael Leighton who had been struggling in the AHL. However, a pairing of Domingue and Peter Budaj doesn’t give fans the most confidence unless Domingue can return closer to what he’s shown in the past with the Coyotes.