JohnC Posted March 4, 2017 Share Posted March 4, 2017 I guess, but it was clear last year our D needed to be a priority and Timmy did nothing about it. Should have gotten someone last offseason. He thought he was upgrading the defense with the acquisition of Kulikov. He was wrong. The problem is so obvious on defense that the GM admits the dire situation is mostly on him. The GM didn't expect both Bogo and Kulikov to be so second-rate. The GM recently stated that he is going to address the defense. Next year, Guhle will be added to the mix and I see maybe another couple of defensemen brought in. Would I be willing to give up a Kane or Reinhardt to add a good defenseman? No. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TPS Posted March 4, 2017 Share Posted March 4, 2017 I think what irked me was the press conference. GMTM said he "had a lot of calls on Kulikov" but the deal didn't get done. Injuries obviously factored in, but it sounded like the bag of pucks deal was there. There's no better way to get Falk and Fedun ice-time then making the move now. Looking around the league though, it was a very quiet day. I'm 100% on board with a puck-possession style, but that dream took a huge hit when Julien went to Montreal. Down the road I think we are going to see that Bylsma was GMTM's biggest mistake. We're losing to the worst teams in the league (one is a tank-caliber team) -- we can't sit around and pretend it's just because our 2nd and 3rd-pair D are lousy. bylsma reminds me of Rex in the sense you have to play his system that requires players to think rather than react. With the right players, maybe it works? My biggest beef with him is not playing Reinhardt at his natural center position. Yes, you want him in your top 6, and you have Ryan and jack, but his playmaking skills are suppressed as a winger whose main role seems to be standing in front of the net... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnC Posted March 4, 2017 Share Posted March 4, 2017 (edited) bylsma reminds me of Rex in the sense you have to play his system that requires players to think rather than react. With the right players, maybe it works? My biggest beef with him is not playing Reinhardt at his natural center position. Yes, you want him in your top 6, and you have Ryan and jack, but his playmaking skills are suppressed as a winger whose main role seems to be standing in front of the net... Right now you want him playing on the top two lines. Jack and RO are the centers for their respective lines. (As you stated.) As a winger he still can enhance the line he plays on with his play making skills. Having him center on a third line with lesser players wouldn't be maximizing his talents. For now Bylsma is playing his best players on the top lines. That is the right approach to take. When you compare the hockey coach with Rex you are unfairly insulting him. Edited March 4, 2017 by JohnC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
26CornerBlitz Posted March 4, 2017 Author Share Posted March 4, 2017 @TBLightning GAME DAY! Back at it tonight to finish up the back-to-back in Buffalo. #TBLvsBUF : http://tbl.co/preview3-4 @BuffaloSabres Sabres aware of challenges Lightning pose tonight - "We're going to have to slow them down" - game day updates: http://bufsabres.co/E72SEp PROJECTED LINES Lines are from Friday's game against the Penguins. The Lightning didn't hold a morning skate on Saturday. Subject to change. Forwards Ondrej Palat - Tyler Johnson - Nikita Kucherov Alex Killorn - Brayden Point - Jonathan Drouin Greg McKegg - Vladislav Namestnikov - Adam Erne Gabriel Dumont - Cedric Paquette - J.T. Brown Defensemen Victor Hedman - Jake Dotchin Jason Garrison - Anton Stralman Braydon Coburn - Andrej Sustr Goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy expected to start Projected LineupHere's how the full lineup is expected to look on Saturday: 9 Evander Kane - 90 Ryan O'Reilly - 12 Brian Gionta82 Marcus Foligno - 15 Jack Eichel - 23 Sam Reinhart63 Tyler Ennis - 71 Evan Rodrigues - 26 Matt Moulson44 Nicolas Deslauriers - 28 Zemgus Girgensons - 56 Justin Bailey 29 Jake McCabe - 55 Rasmus Ristolainen77 Dmitry Kulikov - 47 Zach Bogosian4 Josh Gorges - 6 Cody Franson 40 Robin Lehner31 Anders Nilsson Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
QCity Posted March 4, 2017 Share Posted March 4, 2017 My biggest beef with him is not playing Reinhardt at his natural center position. Yes, you want him in your top 6, and you have Ryan and jack, but his playmaking skills are suppressed as a winger whose main role seems to be standing in front of the net... Yeah, a few days ago I was laughing at the lines for the Nashville game when Bylsma started Reinhart on the 3rd line and still played him at wing. I read a stat on social media that he has 2 even-strength goals in the last 35 games or something. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
K-9 Posted March 4, 2017 Share Posted March 4, 2017 No reason for DeLo to be back in the lineup instead of Baptiste. None at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnC Posted March 4, 2017 Share Posted March 4, 2017 No reason for DeLo to be back in the lineup instead of Baptiste. None at all. It may have something to do with exposing him for the expansion draft rather than Baptiste. Teams are manipulating their roster differently this year because of that special draft. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
K-9 Posted March 4, 2017 Share Posted March 4, 2017 (edited) It may have something to do with exposing him for the expansion draft rather than Baptiste. Teams are manipulating their roster differently this year because of that special draft. All 1st and 2nd year pros are protected so Baptiste is safe, regardless. EDIT: I'd fly DeLo to Vegas myself if it meant they'd take him off our hands. Love the guy. Great locker room glue kind of guy, but he can't play hockey to save his life. Edited March 4, 2017 by K-9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillsFan4 Posted March 5, 2017 Share Posted March 5, 2017 It may have something to do with exposing him for the expansion draft rather than Baptiste. Teams are manipulating their roster differently this year because of that special draft. Each team must expose a minimum of 1 defenseman and 2 forwards that have played in 40 games the previous season or 70 games the prior 2 seasons. Although Deslauriers has only played in 30 games this year, he played 70 last year so he already meets the requirements. They probably just wanted to get him in a game because he's been up on the press box for a while. Also, Rochester has a game tonight at 7pm, so maybe they wanted Baspiste in the lineup? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillsFan4 Posted March 5, 2017 Share Posted March 5, 2017 (edited) On to the shootout... I wish I didn't feel like going to the shootout was a guaranteed loss. Fingers crossed that Lehner has improved! OMG. Are you kidding me!?! Kucherov loses the puck and Lehner still can't make the save. Unreal. Honestly, I think Lehner might be the absolute worst goalie in the entire NHL when it comes to the shootout. Ugh. Edited March 5, 2017 by BillsFan4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BringBackFergy Posted March 5, 2017 Share Posted March 5, 2017 Ummm, we need to practice shootouts. And Lehner needs to....practice. Can't seem to string together 3 or 4 wins. Disheartening. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
26CornerBlitz Posted March 5, 2017 Author Share Posted March 5, 2017 Shootout Shutouts! Can't score a goal and can't make a save. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
QCity Posted March 5, 2017 Share Posted March 5, 2017 Lehner is such a train-wreck on breakaways. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BringBackFergy Posted March 5, 2017 Share Posted March 5, 2017 For all the praise about our super talented offensive weapons, they have no strategy when it comes to shootouts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
K-9 Posted March 5, 2017 Share Posted March 5, 2017 On to the shootout... I wish I didn't feel like going to the shootout was a guaranteed loss. Fingers crossed that Lehner has improved! OMG. Are you kidding me!?! Kucherov loses the puck and Lehner still can't make the save. Unreal. Honestly, I think Lehner might be the absolute worst goalie in the entire NHL when it comes to the shootout. Ugh. On to the shootout... I wish I didn't feel like going to the shootout was a guaranteed loss. Fingers crossed that Lehner has improved! OMG. Are you kidding me!?! Kucherov loses the puck and Lehner still can't make the save. Unreal. Honestly, I think Lehner might be the absolute worst goalie in the entire NHL when it comes to the shootout. Ugh. Well, you are right. He literally is the worst goalie in shootouts this season. I think it's now 8 shots attempted, 8 goals allowed. Just a follow up on Baptiste, is he considered a 3rd year pro? If so, I was wrong and he is not automatically protected as that only applies to 1st and 2nd year pros. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ExiledInIllinois Posted March 5, 2017 Share Posted March 5, 2017 Can't they just put the backup in for shootouts! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
K-9 Posted March 5, 2017 Share Posted March 5, 2017 Can't they just put the backup in for shootouts! That's been brought up on various radio talk shows and the accepted logic seems to be that goalies are just too fragile to suffer the indignity of being pulled for a shootout. I say bull hockey. You know what's embarrassing for a goalie? Knowing you absolutely SUCK at it and being kept in there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillsFan4 Posted March 5, 2017 Share Posted March 5, 2017 Well, you are right. He literally is the worst goalie in shootouts this season. I think it's now 8 shots attempted, 8 goals allowed. Just a follow up on Baptiste, is he considered a 3rd year pro? If so, I was wrong and he is not automatically protected as that only applies to 1st and 2nd year pros. No, this is only Baptiste's second year in Rochester. I believe He is protected IIRC. I was talking about Deslauriers meeting the expansion draft parameters. sorry if that post was confusing. Ummm, we need to practice shootouts. And Lehner needs to....practice. Can't seem to string together 3 or 4 wins. Disheartening. Earlier in the season, I heard Bylsma and some of the players say that they practice shootouts every single practice. It's worrying if they still are because they all suck at it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
QCity Posted March 5, 2017 Share Posted March 5, 2017 Earlier in the season, I heard Bylsma and some of the players say that they practice shootouts every single practice. I think part of the problem is that the team is equally bad at scoring on shootouts, so Lehner has nothing to practice with to get better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shrader Posted March 5, 2017 Share Posted March 5, 2017 No, this is only Baptiste's second year in Rochester. I believe He is protected IIRC. Right, he's on year two of his three year entry level contract. All ELCs are exempt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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