By the way, I have stopped reading Lighthouse hockey articles, those guys are a bunch of negative writers who are waiting for the isles to fail so they can say I told you so. We all know what this season is about, they need to move on from the gloom and doom. The young guys are going to get their chance, they are playing in a system that mimicked the one at the professional level, later in the season those guys will get the chance to play.
Heading to the game I told my boy (Kings fan) we were gonna put 5 up on Quick. Yes, my boy and I talk smack to each other over the game.
and just like that we are 3-3 . Wow a 7 spot ! I did not see the game did we actually look this good or was Quick and the kings that bad ?
Yes, they were that good, they still have OMG moments but remember it’s a new system. I don’t believe it’s a trap, I believe it’s a left wing lock type of defense. Maybe @statjeff22 can chime in with the system they are playing. Anywho, they need another Barzal type of set up man to help with depth on second line but the wingers have been very good so far. I also have to give a shout out to Mayfield, I have ragged on him hard since watching him with Sound Tigers but the whole time he was there it was with Capuano as his coach and then again with big boys Capuano was his coach. Mayfield playing well under BT system. They had their chances against the Ducks, but Gibson was in the zone. All I want is a .500 road record or one game above, that will be good enough to keep them in the positive points column.
3-3 record not bad considering they have only played 2 home games and this early part of the schedule has been against tough teams. You can already tell Trotz is making a difference. They look like an NHL team playing within a system which is something they didn't do last year. I just wish this team had better players as they have too many role players on the club. Once the talent improves then it will really be fun to watch this team play.
They just need one more play maker and another big forward. Ladd should help out a lot if he can stay healthy. Brock is playing well as a two way forward but not enough speed or creativity to anchor second line. They need a Phil Kessel type forward that they can move to first or second line as opposing teams make adjustments.
We’ve lost three games to two teams — the Ducks with 11 points who are off to the best start in franchise history and the Predators with 10 points and a 5-1-0 record. No shame in those losses. But we’ve beaten the Hurricanes (9 Pts), Sharks (7pts) and the Kings who are the worst team we’ve played. This second game against the Sharks will be a good barometer for us.
I don’t think the Kings are very good but despite playing sloppy early we didn’t give up many good shots or rebounds. Their two goals were just a great shot on the PP and another on a 5-3 PP. We kept the pressure on them from the second period onward. Obviously the wheels came off the Kings in the third after we got the short handed goal when the entire stadium was probably thinking they were about to tie up the game.
Just when I gave Mayfield credit he proves once again that he is a scrub, he’s always on his knees, always chasing the defender and the giveaway of the puck was like a pickup hockey game. There was no pressure on him and he simply passed it to the sharks player! The lack of physical play for the forwards again will prove to be a challenge to overcome. They are a soft hockey team, Lou needs to start getting rid of some of these guys this year. Very frustrating to see them revert back to team they were under Capuano and Weight. It’s only one game and we know they can’t compete against big western teams. Lou has to find a way to fix the tough player dilemma.
My only gripe with Wang was his long standing devotion to Garth Snow. He poured his money into the team and I can’t fault his attempt to win.
It was more than that. He kept Mike Milbury far beyond his expiration date. He was the sole architect of the Neil Smith disaster, forcing him out in favor of the puppet Snow (who he then refused to fire, as you note). He was willing to spend money at the beginning, but then slashed payroll under Snow (Milbury and Snow negotiated the idiotic Yashin and DiPietro contracts, respectively, but Wang approved them, and then cut payroll later when the lunacy of those contracts became obvious). He gets credit for doing everything anyone could have asked to keep the team on Long Island. He gets credit for being a very important philanthropist for Long Island causes, including my alma mater Stony Brook University. To me he gets very little credit for actually having any idea of how to be a successful sports franchise owner.
