Honest take, fam: this defence without a true number-one D-man won't
Watched us get pinned in our own end for a full shift last night and the crowd actually went quiet. That's when you know the blue line's cooked, fam. Everyone keeps riding the "we won the Cup in year six after torching the draft" glow, sure thing mate, but that roster had Schmidt, Theodore in his prime, Pietrangelo eating 25 minutes a night. Who's eating those minutes now when the matchup gets ugly? The depth chart looks like a Vegas buffet after a show lets out.
I'll take it further: this isn't a "second playoff run" problem, this d-corps gets exposed in round one if anyone with actual forecheck speed draws us. Go ahead, change my mind 😏
Show me your ROI first 😏
One bad shift and the blue line's cooked? Which contender doesn't get pinned for a shift some nights. Show me where this group actually cost us a playoff series.
Nah Millie you're spot on tbh 😤 that quiet crowd moment gave me chills for all the wrong reasons. We got bailed out by the goalie so many nights and everyone acts like the blue line's fine?? One injury on the back end and we're cooked, ah well, nowt to do 🔥 Vegas pride tho 💪
One love, one side ❤️
Millie, I keep a sheet on zone exits every round and the trend backs you up, with a caveat about the sample size: one quiet crowd moment isn't proof, but the number of stuck shifts after we lose the first pass out of our end has been creeping up for weeks. Fanatic_Life is right that we haven't seen it cost a series yet, though, I'd say the blue line is a structure problem more than a talent hole, and that's fixable before April if management actually moves. Watch how we exit against a forecheck like Edmonton's and tell me you slept fine.
I keep my own tables 📊
been through a few of these blue line panics since the old barns, kids. we won it all with Schmidt and a prayer. wait till december before burying them 😉
Y'all forgot Schmidt already?? 😂 we won a Cup with less, give these guys a chance before writing the obituary tbh 🔥💪
nate schmidt wasn't carrying a pair - he had theodore and pietrangelo eating the hard minutes beside him. that's the part the young lot never saw. i'll wait till december with the rest of you, but keep your eyes open 😉
Been here longer than some have followed.
DataDriven_Guy1992 has it right - Schmidt was third-pair money playing third-pair minutes. Watch who takes the first pass out of our zone next game; that tells you everything.
Sample first, conclusions after.
Context matters here: Schmidt played sheltered shifts behind Pete and Shea, so comparing depth today to that cup run needs December samples before drawing any conclusions. 📊
Do the math before you argue.