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Originally Posted by bax
So you want to blame him for:
- playing the 4th line 9-10 minutes a night?
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Without regard for time and score? yes.
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- the transition game that’s “non threatening” yet we’re middle of the pack in GF
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One line that has three guys on pace for 35+ goals, while also scoring a ton of their goals on the power play. Every other line and defense pair is non threatening ESPECIALLY on the rush. Every other line is a non-threat. This team doesn't score in transition. In fact they don't really score at all if the top line isn't out there. And this dates back to last year, except last year the "top line" was 3M. It includes the playoffs too. This is a team that was one of the top scoring teams in the league before Gulutzan got here, that only added a talent like Matthew Tkachuk and saw the snakebitten Micheal Ferland break his bad luck.
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- something that hasn’t even happened yet? And even if it does it’s the swap of a number 6 d man?
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It has happened before, and it will happen again. Yes.
And it's not a swap of #6 defensemen. It's a swap of an AHL defenseman with an NHL defenseman.
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- Backlund and Jankowski lines cycling? If anything this has been a strength the past little while.
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3 on 5 cycling is not a strength. 5 on 5 cycling is a strength. Having three forwards keep the puck deep in teh zone while the defensemen stand around and watch is not dangerous, and that is how the Gulutzan flames play. So yes.
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- Bennet not being a top six scoring machine? I’m sorry but Bennett has never been a core piece. He’s had the potential to be for sure, but that hasn’t been realized. Maybe this partly due to him not fitting into GG’s system, but the player needs to take some responsibility as well.
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Bennett's 5-on-5 production pace for the first 116 games of is career, is absolutely a top 6, no, top line level. And then Gulutzan broke him by taking opportunities away from him and putting him in positions to fail. It sound sensationalist, but that's what happened. You don't produce for 116 games like a star NHLer and then just completely lose all talent unless a coach is trying to change your game without appreciating the things you do well.
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There are some legitimate reasons to be upset with how the team has played the last two games, but I really don’t think your criticisms are all that valid.
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I do think they are valid. And it's not about the last two games. I don't base my decisions on two games at a time. In fact I would say the Washington game and St. Louis games were excellently played games, as was Columbus. My opinions are based on Gulutzan's body of work and its inability to extract the most out of this roster on a whole. Sorry if it's a problem that his body of work hasn't impressed me.