Quote:
Originally Posted by ComixZone
I think a lot of the current analysis even seems out of date at this stage though.
7 points in his last 14 games is right around where we should have expected him to produce. Take it a step further back to life after the Christmas break, and he has 7 points in 15 games - again, not far off what we should be expecting from him. Even his work on PP2 has greatly improved, which does line up with when Backlund and Hanifin came off PP2 and Brodie and Andersson came on (and they switched primary carrier from Backlund/Ryan to Bennett/Ryan).
The horrific start to the season was troublesome for sure, but if you also look at Ryan he wasn’t terribly effective until the beginning of December or so. It takes time to adjust for sure, and yeah Neal suffered at the start but I think the player we’ve seen for the last 5 weeks has been pretty solid.
I feel like there’s more reason for optimism today than any other time this year.
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Definitely better lately, but I hope the last 14 games don't represent his peak. 2 goals in 14 games is not sizzling. I will give Neal some rope (what choice is there) but the time to adjust excuse isn't my favorite given this is his fifth team and he has produced everywhere else.
I really feel it's important he gets some production before the playoffs. He is known as an uber confident guy, but even he must be gripping it right now. To expect him to flip a switch come playoffs is unreasonable, so would like to see a multi goal game or two between now and April. That would make a big difference for him IMO.