Quote:
Originally Posted by Paulie Walnuts
Only part of Tkachuks game I miss. He was always camping out around the net or taking pucks behind the net and creating some chaos in the slot area. Was also good at tipping shots.
|
Dude was also amazing defensively and was awesome at puck retrievals/break out passes. He’s elite.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jiri Hrdina
Certainly a factor is missing Tkachuk's play down low and around the crease. He was elite down there as a finisher and playmaker. Feels like they aren't getting those same kinds of chances.
|
Worth mentioning that Johnny really finished well last season too. Think of how many Chances Toffoli has had and put Johnny (or Chucky’s) finishing ability in that spot (and that’s no shot on Toffoli, just different tier of players). Johnny and Chucky were lethal.
In general I’m not overly concerned about this team making the playoffs or not - I think they will. I just have trouble believing they’re anything “special” come playoff time…time will tell, but I just hate being a team in that 10-16 spot league-wide. We’ve spent so much time in that range, with it usually being closer to 16 than 10. It felt like at the end of last season we were finally establishing ourselves as a top team and then the rug got pulled out from under our feet and we’re right back into that mushy middle.