One thing I think that killed them tonight is having a Stone-Mackey pairing. Mackey isn’t an NHL defenseman and Stone is a #7 guy. If you’re playing both of them you’re going to need your other 4 guys to step up and make some huge plays. Unfortunately both Weegar and Hanifin had brutal brain farts that led to a goal against. Their defense was atrocious tonight. If it weren’t for Markstrom (who wasn’t perfect himself but I won’t fault for tonight) this game would have been 7 or 8 to 1.
I’m also starting to wonder about Sutter. I get the impression he’s ticked a lot of guys off this year and might not have control of the room. He’s always been a coach with a shelf life, I wonder if we’ve reached his expiry date. I’m a big fan of Daryl, but I’m starting to think it might be best for the team if we moved on. He was exactly what the team needed in 2021 when we brought him in but I’m not sure he’s what this group needs now. I get the sense there’s a power struggle going on. There’s plenty of good players and leaders on the team, why hasn’t he named a captain? Why is he embarrassing his players in the media (Pelletier comments, Huberdeau pooping)? It just comes off as him big-dogging the new guys for God knows what reason.
Something is rotten with this team. I get that Tanev is a big part of their blue line but to only have 1 win in 9 games without him? Come on.
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