Quote:
Originally Posted by Enoch Root
I agree that there is plenty of room for optimism going forward. But anyone arguing that the defense was at all fine, from the trade deadline on, is crazy.
|
It wasn't fine before the deadline either. It certainly wasn't good enough to push I to a playoff spot at any point in the season even with Markstrom going god mode when he came back from the broken finger injury to the deadline.
Post deadline it wasn't disastrous nor was it great. If anything the defense performed exactly how it should have given the turn over rate and the state of some of the incoming players. Miromanov only played a few games since coming back from long term rehabilitation on his legs, Kylington was still finding his feet, Hanley was about the only dud IMO in the whole group.
It could have been much worse if Pachal didn't materialize into a competent defender.
Post deadline was what it was, the result of depleting your mainstays from your core that wasn't good enough to secure a playoff spot. There certainly wasn't going to be an uptick in performance no matter which way the cookie crumbled. Just more of the same.