Quote:
Originally Posted by Enoch Root
Definitely. I chalked it up to new coach effect and then just being on a huge heater (they went 16 games without giving up 3 goals).
The relevant question is: one-time event (heater), or indication of a stronger defensive team?
IMO, the answer to that is pretty clear.
Ekholm - Bouchard
Nurse - Ceci
Kulak - Brown
Broberg - Stecher
Is that a roster that should slot top-third defensively? And they got weaker defensively with the changes up front. Basically all their chips are on Skinner to win.
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Brown sits behind both Broberg and Stecher in the depth chart and will likely be up and down to the AHL. Even with that change it’s a bit thin on the bottom and an injury away from real trouble.
Don’t agree the forward group is that much worse off, Foegle was really suspect in the playoffs once the pressure was really on. McLeod I’m iffy on the defensive loss there. If Henrique stays healthy and Connor brown plays like he did toward the end it’s about even. But there’s a few ifs there for sure.