Seems like O.K. Hockey again, a lot of things suck.
New forum member here, been a lightning fan for a while. Posted a long post earlier, guess it didn't post
We need a goalie, rugged defender and a scoring winger or we arent going anywhere...right now, I have us making the playoffs at a late playoff push but getting knocked out early..
Seems like O.K. Hockey again, a lot of things suck.
New forum member here, been a lightning fan for a while. Posted a long post earlier, guess it didn't post
We need a goalie, rugged defender and a scoring winger or we arent going anywhere...right now, I have us making the playoffs at a late playoff push but getting knocked out early..
Last season, we weren't that great 5-on-5 either but our special teams bailed us out most of the time. This season - not so much.
Roli said to PK that he's gone back to drills that he'd been doing for '15, 20 years'.
Why the **** did you stop doing those?
Interesting, almost sounds like a goalie coach issue. Mind you, Roli's been in the league long enough he should know what is and isn't going to work for him.
I am so disappointed - my DVR didn't record the game, I set it to a blacked out station. I was so looking forward to watching this once I got home from work.
Frantz Jean worst goalie coach ever. Notice how Roli mentions he went back to things he's been doing for 20 years and he instantly starts playing better again? I mean ****, where was this all year Dwayne?
Frantz Jean worst goalie coach ever. Notice how Roli mentions he went back to things he's been doing for 20 years and he instantly starts playing better again? I mean ****, where was this all year Dwayne?
Pretty surprising what one goalie coach can do to a guy.
Remember, even Smitty was somewhat calling him out when he said how much of a help Burke has been for him in Phoenix:
Quote:
[Mike Smith] said goaltenders coach Sean Burke has been "a huge, huge mentor for me."
"I've matured a lot as a player. I've learned a lot about my game and what it takes to be more consistent," Smith said. "I don't know if that would have happened if I would have stayed in Tampa. I'm not saying it wouldn't have. I just think I've learned a lot about my game this season than I have in the past."
I really don't like the way our defense has been playing. Of course, a lot of it is playing 5/6 guys in top four positions, but nobody is playing well lately and the new guys all seem to be regressing since they got here.
No, plain and simple, our D is god awful. It was last year, it is this year, much more visibly with the addition of the poor goaltending. I've always though of this team as more of a finesse team instead of a checking team, which is a shame, because you could definitely combine the two. I do remember a long time ago reading somewhere that Guy always was more concerned about the puck than the body. I.e, poke checking instead of body checking. I wish I could remember where I saw it.
In my opinion, hitting a big part, if not, the biggest part of playing defense, and the Lightning seriously seem to lack the gall to hit players. I'm not saying it never happens, but it should definitely be a more frequent occasion. The boys cleared the crease semi-well today I did notice though, something I haven't seen in a while.
Now is it Lecroix's fault that our D isn't good? Possibly.
Is it Jean's fault our goaltenders are perennially horrible? Possibly.
Too much speculation of what we as fans don't know. We don't know what the coaches tell the players to do. It may not be a coaching problem, but a personnel problem. However, on the flip side, it may not be a personnel problem, it may be a coaching problem. Or both.
Long story short, no one knows except the coaches and the players and SFY.
"I like Frantz a lot. He's a great person and a great guy and obviously knows a lot about the game or he wouldn't be coaching at this level," Roloson said before the game against the Bruins. "For me, it was just some of the stuff he was doing, it didn't quite work into my game. I had to get back doing the things I know work and allowed me to play as long as I have."
Roloson said he and Jean talked, "And he said, 'Okay, let me know what drills you want to do.' We've worked pretty well together with it."
Quote:
Roloson said he wishes he spoke up sooner.
"I didn't want to be an insubordinate guy and not go with what they were teaching, so I just wanted to do that," he said. "But at the end I have to do what's going to allow me to play the best."
No, plain and simple, our D is god awful. It was last year, it is this year, much more visibly with the addition of the poor goaltending. I've always though of this team as more of a finesse team instead of a checking team, which is a shame, because you could definitely combine the two. I do remember a long time ago reading somewhere that Guy always was more concerned about the puck than the body. I.e, poke checking instead of body checking. I wish I could remember where I saw it.
In my opinion, hitting a big part, if not, the biggest part of playing defense, and the Lightning seriously seem to lack the gall to hit players. I'm not saying it never happens, but it should definitely be a more frequent occasion. The boys cleared the crease semi-well today I did notice though, something I haven't seen in a while.
Now is it Lecroix's fault that our D isn't good? Possibly.
Is it Jean's fault our goaltenders are perennially horrible? Possibly.
Too much speculation of what we as fans don't know. We don't know what the coaches tell the players to do. It may not be a coaching problem, but a personnel problem. However, on the flip side, it may not be a personnel problem, it may be a coaching problem. Or both.
Long story short, no one knows except the coaches and the players and SFY.
I don't think I've ever seen Boucher say that, but I have for Lacroix with the defensemen
Hedman's game is not nearly as physical, something for which he has taken outside criticism. But Lightning assistant coach Dan Lacroix, who handles the defense, said that is unfair.
"The way we ask him to play is to have a great stick and make sure pucks don't go through," Lacroix said. "We don't put as much emphasis on the physical play of our D until they are in front of the net and battling."
__________________
"It's still All In to me dammit." - Felonious Python
I think it's a misnomer to say that it's Lacroix who 'handles the defensemen'.
Yes, he's 'in charge' of them, but hockey coaching staffs aren't nearly as rigid as that. These are people, and they spend time together, and there's a certain amount of influence that each will have with each other. Boucher and Raymond are roommates on the road. Even when they talk shop, they're well within their right to give each other advice, and let each other know what they are seeing, even if it's not their specialization, because all of them should have the tools to be capable at coaching everything, even if their personal preference, depth of knowledge, or style lends itself well to a particular asst. capacity.
It's not like Lacroix is banned from talking to forwards, nor should he be.
Usually in a coaching staff, the goalie and S&C coaches are somewhat loners, as both are highly specialized, and the S&C isn't much use on the road. Goalie coaches aren't a guaranteed traveler either.
It's also part of why I thought missing Wayne Fleming matters so much. To me, he's an NHL coach in some capacity. He may be in charge of the PK, but the PK only exists at the same time as the PP, which is Boucher's thing, and they can go back and forth trying to perfect both systems.
If you think about the composition of NHL coaching staffs, they tend to be made up of guys who were head coaches at various levels. There's very few career assistant coaches everywhere they've been. (again, goaltending and S&C excluded for the reasons stated above)
This, in effect has a coaching staff made up of people who know more than their individual roles, as they've been the boss themselves somewhere. They also had their own ways of winning, which provides a fail-safe should the head coach's intent of how they should play, not pan out.
I know Marty Raymond was head coach at McGill (CIS), which while impressive, is not as proven as an AHL or major junior head coach would be, IMO.
Last edited by Felonious Python: 03-28-2012 at 07:30 AM.
The concerns we are having about the coaching staff are something I was worried about when we first hired Boucher.
He, and his crew climbed the ranks so quickly, that there wasn't a chance for the weak links to be found over time.
I have no doubts that Boucher is an NHL quality coach, but it's remarkable if everyone else who came up with him is the same.
I'll throw my doubts over S&C in the mix as well. Mikkelsson has become physically weak. You could not say the same when we first got him.
I wonder why the last S&C coach was let go, or quit. Or whatever the case may be. I also wonder how much of the injuries and refusal to take the body have to do with the conditioning.
