4/21 @ Calgary (8PM CT) - butt-licking flames

[Troy McClure]

Karlstrom with a nice rush to the net. Good way to earn his first point.

[wonko80]

He'll be scratched next game.

[BigAl]

Karlsstrom is now 2nd on the team in points per game.

[Troy McClure]

The Stars this season have a five game losing streak, a four game losing streak, and now two three game losing streaks.

This team sucks.

[ToddM]

[BigAl]

Is “best puck retriever” code for “can’t score”?

[ToddM]

"Can't score?" You're going to have to narrow that one down.

[BigAl]

Everyone but Peterson.

[Troy McClure]

Gurianov sucks. If he was such a great puck retriever, you’d think he’d be piling up points.

[BigAl]

On a more serious note, the person that pops into my mind as best puck retriever is Hintz. Here’s why.

People are claiming that this is a dump and chase team.
If so, then the top line dumps and chases the most by virtue of having the most ice time.
And the player with the most even strength assists is the best puck retriever, because the puck retriever turns possession into goals.
And that player is Roo.. actually it’s Pavelski.

[Troy McClure]

And it's also because the top line has three smart guys who dump it where they can win battles. Pavelski's fast hands make him awesome along the boards, so if you dump it to where he'll be, you're setting up possession deep in the offensive zone.

Dump and chase isn't bad if you can win the battles.

[BigAl]

Looking at ice time: Calgary’s top line played 21 minutes and our top line played 17.5 minutes.

[ToddM]

Gurianov could be the greatest puck retriever of his generation, but it's not going to matter if he gets it and has to pass back to Faksa or Glendening, who are more likely just peeling off back into the neutral zone anyways.

[BigAl]

Except that Raffl is the one who plays with Glendening and Faksa.
Gurianov has mostly played with Benn and Seguin.

This is a fun tool to play around with. https://moneypuck.com/lines.htm

[Troy McClure]

Except that Raffl is the one who plays with Glendening and Faksa.
Gurianov has mostly played with Benn and Seguin.

This is a fun tool to play around with. https://moneypuck.com/lines.htm

And it’s worth noting Benn and Seguin have been fairly productive the past couple of months. Despite their increase in production, Gurianov still produces nothing. Gurianov just has zero hockey sense.

[BigAl]

Gurianov is a guy who should probably go to the net as hard as he can every time he touches the puck. Maybe he won’t score, but his speed should be creating more mayhem than it does. And I think he could be a great back checker if he wanted to. Use that speed to catch people from behind like Janmark used to before his knee problem.

[slaps]

https://theathletic.com/3265391/2022/04 ... less-trip/

The offensive issues often get shrugged off because they’re so embedded into the fabric of the team that most have just learned to accept them. If the goals aren’t coming from the top line, they just aren’t coming. If the Stars want to see how a team should be supporting its dominant top line, all they needed to do was look to the other bench Thursday night.

Calgary’s top line of Johnny Gaudreau, Elias Lindholm and Matthew Tkachuk is dominant. Two of the three players have at least 100 points, and all three have scored at least 38 goals. Below them are 13 players on the Flames who have at least five goals this season. The Stars don’t have 13 players with at least five goals this season even if the top line is included. After Roope Hintz carried the scoring in Vancouver and Edmonton, Joe Pavelski had a number of good looks and Jason Robertson scored his 38th goal of the season. But it’s unreasonable to expect that three players can do it all alone, especially on the road against a good team.

[Math]

I'm still curious to see how Gurianov would perform in another team dedicated to offense, like Minnesota or the Calgary; or even here with another coach who has a whole new philosophy. He's a 0.067-dimensional player who basically has two skills (his one-timer and his backhand rush on the right side) but zero hockey IQ, which you can't learn over the years. So either you play him on a whole different system and capitalize on his rare skills, or he's absolutely useless.

My take is that Gurianov is done in this organization and I think it's for the best interest of both if they part ways.