RD2 GM5 05/11 vs Kraken (8:50PM CT) - TEXAS STYLE BBQ CALAMARI

[Troy McClure]

Don’t worry, y’all. We all saw how seamlessly Seguin slotted into the top line last series ...

Stars media seems to be under orders to praise Seguin's play, but even Razor the other day said it was time to put the top line back together.

[The Frugal Gourmet]

Contrary to what's been said here, I think Seguin played a fine game again on the third line. Where I like him.

I honestly don't have much complaints about too many of these players. wait until we lose two in a row i guess.

[dyhp]

[The Frugal Gourmet]

Praise Allah

[Troy McClure]

Contrary to what's been said here, I think Seguin played a fine game again on the third line. Where I like him.

I honestly don't have much complaints about too many of these players. wait until we lose two in a row i guess.

And I’m talking about him not being good enough on the top line.

[The Frugal Gourmet]

Contrary to what's been said here, I think Seguin played a fine game again on the third line. Where I like him.

I honestly don't have much complaints about too many of these players. wait until we lose two in a row i guess.

And I’m talking about him not being good enough on the top line.

I was referring to saint anger saying he’d done nothing earlier. I thought he was all right actually.

[slaps]

Fun game to go to except for the old fuckhead in front of me who was constantly standing up and blocking people's view to yell at other people there and who couldn't stop flopping around.

[SaintAngerBH]

Contrary to what's been said here, I think Seguin played a fine game again on the third line. Where I like him.

I honestly don't have much complaints about too many of these players. wait until we lose two in a row i guess.

And I’m talking about him not being good enough on the top line.

I was referring to saint anger saying he’d done nothing earlier. I thought he was all right actually.

I haven't noticed him at all outside of that one rush to the net. But maybe I'm just not paying enough attention...

[B Kat]

Kind of the perfect win for game 5. The Stars were mostly outplayed, but still managed to win. So going into the next game, they know they need to be better. And they do.

Seattle does wear down with their style as the game moved along, but they kept at it longer last night. They will definitely push harder next game, 'cuz desperation. Stars need to be a lot tighter and neutralize Seattle's speed better, like they did in game 2.

I hope Miro gets some rest. They said he hasn't been able to eat or sleep very well. He must be wearing down. He still played 26 minutes last night. At one point, maybe about midway, I checked his ice time 'cuz it felt like he was playing less, but no not really. It felt like Harley and Hanley were out there every shift, but they had the least time. They were pretty scary and were on for both Seattle goals. 3rd pair, they know they need to be better too.

[The Frugal Gourmet]

Kind of the perfect win for game 5. The Stars were mostly outplayed, but still managed to win. So going into the next game, they know they need to be better. And they do.

I'm not sure what to do make of it. Once the Stars got close again, they started actually getting shifts in their offensive zone again.

But we could all see the response coming for awhile.

I still go back to my original thought that we have trouble covering Seattle defensively, but they have trouble covering us defensively. So I think the key is you have to spend some time attacking.

It really doesn't seem like we can cover them when they have one of those long shifts, but it seems even less like they can cover us. One nice shift in their zone and they go all kaput.

[B Kat]

Getting two quick goals set the stage. A team isn't trying quite as hard with that cushion. It's not like the Stars were completely sitting back, more that Seattle was taking it to them and not allowing them much puck possession. But yeah, once Dallas got in the offensive zone, they were hard to contain.

[The Frugal Gourmet]

Nothing makes me more "nervous" in a way that getting a few quick goals that feel not entirely earned. I think that's the most tenuous of leads. But I still would take it.

[Math]

Getting two quick goals set the stage. A team isn't trying quite as hard with that cushion. It's not like the Stars were completely sitting back, more that Seattle was taking it to them and not allowing them much puck possession. But yeah, once Dallas got in the offensive zone, they were hard to contain.

Maybe these two goals happened too quickly lol. The Stars really suffered in the first to the middle of the second and made lots predictable plays while struggling to get out of their zone. The Hintz goal litterally killed them. On the other way, it seems that the Kraken doesn't have a plan B. It's the same system and all-in strategy all game long since game #1. If Seattle doesn't execute perfectly, they open a lot of space and offer high scoring chances on the other side.

[Troy McClure]

Getting two quick goals set the stage. A team isn't trying quite as hard with that cushion. It's not like the Stars were completely sitting back, more that Seattle was taking it to them and not allowing them much puck possession. But yeah, once Dallas got in the offensive zone, they were hard to contain.

Maybe these two goals happened too quickly lol. The Stars really suffered in the first to the middle of the second and made lots predictable plays while struggling to get out of their zone. The Hintz goal litterally killed them. On the other way, it seems that the Kraken doesn't have a plan B. It's the same system and all-in strategy all game long since game #1. If Seattle doesn't execute perfectly, they open a lot of space and offer high scoring chances on the other side.

The Kraken are also getting killed by a *poo poo* power play. They have to score 5v5, but it's not like they're struggling to score. The Stars ground Minnesota down into having nothing to offer, but Seattle is managing to score multiple goals every game no matter how solid we might rate the performance by the Stars. Two goals isn't a lot, but if that's their worst effort, it shows they aren't going to be stopped from feeling like a threat.

But as consistent as the Kraken's offense is, they also consistently give the Stars a lot of chances. The numbers of high danger chances are greatly in favor of the Stars. I think we're seeing both the upside and the downside of this high floor low ceiling roster by how the Kraken can feel like they're in most games, but where they're weakest is still on defense and in goal, and the Stars are cashing in at a pretty crazy rate.

[Math]

I also heard the theory that the Kraken is able to play such a quick and fast game all along because they have four equal line (ok) that take shorter shifts (hum...). I looked at the data for this year's postseason and the answer is no.

Kraken' players have an average shift length of 0:44 (min: Tanev with 0:37, max: Dunn with 1:09), while it's 0:45 for the Stars (min: Glendening with 0:35, max: Miro with 1:02). So nothing significant.

[mookie1010]

I think it's simpler than all that. Both teams are able to focus almost exclusively on identifying and defending the opponents strengths, so we're seeing different game from each team than they roll out in the reg season.

It's why goalies shine and worker bees seem to have sudden contributions outside their normal performance.

IOW, scoring depth and quality defense is key in the playoffs and often makes the difference in the salary cap world.

[B Kat]

I also heard the theory that the Kraken is able to play such a quick and fast game all along because they have four equal line (ok) that take shorter shifts (hum...). I looked at the data for this year's postseason and the answer is no.

Kraken' players have an average shift length of 0:44 (min: Tanev with 0:37, max: Dunn with 1:09), while it's 0:45 for the Stars (min: Glendening with 0:35, max: Miro with 1:02). So nothing significant.

I've been keeping an eye on their times, no actual computations, but we have been forcing them to play their top line and top D a little bit more. Not necessarily longer shifts but more shifts. Earlier their time was fairly constant across all players. So it's us forcing them to play a different way. Stars also play a 4 line game with player time fairly equal.

Anyway, we're parsing minutia

[Troy McClure]

I'm going to guess Hintz plays, but he did skip the optional skate.

[The Frugal Gourmet]

We don't need that bum anyway.