A Tale of Two Teams

What can I say about this team so far in 2021? Honestly not much, there only has been 3 games and of course there is always panic and stress after a 5-1 loss on a Saturday night. After 20 years of this being the normal, I get that it is annoying. It is just a tale of two teams right now. It is very much a Jekyll and Hyde sort of situation so far. One night they will look like the team that beat Vancouver 5-2 and another night they look like, well Saturday vs Montreal. Obviously there are some changes that need to be made, so lets look at some!

The Forwards:

I am going to be honest with the forward core. 3 out of the 4 lines have been pretty good! (Even the top line hasn't been great but c'mon, it has Connor McDavid). The 4th line has been just okay. Devin Shore hasn't really been much of a factor, Jujhar Khaira might see the press box more than the ice surface (Which IMO is a good thing) and it has been a rotation of left wingers. Chaisson seems to really have taken a step back. No finish to his game and the fact that he is continuously being put on the top PP unit just baffles me. There are so many other options like a Puljujarvi, who is a big body in front of the net, or a Yamamoto who isn't that big but plays like a big man. They both have finish and who seem to be understanding that you have to go into the dirty areas to be successful.

The Goaltending:

I am going to do defense last because that is the area that needs the most help. Mikko Koskinen looked shaky at best vs the Habs on Saturday. Yes he didn't have a lot of help during the game but he just didn't seem to want to swallow a puck at all. He made 31 saves on 36 shots but never seemed to be comfortable. With Mike Smith out for an extended period of time, Koskinen will need to be a lot better in net. It seems like the Oilers are still looking for a back up. Aaron Dell was put on waivers but was claimed by New Jersey and Jimmy Howard would rather retire than play behind that defense. However will it fix things that need to be fixed? I am not sure. Koskinen has never proved to be a number 1 and until I see otherwise or Ken Holland decides to move away from him and get a real number 1, I will never be content.

The Defense:

Oof, where do I begin. Let's start with the good. Slater Koekkoek has look really good in his role. Caleb Jones has not looked like a liability in his own end and Tyson Barrie has a really good shot on offense. Now to the bad and we start with the "Number 1 pair". Nurse & Bear have not played as well as they did together last year. Bear seems a bit slow both in his decision making & his movement. It looks like he will take a seat tonight and maybe that will do him some good. Lets be fair to him, he is only 23 and only has played one full season. He will get better and he does make some excellent plays so I am not too worried. Now, Darnell Nurse may not be a number 1 d man and that is fine, but he has to look like an NHL guy here soon? He has his moments when he is jumping up in the rush, but when he thinks too much, he looks really out of place. Just not being physical enough and not strong enough on the puck to make the simple play and get the puck out of the zone. Adam Larsson is supposed to be the smart, stay at home defensemen. There are times where he just forgets that. Making the wrong read on a 2 on 1 or not moving people from the front of the net.

What do I want to see?

Just a bit of a shake up to be honest, on all sides. Move some winger pairs around, play other guys with McDavid. It just seems like Tippett is relying too much on Kassian being "The Guy" for Connor. Try Puljuravi there or Yamamoto or heck even Ennis! Just something different. As for the defense, it's clear that this is not a good defensive team. Some additions need to be made. Whether that be inserting a Bouchard or Lagesson to the lineup or a trade of some sort. But what do you have to give up to help this team defenevily? That's a blog for another time.

What do you think this team needs?