E.L. wrote:
This team is starting to drag down some very talented young players. I hardly see Mac, Duchene and Landeskog on the highlight reels anymore.
MacKinnon was on fire to start the season, using his speed and power to create some chances. Landy was good as well, though for some reason he doesn't want to shoot the puck, I can't explain why. Tanguay and Iginla are looking ridiculously old right now. Iggy in particular is just plain slow. Yes, he's never been a quick starter, but Roy shouldn't be having him play alongside Duchene.
The problem with Duchene is that he needs certain types of wingers to really bring his A-game. He excels in the open cycling game and with wingers who can pass as well as they shoot. Iggy can't really do that anymore, and I'm not sure he ever really could. Rantanen and he have had some decent shifts, but Mikko has a long ways to go before he's truly NHL-ready.
Grigorenko has looked good centering the 4th line. Roy is bringing him along slowly. Ideally I'd like to see this lineup once Barrie is back in:
Landeskog - MacKinnon - Rantanen
Soderberg - Duchene - Comeau
Tanguay - Grigorenko - Iginla
McLeod - Mitchell - Skille
Beauchemin - Johnson
Zadorov - Barrie
Gormley - Holden (ugh)
Gormley FINALLY got the nod last night and looked good despite having a pylon for a defensive partner. Unfortunately, Holden is the best option between him, Guenin, and Stuart. Stuart has landed firmly in Roy's doghouse, spending most of the season thus far in the press box. I'm glad they're finally realizing what we all knew--that was a terrible pickup. I can still remember Roy thinking Stuart could play the top pairing with Johnson. Yeah, sure...that lasted about two games.
On a side note, as disappointing as Soderberg has been, Zadorov has been far better than advertised. Dude just knocks the living shit out of opposing forwards, and can handle the puck with ease. Also handles the puck fairly well.
I still think Roy is completely fucking things up, but there's still hope yet that he'll pull this thing out.