Who do you pick in goal vs Vegas while our blueline is struggling?
Heard something interesting from a buddy with ties to the room yesterday. Word is they'll go seven D in the warmup skate Monday before trimming. Coaches want Vegas guessing on pairings right up till puck drop 😏
What I was told, take it for what it's worth: the top pairing stays intact, but the third pair gets a fresh face nobody's floated on here yet, and the second-line centre question is apparently already settled internally, just not announced. Details in the DMs if you're curious, but don't screenshot this and pin it anywhere 🤫
Against a Vegas side sitting 13th with 95 points and us leaking 316 goals against? I'd keep it boring. Six steady defenders, shelter the kids, survive the first ten minutes and let the crowd do the rest. Anyone heard who's centreting the second line, or is everyone still in the dark like me?
Seven D at warmup is a bluff with zero cost, honestly, Vegas has video on every one of those guys anyway, so the "guessing" angle is mostly theatre. What actually matters is whether the top pair eats the hard minutes. Against a team that put up 265 goals while staying positive at 250 against, you can't hide anybody; Vegas forechecks in waves and the pair that gets caught uploading turns into odd-man rushes within seconds. So whatever the warmup shows, I'd want my best two defenders matched against their top line shift for shift, short-shifted be damned.
On the second-line centre question, that's the real leak. Whoever centres there will start a chunk of shifts in their own end against Vegas's depth, and with 316 against on the season you already know the exits are ugly. I'd shelter him: mismatched line rotations, D-corps loaded on the top pair, and accept the kid line takes some lumps.
Numbers > vibes.
Theatre's right, but which guys are even healthy enough to dress seven? Nobody's named who's nursing what, and I'll believe the "trim to six" bit when I see the actual lineup card Monday. Define the rotation first, otherwise the warmup stunt is just hiding the real question: does the leaking bottom pair even start against Vegas?
Hype isn't an argument.
RobShinny, "hard minutes" is just shifts against the opponent's best forwards, Vegas's top line in this case, usually in your own end. The guys eating those minutes burn a lot of energy defending and rarely pad stats, which is why coaches protect young or fragile D from them. With our defence leaking like it did last season (316 against, worst in the league), the question of who takes Vegas's top unit on Monday matters more than the seven-D warmup theatre. Caveat, though: one game of matchup data is a small sample, so read the pairings at puck drop rather than trusting the morning skate.
Do the math before you argue.
7D at warmup Monday then trimming?? 😱 our lot leaking 316 goals against and we're playing mind games with Vegas lmao. Just name six and back them all day 💪🤬
One love, one side ❤️
Good chance PuckheadDad's right that the warmup bit is theatre, but here's why it might not be: with 316 against, I genuinely doubt anyone behind the bench knows his best six yet. That's the scary part 😏
Had a source ping me late, wouldn't hold much - just said the second-line centre question and the pairings are tied together, one decides the other, and the staff wants the skate first. Vague as ever, but with Vegas at 95 points rolling in Monday and us sitting where we sit, I'd rather they peek at seven than freeze the wrong six. You'll all find out soon enough 🤫
Dangle has a point, and the tape backs him up. I keep a running log of defensive-zone exits per pairing, and half our combos turn the puck over at rates you'd expect from a group that's never skated together. That's what 316 against does: it scrambles your read on who actually belongs. Roll the six that bled least, sure, but Monday's warmup trim is as much about seeing who's still standing mentally as anything. 📊
Context beats a bare stat.
Honestly I'd just be happy if they picked six and stuck with them for a full game 😅 I'm still learning this stuff but even I can see the problem - you can't judge pairings when they get shuffled every week, right? That's kinda what Sam is saying about the exits, and it clicked for me.
My guess for Monday: they go with the safest six, no surprises there. The surprise might come at 2C instead - nobody's said a word about that, so maybe they flip a winger to centre to confuse Vegas's matchups 🤔 Still doesn't fix 316 goals against but hey, small wins lol.
Anyone else think we get blown out or keep it close? 🙏
New here, soaking it up.