Post by chappy28 on Feb 28, 2024 2:27:48 GMT
Exactly. Did anybody think that Bergy and DK would leave and Pasta somehow would be on track to produce even MORE than last year? I certainly didn't. We get on Debrusk and others for not being able to "carry a line" or "create their own offense". Pasta can and has been doing just that. There is nobody on our team that is making Pasta better (because we don't have high end centers), but Pasta brings offensive life to anybody he is lined up with.
Worth noting, Pasta leads our forwards at +20, so safe to say his offense is outweighing any defensive gaffes he may have.
It's funny, when you look at this team it's hard to figure out what's wrong until you realize that our centers just aren't that good. Coyle's having a great year, and I want to give him credit for that but he's just not a 1C on a contender. Zacha has regressed heavily and shown that he's not a guy to carry a top 6 line. He's more of a complementary piece in my opinion. We're basically a team without a 1C and most of our woes can be traced back to that fact. If Sweeney was a magician and could somehow find one I think instantly these late losses and OT games become wins. A few more face-offs won, a few more seeing eye passes, a guy who can pull our wingers along (Debrusk) would do wonders for this team. Right now our top 6 is Marchand, Pasta, and a bunch of guys you may not notice on a given night. Not enough.
We're winning because of a good system, good culture (hard work, discipline), very good goaltending, and two guys named McAvoy and Pasta (and occasional Marchand heroics).
I honestly don't think there's a deal to be made that gets us a one c this year. I'm fine with that and personally would rather us sit tight or even sell some assets and let the chips fall where they may for the season. Fact is we have to take our medicine sometime. Might as well be now