can't believe he played 25 min and gelly only 13...is he really that vital to the PK?
- Senor_Elias

He played so many minutes because he spent so much time trapped in his own zone.

itll never happen but Salvador needs to be benched for Larsson and then Merrill will be able to swap back to his natural side.
greene-severson
Merrill-zidlicky
gelinas-larsson

dynamic D
- BDizzlez

Just think we would have 6 guys back there who can all make tape to tape passes. WHY LOU AND PETE WHY!

He played so many minutes because he spent so much time trapped in his own zone.
- CaptCrankypants

When Tampa pulled their goalie and called their timeout, I almost lost it when I saw Salvador skating out for the final minute on crunch time

When Tampa pulled their goalie and called their timeout, I almost lost it when I saw Salvador skating out for the final minute on crunch time
- TheJerseyDevil1

ugh this is probably what bothers me the most. It's one thing to keep dressing the guy but to continously give him such important minutes...I really just question PDB talent evaluation skills. He does the same with Gio he plays him like he's John (frank)ing Madden in his prime. When he isn't 1/4 of the shutdown guy Madden was.

When Tampa pulled their goalie and called their timeout, I almost lost it when I saw Salvador skating out for the final minute on crunch time
- TheJerseyDevil1

Me too. It was almost like they chose that camera angle to tell us not to get too excited. I just don't understand the reasoning there.

He played so many minutes because he spent so much time trapped in his own zone.
- CaptCrankypants

haha true

When Tampa pulled their goalie and called their timeout, I almost lost it when I saw Salvador skating out for the final minute on crunch time
- TheJerseyDevil1

maybe we don't have many better options. Gelinas isn't great defensively, the NHL game is still new for Severson and both he and Merrill are prone to young mistakes. That leaves Salvador, Zidlicky and Greene. Sal may not be fast, but at least he has the experience to better handle crunch time? maybe that's what they're thinking.

maybe we don't have many better options. Gelinas isn't great defensively, the NHL game is still new for Severson and both he and Merrill are prone to young mistakes. That leaves Salvador, Zidlicky and Greene. Sal may not be fast, but at least he has the experience to better handle crunch time? maybe that's what they're thinking.
- MartysBetter88

Nah i'm not buying the experience card with Sal. Severson and Merrill handle themselves quite well for being so young and i think they could handle the pressure of crunch time just fine. Sal just flat out sucks, if he's not turning the puck over he's a step behind and chasing guys all over the place. Lou has to realize he's not getting any better he's actually getting worse in terms of his play. It's just a matter of time before he starts costing us games.

Nah i'm not buying the experience card with Sal. Severson and Merrill handle themselves quite well for being so young and i think they could handle the pressure of crunch time just fine. Sal just flat out sucks, if he's not turning the puck over he's a step behind and chasing guys all over the place. Lou has to realize he's not getting any better he's actually getting worse in terms of his play. It's just a matter of time before he starts costing us games.
- FAZOOL

when it's pressure time we've seen Merrill laying on the ice swinging his stick on more than one occasion. That's young and inexperienced and not fine. The problem is we don't have anyone better, any real top pairing shutdown guy.

When tampa had their last PP in the 3rd I almost lost it when zubrus couldn't clear the puck when he was alone on the boards.

Side note the ice looked terrible last night with the puck bouncing everywhere.

when it's pressure time we've seen Merrill laying on the ice swinging his stick on more than one occasion. That's young and inexperienced and not fine. The problem is we don't have anyone better, any real top pairing shutdown guy.
- MartysBetter88

We all know what Merrill, Severson, and Gelly are well on their way to being. Top blueline guys for years to come. Only way that's hindered is if we hold them back and don't let them learn on the fly with large quantity minutes. We know it, management knows it. Because they've had time to develop properly. Larsson, IMO, was rushed early on. He was thrown right into the NHL at 18. The other three all had a few years to develop. It's all backwards and the complete opposite of the other guys. That's the trouble with top picks. Sometimes they don't have time to develop properly and regress on occasion.