(Publisher’s Note: There are brothers. A son of a fan favorite. And the French language seems to be very popular on the team bus. Game by game, Nailers fans are getting to know their players and their personalities because that’s what rooting for the home team is all about.)
From what you’ve seen so far this season, what lineup/pairing changes might you make to help improve this team?
I know thus far this year, Coach Army hasn’t hesitated to make some moves up and down the lineup with the forwards to try and get some players going. It feels like he follows the Penguins model of having certain pairings of forwards together and alternates the third player on the line based on that specific game, which I personally am a fan of. I feel like it gives those players a sense of normalcy in the lineup and allows them to get used to a style of play that might work with the person they’re with, while allowing them the chance to see if a small change will help. I personally wouldn’t change a thing with that moving forward.
When you look at the defensive pairings though, that’s a different story. There have been minimal changes to the six men on the back end over the first seven games of the season, so that might be a chance to try to shake it up, although it might not be necessary to do with how well the team has been doing most recently (but we’ll get to that soon). It’s obvious which partnerships work the best on the ice and are given the lion’s share of minutes, but sometimes shaking things up a little can help. Giving different pairings a chance to work together (aside for power play and penalty kill time) might show some other guys have better chemistry than the current groupings and work better on the ice. I would consider shuffling things up with that group if things start to feel a little stale.
As far as the situation in goal, it’s been working out better recently. Gauthier has definitely stepped up to the plate and made some difficult plays to keep the team in games and has shown that, if he continues to develop, there’s no question he can continue to be the main man between the pipes. Nappier definitely still gives a good option as a backup, especially as we go into a weekend where we play three games in three days, but making the switch full time doesn’t seem to be as necessary now as it might have a week ago.
Based on what you thought of the Nailers coming into the season, do you feel like the team is underperforming/overperforming so far and has it changed your expectations for how they can do this season?
I looked at the roster at the beginning of the year and thought it could be a rough opening with the number of rookies they would be using as well as the lack of time available for training came and preseason. And as we know now, it was rather rough at the start with the 0-3 opening culminating with a big 4-0 loss to Cincinnati. But with how they’ve managed to turn it on in a relatively short period of time since those games (still waiting for that to come), I would have to say they’re still overperforming this year from what I thought. I originally figured it would take upwards of a month before they were able to steady the ship completely, hoping to pull wins where they could and staying relevant until they were able to pull it together. But now, based on what I’m seeing from the team, my expectations for this team have actually increased. I have no question their roster (assuming they can keep it together, depending on callups and such) is good enough to make a run and win a couple playoff series and hopefully contend well through April and into May.
What have you noticed coming from the 0-3 start to now winning three out of their last four that has turned the tides?
As noted above, I was concerned going into the year with the youth on the team and the lack of time to work together before the year began to try to figure it out together. What I’ve seen since that horrific start has been a team that is working harder together within the system put in place and using it to their advantage. I’ve seen a team using their speed to make opponents uncomfortable trying to skate with the puck. I’ve seen a team getting better play from the man in net to help them feel more confident in pushing their play forward. I feel like getting that first win over Iowa showed this team what it would take to win in this league, and they’ve found a way to continue to play that way. Of course, things could change as roster moves happen and as they get further into the dog days of the season, but I feel like this team is closer to the team we’ve seen have the .750 win percentage than the group that stumbled out of the blocks early in the year.
If you were Coach Derek Army, what would you focus on with this team in the hopes to improve as we get further into this season?
One of the biggest weaknesses I’ve seen is the ability of the specialty teams (power play and penalty kill) to see success. The PK unit is currently working at a 73.3% clip, which is simply not good enough to sustain throughout an entire season, while the power play has only seen a 16.67% success rate, which is also tough to maintain and have success. The good news about this though is this means the team is playing well at 5 on 5, which is where you really want to see a team see meaningful play, but having your power play operate closer to a 20-25% clip with a penalty kill operating more at an 80% success rate would really push this team higher in the standings than they currently are.
Another issue I’ve noticed repeatedly is in the passing game. Receiving hard passes, especially passes that will spring you for a good scoring chance or odd man break, is necessary in the game of hockey today. If you watch top level hockey in the NHL, you’ll see a lot of long passes attempting to spring players ahead, but when I watch the Nailers, their passing hasn’t appeared as crisp yet this early in the season. It’s obviously something they can and will work on as they move forward, but if I was the coach, I would do more passing drills to try to secure this sooner rather than later.
The team revealed a number of new jersey options this season (black/sunflower yellow, white/Vegas gold, red/white). Of those options, which is your favorite and, now that you’ve had a chance to visit the team store, what do you think of their offerings?
Personally, I’ve always been partial to the black and “Pittsburgh” yellow the Pens have worn over the years (yes, I call it “Pittsburgh” yellow, no matter what the team says). But I also remember the days of the old Thunderbirds and their black/red combination, so I really like that the team has worked the red back into the jerseys, even if it’s as the color of the jersey and not the logo. I really think the uniforms the team is wearing this season all look fantastic, but I was going to choose one to have for myself, I would probably go with the black and yellow option.
Of course, I could go to the team store and get myself one (and probably will at some point). They have a great selection of t-shirts, jerseys, hats (to which I am particularly partial, seeing as I wear a hat every day of my life), as well as fun things for the children like foam fingers, cow bells, and pom poms. I really thought their offerings were a great mix and I highly encourage everyone who has a chance to attend a game this season to see what they have that might interest you.
