That’s pretty much what I expected - - a trove of generic rhetoric, devoid of any tangible examples of how Laxdal was allegedly “outcoached”.
Citing how Laxdal “didn’t rally the troops” but then acknowledging Oshawa came out flying in the first two periods is a laughable contradiction that defies logic.
Is there absolutely nothing specific that you can point to as an example of him being “outcoached”?
Even if you reached for some minutiae about how Laxdal should have saved his time out for later in the game instead of using it midway through the 3rd period after his fourth line got hemmed in their own zone and took an icing. Or at least criticize him for putting Connor Punnett out to kill penalties when it was obvious he was playing on only one leg.
Laxdal wasn’t the one making the novice coaching mistake of having too many men on the ice. I had to laugh at how long the refs let London play on with SIX (6) players frantically defending - - it was at least 10 to 12 seconds with all six inside the blueline - - before the refs finally decided they had no choice but to make the call and risk facing the wrath of coach Hunter again.
It’s not difficult to see where this bitterness towards Laxdal is coming from. The same place the resentment towards Jake Oster is coming from.
Defend him all you want. IMO he's an idiot. The entire 3rd period is an indictment of his less than stellar coaching. Slow the game down. Play more physical. 4 guys at your blueline to prevent zone entry. Bench 25, a defensive liability. Anything. You had a 3 goal lead with 8 minutes left. Shut it down. That in itself lost the game. So yeah, there are some examples. The minutiae of details you so badly want is encapsulated in the final 8 minutes. And for Godsake stop blaming the refs and look at yourself in the mirror and ask "Did I do enough to give my team the best chance of winning?" The answer is an overwhelming "NO!" I can probably count on one hand how many times Dale has been out coached this season. And on the other hand I can count how many times Lax-a-daisi-dal has been outcoached this series.
1. Not pulling Oster earlier in Game 1
2. Not pulling Oster earlier in Game 2
3. Preaching discipline and not taking dumb penalties Games 1 and 2 with how lethal the LDN PP was playing
4. Playing Punnet way too much in Game 3
5. Thinking that the refs allowing all the hacks, whacks and stickwork alllowed in the first 2 periods was going to continue in the 3rd
6. Not going into a complete defensive shell to star the 3rd period nursing would should have been an insurmountable lead
7. Playing 25 on the PK. Wont hit, slow and poor vision in the defensive zone.
8. Not slowing the game down when the Knights were pressing down by 2 or 1. Ice the puck, or slowly transition out.... Don't go for the home run pass.
9. Thinking that the refs were intimidate by Hunter. FFS that's a flimsy excuse. Each ref has over 15 years of experience. You think they haven't seen and heard it all?
10. Not using your entire bench in the 3rd. Kept trotting out the same 6 forwards and 4 D (including the one legged pirate Punnett) the entire 3rd. A fresh set of legs may have helped clear your D Zone easier when you kept getting hemmed in and maybe added some spark
Enough minutiae for Ya?
But hey, you do you boo. Keep believing in him. It's got you this far in the series.
And as for Oster, the kid is good and he's probably going to be better next season, but there's no denying he's been less than adequate this series. He's the Knights MVP right now. Maybe overworked this season? Who knows. I do know no team is going to win a game with a goalie that has an over 8.00GAA in the series.
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