Paul T

It doesn't get much more even than that, so that is not the issue.  I've seen teams play 40% line 1 and 50% first pair D with no problems.  My splits are very similar to yours.  When players get tired I'll usually adjust special teams as needed.

It doesn't get much more even than that, so that is not the issue.  I've seen teams play 40% line 1 and 50% first pair D with no problems.  My splits are very similar to yours.  When players get tired I'll usually adjust special teams as needed.

It doesn't get much more even than that, so that is not the issue.  I've seen teams play 40% line 1 and 50% first pair D with no problems.  My splits are very similar to yours.  When players get tired I'll usually adjust special teams as needed.

I'm afraid your situation can't be easily explained.  Think it's a bit of randomness and bad luck at a bad time in the season.  I noticed some of the skaters that were injured had low-ish endurance, but nothing out of the ordinary for your league level - and you definitely aren't overplaying them.  Your goalies also seem to have a nice rotation.  If you or your opponent were playing Hard or Dirty it might explain things a little more, but I have no insight into that.
As far as what leads to players getting injured more frequently in the game, there are numerous factors.
- Injury proneness of the specific player
- Player fatigure... players being exhausted are more at risk of suffering an injury.  There's a few things that impact player fatigue... too much ice time, low endurance, training intensity.
- You or your opponent playing Hard or Dirty
 

I guess I'm probably the wrong person to answer.  I'm a fan of anything that adds complexity, strategy or a challenge for managers to the game.  I love when players reject offers and make random decisions.  To me, this is one of those scenarios.  I think players are signing for way too cheap right now.  I know that some managers try to offer the lowest possible salary that the player will accept at the current time, and I also do to a point, but I also look at league averages and if the player will eventually be a star, I try to offer a little more so that I don't run into this issue.  I'm not sure if I would consider this a bug as it penalizes managers who didn't forecast correctly and went too cheap.
I don't know if anything has changed with Cage, but I did have this same scenario in Biscuit.  I had a player that was concerned the entire season because of this exact issue and he ended up leading my team in goals.  To what point performance is affected is unknown.  I remember discussing this a few years ago in the chat and it was determined that recognizable impact didn't occur until the player was Unhappy.  Concerned was more of a warning.

The reports do have useful information, but they are more indicative of the "on paper" matchup and less based on the actual game results.  Like how well your tactics stack up against your opponent and how well your line focuses match up.  So even if the wording doesn't necessarily reflect the game results, it may give you hints on how to improve your team for the next game.  In my response above, my scoring line has minor issues with their focus, but they were able to overcome those issues and there could be quite a few factors for that... the players are just that good, the other teams defense underperformed, or the other teams goalie underperformed.  Maybe I would have had even better results if I played that line as Two Way.  But I agree with you to an extent, the wording is very misleading, especially for new managers.  If my team is playing well, I tend to ignore the reports.  If my team wasn't playing well, I would look for clues in the reports to figure out why.
I specifically look to see two things.
1 - that my players fit the role and line focus.
2 - how my captains impacted the game.
Other than that, I don't rely on the reports much. 

I don't pay much attention to the wording on the reports.
For example:


 
Exactly this.

An attempt to fix this overtime issue has now been released with the v2.2.3 update. Please let me know if you still encounter this issue after this update.

I don't pay much attention to the wording on the reports.
For example:


 
Exactly this.

I don't pay much attention to the wording on the reports.
For example:


 
Exactly this.

Endurance is definitely an issue with my team and one of the 3 main weaknesses that I can point to right off the bat. That problem stems from my early perception that it didn’t matter all that much. It has especially impacted me with goalies. I seem to manage it well with forwards and Dmen by regulating their ice time, but endurance being a cause of my late season struggles is an interesting suggestion that could very well be true. The only thing I’ll say is that in earlier seasons, my team had better endurance and we still collapsed. Season 1 for example, my top line endurance was 99, 99, 99 and my goalie that season was 95. They all still disappeared late season and into the playoffs. 

I agree, but Anders is one dev. Debugging something like this, making changes in code, testing, is not a simple process in such a complex sim. If there was a larger userbase, perhaps he could afford to hire another dev. Or perhaps a fan of the sim is a dev and can volunteer to work on bug fixes or at least QA some work. 

Take a look at Endurance on your team, Paul. I would not be surprised to see a hidden Endurance meter that depletes throughout a season and is impacted by a player's Endurance score. Your team isn't exactly top in Endurance, especially your goaltenders - that may account for the late-season slides.

Good assessment of my weaknesses - and I agree with the loose definition of "weakness", as well as seeing them as challenges to defeat. I just did a massive high-risk, high-reward trade in Buzzer that is going to bring new issues for my team - and I've never felt more alive  .

The size issue with my D-men I've solved since the beginning of the season by pairing them with larger counterparts - worked well so far. 

Goaltending...is complicated. Lie's stats are 2.86/90.2% - which is decent for a backup. Baudoin, on the other hand, isn't even in Top 20 in SV%, despite having 8 shutouts (Tied for 1st). That's how streaky he, or his cocaine supplier, is. I am nearly sure I've identified the exact issue with him (not Anxiety, surprisingly), but have not yet decided now to fix it. 

The Spirit comment is interesting. Never was a fan of the "winning = who has the most heart" argument, but winning teams have had high-Spirit players often (i.e. Kegashka). I have some lower-Spirit players the past two seasons because of trades, and I have been worse defensively, so reasonable guess. But my offence has fired up as a result, and I like that exchange. For now, at least. I will keep an eye on this going forward, though - good observation.

The way I see spirit is along the lines of what is described here from 7:50 to about 8:05 and I'd rather have a team that fits what is said here than pretty much any other kind of team.
 
 
Basically I see spirit as how much effort the player puts into the play, how willing they are to give the extra effort, et cetera. I'd rather have a team like the 2000 Wild or the late Bruke lead Flames team where they are known for how hard working and playing the team is, how committed they are, how willing to do the extra stuff, et cetera. That is just how I like my teams though and how I would rather my teams be known for no matter how they otherwise might play.

Only question here is regarding Big Games.  What is considered a "big moment"? 
 
Playoff games?... games toward end of season?... games against top teams?... 3rd period?... figure it out for myself?...

Oh - and going back to a discussion that hasn't been had in quite some time.  Roster Limits!!!  I have always felt for GHL level it should be 30.  Maybe offer a bit more leeway for the lower leagues, but I can't imagine why any GHL manager would need more than 30 spots.  This would be the ultimate measure against hoarding players and creating a larger FA pool.
6 C - 11 F - 9D - 4G = 30 players.  Easy peasy.  You can even get creative and do 7C and 12F and 2G, the options are endless.

Just re-read this part and I see what you're saying.  Personally, I think the problem is contracts.  Players are signing way too cheap.  I had hoped that the release would have solved that - for example, players in the 90s should sign for 6M+.  I see some signing for less than 3M, which allows managers to hoard (along with potentially getting a team of all 90+ players, but that's another topic).  If hoarding is keeping other managers from getting players, then it seems like an effective tactic to be honest.  I personally don't agree with it because having too many players on your roster, especially on one way deals, will kill your confidence as those players would become anxious - and having too many salaries prevents managers from splurging on those top tier players.
I think if the contracts were fixed it would solve a lot of this.

Definitely agree with everything you said, rain.  I just understand the mentality behind managers finding comfort in signing their own players.  Many might think the current roster is good, they just need 1-2 more pieces to make it all work.  Season 3 FA was a great example for me.  I placed a 2nd/3rd line player on waivers to go after Rackley in FA.  That plan didn't work out and I lost the player to waivers, having my worst season so far.  But overall you are right.
I think the FA market will continue to get better each season.  In S2 it was awful.  Got a little better for S3 and this past season there were plenty of players there for signing.  As new players continue to pour in, more players will become available - managers will start doing exactly as you said above in hopes of signing "better" players and improving their teams.  Just a bit limited at the moment.  I think we are a few seasons away from the FA pool being really good.
In terms of trading, I think there are a fair amount of moves made each season.  Almost every manager has made a trade or two at this point.  But trading is tough in general.  You need to find a fair balance and also offer something that the other manager needs, taking into account team tactics and cap space.  If you find value in a player on another team, chances are that manager also values that player and it will take a bit to move them.  I thought the trade between Cedar and Slaughter was a great example of a fair trade benefiting both teams.  I also think the trade between me and Cedar was a benefit to both teams.  Cedar got the younger, better, bigger player on a cheaper contract, so on paper it looks lopsided, but I was up against the cap and it provided me some breathing room to make moves in case of injury... and it provided me positional balance in that I now have a C who can fill in in case of injury - and I already had depth at D.  I needed to move Obeng after this season anyways and Kozak is a great example of a player that will walk without a contact next season.  I've offered quite a few trades for G this year as well to no avail - and some of the offers I thought were really good, but can understand why they were rejected.

People just hate those that are good. I am not a Pats fan but you gotta recognize greatness

TOM BRADY ONLY HAS 6 RINGS. He must suck.

Brees is a better QB than Brady, simple

Tom Brady is the goat

Yep, agreed.
While clearly not an elite level QB any longer, he is still a player that likely every other team would want leading them.

I hate games like that Paul. I get that they will happen but I still hate them none the less. You did end up getting the consolation of a 1-0 loss rather than a bad blowout.

It is funny how each team seems to have their own unique problems and it's relatively consistent over multiple seasons.
Probably not an ideal scenario unless you are developing a goalie, but have you considered signing some scrub to play in the affiliate to act as a 2nd backup?  When Amick needs a rest, which is often... and I mean OFTEN lmao, I'll recall Loiselle to play backup in case of goalie pull so that Amick doesn't get thrown into the game.  Even some 78-79 guy for like 400K. 
For what it's worth, the last place Alligators beat me earlier this season when they started their 78 overall goalie.  It was a glorious moment for both teams.