Line Combos: 2013 Line Combos

[TSA0402]

Ian Mendes @ian_mendes 6m
Senators have just sent Mark Borowiecki back down to the AHL. There was no way they were keeping 8 defensemen up here.

Good. He clearly wasn't ready. I hope Wiercioch is getting some decent minutes if he stays up here.

 

[SevenOfSpades]

Good. He clearly wasn't ready. I hope Wiercioch is getting some decent minutes if he stays up here.

I though Wier was better with Gonchar than Lundin. Lundin has natural defensive abilities which really complement Phillips game, which could be our shutdown pairing.

Karlsson--Methot
Weir/Benny--Gonchar
Philly--Lundin

 

[blahblah3]

They should keep Smith on the second line. He has worked very well at generating a ton of chances and is solid at face offs. Milan Michálek has gone from bad to totally useless. He needs a downgrade big time. Last two games he has been invisible.

 

[delchief]

While Spezza and Lats are out....

Zibby - Turris - Alfie
Michalek - Smith - Silfver
Greening - Regin - Neil
JOB - DaCosta - Condra
(Daug)

Methot - Karlsson
Wiercioch - Gonchar
Phillips - Lundin
(Benoit)

When Spezza and Lats get back.....

Michalek - Spezza - Silfver
Zibby - Turris - Alfie
Lats - Regin - Neil
Greening - Smith - Condra
(JOB, Daug)

Methot - Karlsson
Wiercioch - Gonchar
Phillips - Lundin
(Benoit)

 

[General Granny*]

Dont get how you could justify sitting out JOB for guys like Greening and Tendresse, him and Condra have been our most consistent players, they are our best PK forwards and generated more offence either stone hands Greening or Fatenedresse.

 

[TheBradyBunch]

Can we not sour on Latendresse already? This fanbase is so pathetic. Latendresse could score 15 goals for us over the rest of the season, easily, and be an RFA afterwards.

Also, we literally just went through this with Zibanejad... suffering from and playing thru concussion syndromes, playing badly... a bunch of fools give up on him... and then he comes back and makes people look dumb. He's played 6 games this year and 33 since 2009-2010. Give it a ****ing break. It's like the people who booed Kuba and Gonchar before they even played last year. Grow up. Not directed at you specifically GG.

 

[delchief]

Dont get how you could justify sitting out JOB for guys like Greening and Tendresse, him and Condra have been our most consistent players, they are our best PK forwards and generated more offence either stone hands Greening or Fatenedresse.

I like O'Brien but I'm pretty sure his ceiling is a very good 4th liner/average 3rd liner. Both Lats and Greening have higher ceilings than that. Greening has also demonstrated plenty of hustle this year so the points will come. If we're just going to use this season's goal totals and underlying PK abilities as a guide then perhaps we should sit Michalek in favor of JOB as well?

Seriously, a 3rd line of Lats - Regin - Neil could be a tremendous advantage vs. other teams' bottom six. Same with Greening - Smith - Condra as a 4th line. JOB is a terrific skater and I love him on the team if only because he was a 1st round pick (albeit a late 1st rounder) who doesn't have to fall into the "bust" category. However, I have no problem removing him from the lineup if I can inject more size/skill in the form of Lats and/or Greening.

Now if Lats continues to suck, that's another matter.......

Also, Daugavins is a good guy and a nice PK'er in his own right. But no real talent with the puck and an easily replaceable player, let's be realistic.

 

[sens83]

I like O'Brien but I'm pretty sure his ceiling is a very good 4th liner/average 3rd liner. Both Lats and Greening have higher ceilings than that. Greening has also demonstrated plenty of hustle this year so the points will come. If we're just going to use this season's goal totals and underlying PK abilities as a guide then perhaps we should sit Michalek in favor of JOB as well?

Seriously, a 3rd line of Lats - Regin - Neil could be a tremendous advantage vs. other teams' bottom six. Same with Greening - Smith - Condra as a 4th line. JOB is a terrific skater and I love him on the team if only because he was a 1st round pick (albeit a late 1st rounder) who doesn't have to fall into the "bust" category. However, I have no problem removing him from the lineup if I can inject more size/skill in the form of Lats and/or Greening.

Now if Lats continues to suck, that's another matter.......

Also, Daugavins is a good guy and a nice PK'er in his own right. But no real talent with the puck and an easily replaceable player, let's be realistic.

Did you or did you not see the play earlier in the season from Daugs to Alfie to Turris, score....

 

[bert]

I like O'Brien but I'm pretty sure his ceiling is a very good 4th liner/average 3rd liner. Both Lats and Greening have higher ceilings than that. Greening has also demonstrated plenty of hustle this year so the points will come. If we're just going to use this season's goal totals and underlying PK abilities as a guide then perhaps we should sit Michalek in favor of JOB as well?

Seriously, a 3rd line of Lats - Regin - Neil could be a tremendous advantage vs. other teams' bottom six. Same with Greening - Smith - Condra as a 4th line. JOB is a terrific skater and I love him on the team if only because he was a 1st round pick (albeit a late 1st rounder) who doesn't have to fall into the "bust" category. However, I have no problem removing him from the lineup if I can inject more size/skill in the form of Lats and/or Greening.

Now if Lats continues to suck, that's another matter.......

Also, Daugavins is a good guy and a nice PK'er in his own right. But no real talent with the puck and an easily replaceable player, let's be realistic.

Latendress cant skate, if you havent noticed the sens are a high energy north south team he doesnt fit.

I doubt he plays unless ottawa is decimated by injuries.

 

[delchief]

Did you or did you not see the play earlier in the season from Daugs to Alfie to Turris, score....

Blind squirrel theory.

 

[FolignoQuantumLeap]

I like O'Brien but I'm pretty sure his ceiling is a very good 4th liner/average 3rd liner. Both Lats and Greening have higher ceilings than that. Greening has also demonstrated plenty of hustle this year so the points will come.

O'Brien is 3 years younger and already a better player than Greening. He's not as big, strong or quick as Greening but he' got a much better set of hands and better understanding of the game imo. We've seen him play all forward positions and he gets that he's gotta go to the net to be effective, something Greening still seems to struggle with.

Personally, I think the organization missed an opportunity with JOB and he should have been kept as a defenseman. The guy has a great set of tools to be a top 4 defender. But he's turned out to be a solid center which isn't a colossal failure by any means. There's a lot more potential there than the almost 27 year old Greening.

Latendress cant skate, if you havent noticed the sens are a high energy north south team he doesnt fit.

I doubt he plays unless ottawa is decimated by injuries.

Latendresse will play as soon as he's healthy.

 

[TheBradyBunch]

O'Brien is 3 years younger and already a better player than Greening. He's not as big, strong or quick as Greening but he' got a much better set of hands and better understanding of the game imo. We've seen him play all forward positions and he gets that he's gotta go to the net to be effective, something Greening still seems to struggle with.

Personally, I think the organization missed an opportunity with JOB and he should have been kept as a defenseman. The guy has a great set of tools to be a top 4 defender. But he's turned out to be a solid center which isn't a colossal failure by any means. There's a lot more potential there than the almost 27 year old Greening.

I think you are writing off Greening just a little bit too much but I feel what you're saying. I think he should be dealt, maybe that will turn around to bite me in the ass but if he can return a solid 4/5, young established DMan then I think it should definitely be done. Something around Niskanen, Martinez, McBain, Smid, Fayne, Braun/Demers/Irwin, Sbisa, Petry... these are all guys I would look at. Also I'd love to get Jamie Oleksiak but I don't see him being dealt.

 

[FolignoQuantumLeap]

I think you are writing off Greening just a little bit too much but I feel what you're saying. I think he should be dealt, maybe that will turn around to bite me in the ass but if he can return a solid 4/5, young established DMan then I think it should definitely be done. Something around Niskanen, Martinez, McBain, Smid, Fayne, Braun/Demers/Irwin, Sbisa, Petry... these are all guys I would look at. Also I'd love to get Jamie Oleksiak but I don't see him being dealt.

I get the Greening love, but I just don't know if his flaws are realistically curable. He's a guy who worked most of his life towards becoming a doctor rather than a pugilist. I don't know the man personally but the seems like a pacifist by nature and genuinely nice human being. The nastiness that Greening would need to somehow learn to become a dominant player probably goes against his nature.

Hopefully I'm wrong. I'd definitely trade him for almost any of the players you mentioned. Love me some McBain and Petry.

 

[aragorn]

O'Brien is 3 years younger and already a better player than Greening. He's not as big, strong or quick as Greening but he' got a much better set of hands and better understanding of the game imo. We've seen him play all forward positions and he gets that he's gotta go to the net to be effective, something Greening still seems to struggle with.

Personally, I think the organization missed an opportunity with JOB and he should have been kept as a defenseman. The guy has a great set of tools to be a top 4 defender. But he's turned out to be a solid center which isn't a colossal failure by any means. There's a lot more potential there than the almost 27 year old Greening.



Latendresse will play as soon as he's healthy.

Isn't that why JOB was drafted in the 1st rd while Greening was drafted in the 6th rd & in his first yr in Ottawa worked his way to the top line something JOB has yet to do. Oh, he did the same thing in Bingo his first yr there too working up from the 4th to the first line. Ppl keep underestimating him while the coaches keep promoting him & lets not forget that he put up 37 pts in his first yr & made the allstar game or should we down play that too as being all Speedo's doing?

I get the Greening love, but I just don't know if his flaws are realistically curable. He's a guy who worked most of his life towards becoming a doctor rather than a pugilist. I don't know the man personally but the seems like a pacifist by nature and genuinely nice human being. The nastiness that Greening would need to somehow learn to become a dominant player probably goes against his nature.

Hopefully I'm wrong. I'd definitely trade him for almost any of the players you mentioned. Love me some McBain and Petry.

I think he is going for the Lady Bing this yr he has no penalties so far this yr. While I would agree adding a little more nastiness to his game would IMO improve his game, it could also lead to some stupid penalties which a lot of ppl on here blame Smith for taking. Yes it would be great if he scores more but that really isn;t his role on the team, it's to create space for his linemates, it's to dig pucks out of the corners, it's to fight for pucks along the boards & it's to shut down the other team's scorers. IMO he does all of that rather effectively, if not spectacularly.

 

[Berserker*]

I get the Greening love, but I just don't know if his flaws are realistically curable. He's a guy who worked most of his life towards becoming a doctor rather than a pugilist. I don't know the man personally but the seems like a pacifist by nature and genuinely nice human being. The nastiness that Greening would need to somehow learn to become a dominant player probably goes against his nature.

Hopefully I'm wrong. I'd definitely trade him for almost any of the players you mentioned. Love me some McBain and Petry.

It is very hard to try and develop a nasty side in players. If a player didn't play overly physical in juniors then they rarely ever develop that aspect later in their careers. That is why it is important to target those kinds of players in the draft. We don't really have that many players in the system who play that nasty physical game, so we are forced to try to develop that edge in other grinders, which as stated above is a very difficult thing to do.

The main thing Greening has going for him is his raw athleticism. Randy Lee compared him to the likes of Chara and Fisher in terms of being a gym rat with freak athletic ability. If Greening didn't have that athleticism he would have a hard time sticking with the team. He has some skill but isn't a top six forward and he has some grit but he isn't really a tough player. The hope is that the Senators can take that raw athleticism and turn Greening into either a more skilled player or a more prominent physical player.

 

[Berserker*]

Isn't that why JOB was drafted in the 1st rd while Greening was drafted in the 6th rd & in his first yr in Ottawa worked his way to the top line something JOB has yet to do. Oh, he did the same thing in Bingo his first yr there too working up from the 4th to the first line. Ppl keep underestimating him while the coaches keep promoting him & lets not forget that he put up 37 pts in his first yr & made the allstar game or should we down play that too as being all Speedo's doing?

.

Bryan Bickell did essentially the same thing as Greening. He cracked the NHL full time in 2010 and put up 20 goals and 17 assists for 37 points. Then last season his point totals regressed a bit as he put up 9 goals and 15 assists for 24 points.

Greening needs to either develop more skill or become a more prominent physical presence to ensure that he isn't at risk of having his roster spot be replaced by one of the prospects. Greening is in the same boat as guys like Condra, Regin and Daugavins. All of those guys are mid aged players that need to prove to the organization that they are an indispensable asset to this organization who's skill set can't be replaced by any prospect. This year is a pretty important year for all of them because a lot of prospects are getting close to making the jump.

 

[aragorn]

The nastiness that we would like to see in Greening could be a detriment in this new NHL. I hope that the refs don't continue to make the kind of calls we are seeing but if they do then we are going to read a lot more on here about players taking stupid penalties & costing games. Greening doesn't seem to take stupid penalties like so many here keep accusing Z. Smith of doing. Being aggressive is great if the refs let you play the game that way but are they? Will they? Who knows? And if they start taking fighting out of the game as so many want what's the point then? Do we want him running guys from behind? Where do we draw the line? If he did drop them more, he would probably be more of a hero to some fans & hated by others.

IMO Greening plays a smart game, he hits, he fore checks, he back checks, digs pucks out of the corners & along the boards & makes some nice passing plays & doesn't take stupid penalties. He is versatile & can play on any line as he has already proven in any position with anyone on his line & the line plays better & he can take faceoffs. He is not only the fastest Sens player, he is one of the fastest players in the NHL, he is big, he is strong like bull & unlike Fatso-in-a-dress is in superb condition. And then there was that pretty boy Filatov who most wanted to replace Greening on Speedo's line, where is he again? Just thought I'd throw that in there.

Of course we want more offence from him but you can't have everything & that's not really what they pay him for, now is it? But let's give him some credit, the guy works hard every shift & he doesn't take a shift off like some. I had these same arguements about Fisher & there were lots here who couldn't wait to ship him out of town, they prefer the pretty boys who put up all the pts & disregard all the other players that make up a winning team. A takes all kinds of players to make up a winning formula & it takes grunts like Greening who work hard & get little pay & less credit.

 

[FolignoQuantumLeap]

Who/what is Speedo? And good god you overrate Greening. Parading his 37 points as a 26 year old rookie isn't going to change anyone's mind about him. 37 points playing on a line with a top 5 scorer (and top 10 Dman) is actually pretty horrible. He played on a line where he would rarely handle the puck. That's the best place for him on a team because he's very poor with it on his stick. If he were even remotely as good as you perceive he'd be getting lots of top 6 minutes with our rather large deficiency in that area. But without a player like Spezza around, he can't be there. He's a good soldier and useful in a lot of roles but let's not just ignore that Erik Condra has gotten top 6 ice over him and we called up a 19 year old who wasn't exactly lighting up the Ahl to take to play ahead of Colin Greening in an offensive role.

He's a 3rd/4th liner and there's nothing wrong with that. It's just too bad that he neither brings much in terms of physicality, scoring or penalty killing in that role. He kind of reminds me of Shean Donovan in many ways in that he's less than the sum of his parts.

 

[aragorn]

Who/what is Speedo? And good god you overrate Greening. Parading his 37 points as a 26 year old rookie isn't going to change anyone's mind about him. 37 points playing on a line with a top 5 scorer (and top 10 Dman) is actually pretty horrible. He played on a line where he would rarely handle the puck. That's the best place for him on a team because he's very poor with it on his stick. If he were even remotely as good as you perceive he'd be getting lots of top 6 minutes with our rather large deficiency in that area. But without a player like Spezza around, he can't be there. He's a good soldier and useful in a lot of roles but let's not just ignore that Erik Condra has gotten top 6 ice over him and we called up a 19 year old who wasn't exactly lighting up the Ahl to take to play ahead of Colin Greening in an offensive role.

He's a 3rd/4th liner and there's nothing wrong with that. It's just too bad that he neither brings much in terms of physicality, scoring or penalty killing in that role. He kind of reminds me of Shean Donovan in many ways in that he's less than the sum of his parts.

I'm not over rating Greening, I know he is what he is, but people here may want more from him than he is capable of giving. They lose by one goal & people make it sound like it's Greening's fault when it's the guys who are paid to score who are not scoring. Greening has already had a 37 pt season, Condra & Daugavins combined have not, he was also an allstar in his first yr the other two were not & he is also bigger, tougher, faster & stronger than both & so IMO worth so much more. He's a bottom 6 player who can move up & if you'll notice Maclean seems to use him in a lot of situations including in front of the net on the PP, he seems to think he is a decent player. Everybody loves Condra yet Greening gets **** on, I don't get it.

I'm just saying that Greenings combination of size, strength, speed & smarts are an asset to this team & why people **** on him for not scoring more is a little silly. He gets paid to reduce goals against & dig pucks out for the elite players, they are the ones who need to step up & start scoring, not Greening. IMO he does his job well.

 

[Icelevel]

the lines just reported at the skate this morning are crap.

 

[2CHAINZ]

the lines just reported at the skate this morning are crap.

Michalek Zibanejad Alfredsson
Silfverberg Turris Greening
Condra Smith Neil
O'Brien Da Costa Daugavins

In case people were wondering what the lines were

 

[SNAPshot]

Michalek Zibanejad Alfredsson
Silfverberg Turris Greening
Condra Smith Neil
O'Brien Da Costa Daugavins

In case people were wondering what the lines were

Hmmm... I heard differently:

Michalek Zibanejad Alfie
Greening Turris Silf
Daugavins Dacosta Condra
O'Brien Smith Neil

 

[General Granny*]

Praises DaCostas game then sti keeps on the 4th line in a team starved for goals.

Greening plays like **** all season long..... promotion to the 2nd line.

Straved for goals....you have one of your best shooters (Silfverberg) and skilled player with the lowest powerplay time, under guys like Greening, Neil and Smith.

 

[Silvercup Returns]

Neil took a shot in leg at practice, left ice.

 

[BonkTastic]

Neil took a shot in leg at practice, left ice.

Yay, more injuries!

This season is fun, you guys.