Speculation: 2017-18 Roster Discussion - Part 7

These Are The Days

Oh no! We suck again!!
May 17, 2014
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Tampa Bay
I really want to see McDonagh and Stralman together. The pair sounds like it works too well, but on the other hand I want none of Girardi playing 20+ minutes a game on the top pairing, same for Coburn and Sustr. But if I have to pick someone to be on the top pairing if we can't put Stralman there, put Coburn up there against Ottawa today. See how it goes.

Hedman - Coburn (22:00 minutes roughly)
McDonagh - Stralman (20:00 minutes)
Sergachev - Girardi (16 to 18 minutes)

Stralman is the team babysitter, and he will offer the stability McDonagh needs to get accustomed to the difference in style of play between the Rangers D and ours. Split any extra minutes with pairing Stralman and Hedman back together when we need them.

What specifically about Girardi has you worried? Coburn and Sustr sure I wouldn't want them taking big minutes either. But Girardi? I gotta see where you're going with this.
 

HoseEmDown

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Mar 25, 2012
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He'd be redundant on that line, I think. Palat does the dirty work. Johnson's a good north-south shooter. They need a skilled playmaker.

Who would that be? They aren't playing with Kucherov, don't see them playing the wings with Point and Gourde is playing great next to Point so he should stay there. Miller is a good playmaker but his physical game is needed more with the smaller Point and Gourde.
 

CupsOverCash

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Jun 16, 2009
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What specifically about Girardi has you worried? Coburn and Sustr sure I wouldn't want them taking big minutes either. But Girardi? I gotta see where you're going with this.

I think its his minutes that has him worried. I wouldnt disagree. I would feel more comfortable with him playing a 3rd pair role. However the problem is that he would likely play with Sergachev which I would feel less comfortable with that than Girardi with McDonagh on the 2nd pair.
 

HoseEmDown

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Mar 25, 2012
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What specifically about Girardi has you worried? Coburn and Sustr sure I wouldn't want them taking big minutes either. But Girardi? I gotta see where you're going with this.

Did you see him when he had to play with Hedman? He didn't look good when those minutes started going up and it was a shooting gallery when he was on the ice. He needs to be around 15 to be most effective, him around 20 is not gonna be good.
 

CupsOverCash

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Jun 16, 2009
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I have a feeling some players will be playing off hand this postseason. Its about putting the best players on the ice in this situation. Good news is some guys dont have a problem with that or have issues playing off hand too much.
 

DistantThunderRep

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Mar 8, 2018
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What specifically about Girardi has you worried? Coburn and Sustr sure I wouldn't want them taking big minutes either. But Girardi? I gotta see where you're going with this.

As others have said its his time. One solid fact we have is that with more responsibility and time on the ice, we start to see the problems in his game. Lowering his chance at making mistakes like he made for the Rangers is our best course of action. Since the beginning of the season we seen Girardi best deployed in the 16 to 18 minute range. It keeps him fresh and engaged, but also limits the amount of shots he is blocking also. His foot speed has been a problem and playing some teams bottom lines is better suited for him.

Coburn this year though, his foot speed has not been the issue. He is making bone headed plays and taking penalties at bad times. But these were all when he was paired with Sustr or Girardi. When he either needed to babysit someone or when he was relied on to be the offensive driver. My hope is that in a role where he doesn't have to be driver of the pairing, he can excel.
 
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DFC

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Sep 26, 2013
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Who would that be? They aren't playing with Kucherov, don't see them playing the wings with Point and Gourde is playing great next to Point so he should stay there. Miller is a good playmaker but his physical game is needed more with the smaller Point and Gourde.

I think Palat-Point-Johnson is our strongest 2nd line option. And Gourde is a nice fit to make the third line better. Johnson's not as effective when not playing with skilled players.
 

HoseEmDown

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Mar 25, 2012
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I think Palat-Point-Johnson is our strongest 2nd line option. And Gourde is a nice fit to make the third line better. Johnson's not as effective when not playing with skilled players.

What's the 3rd line in that scenario? Because Gourde can work on the 3rd line but he can't carry a Killorn, Erne or Callahan on his own. If you put Miller up top to get your best top 6 then a 3rd line of Killorn-Gourde-Callahan/Erne just isn't very good. Would be best to try to spread the wealth and go with the big guns late in the game if needed.
 
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Sky04

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Jan 8, 2009
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What's the 3rd line in that scenario? Because Gourde can work on the 3rd line but he can't carry a Killorn, Erne or Callahan on his own. If you put Miller up top to get your best top 6 then a 3rd line of Killorn-Gourde-Callahan/Erne just isn't very good. Would be best to try to spread the wealth and go with the big guns late in the game if needed.

Yes he can, third line was great with Killorn-Gourde-Conacher/Peca for a stretch this year until Palat's injury and they moved Gourde up. That 3rd line was buzzing every game and Gourde was still producing well with those players, it doesn't look "sexy" on paper but they were effective.

I think DFC and I distinctly remember this part of the season.
 

HoseEmDown

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Mar 25, 2012
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Yes he can, third line was great with Killorn-Gourde-Conacher/Peca for a stretch this year until Palat's injury and they moved Gourde up. That 3rd line was buzzing every game and Gourde was still producing well with those players, it doesn't look "sexy" on paper but they were effective.

I think DFC and I distinctly remember this part of the season.

The 3rd line was good and so was Gourde but he is much better when in the top 6. That was also the regular season, not sure how they'll fair when it becomes tougher in the playoffs. You could put playoff beasts Kucherov on the 1st line and Johnson on the 3rd. Point and Gourde have no playoff experience and Miller is underwhelming but they're playing great now. You hope they can replicate that in the postseason and then you have 3 deadly options that nobody can match.
 

Sky04

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Jan 8, 2009
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The 3rd line was good and so was Gourde but he is much better when in the top 6. That was also the regular season, not sure how they'll fair when it becomes tougher in the playoffs. You could put playoff beasts Kucherov on the 1st line and Johnson on the 3rd. Point and Gourde have no playoff experience and Miller is underwhelming but they're playing great now. You hope they can replicate that in the postseason and then you have 3 deadly options that nobody can match.

Johnson has exclusively played next to Kucherov in the playoffs in both runs, while he has a track record of NOT being able to produce on the 3rd line so there's also that. If you want playoff beast Johnson the best bet is to put him with Point on the 2nd line and maximize him. We have 3 dangerous lines either way and a solid 4th line, I just don't think we have the right players to play Johnson at center and have him at his best - like Stamkos he needs to be catered to as well.

Offense is probably the least concerning part entering the playoffs anyways, defensive pairs are still up in the air and Vasi probably needs rest but we also want to secure home ice.
 

These Are The Days

Oh no! We suck again!!
May 17, 2014
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Tampa Bay
As pertains to Girardi he's been doing playoff runs for years now. I'm not overly concerned with his minutes because we've proven time and again the entire team gets weaker defensively as the game goes on. This isn't exclusive to just Girardi. Not saying he isn't better utilized with lower minutes but I gotta say, the list of who I'd play on the right side is pretty shallow.

If Dotchin can go back to his old form in time for the playoffs then we'll be able to put McDonagh with Stralman no questions asked.
 

DistantThunderRep

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Mar 8, 2018
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As pertains to Girardi he's been doing playoff runs for years now. I'm not overly concerned with his minutes because we've proven time and again the entire team gets weaker defensively as the game goes on. This isn't exclusive to just Girardi. Not saying he isn't better utilized with lower minutes but I gotta say, the list of who I'd play on the right side is pretty shallow.

If Dotchin can go back to his old form in time for the playoffs then we'll be able to put McDonagh with Stralman no questions asked.

I hold less hope for Dotchin, but I don't disagree. If we can get back the old Dotchin and park him with Hedman that would be the most ideal.

Hedman - Dotchin
McDonagh - Stralman
Sergachev - Girardi
Coburn

This is a luxurious problem to have. But with Sustr and Dotchin both being a dumpster fire on our right side right now, all we can hope is Coburn can go back to the right side and having him have less responsibility to be the driver of a pairing can make him shine.
 

HoseEmDown

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Mar 25, 2012
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Johnson has exclusively played next to Kucherov in the playoffs in both runs, while he has a track record of NOT being able to produce on the 3rd line so there's also that. If you want playoff beast Johnson the best bet is to put him with Point on the 2nd line and maximize him. We have 3 dangerous lines either way and a solid 4th line, I just don't think we have the right players to play Johnson at center and have him at his best - like Stamkos he needs to be catered to as well.

Offense is probably the least concerning part entering the playoffs anyways, defensive pairs are still up in the air and Vasi probably needs rest but we also want to secure home ice.

I just have more faith in Johnson elevating his play in the playoffs no matter what line he's on. So I would give him his own line and see if he can feast on other teams 3C as Stamkos and Point would get the tougher matchups. Until I see Gourde do it in the playoffs I would be leery of him carrying that 3rd line, he probably could but I would prefer the proven option in Johnson.

I agree the defense is what's going to determine how far we go. Pretty sure we will ride the big 3 so we just need the other 3 to not screw up. Hopefully Sergachev can keep the offense up as we need more than just Hedman producing from the backend.
 

The Gongshow

Fire JBB
Jul 17, 2014
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Toronto
So the team should really be working on the PK and D from now till the end of the season, other wise its gonna cost us come playoffs.

We need to also work on holding a lead, we've been letting teams climb back to much as well, when we do have a lead.
 

The Macho King

Back* to Back** World Champion
Jun 22, 2011
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So the team should really be working on the PK and D from now till the end of the season, other wise its gonna cost us come playoffs.

We need to also work on holding a lead, we've been letting teams climb back to much as well, when we do have a lead.
I think our D issues come down to two particular items - we need to make simple clears if there's no option for a controlled breakout, and we need to keep our gaps tight on the rush. That's what's been killing us lately.
 

Sky04

Registered User
Jan 8, 2009
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I think our D issues come down to two particular items - we need to make simple clears if there's no option for a controlled breakout, and we need to keep our gaps tight on the rush. That's what's been killing us lately.

Been saying it for years, bring in whoever you want doesn't matter if the system sucks. Waste of money to stack up on the back end if you're just going to play stupid, look at the flames, we should've just gone for more forwards if this is the kind of system we're taking into the playoffs.

We finally have an extremely mobile defense and we can't get the puck out.
 

Tampacuseforever

Registered User
Nov 3, 2012
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Yes he can, third line was great with Killorn-Gourde-Conacher/Peca for a stretch this year until Palat's injury and they moved Gourde up. That 3rd line was buzzing every game and Gourde was still producing well with those players, it doesn't look "sexy" on paper but they were effective.

I think DFC and I distinctly remember this part of the season.
This exactly

Miller Stamkos Kucherov
Palat Point Johnson
Killorn Gourde Conacher
Kunitz Cirelli Callahan

This is a deep lineup with scoring and some size on each line.
 

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