Line Combos: Lines 15/16

[LGB51]

Lineup via daily faceoff.

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[ZigZagBluesFan]

Lineup via Korac:

Steen-Stastny-Tarasenko
Fabbri-Lehtera-Schwartz
Jaskin-Backes-Brouwer
Ott-Brodziak-Reaves

Bouwmeester-Pietrangelo
Gunnarsson-Shattenkirk
Edmundson-Parayko

Elliot
Allen

 

[jura]

via
http://www2.dailyfaceoff.com/teams/lines/38/st-louis-blues/

 

[RR10*]

That's almost exactly as the team I posted. I knew Ott would be in there, though. Upshall was more of a personal wish from me. Glad to see the Blues agree with me by having Fabbri with Schwartz and Lehtera.

 

[2 Minute Minor]

via
http://www2.dailyfaceoff.com/teams/lines/38/st-louis-blues/

I think Schwartz may get a couple shifts in Brouwer's place. But Lehtera and Fabbri will both do well with more limited minutes this first game.

 

[Mike Liut]

Questions:

Is Fabbri a natural LW?
I Thought Schwartz was better at LW?
Same for Jaskin..Thought he was a RW

 

[Alklha]

Questions:

Is Fabbri a natural LW?
I Thought Schwartz was better at LW?
Same for Jaskin..Thought he was a RW

Fabbri is a natural centre, and I believe that is where the team sees him in the long term. He can play either wing, but I believe that RW is his preference.

I think Schwartz is a better LW, but I've not seen preseason to judge him on RW.

Jaškin can play either wing, slight preference for RW, but played on the left quite often outside of the NHL.

 

[Ranksu]

Questions:

Is Fabbri a natural LW?
I Thought Schwartz was better at LW?
Same for Jaskin..Thought he was a RW

Fabbri can play all positions (lw,c,rw), but isn't ready to perform c spot yet. Schwartz is clearly better in lw, I really don't remember whe was the last time played rw? Jaskin can play both side, hard to tell which side is more comfortable So you are right bit strange positions.

 

[MissouriMook]

Fabbri is a natural centre, and I believe that is where the team sees him in the long term. He can play either wing, but I believe that RW is his preference.

I think Schwartz is a better LW, but I've not seen preseason to judge him on RW.

Jaškin can play either wing, slight preference for RW, but played on the left quite often outside of the NHL.

Schwartz looked more comfortable as the night went on, but you could see it was an adjustment for him to be on his off wing. Given that Fabbri actually prefers his off wing, it might not be a bad idea to flip them occasionally and see how they do. I think you'll get more out of Schwartz that way, and I don't think it will cause any defensive issues with Fabbri being on his off wing. The guy is a water bug and all over the place anyway. I was really impressed with his forechecking and backchecking last night. He was a great disruption to the Oilers' speed game.

 

[bleedblue1223]

When Schwartz played with Backes in previous years, he and Steen would take shifts on the right side. I'm sure Schwartz and Fabbri will switch at times.

 

[Robb_K]

Fabbri is a natural centre, and I believe that is where the team sees him in the long term. He can play either wing, but I believe that RW is his preference.

I think Schwartz is a better LW, but I've not seen preseason to judge him on RW.

Jaškin can play either wing, slight preference for RW, but played on the left quite often outside of the NHL.

I agree that Schwartz looks better on the left side, so far. But, I think that is because he hasn't played much on the right side. There are several differences both on offence and on defence to which one must get used. That takes a fair amount of ice time in that new position. If a forward gets enough time on the opposite wing, he should generally adapt. There are advantages and disadvantages both to playing on the "natural side" and the off wing. A LOT of the scorers in Europe like to play on the off wing, because their shooting and puckcarrying hand is on the inside (but, it's also easier for defenders to take the puck away from them). It's just a matter of personal preferences. But, most players can play interchangeably on both sides once they get enough experience on each.

 

[kimzey59]

Fabbri is a natural centre, and I believe that is where the team sees him in the long term. He can play either wing, but I believe that RW is his preference.

I disagree that the team see's him as a center long term.
Fabbri played Center in Jrs because he was the best player on his team. That said, his size and playing style don't translate to center in the NHL.

He's not an overly good defensive player. Very tenacious on the puck, but not too good at positional defense and not difficult to knock out of position because of his size. Defensive play is a big part of the center's job in the NHL and not having that as a strength in his game would limit him at the Center position.

He's not an overly good passer. I'm not saying he can't make some set-up plays, but his game revolves around his shot. As a playmaker, he's a Tarasenko type. Most of his assists will come from making a goalie bite on his shot or generating a rebound. You need top 2 line centers to be capable of more than that.

IIRC he's also not overly good on FO's. Admittedly, faceoff's are something that can be learned and improved on; but he'd need to put in a lot of work to be an adequate FO man in the NHL.

I'm very excited about Fabbri's future, but I just don't see him transitioning to center at any point. There are a lot of NHL players that play C in the minors but are turned in to full time wingers in the NHL, and I think that is the path Fabbri is taking. And I'm fine with that. Having Tarasenko, Schwartz, Fabbri and Jaskin as a winger core to build around is a great starting point.

Not to mention we have at least a few more years of Stastny/Lehtera manning our top 2 center spots with Barbashev and hopefully a center taken in the first 2 rounds next year coming soon also.

 

[STLBloosiers]

when healthy wish they would go to this


Steen-Stastny-Fabbri
Schwartz-Lehtera-Tarasenko
Jaskin-Backes-Brouwer
Ott-Brodziak-Reaves

Bouwmeester-Pietrangelo
Gunnarsson-Shattenkirk
Edmundson-Parayko

Elliot
Allen



That STL was so good last year why split Vladdy up with a guy he's so good with...

 

[Vincenzo Arelliti]

I'm thinking that the third line needs some more fire power. Hitch has alluded to this, but away games make it hard for him to feel comfortable not having a 3-man shutdown line. Oh well.

Here's what I propose

Steen Stastny Tarasenko
Jaskin Lehtera Schwartz
Fabbri Backes Brouwer
Ott Brodziak Reaves

Bouwmeester Pietrangelo
Gunnarsson Shattenkirk
Lindbohm Parayko

Off-wings for Schwartz and Fabs, making them the default trigger men and rush initiators. Our right side is better for transition play (Petro, Shatty, Parayko), so Schwartz will benefit from that being on the right side. We need to get our middle 6 wingers comfortable with switching sides as the play develops, allowing us to utilize breakout passes and not get forced running the play through one side. Too often we get a great pass (Petro, Shatty, Parayko, JBo) to a slow winger (Jaskin, Brouwer), or a not so good pass (Gunnar, Bort) to a fast winger (Fabs, Schwartz). We need to be able to align a fast winger with the good pass.

Putting tank with Lehtera should not happen until Lehtera gets his legs - legs that won't slow tank down. Even last year before he really fell off, Lehtera was gassed a lot during the games at the end of shifts, preventing tank from being lethal for the whole shift. Once he has legs, Lehtera might even be my preferred C for tank, but we won't know until Lehtera gets his legs and Staz-tank gets a long, good look

The D can be mixed, too. Bouwmeester needs to be out there with Petro against the other team's top lines - especially if they have speed. But, he doesn't need to be out there when we're running The offense through Petro against the other team's shutdown line. Instead, we should have Lindbohm, Bort, or Edmundson move up (preferably Lindbohm), and have Bouw move down with Parayko for a really solid pairing. This way, we have a big shot for the point at all times (Shatty, Parayko, Ed, Lindbohm), but also maximize our best defensive dmen (Bouw, Petro, Parayko).

Home ice helps a lot here, but I think it's somewhat doable

PP1
Schwartz Backes Tarasenko
Parayko Shattenkirk

PP2
Fabbri Stastny Brouwer
Steen Pietrangelo

PP1
I think this is the perfect PP unit. None of these players are afraid to take it to the net, and all have excellent passing ability (save Backes who will be parked in from of the net). Shatty commands the PP and Parayko offers a bomb or a one-timer from the point. Schwartz and Parayko should be able to maintain possession along that side like crazy, and Parayko's size will work like Keith and Seabrook on the PP. Joy.

PP2
Fabbri is Schwartz Jr., Stastny is C by name only, as Brouwer will be parked in front of the net, moving Stas to the wing. Steen offers a shot from the point and possession coverage for when Fabbri had to toss the puck back to the point. Petro is here because he has great passing and possession, and can feed Stas, ricochet off brouwer's knee, or tic-tac-toe to Fabs. Should be pretty deadly once PP1 wears the defenders down.

 

[Thallis]

when healthy wish they would go to this


Steen-Stastny-Fabbri
Schwartz-Lehtera-Tarasenko
Jaskin-Backes-Brouwer
Ott-Brodziak-Reaves

Bouwmeester-Pietrangelo
Gunnarsson-Shattenkirk
Edmundson-Parayko

Elliot
Allen



That STL was so good last year why split Vladdy up with a guy he's so good with...

Because if he fades, then we have our best scorer with dead weight on his line and no option to move him with anyone else. It's exactly what happened last year and it killed us.

 

[KirkOut]

when healthy wish they would go to this


Steen-Stastny-Fabbri
Schwartz-Lehtera-Tarasenko
Jaskin-Backes-Brouwer
Ott-Brodziak-Reaves

Bouwmeester-Pietrangelo
Gunnarsson-Shattenkirk
Edmundson-Parayko

Elliot
Allen



That STL was so good last year why split Vladdy up with a guy he's so good with...

I'd be fine with that. I'm not opposed to going back to the STL line. I think we need more balance than what we get when we stack a line with Steen, Stas, and Tarasenko.

As for the discussion of PP pairings, I do not agree with putting Parayko and Shattenkirk together. Shattenkirk has proven to be good at setting up shots and producing goals that way, and he works well with Steen. I still like Parayko with Pietrangelo. They just need to do it the opposite of what they did most of last night and have Parayko on his off side so he can rip one-timers.

 

[2 Minute Minor]

Lehtera and Tarasenko should not be playing the same amount of minutes. Lehtera hasn't proved he can handle that load, and Tarasenko is the engine of the team's offense now. STL was fine, but I rather suspect Tarasenko is going to make whatever line he is on look good.

 

[Vincenzo Arelliti]

I'd be fine with that. I'm not opposed to going back to the STL line. I think we need more balance than what we get when we stack a line with Steen, Stas, and Tarasenko.

As for the discussion of PP pairings, I do not agree with putting Parayko and Shattenkirk together. Shattenkirk has proven to be good at setting up shots and producing goals that way, and he works well with Steen. I still like Parayko with Pietrangelo. They just need to do it the opposite of what they did most of last night and have Parayko on his off side so he can rip one-timers.

I'm down with that if Steen can be better on the point. I feel like he's too afraid to shoot and putting him on PP1 makes it too unbalanced with PP2 when it comes to possession. But, perhaps it could work if Parayko becomes the force we think he can be. Putting Gooch on PP2 makes sure his slapshot never has a chance to hit Tarasenko.

 

[Linkens Mastery]

Lehtera and Tarasenko should not be playing the same amount of minutes. Lehtera hasn't proved he can handle that load, and Tarasenko is the engine of the team's offense now. STL was fine, but I rather suspect Tarasenko is going to make whatever line he is on look good.

Even if they are on the same line they don't have to be playing to same mins.

For example if you have a line of Schwartz-Stastny-Jaskin and one of Steen-Lehtera-Tarasenko you can have Jaskin leave the ice early and have have Tarasenko come on and wait and then have Stastny and Schwartz get off before Lehtera and Steen get on.

 

[Blanick]

I feel like with the way lines are right now we are have one incredible line and 2 average lines in the top 9. The only thing I would really like to see is Fabbri play in the middle. I understand Hitch's hesitancy but I feel like a player like Fabbri would thrive more at C.

I would like to try these lines.

Schwartz - Stastny - Backes
** Stastny the playmaker, Backes big body in front and Schwartz the triggerman
** Schwartz has stated that he wants to play with Stastny
** I feel like Stastny like to play from behind the goal line often centering passes into the low slot that never connect because the players he has been paired with linger more in high slot. I feel like Backes is a big bodied enough to make room and bang in from a place that he has the most success.

Steen - Lehtera - Tarasenko
** Was put together very late last year and was only given a chance for a short period of time before Hitch went back to the standard STL and SOB lines.
** Lehtera - Tarasenko have and undeniable chemisty.
** Steen seems to produce anywhere in the lineup and would have some much needed defensive awareness to this line

Jaskin - Fabbri - Brouwer
** I admit this line would be a little scary at first putting together two very young players but I feel like the speed of Fabbri would compliment the styles of Jaskin and Brouwer.

Ott - Brodziak - Reaves
** Standard 4th line that we are already using. Honestly I would like to see Berglund sub in for Reaves/Ott during some games once he is healthy.

 

[Vincenzo Arelliti]

I feel like with the way lines are right now we are have one incredible line and 2 average lines in the top 9. The only thing I would really like to see is Fabbri play in the middle. I understand Hitch's hesitancy but I feel like a player like Fabbri would thrive more at C.

I would like to try these lines.

Schwartz - Stastny - Backes
** Stastny the playmaker, Backes big body in front and Schwartz the triggerman
** Schwartz has stated that he wants to play with Stastny
** I feel like Stastny like to play from behind the goal line often centering passes into the low slot that never connect because the players he has been paired with linger more in high slot. I feel like Backes is a big bodied enough to make room and bang in from a place that he has the most success.

Steen - Lehtera - Tarasenko
** Was put together very late last year and was only given a chance for a short period of time before Hitch went back to the standard STL and SOB lines.
** Lehtera - Tarasenko have and undeniable chemisty.
** Steen seems to produce anywhere in the lineup and would have some much needed defensive awareness to this line

Jaskin - Fabbri - Brouwer
** I admit this line would be a little scary at first putting together two very young players but I feel like the speed of Fabbri would compliment the styles of Jaskin and Brouwer.

Ott - Brodziak - Reaves
** Standard 4th line that we are already using. Honestly I would like to see Berglund sub in for Reaves/Ott during some games once he is healthy.

I've seen a lot of arguments for putting Fabs on wing instead of C - although I'm in favor of him being a C at some point (moreso because we need a offensive 1C). What's your reasoning for putting him at C? Doesn't his playstyle (Schwartz jr.) fit more for wing play? I suppose putting him at C might lessen the physical onslaught that he would experience on the boards?

 

[MissouriMook]

I've seen a lot of arguments for putting Fabs on wing instead of C - although I'm in favor of him being a C at some point (moreso because we need a offensive 1C). What's your reasoning for putting him at C? Doesn't his playstyle (Schwartz jr.) fit more for wing play? I suppose putting him at C might lessen the physical onslaught that he would experience on the boards?

Not trying to answer for Blanick, but you hit on one of the "pros." I think one of the other "pros" is that his creativity affects more of the offensive zone working from between the dots than it could working from the half wall.

 

[taylord22]

I think Upshall-Brodziak is going to end up being the 4th concrete pair once he gets some games in. Reaves has looked a step behind (and a borderline liability in all zones) in his limited action. Obviously Reaves HAS to be a presence in some games, but with the more attack oriented philosophy, it makes more sense to insert the better puck possession player, who is a serious threat in the neutral zone, on most nights.

Near term lines:

Steen-Stastny-Tarasenko
Schwartz-Lehtera-Jaskin
Fabbri-Backes-Brouwer (much more insulation here for Fabbri)
Ott-Brodziak-Upshall

 

[Lord Helix]

In no particular order...

Schwartz Statsny Brouwer
Steen Backes Fabbri
Jaskin Lehtera Tarasenko

 

[MissouriMook]

I don't know if it is a good thing or a bad thing, but it seems like our Top 9 is pretty interchangeable. I was just thinking:

Schwartz-Stastny-Tarasenko
Jaskin-Lehtera-Fabbri
Steen-Backes-Brouwer

It seemed like Lehtera had some good chemistry with Fabbri in the opener, and we know from the last couple of years that Backes-Steen and Stastny-Schwartz work well together.