Take a shot: Opening night lineup

[NYR Viper]

Nash-Richards-Callahan
Kreider-Stepan-Gaborik
Hagelin-Boyle-Pyatt
Rupp-Halpern-Haley

Asham - suspended for 1 game

McDonagh-Girardi
Staal-Stralman
MDZ-Eminger
Bickel, Gilroy (both can play at forward if need be)

First call-ups:
Kolarik
Hrivik
Newbury

McIlrath

 

[NYR Viper]

Reminds me a decent amount of Anisimov, style-wise. Has played a lot of wing in CT. Lanky kid, great skater, slick hands and a good passer. Can finish when he gets a chance but hasn't really been a shoot-first player. Not soft but not overly physical. Solid in the defensive zone, not a liability by any stretch.

From the games I have seen of the Whale, he is very impressive. His hockey IQ, skating, stick-handling are all top notch. He has good size and strength and plays both ways. He is definitely more of a playmaker than a goal scorer.

I saw one chance with a 2 on 1 in front of the opposing teams net where the defenseman was down cutting off the pass and instead of shooting (he was below the dots) he tried to force a pass. I think he just needs to gain a bit of confidence and fire that puck on net.

Very impressed with him.

 

[SnowblindNYR]

Reminds me a decent amount of Anisimov, style-wise. Has played a lot of wing in CT. Lanky kid, great skater, slick hands and a good passer. Can finish when he gets a chance but hasn't really been a shoot-first player. Not soft but not overly physical. Solid in the defensive zone, not a liability by any stretch.

What line would he play if he made the team?

 

[HatTrick Swayze]

What line would he play if he made the team?

He's big enough and good enough defensively to play anywhere. If he isn't playing on the 2nd or 3rd line though he would be better served to continue to develop in the AHL.

I think in all likelihood this is more some recognition for him, and a chance to see what's he's got, than a legitimate tryout. I would be surprised if he sticks right away, but not at all surprised if he gets a call up later in the year.

 

[Thirty One]

Best guess:

Nash - Richards - Callahan
Hagelin - Stepan - Gaborik
Kreider - Boyle - Pyatt
Rupp - Halpern - Haley

McDonagh - Girardi
Staal - Stralman
Del Zotto - Bickel

Lundqvist
Biron

 

[SnowblindNYR]

He's big enough and good enough defensively to play anywhere. If he isn't playing on the 2nd or 3rd line though he would be better served to continue to develop in the AHL.

I think in all likelihood this is more some recognition for him, and a chance to see what's he's got, than a legitimate tryout. I would be surprised if he sticks right away, but not at all surprised if he gets a call up later in the year.

Too bad, we can stand to improve our bottom 6.

 

[nyr2k2]

From the games I have seen of the Whale, he is very impressive. His hockey IQ, skating, stick-handling are all top notch. He has good size and strength and plays both ways. He is definitely more of a playmaker than a goal scorer.

Good, we need some playmakers. His numbers from the Q indicate he also has some finish--93 goals in 154 games (.60 GPG). Definitely a prospect worth watching.

 

[NYR Viper]

Good, we need some playmakers. His numbers from the Q indicate he also has some finish--93 goals in 154 games (.60 GPG). Definitely a prospect worth watching.

I agree. He should fit in well with his 2-way play. He reminds me of a little of Antropov with less height. Not sure why. Maybe it is the pass-first mentality and his strength in the corners.

 

[iamitter]

I feel like Nash will end up with Stepan and Richards will continue with Gaborik.
http://bluejacketsxtra.dispatch.com/content/blogs/puck-rakers/2012/07/61-thoughts.html

Wonder which line Nash will play on with the Rangers? Most expect him to step in with Brad Richards, a playmaker extraordinaire. My hunch is he’ll fit best with Derek Stepan, but – as a guy who sees the Western Conference almost exclusively – I’m not entirely keyed in on Stepan’s game. Nash needs the puck to be successful. He doesn’t find space in the offensive zone and rip one-timers; he hauls it to net. This will be interesting.

Richards like carrying the puck and Gaborik is the opposite of Nash - he's most effective if he doesn't have the puck for more than a few seconds; when he's ready to shoot.

 

[NYR Viper]

Stepan and Gaborik had good chemistry last year. I would keep them together. Nash with Richards makes sense to give Richards a bigger bodied player like Benn (who he thrived with in Dallas). Throw Kreider on the Stepan line to get in on the forecheck and Callahan on Richards line for defense and forechecking and its a done deal.

 

[SingnBluesOnBroadway]

I don't have a strong feeling either way on who should play with Richards and who should play with Stepan. I just don't want Nash and Gaborik on the same line.

 

[BroadwayBlues]

Just don't put Stepan and Callahan together. ZERO chemistry....

 

[BroadwayBlues]

Stepan and Gaborik had good chemistry last year. I would keep them together. Nash with Richards makes sense to give Richards a bigger bodied player like Benn (who he thrived with in Dallas). Throw Kreider on the Stepan line to get in on the forecheck and Callahan on Richards line for defense and forechecking and its a done deal.

Yeah the ideal top lines are...

Nash-Richards-Callahan
Kreider-Stepan-Gaborik


People forget that Stepan and Gaborik played much of the season together. Yeah Richards and Gaborik were good late but they were tried earlier and didn't look good...
Maybe they're only good for brief spurts.

When Kreider played with Callahan in the playoffs, it looked to me like they got in each-others way a bit. I did not see much chemistry in that All American line.(Stepan)

 

[haveandare]

Id' do:

Hagelin - Richards - Gaborik
Nash - Stepan - Callahan
Kreider - Boyle - Pyatt
Rupp - Haley - Asham

McD - Girardi
Staal - Stalman
MDZ - Bickel/Eminger

Hank
Biron

That top-line that had success last year. There's obviously a ton of speed there and I think Richards and Gaborik are right for one another in that Richards sets up right to the finish and Gabby needs someone like that to make the play and set him up for the snipe. Hagelin isn't a "first line player" in a vacuum, but with these guys he'll be fine, and by all indications, he's made some huge strides this off season.

The second line could really be something. I think Nash and Stepan would work well together based on their playing styles and having Nash on his line would open up room for Cally to improve on his goal scoring, which was really impressive last year for a guy who does so many other things.

Third line could be hard to play against. Three big guys who can hit hard, though I do worry about Pyatt and Boyle's speed.

Fourth line, frankly, I don't like very much, but it's what we've got. Haley is a fine 4C I think and Asham is good enough. Maybe Rupp's horrendously slow skating will be less harmful on wing?

For the D pairs, I think it'd be ideal to move McD or Staal to the right but I'm not sure how possible that would be. I don't think MDZ should be getting third pairing minutes while Stralman gets second. MDZ brings more offense and is probably weaker on D, therefore I think he'd benefit more from a partner like Staal.

All things aside, I'm so, so happy that we're talking line combinations instead of make whole numbers and all that crap. LGR.

 

[Ola]

I feel like Nash will end up with Stepan and Richards will continue with Gaborik.
http://bluejacketsxtra.dispatch.com/content/blogs/puck-rakers/2012/07/61-thoughts.html


Richards like carrying the puck and Gaborik is the opposite of Nash - he's most effective if he doesn't have the puck for more than a few seconds; when he's ready to shoot.

At the same time, Gabby takes alot of chances and is not good a keeping the puck within the the team.

Nash is alot more Loui Eriksson/Neal than Gaborik too, if you get my point. Loui E also loves to take the puck to the net, and is t your prototypical sniper either.

Brad Richards seem to do very well playing with players who draws alot of attention to them and goes hard to the net. He skates in, collects loose pucks, and takes advantage of a D under pressure.

I've mentioned playing Pyatt on that line too. Pyatt is also very strong along the boards and has a good shot. I am not sold on Cally with Richards. Cally seldom plays a game that gives his center alot of puck. He skates on the outside of his D and puts the puck on the net before the center has catched up...

Gabby could work with Nash and Richards, but I don't know. Is that the best way to use him? It would also take longer for Nash to adjust to both Richards and Gabby as opposed to a third link who will do the dirty work.

Nash-BR-Pyatt
Hagelin-Step-Gabby
Kreider-Boyle-Cally
Asham(ok Hrivik for opening night)-Halpern-Rupp

 

[Ola]

PP1
Cally-Step-Nash
MDZ-BR

PP2
Pyatt-Halpern-Gabby
Staal/McD-Strålman

 

[Krams]

If Kreider isn't playing on one of the top two lines then I wouldn't bother bringing him up immediately. I think it's clear from his lackadaisical play in the AHL that he needs a strong supporting cast surrounding him. Not interested in having Boyle and Pyatt dish him the puck.

Nash - Richards - Callahan
Kreider - Stepan - Gaborik
Hagelin - Boyle - Pyatt
Rupp - Halpern - Bickel

McDonagh - Girardi
Staal - MDZ
Stralman - Eminger

Lundqvist
Biron

 

[haveandare]

If Kreider isn't playing on one of the top two lines then I wouldn't bother bringing him up immediately. I think it's clear from his lackadaisical play in the AHL that he needs a strong supporting cast surrounding him. Not interested in having Boyle and Pyatt dish him the puck.

Nash - Richards - Callahan
Kreider - Stepan - Gaborik
Hagelin - Boyle - Pyatt
Rupp - Halpern - Bickel

McDonagh - Girardi
Staal - MDZ
Stralman - Eminger

Lundqvist
Biron

I'd be really, really surprised if Torts gave him top 6 minutes for any reason other than him earning them. Doesn't sound like Torts.

Edit: Also, with such a short season I think the 12 best forwards in the system will be up on NYR regardless of what would be ideal in an 82 game season. There's no time to teach lessons like that and there's really nobody to take Kreider's spot. If he can't hack it on the third line, he'll go down. If he plays well, he'll move up.

 

[iamitter]

I don't see any way in which Stepan is on the top PP unit and Gaborik isn't.

 

[Ola]

I don't see any way in which Stepan is on the top PP unit and Gaborik isn't.

Because our PP has been so great with him or what???

 

[Steve Kournianos]

The line combos for now mean nothing IMO since Torts has shown even during the hottest of hot streaks that line combos are on a game-to-game, sometimes shift-to-shift basis.

Look how quickly he broke up the Pack Line in 2012.

They lost some versatility with Dubi and AA gone since both could play center and both flanks.

Richards and gaborik both saw their minutes slashed during cold streaks. Same will probably happen to Nash as well.

I mean, it wasnt too long ago when Prust-AA-Shelley carried to the team to a near playoff berth.

 

[Steve Kournianos]

I think it's safe to say that every top-9 forward will see time on the "top" line.

 

[One Winged Angel]

It's extremely unlikely that Sauer plays this year. Though I think it's about as likely as Redden making the team, or even being given the opportunity to do so...

Really?? I thought from what I read in the thread regarding him it said that he was making good progress???

Then again, I haven't read it in a while... Did he suffer a serious set back?

 

[One Winged Angel]

I don't see any way in which Stepan is on the top PP unit and Gaborik isn't.

Richards, Nash and Gaborik won't be a line at even strength but you can bet your ass they'll play on that power play with MDZ and someone else, maybe Stepan.

 

[SnowblindNYR]

Can someone explain to me what good Kreider is playing with Boyle and Pyatt? The guy needs a playmaker on his line. He'll be useless on the 3rd line.