Line Combos: The Line Construction Thread

[Brian23]

Like, I get that they want Kuzya to play at center but if he's not getting in the lineup he's getting nothing. Dude needs to be on the top line with Ovi and Nicky. Both of those 2 can play the dirty game if need be, and adding more skill to that lineup isn't gonna hurt anything.

There's also zero reason for O'Brien to be getting a jersey over Fehr, let alone Kuzya.

 

[txpd]

I would guess that trotz has a reason

 

[txpd]

mind reader I am not. I will say that the reason boudreau, hunter, oates and Noelle scratched him is the same one.

 

[ChibiPooky]

In Green's absence, Niskanen took the point on the top PP unit today in practice.

 

[Burakovsky95*]

If Ovechkin is out I think the top 6 Trotz had going today has to be the way we go.

Burakovsky-Backstrom-Wilson
Johansson-Kuznetsov-Brouwer

 

[txpd]

if bura backy and willie are a line. who shoots the puck? pass it to a dman then?

 

[RandyHolt]

Nick's a big boy. He can shoot. Just like MJ can.

I would like to see Ovi and Nick split up at some point in this long season.

 

[Calicaps]

if bura backy and willie are a line. who shoots the puck? pass it to a dman then?

Bura has a strong shot. Putting him in Ovie's spot definitely makes him the shooter.

 

[txpd]

I just want to be sure we are on the same page. Bura is going to be the gunner on that line. Bura has 1 goals in his last 16 games and none in his last 8.

 

[Barry Amsterdam]

Bura Backstrom Wilson
Ovi Kuznetsov Mojo

 

[HTFN]

I just want to be sure we are on the same page. Bura is going to be the gunner on that line. Bura has 1 goals in his last 16 games and none in his last 8.

I don't think that having a designated trigger man is as big of a deal as you make it sound here. If anything, I'd argue that funneling a line's shots primarily through one player is part of the reason the first line looks so stale and predictable right now.

 

[txpd]

I don't think that having a designated trigger man is as big of a deal as you make it sound here. If anything, I'd argue that funneling a line's shots primarily through one player is part of the reason the first line looks so stale and predictable right now.

that's fine. I am just wondering who on that line scores. bura and Wilson haven't been and Backstrom has 2 goals in his last 8 games. so among the 3 there are a total of 2 goals in the last 8 games.

 

[HTFN]

that's fine. I am just wondering who on that line scores. bura and Wilson haven't been and Backstrom has 2 goals in his last 8 games. so among the 3 there are a total of 2 goals in the last 8 games.

All of them, preferably. Those numbers won't go up without shots taken, and putting two talented kids with your best distributor is a good way to make that happen, in theory, it just seems that whoever plays third fiddle gets starstruck when Ovechkin is around.

 

[txpd]

All of them, preferably. Those numbers won't go up without shots taken, and putting two talented kids with your best distributor is a good way to make that happen, in theory, it just seems that whoever plays third fiddle gets starstruck when Ovechkin is around.

I am not sure how starstruck they are. backy isn't. but they all know that ovechkin is the better shot and by a considerable amount.

 

[HTFN]

I am not sure how starstruck they are. backy isn't. but they all know that ovechkin is the better shot and by a considerable amount.

Well, sure, I meant more for the 3F, though on the eye test alone the night of Burakovsky at 1C had a lot of the deference I'm referring to. Can't quantify it with advanced stats, but it has always seemed that Backstrom is one of the few players on the team capable of taking a balanced approach to feeding Ovechkin pucks, and most everyone else finds themselves looking too hard for what isn't there to get him touches, instead of taking the play in front of them, like last year's Johansson.

In some very tiny respect, it's one of the only things I liked about Beagle at 1RW. His game is so simple that there is no complications, just the play he sees.

 

[txpd]

ive never gotten the feeling that Wilson does anything more than pass the puck to someone open. ive never gotten the feeling that backstrom will take a shot when ovechkin has an equal or better quality opening. backstrom also forces the puck to ovechkin but has suck elite skills that it can still work.

I think most of us think backstrom can shoot a lot more

 

[HTFN]

ive never gotten the feeling that Wilson does anything more than pass the puck to someone open. ive never gotten the feeling that backstrom will take a shot when ovechkin has an equal or better quality opening. backstrom also forces the puck to ovechkin but has suck elite skills that it can still work.

I think most of us think backstrom can shoot a lot more

You're right about Wilson, I meant to mention him in Beagle territory as far as playing a little simpler, but they're really not tasked with holding the puck much.

I also don't necessarily mean that Backstrom will take the shot, but that he'll make a higher percentage pass than most, either to Ovechkin or someone else. Yeah, he could shoot more, we all agree, but his forcing Ovechkin passes isn't as much an issue for me because he's traditionally been good at it. I'm slowly losing track of the center of discussion over the course of the day, but I think I mean to say that a guy like Burakovsky, Johansson, Kuznetsov, if on a line suddenly sans Ovechkin, begin to take the shots instead of looking for that extra pass to get Ovechkin because he's more of a "sure thing", and the fact that they don't right now, Johansson aside, is because they're shifted at center. Burakovsky on line one, being fed a proper pass from the 1C might get him pulling the trigger again. Kuznetsov with some talent to look to in relief might give him a little more breathing room, with Backstrom being a possession fiend, and let him use his skill a little more intelligently.

 

[g00n]

This has been and ES problem for years. The 3rd player on that top line isn't a threat to score, and when Mojo was up there he wasn't a threat of any kind. Wilson at least creates a new kind of pressure on the other team that has opened up some ice and created some opportunities. As tx said, Ovie just hasn't finished.

But it can't stop there. Backstrom DOES have to shoot and score more. Ovie can't still be the only scoring threat on that line, because eventually players will learn to find Wilson on the ice, avoid him, and focus again on Backstrom and Ovechkin with the knowledge that Nick passes and Ovie shoots (usually from the same spots). I think that's already starting to happen.

If you keep Wilson up then Backstrom has to be 1B to Ovechkin's 1A when it comes to scoring. Ovie has shown willingness to pass, Nick has to be willing to shoot. The other option is to move a guy like Kuz up to 1RW to at least provide two shooting threats, and then always try to put your most responsible defensive pair on the ice with that line.

tl;dr: Nick has to shoot more or a legit scoring threat is needed at 1RW.

 

[txpd]

that creates its own issue then. if you take Carlson and Oprik off shutdown the opposing first line duty and put them on protect the Caps first line, then who is checking the opposing first line?

 

[g00n]

that creates its own issue then. if you take Carlson and Oprik off shutdown the opposing first line duty and put them on protect the Caps first line, then who is checking the opposing first line?

This is a situation you had best be prepared for in the course of any game, though. On the road the home team gets last change, so every road game is going to include these kinds of matchup wars at the very least.

With what the Caps spent on defense, they had better make use of it. If they can only trust one pair then they have bigger problems.

 

[Alexander the Gr8]

8-90-92

Can we try that ??

 

[Hivemind]

8-90-92

Can we try that ??

Johansson is a winger. We have enough wingers playing center as it is.

 

[Raikkonen]

90-92-8 (RH physical guy on the right)

Bura @ LW should be the end state

 

[Alexander the Gr8]

Johansson is a winger. We have enough wingers playing center as it is.

Then Kuzya at center, because he's a natural center.

 

[HTFN]

that creates its own issue then. if you take Carlson and Oprik off shutdown the opposing first line duty and put them on protect the Caps first line, then who is checking the opposing first line?

I can't remember what I was reading, whether it was Japers' Rink or something else, but they indicated that Orpik-Carlson already saw a somewhat significant amount of time on the ice with the first line for a shutdown group. I'd want to see more minutes from Alzner-Niskanen with the first line, personally, as Niskanen is one of the best defensemen so far this season with regard to holding the puck in at the blue line and making something besides a turnover happen.