Line Combos: Toews and Kane need to play together.

[RememberTheRoar]

It was always our go-to in the clutch. Jamie Benn plays with Seguin. Kucherov plays with Stammer. Getzlaf plays with Perry. When we're down and out in a playoff game, we put them together, and usually something good happens.

Let me preface this by saying that I understand why, in principle, it is better to spread out the talent. Kane is very capable of putting points up on a line by himself, and that has been a great luxury to have over this run. While Kane is still producing at an elite level, I'm sure I'm not the only one who sees how effective other teams have been at keying in on him and limiting his ES opportunities.

Toews on the other hand, well, he needs some help. We need to go on a MASSIVE run to even just sniff a wildcard. That means both Toews and Kane need to be producing at above career average for the remainder of the year. As unlikely as this seems, I would much rather go down doing something different than dragging our feet with the same useless line combos every game. Match-ups be damned, it's time to finally see what kind of damage Kane and Toews can do together, especially when you consider how off Anisimov has looked since he got back from injury. Kane and Schmaltz have been having to hold the puck up and wait 2-3 seconds on every entry just waiting for Anisimov to catch up to the play.

So here is my attempt at forward line combos to shake things up. I welcome your comments. Please try to keep it positive. I know the playoffs are a long-shot at this point, but we should be doing everything possible to make that slim chance a reality:

DeBrincat - Toews - Kane
Hinostroza - Schmaltz - Duclair
Saad - Anisimov - Hartman
Sharp - Kampf - Jurco

Thoughts?

I've thought about this, and thought about copying the Penguins strategy.

Simon-Crosby-Rust best all-around center with an up-and-comer and a decent winger
Hagelin-Malkin-Hornquist best pure offensive center with a speedy guy and good power forward
Guentzel-Sheahan-Kessel good young sniper, meh center who can win faceoffs, best pure scorer
4th line- leftovers

So for the Hawks, it'd be harder to do this because they don't have Crosby, and Schmaltz can't score goals like Malkin can. However, Kane is better than Kessel, and DeBrincat may already be as good as Guentzel. Also, if you're worried about ice-time, Kessel gets about identical 5on5 TOI as Malkin.

Hartman-Toews-Duclair just worry about shutting down opposing top lines, and use Duclair's speed to counter-strike. Deploy this line for nearly every defensive zone faceoff.

Hinostroza-Schmaltz-Saad speed, playmaking/defense, and a power forward hoping to rediscover his offensive game. This line takes mostly neutral zone faceoffs, and some defensive and offensive zone draws.

DeBrincat-Kampf-Kane I'm guessing Anisimov gets moved at the deadline, so Kampf takes over. Start this line on every offensive zone faceoff, unless they're all so tired they're puking. Kane double shifts at various points in the game to ensure he's getting proper ice time.

Wingles (or any not mentioned)-Hayden-Jurco Can Hayden play center and take faceoffs? Maybe that's what he's working on in Rockford. This line is used as an energy line, and backs up the Toews and Schmaltz lines when they're too tired to take a defensive zone draw.

 

[Rolo]

Well you cant really copy the Pittsburgh model, because the lines you posted aren't as successful.

They won their two cups with these lines primarily:

Sheary- Crosby - Guentzel/Hornqvist
Kunitz - Malkin - Rust/Kessel
Hagelin - Bonino - Kessel/Hornqvist
Wilson/Fehr - Cullen - Kuhnackl

You can't model Pittsburgh when their top 2 Cs are Crosby and Malkin.. top 5 Cs in the game.

Do the Hawks have a C that can carry a 37 year old winger with hands of stone, and Bryan Rust?

Sheary and Guentzel could be Debrincat and Duclair, but again who's the C between them?

This year they lost Bonino and Cullen, and their D has been a mess. Goaltending has not been strong either.

If Toews was back to his 65-70pt form, then maybe you could model it like this:

Debrincat - Toews - Duclair
Saad - Schmaltz - Sharp
Hinostroza - Anisimov - Kane
Hayden - Kampf - Hartman

But Schmaltz is not good enough to carry a line yet, and Toews is no where near Crosby level.


IF anything, we need to model their coaching and Defense deployment. They won the cup with this defense::

Dumoulin-Hainsey
Cole-Schultz
Maatta-Daley

We have plenty of offensive tools, but our horrendous Defense is the biggest issue.

 

[RememberTheRoar]

Well you cant really copy the Pittsburgh model, because the lines you posted aren't as successful.

They won their two cups with these lines primarily:

Sheary- Crosby - Guentzel/Hornqvist
Kunitz - Malkin - Rust/Kessel
Hagelin - Bonino - Kessel/Hornqvist
Wilson - Cullen - Kuhnackl

You can't model Pittsburgh when their top 2 Cs are Crosby and Malkin.. top 5 Cs in the game.

Do the Hawks have a C that can carry a 37 year old winger with hands of stone, and Bryan Rust?

Sheary and Guentzel could be Debrincat and Duclair, but again who's the C between them?

This year they lost Bonino and Cullen, and their D has been a mess. Goaltending has not been strong either.

If Toews was back to his 65-70pt form, then maybe you could model it like this:

Debrincat - Toews - Duclair
Saad - Schmaltz - Sharp
Hinostroza - Anisimov - Kane
Hayden - Kampf - Hartman

But Schmaltz is not good enough to carry a line yet, and Toews is no where near Crosby level.


IF anything, we need to model their coaching and Defense deployment. They won the cup with this defense::

Dumoulin-Hainsey
Cole-Schultz
Maatta-Daley

Toews line wouldn't be playing the same role as Crosby's, it'd be more like a Kruger line on steroids. Schmaltz wouldn't be carrying the line, Saad should be able to get out of whatever funk he's in and help carry that line. The Kane and DeBrincat line should get even more offensive zone starts than the PAK line, and should really cause matchup problems.

However, I guess we're all just debating the proper way to organize the deck chairs on the Titanic.

 

[Rolo]

Toews line wouldn't be playing the same role as Crosby's, it'd be more like a Kruger line on steroids. Schmaltz wouldn't be carrying the line, Saad should be able to get out of whatever funk he's in and help carry that line. The Kane and DeBrincat line should get even more offensive zone starts than the PAK line, and should really cause matchup problems.

However, I guess we're all just debating the proper way to organize the deck chairs on the Titanic.

Hawks will need to create their own 'formula/model' with the tools they have. And they have plenty. Schmaltz, Dcat, Kane, Duclair, Hino are very good O-zone players, and Toews, Hartman, Saad, Anisimov can be solid as well. Through in Sikura coming up, Kampf, and Hayden - I like the way the .forward core is looking.

But the Defense... man it's bad. We need a legit top pair RD like Trouba

Keith-Trouba
Forsling-Murphy
Oesterle-Seabrook

Then our future would be:

Forsling-Trouba
Jokiharju-Murphy
Snuggerud/Krys-Mitchell

 

[RememberTheRoar]

Hawks will need to create their own 'formula/model' with the tools they have. And they have plenty. Schmaltz, Dcat, Kane, Duclair, Hino are very good O-zone players, and Toews, Hartman, Saad, Anisimov can be solid as well. Through in Sikura coming up, Kampf, and Hayden - I like the way the .forward core is looking.

But the Defense... man it's bad. We need a legit top pair RD like Trouba

Keith-Trouba
Forsling-Murphy
Oesterle-Seabrook

Then our future would be:

Forsling-Trouba
Jokiharju-Murphy
Snuggerud/Krys-Mitchell

Trouba would be great to have

 

[Pez68]

Unfortunately, the Hawks are paying Brent Seabrook to be that top pairing RD.....

 

[Panzerspitze]

How well did that Kane-Toews combo work out against NSH in the playoffs?

 

[RememberTheRoar]

Schmaltz and Kane are split up.

 

[Pez68]

Well, that's one way to go

I like....Saad/Schmaltz/Hino

Assuming Saad pulls his head out of his ass and starts playing. Anisimov with Kane and Hartman... blah.

Poor Kampf.

 

[Teemu]

Also, Keith-Murphy back together

 

[Pez68]

Also, Keith-Murphy back together

Back together? Have they played together at all this season? I mean, aside from a shift here and there?

 

[Teemu]

Pretty much all the preseason

 

[b1e9a8r5s]

Back together? Have they played together at all this season? I mean, aside from a shift here and there?

It's pretty crazy that they haven't gotten a real look this season.

 

[Pez68]

Pretty much all the preseason

That doesn't count.

The fact that it took this long to put together the most logical f***ing D pairing on this roster, is a huge indictment on this coaching staff.

I wonder if Scotty Bowman had to call Q from Florida.

 

[AmericanDream]

Schmaltz and Kane are split up.

dear lord, just get rid of Q right now...WTF????

 

[ChiHawks10]

I'm ok with these lines with the exception of the 4th.... I mean, I feel really bad for Kampf on that line. He's got nobody to play with except himself. And everyone knows it's not nearly as much fun to play with yourself.

The other three look OK. Maybe Schmaltz and Hino(two of the three hottest players on this team right now) can get Saad going back in the right direction?

The first line has been playing well for the most part, and hasn't changed from the past 6-8 games, if I'm not mistaken. AA and Kane have known chemistry and always play pretty well together, and Hartman has had a couple solid games to slot into the line with them. So I'm ok with those two lines.

 

[clydesdale line]

That 3rd line is FAST. I'm actually interested to see how they gel.

 

[RememberTheRoar]

It was always our go-to in the clutch. Jamie Benn plays with Seguin. Kucherov plays with Stammer. Getzlaf plays with Perry. When we're down and out in a playoff game, we put them together, and usually something good happens.

Let me preface this by saying that I understand why, in principle, it is better to spread out the talent. Kane is very capable of putting points up on a line by himself, and that has been a great luxury to have over this run. While Kane is still producing at an elite level, I'm sure I'm not the only one who sees how effective other teams have been at keying in on him and limiting his ES opportunities.

Toews on the other hand, well, he needs some help. We need to go on a MASSIVE run to even just sniff a wildcard. That means both Toews and Kane need to be producing at above career average for the remainder of the year. As unlikely as this seems, I would much rather go down doing something different than dragging our feet with the same useless line combos every game. Match-ups be damned, it's time to finally see what kind of damage Kane and Toews can do together, especially when you consider how off Anisimov has looked since he got back from injury. Kane and Schmaltz have been having to hold the puck up and wait 2-3 seconds on every entry just waiting for Anisimov to catch up to the play.

So here is my attempt at forward line combos to shake things up. I welcome your comments. Please try to keep it positive. I know the playoffs are a long-shot at this point, but we should be doing everything possible to make that slim chance a reality:

DeBrincat - Toews - Kane
Hinostroza - Schmaltz - Duclair
Saad - Anisimov - Hartman
Sharp - Kampf - Jurco

Thoughts?

I think Boston is the best case for this. They have the second best record in the Eastern Conference, while being accused of being a one line team.

Marchand-Bergeron-Pasternak is their best scoring wingers around their best defensive/faceoff center. They start in the offensive zone ~60 percent of the time (less than the PAK line did).

Boston's second line, DeBrusk-Krecji-Spooner, is more sheltered. They start in the offensive zone nearly 70 percent of the time, but have a steep dropoff in offensive production compared to the first line.

Boston splits 5v5 TOI almost evenly between its first and second lines. Bergeron and Marchand get top penalty kill time and power play time, while Pasternak only gets top power play time.

Boston is getting okay depth scoring, but it's clearly relying on the Marchand-Bergeron-Pasternak line to deliver offensively.

A DeBrincat-Toews-Kane should be put together for the rest of the season, to try and force chemistry to build for next year. Same with a Schmaltz-Saad pairing, they could compliment each other well, if Saad rebounds to the player he was. You try this now, because what do you have to lose at this point?

 

[migi]

DeBrincat - Toews - Kane
Saad - Schmaltz - Duclair
Sikura - Anisimov - Hinostroza
Hartman - Kampf - Hayden

Keith - Murphy
Forsling - Oesterle
Snuggerud - Seabrook

Not that hard coach Q. I want to see young guys playing for roster spot NOW.

 

[Pez68]

DeBrincat - Toews - Kane
Saad - Schmaltz - Duclair
Sikura - Anisimov - Hinostroza
Hartman - Kampf - Hayden

Keith - Murphy
Forsling - Oesterle
Snuggerud - Seabrook

Not that hard coach Q. I want to see young guys playing for roster spot NOW.

This is what the lineup should look like, as soon as it is possible.... The guys with no future on this team, should not get ANY playing time. Hawks are not making the playoffs. You are developing and evaluating at this point.

 

[Blackhawkswincup]

Its sad that our 10.5M so called #1C and captain needs to be carried

But its not exactly new thing. For years Kane paid the price so that Toews could be carried by his linemates

 

[RememberTheRoar]

Its sad that our 10.5M so called #1C and captain needs to be carried

But its not exactly new thing. For years Kane paid the price so that Toews could be carried by his linemates

Right, you keep saying this. It is what it is, need to find a way to make it work.

 

[Blackhawks]

Why are people still talking about lines? These lines need new players lol


These players need to go

Toews
Seabrook
Rutta(unless 6-7 D)
Kempny(unless 6-7 D)
Gustafson
Wingels
Bouma
Sharp
Saad
Murphy way too overpaid and only plays like a 5-6

This team is a disaster...

 

[ThatSaid]

DeBrincat - Toews - Kane
Saad - Schmaltz - Duclair
Sikura - Anisimov - Hinostroza
Hartman - Kampf - Hayden

Keith - Murphy
Forsling - Oesterle
Snuggerud - Seabrook

Not that hard coach Q. I want to see young guys playing for roster spot NOW.

Yep, it's time now. Trade the guys who won't be back next year for whatever we can get, and start giving the yutes the play time.

 

[Hawkaholic]

Its sad that our 10.5M so called #1C and captain needs to be carried

But its not exactly new thing. For years Kane paid the price so that Toews could be carried by his linemates

Keep being wrong. Toews was never carried by his linemates.