Line Combos: Your Line-Up Heading Down the Stretch and In the Postseason

[Twisted Blue]

My two cents:
Schenn - ROR - Tarasenko
Schwartz - Bozak - Perron
Steen - Sunny - Thomas
Fabbri - Barbie - Maroon (or Sanford or MacEachern)

 

[kimzey59]

Schwartz ROR Vladdy

-If Schwartz doesn't start scoring, RORSenko are capable of carrying him. If he does start scoring, that line is every bit as good as having Schenn there.

Fabbri Schenn Perron

-We need a 2nd scoring line and the only combo outside of RORSenko to show any chemistry all year has been Schenn and Perron. Put the two back together and let Fabbri, Maroon, Sanford and MacMac fight it out for the LW spot until there is a clear winner.

Steen Bozak Sundqvist

More of a "specialist" line than a real 3rd line. All 3 get significant special teams time. Use this as the 4th line at even strength, with their special teams time bumping them over the last line.
I also have a feeling that Sundqvist and Bozak would work pretty well together. Bozak puts a lot of pucks towards the crease and Sundqvist seems to find a lots of pucks in that area.

Maroon Barbashev Thomas
I like how Barbashev and Thomas have played together and don't want to split them up. Let Maroon, Fabbri, Sanford and MacMac fight for the LW spot until there is a clear fit.

The D should be pretty straight forward;
Bouw-Parayko
Eddy-Petro
Dunn-Bortz

And for the love of all things Holy; DO NOT give Allen a start in the PO's. The net belongs to Binnington.

 

[HighNote]

I think you ride that top line of Schenn-O'Reilly-Tarasenko for as long as it can dominate:

Schenn - O'Reilly - Tarasenko
Schwartz - Bozak - Perron
Steen - Sundqvist - Thomas
Fabbri - Barbashev - Maroon

MacEachern, Sanford, Blais

But if we find ourselves needing a deeper lineup with more lines pitching in, I'd go with:

Schwartz - O'Reilly - Perron
Steen - Schenn - Tarasenko
Sundqvist - Bozak - Thomas/Maroon
Fabbri - Barbashev - Maroon/Thomas

MacEachern, Sanford, Blais

 

[A Real Barn Burner]

Based off that I’d like to see

Perron-ROR-Tarasenko (Probably Good)
Schwartz-Schenn-Steen (Good)
Sanford-Sundqvist-Bozak (Probably Good, Bozak can’t be worse than Maroon)
MacEachern-Barbashev-Thomas (Good)

 

[LGB]

Based off that I’d like to see

Perron-ROR-Tarasenko (Probably Good)
Schwartz-Schenn-Steen (Good)
Sanford-Sundqvist-Bozak (Probably Good, Bozak can’t be worse than Maroon)
MacEachern-Barbashev-Thomas (Good)

I really want to see the Schenn - ROR - Tarasenko line back together. They absolutely drove the offense on our win streak and I think having scoring spread throughout the lineup is overrated. 4th line I also agree should be those three and I think all of those guys have played their best hockey of the season together. That leaves the middle six. Bozak and Sundqvist are your centers and then mix and match the wings until it works.

 

[LBlues24]

Schenn - O’Reilly - Tarasenko
Schwartz - Bozak - Perron
Fabbri - Thomas - Steen
Mac/Blais - Barbashev - Sundqvist

Maroon-Sanford

Sunny and Thomas can switch if those lines aren’t working, but I’d like to give Thomas a chance at his natural position with sheltered minutes. With some speed on one side/reliable defensively on the other

 

[A Real Barn Burner]

I really want to see the Schenn - ROR - Tarasenko line back together. They absolutely drove the offense on our win streak and I think having scoring spread throughout the lineup is overrated. 4th line I also agree should be those three and I think all of those guys have played their best hockey of the season together. That leaves the middle six. Bozak and Sundqvist are your centers and then mix and match the wings until it works.

I agree that the SOT line is awesome but how do you get two lines that are GOOD out of that middle six? Bozak, Maroon, Perron, and Steen all end up on the dull side a lot. Disagree that one line will dominate in the playoffs all the way.

Ones that are not showing on that chart?

Good lines not showing on chart.

Fabri-Schenn-Thomas: TOI: 37.8 xGF60: 3.511 xGA60: 1.811
Maroon-ROR-Tarasenko: TOI: 70.7 xGF60: 2.827 xGA60: 1.95
Schwartz-Bozak-Steen: TOI: 100.1 xGF60: 2.386 xGA60: 1.499
Maroon-Bozak-Thomas:TOI: 116.2 xGF60: 2.795 xGA60: 2.061

 

[TheDizee]

when healthy:

perron-ror-tarasenko
schwartz-sundqvist-schenn
thomas-bozak-maroon
steen-barb-Mac

now the thing is id healthy scratch schwartz before the playoffs to see if he responds to it like perron did. if he doesnt, i give him 1 trial playoff game. after that, i bench him for the remainder of the playoffs unless injuries occur.

 

[Ranksu]

Thomas or Fabbri should be given chance to play 1st line with ROR and Tarasenko before Schenn is back.

 

[Ranksu]

And Maroon should be 13th man in this team when Perron and Schenn are back.

 

[HighNote]

We really do need Perron and Schenn back. The last few games are big indicators of that. Their additions to the lineup not only help because of their play, but because of how many players it pushes down the lineup. We've got guys like Maroon, Bozak, Thomas, etc. playing too far up the lineup. We also need to get that Schenn-O'Reilly-Tarasenko line back together. That's the most dominant I've seen a line play since that month where the Steen-Backes-Oshie line was killing it a few years ago.

As far as going for a stacked top line or having a more balanced lineup, I think you should ride the stacked top line until you stop having success with it. And I also think it's important to have defensive guys on your 2nd and 3rd lines so the other team can't take advantage when your top line isn't out there. Something like:

Schenn - O'Reilly - Tarasenko
Steen - Bozak - Perron
Schwartz - Sundqvist - Thomas

If you're wanting your top 9 to be more balanced instead of stacking your top line:

Steen - O'Reilly - Tarasenko
Schwartz - Schenn - Perron
Sundqvist - Bozak - Thomas

For the 4th line, it'd be some combination of Barbashev, Maroon, Fabbri, Blais, MacEachern, and Sanford. I'd go MacEachern-Barbashev-Blais. We need some physical guys out there, and all 3 of them can throw their weight around.

 

[LGB]

I agree that the SOT line is awesome but how do you get two lines that are GOOD out of that middle six? Bozak, Maroon, Perron, and Steen all end up on the dull side a lot. Disagree that one line will dominate in the playoffs all the way.

Ones that are not showing on that chart?

Good lines not showing on chart.

Fabri-Schenn-Thomas: TOI: 37.8 xGF60: 3.511 xGA60: 1.811
Maroon-ROR-Tarasenko: TOI: 70.7 xGF60: 2.827 xGA60: 1.95
Schwartz-Bozak-Steen: TOI: 100.1 xGF60: 2.386 xGA60: 1.499
Maroon-Bozak-Thomas:TOI: 116.2 xGF60: 2.795 xGA60: 2.061

I’m not saying one line is going to dominate all through the playoffs, but as long as the rest of the lines can chip in I think our best bet is to keep the top line together. Boston, a team that plays a fairly similar style to us, loads up their top line with Marchand - Bergeron - Pastrnak in the playoffs with a lot of success. Plus we get very good secondary scoring from our defensemen. The graph is not the end all be all especially since some of them are a very small sample size and there are certainly line combos that will work with the remaining guys.

 

[kimzey59]

I’m not saying one line is going to dominate all through the playoffs, but as long as the rest of the lines can chip in I think our best bet is to keep the top line together. Boston, a team that plays a fairly similar style to us, loads up their top line with Marchand - Bergeron - Pastrnak in the playoffs with a lot of success. Plus we get very good secondary scoring from our defensemen. The graph is not the end all be all especially since some of them are a very small sample size and there are certainly line combos that will work with the remaining guys.

Since winning the Cup; Boston has missed the PO's twice(both times since the '12 Lockout), lost in the 1st round twice, lost in the 2nd round twice and lost in the SCF's to Chicago.
And they weren't even remotely a 1 line team for most of that time(Krejci, Lucic, Seguin and Horton were all productive players for them at one point).

Looking at recent Cup winners; I can't find a single one that actually "loaded up their top line".
Washington had Tom Wilson playing on the top line so Oshie could provide a threat on the 2nd unit.
Pittsburgh has deliberately keep Crosby, Malkin and Kessel separate as much as they can to spread out the scoring.
Chicago kept Kane and Toews on separate line to spread out the scoring on all of their Cup teams.
LA has Kopitar and Carter on separate lines.
As said; Boston had a very balanced top 6 when they won the Cup.
You might have an argument for Detroit given that Datsyuk and Zetterberg played together often; though I think having Lidstrom, Rafalski, Kronwall and Chelios on defense might have played a bigger role.
You might have an argument for Anaheim given that Selanne, McDonald and Kunitz played together; though Penner-Getzlaf-Perry is hardly a "weak" 2nd line.
Carolina had Staal and Brind'Amour on separate lines with Williams, Stillman, Cole and Whitney rotating on both lines.


Sorry, but I just don't see any evidence that loading up the top line is the correct way to go. Recent history says the exact opposite. You have to have a productive 2nd line, even if that means splitting up what might be an otherwise great line to make it happen.

 

[WATTAGE4451]

Based off that I’d like to see

Perron-ROR-Tarasenko (Probably Good)
Schwartz-Schenn-Steen (Good)
Sanford-Sundqvist-Bozak (Probably Good, Bozak can’t be worse than Maroon)
MacEachern-Barbashev-Thomas (Good)

How is steen and schwartz on a 2nd line considered good? I dont care what the chart said in small sample size.

Id rather see sunny or bozak centering line 2 with perron as 2nd line winger with schenn back on wing on line 1.

 

[LetsGoBLUES91]

Schenn-ROR-Tarasenko is an awesome line but you end up destroying your second line. Our second line is bottom 5 in the NHL when you take Schenn off of it.

Perron-ROR-Tarasenko
Schwartz-Schenn-Steen (Or Thomas or Bozak).

Is absolutely what the healthy top 6 should be.

 

[kimzey59]

Schenn-ROR-Tarasenko is an awesome line but you end up destroying your second line. Our second line is bottom 5 in the NHL when you take Schenn off of it.

Perron-ROR-Tarasenko
Schwartz-Schenn-Steen (Or Thomas or Bozak).

Is absolutely what the healthy top 6 should be.

As you said; we need a legit 2nd line.
I like Schenn as much as anybody does but he can't do it all himself.
Putting him with Steen and Schwartz puts the entire burden of offensive production on Schenn's shoulders.
It is destined to fail as a unit.
I am not convinced that Thomas would do any better than Steen/Schwartz just yet(he still has a lot of developing to do), and Bozak is better suited to providing a legit spark on the 3rd line.
Schenn needs somebody to work with on the 2nd line, and IMO the only real option we have for that is Perron.
I know people want to keep an overpowered top line, but IMO it's worth diluting the top line a bit to ensure that the 2nd line is legit.

When healthy; I go RORSenko on one line, Schenn/Perron on the other and open the LW spots on both lines to competition.
As Hitchcock used to say, build your lineup around pairs and then find the right 3rd wheel to go with them.

 

[LGB]

Since winning the Cup; Boston has missed the PO's twice(both times since the '12 Lockout), lost in the 1st round twice, lost in the 2nd round twice and lost in the SCF's to Chicago.
And they weren't even remotely a 1 line team for most of that time(Krejci, Lucic, Seguin and Horton were all productive players for them at one point).

Looking at recent Cup winners; I can't find a single one that actually "loaded up their top line".
Washington had Tom Wilson playing on the top line so Oshie could provide a threat on the 2nd unit.
Pittsburgh has deliberately keep Crosby, Malkin and Kessel separate as much as they can to spread out the scoring.
Chicago kept Kane and Toews on separate line to spread out the scoring on all of their Cup teams.
LA has Kopitar and Carter on separate lines.
As said; Boston had a very balanced top 6 when they won the Cup.
You might have an argument for Detroit given that Datsyuk and Zetterberg played together often; though I think having Lidstrom, Rafalski, Kronwall and Chelios on defense might have played a bigger role.
You might have an argument for Anaheim given that Selanne, McDonald and Kunitz played together; though Penner-Getzlaf-Perry is hardly a "weak" 2nd line.
Carolina had Staal and Brind'Amour on separate lines with Williams, Stillman, Cole and Whitney rotating on both lines.


Sorry, but I just don't see any evidence that loading up the top line is the correct way to go. Recent history says the exact opposite. You have to have a productive 2nd line, even if that means splitting up what might be an otherwise great line to make it happen.

Chicago had Teows and Kane on separate lines most of the season, but stacked the top line with them both in the '13 and '15 Cup finals. Ovi and Kuznetsov were the Caps most productive players last year on the top line together, sure Oshie is better than Wilson but Oshie didn't even hit 50 points last year lets not act like they were keeping some offensive juggernaut on the second line. Pittsburgh though definitely did deliberately spread out their talent, and LA did keep Kopitar and Carter separate (though they're kind of weird since their scoring was so low overall outside Kopitar). So looking at the last six winners it's 50/50.

 

[HighNote]

We're also forgetting that nearly a quarter of our scoring this year has come from our defense, they've got 40 goals this year which I think is tops in the league. I think if we were a team that didn't get as much production from the back-end, our 2nd or 3rd lines being weaker would be a bigger issue. I think we can afford to ride that top line considering how much our D chips in.

 

[carter333167]

Schenn, ROR and Tank...then all the rest. Also, activate the D more often. We need them active to make up for the loss of a solid second line. Schwartz's regression has hurt us quite a bit but he needs to be kept away from the top line.

 

[TheGoldenGod]

Perron ROR Tarasenko (and it shall be glorious)
Schwartz Schenn Thomas
Maroon Bozak Sundqvist
MacDaddy Barbashev Steen

or

Perron ROR Tarasenko
Schwartz Schenn Sundqvist
Steen Bozak Maroon
MacDaddy Barbashev Thomas

 

[TheGoldenGod]

Our lineup would be oh so much better if Schwartz and/or Steen found any kind of their old scoring touch