Line Combos: 1st vs. 2nd line - time to split up Ehlers - Little - Laine? Mod Warning Post #552

[BullLund]

They had 7 losses out of 10 games before Xmas and not a god damn thing changed. I'll believe it when I see it. So far the track record says he is as stubborn as they come.

I thought the results were mostly fine for tough away games. Mixed between those losses, were some of the Jets best wins. I actually didn't think ELL was the problem so much as the 1st line going a bit cold during that run. Prior to his injury, Scheif hadn't been scoring many points.

What I really worry about right now is how 1st PP looks like without Scheifele. That's a discussion that the team (and the fanbase) ought to have. I think 1st PP needs to be buffed with Ehlers, to keep it as dynamic as it has been. 2nd PP is going to suffer, but that's inevitable with major injuries like this. Something has got to give.

 

[Psych0dad]

I thought the results were mostly fine for tough away games. Mixed between those losses, were some of the Jets best wins. I actually didn't think ELL was the problem so much as the 1st line going a bit cold during that run. Prior to his injury, Scheif hadn't been scoring many points.

What I really worry about right now is how 1st PP looks like without Scheifele. That's a discussion that the team (and the fanbase) ought to have. I think 1st PP needs to be buffed with Ehlers, to keep it as dynamic as it has been. 2nd PP is going to suffer, but that's inevitable with major injuries like this. Something has got to give.

Agreed on all. I think he should have tried to jumpstart 1st with Laine in those games and let Little work with Wheeler. ELL wasn't the bigger problem in that stretch, it was CSW. I think one move could have helped it but that remains to be seen.

I'd like to see Perreault-Little-Ehlers with Laine-Morrissey on point as the first PP.

 

[Zhamnov5GoalGame]

Agreed on all. I think he should have tried to jumpstart 1st with Laine in those games and let Little work with Wheeler. ELL wasn't the bigger problem in that stretch, it was CSW. I think one move could have helped it but that remains to be seen.

I'd like to see Perreault-Little-Ehlers with Laine-Morrissey on point as the first PP.

I may have misunderstood Laine in his interview on Thursday but it may be possible that he is on the RD point?
He mentioned playing the point and seam passes to Wheeler.
Hopefully it's LD

Perhaps I misheard the whole thing?
Maurice said the lines we set up so the PP units wouldn't have tired guys.
I think that guarantees Connor with Laine and Wheeler as long as they are on a line together.

You have to see a bit of irony in you suggesting ELL as 3 of the 5 players on the ice

 

[Asiantuntija]

Love it. Finally everyone is able to see this whole chemistry think. I guarantee you that Pate will be way better without Little on offense and this works both ways.

 

[Zhamnov5GoalGame]

Love it. Finally everyone is able to see this whole chemistry think. I guarantee you that Pate will be way better without Little on offense and this works both ways.

I'll be happy for any success for the Jets

 

[Psych0dad]

You have to see a bit of irony in you suggesting ELL as 3 of the 5 players on the ice

Little is best at faceoffs and our best center is out. Wheeler has been slow and silly on PP for a while and the second unit has looked better but they haven't had the firepower of Laine.

 

[Halberdier]

Little is best at faceoffs and our best center is out. Wheeler has been slow and silly on PP for a while and the second unit has looked better but they haven't had the firepower of Laine.

I'd like that PP formation, though on my papers Myers should definitely be there before Morrissey. Myers is one of the biggest reasons why PP2 is working so well. Another is that they actually pass the puck around quickly instead of Wheeler just having it on the right side with his wrong handedness.

 

[ps241]

Ok how funny would it be if “Hart” ends up setting up Laine and Pate gets on a massive roll?? How many ankles are going to break jumping on and off the Captains bandwagon? Hopefully they keep their greedy grimy shifts under two minutes!

 

[ps241]

I'll be happy for any success for the Jets

Me too!

 

[grieves]

Ok how funny would it be if “Hart” ends up setting up Laine and Pate gets on a massive roll?? How many ankles are going to break jumping on and off the Captains bandwagon? Hopefully they keep their greedy grimy shifts under two minutes!

There is a good chance Wheeler does exactly that. He is strong in the boards and has vision to make really good passes (when they hit the mark). Scheifele is not the only line-driver of this team.

The only question is, can Wheels make those east-west plays, we know he can do north-south.

CSW has not been great for the last month so I'm also interested in how Wheeler performs in this new setup. Who knows, he might welcome the change seeing as how stale CSW got.

 

[grieves]

What I really worry about right now is how 1st PP looks like without Scheifele. That's a discussion that the team (and the fanbase) ought to have. I think 1st PP needs to be buffed with Ehlers, to keep it as dynamic as it has been. 2nd PP is going to suffer, but that's inevitable with major injuries like this. Something has got to give.

I think this is a good point. Scheif was a key guy, and he really pulled his weight with zone entries (among other things). Ehlers could compensate for that. I agree with Ehlers on PP1. Balanced approach can go away until Chef comes back, put everything on PP1 within reason.

 

[Psych0dad]

There is a good chance Wheeler does exactly that. He is strong in the boards and has vision to make really good passes (when they hit the mark). Scheifele is not the only line-driver of this team.

The only question is, can Wheels make those east-west plays, we know he can do north-south.

CSW has not been great for the last month so I'm also interested in how Wheeler performs in this new setup. Who knows, he might welcome the change seeing as how stale CSW got.

Easy to agree with all of this.

If the line change means that Laine starts positioning higher on the breakout, it's almost automatically going to result in higher offensive output. And Wheeler is a better player than Little even if he is very north-south. They won't look like they read each other's minds like Chef and Laine can do ( or kariya-selanne) but can be very effective and simple. Especially if Wheeler starts preferring the pass option instead of his muffin. I'm sort of expecting them to set up very simple rush the net and shoot tactic. And Laine will hopefully do most of that shooting. It can be very effective and Wheels might bang in some rebounds.

 

[Ducky10]

I find this whole North/South, East/West notion pretty overblown. It's really more cliche than anything.

 

[grieves]

Easy to agree with all of this.

If the line change means that Laine starts positioning higher on the breakout, it's almost automatically going to result in higher offensive output. And Wheeler is a better player than Little even if he is very north-south. They won't look like they read each other's minds like Chef and Laine can do ( or kariya-selanne) but can be very effective and simple. Especially if Wheeler starts preferring the pass option instead of his muffin. I'm sort of expecting them to set up very simple rush the net and shoot tactic. And Laine will hopefully do most of that shooting. It can be very effective and Wheels might bang in some rebounds.

I wish they would do simple rush and shoot tactics. That's exactly how you should use a 19yo Laine. Just eliminate the play by scoring immediately. A quick east-west pass instead of starting the north-south cycle.

 

[Psych0dad]

I find this whole North/South, East/West notion pretty overblown. It's really more cliche than anything.

It could be. Or it could also be that two slightly differing views of optimal hockey are not fully compatible. People think hockey differently and it seems to work best when likeminded individuals play together.

There is a clear distinction, at least to me, between players who are "classic" textbook guys, more straight forward hockey with more volume of actions but lower quality scoring chances.

People who don't see, or don't choose those plays (like opting for a small risk pass to a better scoring chance instead of just shooting) because it's the safest, most "correct" play according to general opinion, will also not see a big distinction between north-south and east-west. They don't see, or consider east-west as the better option.

Recent example, McDavid dropping the puck on a breakaway on purpose. Most won't do it and coaches would advise against doing it, but to me that is the play to make if you want the best chance of scoring. A straight breakaway is easier for goalie than that.

That's one of the reasons for example Laine and Little won't work well. Laine reads a different play (more unorthodox but in his mind the better play) and positions differently than a traditional player would. Little expects him to be elsewhere for the safest textbook play he instinctively will prefer. This makes them both look clueless. For North-South people it's Laine who positions weird and doesn't do traditional things expected, especially from a sniper powerforward that are often very much North-South.

From East-west point of view the problem is Little who doesn't read the "better" play that Laine for example might be thinking and positioning more.

You need to understand both sides and both plays, to even begin to evaluate how much it affects the players. Good communication helps, but intuitively similar people make much faster and better reads with each other. What ever mind set they prefer.

I know you don't believe in any of this chemistry etc stuff. I know it to be a fact, for me it's so much easier to play with guys who think more creatively about offense than traditionally. And I'm pretty sure it's also the same thing for people who prefer the other way...if there's 3 people seeing the same play, they all position accordingly to achieve the same end play.

 

[Psych0dad]

I wish they would do simple rush and shoot tactics. That's exactly how you should use a 19yo Laine. Just eliminate the play by scoring immediately. A quick east-west pass instead of starting the north-south cycle.

Sounds like a good plan to me.

 

[Psych0dad]

As expected, the new first line works better than ELL ever and CSW in the ladt month and most games outside of that.

Very happy to see everyone chipping in and taking Chefs burden on them.

Still concerned about Little. He has been playing better but Ehlers doesn't work on his side, and surprisingly neither did MP. I expected MP to thrive because he can adapt almost the best out of the roster.

I'm still absolutely positive we can find a line with Little that works but it might have to wait until Chef comes back and we can see Little-Wheeler. MP is a line driver but not as effective as Wheeler and I think Little needs Wheeler to get going.

 

[Psych0dad]

Oh and also, don't want to forget. Credit where credit is due.

Maurice started the game with Laine on RD on PP. Dumbass. He fixed it on the fly and switched him to LD after Trouba getting all the shots from LD and hammering the glass.

Maurice can learn from mistakes!? Who knew? Very happy he coached for a sec

Of course the problem is that the best playmaker and the best shooter are the same person so you always have to give on something.

 

[Ippenator]

Thank God Laine got out of the black hole called ELL. But I do absolutely hate it that Scheifele had to get injured for it to happen. It could anyway be right away seen how much better Laine really is, when he can play with players he has chemistry with.

Honestly Maurice is simply an idiot with deployment. Still a horrible mistake is to keep even Little and Ehlers on the same line, as that duo together will make the line an offensive black hole, even when they get a great line driving player like Perreault with them.

Greedy Speedy is really a player that needs just specific players with him. He is not very much a team player and mostly is looking to shoot whenever he can, even when he clearly should pass. I would absolutely hate to play on the same line with a player like that, if I was a skilled top class player whom would like to play some smart and quick passing game.

Anyway, because of Maurice’s stupidity and Ehler’s bad passing and team play, there will be some pretty darn good players put into horribly unthankful situations. Perreault, Laine, Armia and even Little are all having some pretty undeserved treatment because of the Greedy Speedester. In addition to all he is definitely the worst Jet defensively. It is unbelievable that someone with such magnificent skating can be such an apalling forechecker for example. And the dude loses almost every single battle he goes into. Laine is immensely better in them, even if he himself should also develop himself a lot in them.

I have nothing otherwise against Ehlers, but I just immensely dislike his playing style. All my dislike towards him comes completely from how I have seen him play. Most of all I see him as a greedy player whom really doesn’t play much of good team play. In my opinion it would be the best thing for the Jets to trade him, at least unless he starts seriously turning into more of a team player. But that will not happen just like that. It will take probably still years, if it will ever happen. And if it seriously would take that long, it would be better to really trade him. As one of the best skaters in the whole NHL he could possibly give in return more than he would be worth of in reality.

And still to Ehlers fans. You are entitled to see him differently and disagree with me. No need to start a war here really. This is just how I honestly see him as a player at the moment, and I think that he unfortunately makes the Jets deployment more difficult than it should be. And of course we have Maurice..

 

[StatisticsAddict99]

Thank God Laine got out of the black hole called ELL. But I do absolutely hate it that Scheifele had to get injured for it to happen. It could anyway be right away seen how much better Laine really is, when he can play with players he has chemistry with.

Honestly Maurice is simply an idiot with deployment. Still a horrible mistake is to keep even Little and Ehlers on the same line, as that duo together will make the line an offensive black hole, even when they get a great line driving player like Perreaul with them.

Greedy Speedy is really a player that needs just specific players with him. He is not very much a team player and mostly is looking to shoot whenever he can, even when he clearly should pass. I would absolutely hate to play on the same line with a player like that, if I was a skilled top class player whom would like to play some smart and quick passing game.

Anyway, because of Maurice’s stupidity and Ehler’s bad passing and team play, there will be some pretty darn good players put into horribly unthankful situations. Perreault, Laine, Armia and even Little are all having some pretty undeserved treatment because of the Greedy Speedester. In addition to all he is definitely the worst Jet defensively. It is unbelievable that someone with such magnificent skating can be such an apalling forechecker for example. And the dude loses almost every single battle he goes into. Laine is immensely better in them, even if he himself should also develop himself a lot in them.

I have nothing otherwise against Ehlers, but I just immensely dislike his playing style. All my dislike towards him comes completely from how I have seen him play. Most of all I see him as a greedy player whom really doesn’t play much of good team play. In my opinion it would be the best thing for the Jets to trade him, at least unless he starts seriously turning into more of a team player. But that will not happen just like that. It will take probably still years, if it will ever happen. And if it seriously would take that long, it would be better to really trade him. As one of the best skaters in the while NHL he could possible give in return more than he would be worth in reality.

And still to Ehlers fans. You are entitled to see him differently and disagree with me. No need to start a war here really. This is just how I honestly see him as a player at the moment, and I think that he unfortunately makes the Jets deployment more difficult than it should be. And of course we have Maurice..

I’m as big of a Laine fan you can find but it’s not Ehlers fault he can create lanes with speed better than Laine... If Laine has the speed and skating Ehlers had was doing what Ehlers is said to be doing by you you’d be praising him for it...

 

[JetsFan815]

Greedy Speedy is really a player that needs just specific players with him. He is not very much a team player and mostly is looking to shoot whenever he can, even when he clearly should pass. I would absolutely hate to play on the same line with a player like that, if I was a skilled top class player whom would like to play some smart and quick passing game.

Anyway, because of Maurice’s stupidity and Ehler’s bad passing and team play, there will be some pretty darn good players put into horribly unthankful situations. Perreault, Laine, Armia and even Little are all having some pretty undeserved treatment because of the Greedy Speedester. In addition to all he is definitely the worst Jet defensively. It is unbelievable that someone with such magnificent skating can be such an apalling forechecker for example. And the dude loses almost every single battle he goes into. Laine is immensely better in them, even if he himself should also develop himself a lot in them.

I have nothing otherwise against Ehlers, but I just immensely dislike his playing style. All my dislike towards him comes completely from how I have seen him play. Most of all I see him as a greedy player whom really doesn’t play much of good team play. In my opinion it would be the best thing for the Jets to trade him, at least unless he starts seriously turning into more of a team player. But that will not happen just like that. It will take probably still years, if it will ever happen. And if it seriously would take that long, it would be better to really trade him. As one of the best skaters in the whole NHL he could possible give in return more than he would be worth in reality.

Sad!

 

[Psych0dad]

Thank God Laine got out of the black hole called ELL. But I do absolutely hate it that Scheifele had to get injured for it to happen. It could anyway be right away seen how much better Laine really is, when he can play with players he has chemistry with.

Honestly Maurice is simply an idiot with deployment. Still a horrible mistake is to keep even Little and Ehlers on the same line, as that duo together will make the line an offensive black hole, even when they get a great line driving player like Perreaul with them.

Greedy Speedy is really a player that needs just specific players with him. He is not very much a team player and mostly is looking to shoot whenever he can, even when he clearly should pass. I would absolutely hate to play on the same line with a player like that, if I was a skilled top class player whom would like to play some smart and quick passing game.

Anyway, because of Maurice’s stupidity and Ehler’s bad passing and team play, there will be some pretty darn good players put into horribly unthankful situations. Perreault, Laine, Armia and even Little are all having some pretty undeserved treatment because of the Greedy Speedester. In addition to all he is definitely the worst Jet defensively. It is be that someone with such magnificent skating can be such an apalling forechecker for example. And the dude loses almost every single battle he goes into. Laine is immensely better in them, even if he himself can still become a lot I in i

I have nothing otherwise against Ehlers, but I just immensely dislike his playing style. All my dislike towards him comes completely from how I have seen him play. Most of all I see him as a greedy player whom really doesn’t play much of good team play. In my opinion it would be the best thing for the Jets to trade him, at least unless he starts seriously turning into more of a team player. But that will not happen just like that. It will take probably still years, if it will ever happen. And if it seriously would take that long, it would be better to really trade him. As one of the best skaters in the while NHL he could possible give in return more than he would be worth in reality.

And still to Ehlers fans. You are entitled to see him differently and disagree with me. No need to start a war here really. This is just how I honestly see him as a player at the moment, and I think that he unfortunately makes the Jets deployment more difficult than it should be. And of course we have Maurice..

I understand what you mean about Ehlers but he is a great tool for the right circumstance. He does have chem with Laine, but he's not the most creative player around and gets blinders on at times. He can work decent anywhere due to his individual skills but I think his best fit for him is with Chef and Laine...the short plays they can do are worth it.

I think with Ehlers, in time he will learn some simpler and smarter individual plays. He has the ability but needs right circumstance.

I get your frustration with him, but it's not because he isn't great...its just easy to see how he could be so much better. Time will tell if he realizes it. Fantastic young player in my opinion though, on that we have to disagree. Which is fine.

And absolutely Maurice is an idiot. What, 40 games and an injury forces him to discover what a random fan knew after a couple of games by ELL? That's f***ing lame.

 

[DoingItCoolKiwi]

I think Connor-Wheeler-Laine will be good once Wheeler gets used to center, and Laine builds some chemistry with two line mates he hasnt played much 5v5 with before. I still kinda want to see Roslo in NHL, but I'm completely fine with these top 6 lines

 

[Ippenator]

I’m as big of a Laine fan you can find but it’s not Ehlers fault he can create lanes with speed better than Laine... If Laine has the speed and skating Ehlers had was doing what Ehlers is said to be doing by you you’d be praising him for it...

No I wouldn’t. I’m not into speedsters in general and never have really been. I love the passing game that hockey can be at it’s best. If a speedster has some serious passing skills and great IQ I can for sure like him, like for example McDavid. But even in his case it is not his blazing speed that I’m so much appreciating. It is more his finesse and smart plays. Sorry, but I just see these kind of elements almost nonexistently in Ehlers’s game.

And by the way, I pointed it out already last year half way to the season that Laine and Ehlers have pretty much zero chemistry on the ice, while most of the people here seriously were claiming that they have so great chemistry together. But the more people have seen them play together, I think that the more of them have really started to understand that there really is no real on ice chemistry between them.

Gretzky and Lemieux are the best players the world has ever seen. Neither of them were anykind of great speedsters, although for sure they were pretty darn good skaters still. That kind of skating and first of all that kind of thinking of the game is what I would want to see more. Not really the blazing speedsters like Ehlers, if they seriously can’t offer much in the thinking man’s game.

 

[DeepFrickinValue]

gotta say the cut across the slot move ehlers does is pure gold. seems he gets 2 or 3 "grade A" chances each game.