I think this is a good preview of how the lineup will take shape once we hit the playoff round of the tournament. Starting off against Norway/Austria, we'll of course see Kunitz slot in next to Crosby, but I'm very interested in seeing how long he lasts up there. Babcock loves shuffling his lines, and we'll probably see both Duchene and Marleau given a chance up next to Crosby during the round robin games, and perhaps Benn too (though I personally think there is a substantial clash of styles there). Its hard to see where Kunitz fits in if (when?) he's moved off of Crosby's line. There's talk of his prior chemistry with Getzlaf & Perry, but we have to realize that that was 5 years ago, and based on my recollection Kunitz played predominantly with MacDonald & Selanne anyway. Getzlaf & Perry, and Kunitz too, are better players now than they were back then. He's not the kind of player that will ever be a liability to us, but we have to acknowledge that he may not contribute much, either. Give the quality of the other players available to dress, the press box may be where he ends off the tournament.
On defense, I'd be inclined to pair up Keith with Weber. Weber is the slowest of our defencemen, and Keith's tremendous skating will help balance that pairing out (Vlasic is also a great skater, but not on Keith's level...but then again, not many are). The top 6 should all receive ample ice time, and I actually like our D corps much better going in, than I did in 2010.
After a few weeks of reflection on the roster, I really think this is a team that will struggle to score goals once we hit the playoff round. Expect some nail-biting 3-2, and 2-1 wins as we (if we) progress through the tournament. It sounds like Stamkos will see some game action with TB prior to Sochi, but realistically we can't expect him to be 100% and contributing at the level we would have expected him to before his injury. Like you, I've lowered my expectations for Getzlaf & Perry based on their past performance on international ice. I hope they prove me wrong. Our defense is superb, and Price has been playing Vezina-quality hockey recently, which is exactly what we wanted 3 weeks before Sochi. Much has been made of pre-determined roles, playmakers at center/scorers at wing, size and speed, natural wingers, etc., but IMO that's a symptom of HC significantly overthinking things, and leaving talent like Giroux and St Louis at home goes against many of the hard lessons that were learned in previous Olympic or Canada/World Cup tournaments. I mean, I love Bergeron, but how much better would that lineup look with Giroux on the right side with Toews and Sharp (two guys who are better goal scorers than playmakers) instead? Duchene, Carter and Marleau were fantastic selection that show that some thought was given to the skating requirements on the larger ice surfaces, but I'd still like to see St Louis and Giroux there instead of Kunitz and one of Nash or Benn.
