Olympics: 2014 — U.S. Roster Discussion (Part VII)
- Thread starter Woodhouse
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Rabid Ranger
2 is better than one
well thank God Martin just had a +3 last night to minimize that minus
crazy that Niskanen is +28 and Martin is -1....
How is it crazy? Niskanen gets the soft minutes.
cheesedanish87
Registered User
well thank God Martin just had a +3 last night to minimize that minus
crazy that Niskanen is +28 and Martin is -1....
You wouldn't have to worry about Martin at all, the first few games Martin came back he was rusty, id say the last 5 or 6 games Martin is back to 100%, hes playing great hockey like he was before he got injured.
Nisky has had a good year, but hes been a 5 or 6 def for the pens the last few years, its kinda hard to invite a bottom pairing def to the Olympics after a good 40 games.
AmericanDream
Thank you Elon!
it is still insanely crazy that a guy like Martin is a -1 while Niskanen and his 22 minutes of softness is a +28 on a team that scores as many goals as it does.
point being, Martin simply shouldn't be minus.
AmericanDream
Thank you Elon!
agreed. just said by looking at stats one can ***** that the overall leader in plus/minus and a top 5 scorer for US dmen is not on the team. he has played remarkably well this year and looks to be hitting his stride now.
SirClintonPortis
ProudCapitalsTraitor
Patches will probably have to earn his stripes as he's the new guy and we don't know if he can perform on the big stages, as he didn't really show up against Ottawa last year, although I excuse him since he was not 100% healthy. That being said, he has a great one timer and goalscorer's luck, so there much potential if the does play with Kane and Kesler. Although, any role that can consistently spring him behind the D(needs to play with puck mover Dmen) will be effective since many of his goals this season involve him receiving a pass, blowing by the D, and then burning the goalie one-on-one.
I think the third line on an Olympic can also be considered a scoring line since the total skill level of the team is higher, so even if he plays on the third line, that third line can be a threat to score goals.
I follow the Habs, as they are my favorite team, and Pacioretty really has some sniping ability when he has a playmaker that can get sweet passes onto his stick. David Desharnais quite limited in many facets of the game, but feeding Pacioretty is not one of those limitations. Also, if Pacioretty gets behind the D, he can make goalies look silly. He tends to bury one-timers setups as well.
He probably can do well in an exploitation role with Statsny and Wheeler. Lots of potential with Wheeler because they both have some serious afterburners.
AmericanDream
Thank you Elon!
I cant see Parise there either, but he can play multiple roles and if Patches is the sniper they want with Kane, we could see this.
Parise - Backes - Oshie is pretty damn cool to see also.
Rabid Ranger
2 is better than one
Have you seen the plus/minus lately of a lot of the top d-men who play big minutes-in particular against the other team's top lines? It isn't pretty. I mean a guy like Shea Weber is -8. Guys like OEL, Subban, McDonagh, and Suter are all just above even.
AmericanDream
Thank you Elon!
agreed with that but.....
Pittsburg is a +49 overall for the love of God. All those names you mentioned are on teams well below that as Phoenix overall is a minus 7 and Nashville is a minus 30 which explains OEL and Weber.
Montreal is EVEN and Minnesota is a minus 3, again explains Subban and Suter.
BUT a freaking plus 49 and Martin is minus 1??? My issue is how bad that looks. You can make excuses for he plays against top players, but come on, he also plays with top players on one of the highest scoring teams in the league. There is zero excuse or reason for him to be minus.
I like Martin and have no gripes with him, I actually love to see him paired with Suter, but looking over plus/minus (which of course is a misleading stat at times and people take too seriously) it does worry me that on an offensive juggernaut the dude is a minus player while a guy like Niskanen who people said was bad or average is a plus 28. Very worried with this as maybe Martin isn't as sound defensively as I and others had hoped.
cheesedanish87
Registered User
Pens have the number 1 pp and number 1 pk in the league, there plus 25 in special teams, so there only plus 24 in even strength.
You can't just judge a player by how good there plus minus is, Martin and Orpik are the pens top PK players, that doesn't show up in plus minus.
Pens bottom 6 is terrible, it literally went a month without scoring a goal, if your on the ice with Crosby or Malkin often your going to have a good plus minus, if your on the ice against the other teams top players when your own 3rd and 4th lines are on the ice your probably not going to have a good plus minus.
Wrong way round Jeremy.
Malkin probably will kill penalties in Sochi, he has and could kill for the Pens but there is little point as they're already the best PK in the league.
In response to...
JVR - Pavelski - Kessel
Pacioretty - Kesler - Kane
Parise - Backes - Oshie
Brown - Stastny - Callahan
Supposedly Parise did not mesh well with Kane at the last Olympics and they are going to keep JVR and Kessel together.
I have a feeling we aren't going to see a 1st, 2nd, 3rd line but rather three lines that can score and a checking line.
JVR - Pavelski - Kessel
Pacioretty - Kesler - Kane
Parise - Backes - Oshie
Brown - Stastny - Callahan
Supposedly Parise did not mesh well with Kane at the last Olympics and they are going to keep JVR and Kessel together.
I have a feeling we aren't going to see a 1st, 2nd, 3rd line but rather three lines that can score and a checking line.
KittysGotClaws
We See Red
Don't know about that. Wasn't the whole explanation of leaving Ryan off the roster to establish a clear top six and bottom six? Obviously, this bottom six will be able to score more than your normal NHL's bottom six.
Martin was hurt, Faulk is a rising star. Google???? You don't know the most widely reported things going on in the NHL. Stop posting; just read for a while and get caught up.
Parise-Kesler-Patch
Kane-Statsny-Wheeler
JVR-Pavelski-Kessel
Brown-Backes-Oshie
Suter-McD
Carlson-Martin
Shattenkirk-Fowler
Miller
Quick
My wing/defenseman natural sides are probably mostly wrong.
U.S. needs to out skate and out hit the other teams to win. I also think keeping Parise/Kane/Kessel separated will benefit the U.S.
Kane-Statsny-Wheeler
JVR-Pavelski-Kessel
Brown-Backes-Oshie
Suter-McD
Carlson-Martin
Shattenkirk-Fowler
Miller
Quick
My wing/defenseman natural sides are probably mostly wrong.
U.S. needs to out skate and out hit the other teams to win. I also think keeping Parise/Kane/Kessel separated will benefit the U.S.
MNState0fHockey
Registered User
Team USA also hasn't won a Gold in Olympic play without a roster of at least roughly half the players having played Minnesota High School Hockey (1960 had 8 of 17 players, so it was slightly less than half).
I know, small sample size and times have changed (great to see players coming from all over the US instead of just a handful of areas these days), but still a fun fact.
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Wheeler is crazy underrated around here. If he played in a bigger market people would realize what a good player he is.
MNState0fHockey
Registered User
The comments about he and Okposo and being able to play on the big ice are overrated too. Both excelled on the big ice while playing for Minnesota in the WCHA (where the majority of the rinks had Olympic or close to Olympic sized ice). Different level, understood, but I don't think it effected their play in the slightest.
End of Line
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- Mar 20, 2009
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That is correct. Parise/Kane just didn't mesh at all and eventually Langenbrunner replaced Kane at RW on that line. Parise-Stastny-Langenbrunner clicked and when Kane and Kelser were put on the same line they had instant chemistry.
Boreal01
Registered User
I see it as...
Parise - Kesler - Kane
JVR - Pavelski - Kessel
Pacioretty - Stastny - Oshie
Brown - Backes - Wheeler
Suter - Carlson
McDonagh - Shattenkirk
Fowler - Martin
Miller
Quick
Howard
Parise - Kesler - Kane
JVR - Pavelski - Kessel
Pacioretty - Stastny - Oshie
Brown - Backes - Wheeler
Suter - Carlson
McDonagh - Shattenkirk
Fowler - Martin
Miller
Quick
Howard
Fongule
Registered User
Rabid Ranger
2 is better than one
Not with year he is having. He also plays with Backes. My picks to sit are probably Brown and Stepan.
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Ducks Nation*
Registered User
- Mar 19, 2013
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cheesedanish87
Registered User
I don't think Oshie will sit because of his shootouts, he could be the 13th forward though.
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