Line Combos: 2019-2020 Line/D Pairing discussions & proposals

[EON]

It definitely seems like Nordstrom is losing his spot. He has been an absolute black hole offensively this season. Obviously you don't expect a lot of offense from that group but they need to be able to hold their own. Kuraly-Acciari-Wagner played extremely well in the first 4 games of the final or so and it was a big help. The middle 6 should be much better this season though. I'm definitely onboard with breaking up Krejci/DeBrusk, I'm not really sure they work that well together. Krejci looked great with a prime Lucic on his LW, while Ritchie isn't that good, he can still be a good offensive player as long as he cuts down the penalties a bit. I'd try:

Marchand-Bergeron-Pastrnak
Ritchie-Krejci-Kase
DeBrusk-Coyle-Bjork
Kuraly-Wagner-Kuhlman
Lindholm/Nordstrom

Would also consider Blidh/Frederic getting a crack at that 4th line. Studnicka may get a look at some point as well.

 

[Kazcram]

i wouldn't mind seeing Miller get back into playing shape . In most playoff years teams lose a defencman or 2 and if he can get a few games under his belt in the regular season it could prove big come playoff time. His shoulder and body in general will be healed and i feel he will come in in great shape , wouldnt mind seeing a 3rd pair of Lauzon and Miller for a game or 2 .

 

[PlayMakers]

Lindholm has been our best 4C this season. I go into the playoffs Kuraly-Lindholm-Wagner.

I agree, but I would like to see Frederic get a look there down the stretch...

Kuraly - Frederic - Wagner has that same feel as last year's 4th line. They could be a beastly line to play against.

 

[Absurdity]

Ritchie - Krejci - Kase
DeBrusk - Coyle - Bjork

Gives the new guys some familiarity playing with each other while acclimating themselves to the team and system. Hopefully moving DeBrusk down to the 3rd line will get him going.

 

[Gee Wally]

Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy has lineup decisions down the stretch - The Boston Globe

For the Bruins, the push to find the optimal playoff lineup is on.

NHL teams no longer have a roster limit — it is 23 players for most of the season — and their additions from the farm are only governed by the salary cap.

In addition to new acquisitions Nick Ritchie and Ondrej Kase, the Bruins may give the likes of Jack Studnicka and Trent Frederic another shot to stick, after both stood out in Providence the first three-quarters of the season.

“There’s still a little uncertainty. Seems a little odd when you’ve got a 90-point team,” coach Bruce Cassidy mused Tuesday. “It’s a no-stone-unturned type of thing with our lineup.”

That means middle-six duty, at least to start. Ritchie started on the left side of Charlie Coyle, with Anders Bjork flipping to the right side. That pushed Karson Kuhlman up the lineup, with David Krejci and Jake DeBrusk.

Ritchie finished with a game-high seven hits in 14:17, getting lost in the shuffle toward the end as the Bruins hunted for third-period goals.

“I thought he was fine. I’m not going to judge him on [one game],” said Cassidy. “He flew in here yesterday, he’s trying to get acclimated.”

Ritchie started the game, lining up against Matthew Tkachuk and Milan Lucic, and collided with Lucic in open ice. He also chatted with Tkachuk before the opening faceoff.

“He likes to talk,” Ritchie said. “I wasn’t really buying it.”

Kase, who practiced for the second time with the Bruins on Tuesday, is still not game-ready. He last played Feb. 7. Kase is likely to start his Bruins career on Krejci’s right side, his speed and willingness to shoot a promising package for the veteran pivot.

Cassidy expressed a willingness to try Ritchie with Krejci, but if Kase is cash money on Line 2, Ritchie may be a bottom-six player here.

 

[Trap Jesus]

If Ritchie bombs I think he'd still be effective as a 4th line LW. You could do:

Marchand-Bergeron-Pastrnak
DeBrusk-Krejci-Kase
Bjork-Coyle-Kuhlman
Ritchie-Kuraly-Wagner

 

[Jean_Jacket41]

Kuhlman is an offensively black hole 4th liner. Either 4th line, press box or Providence for him. Never more in top-9.

Call up Stud, Senyshyn or Frederic instead if it’s for a top-9 spot.

Marchand-Bergy-Pasta
DeBrusk-Coyle-Bjork
Ritchie-Krejci-Kase
Nordstrom-Kuraly-Wagner
Lindholm/Kuhlman

 

[cheg1349]

Are they skating today?

 

[rocketdan9]

Last night I think it was for only one shift, but saw a few nice plays when Ritchie was on the ice with Krejci and Pasta

Ritchie Krejci Kuhlman was doomed to fail

Ritchie Krejci Kase ... lets see how that looks

I wouldn't even mind if Cassidy also tries

Marchand Bergeron Kase
Ritchie Krejci Pasta

On Thursday

Marchand Bergeron Pasta
Ritchie Krejci Kase
Debrusk Coyle Bjork/Kuhlman
Kuraly Lindholm Wagner

 

[The National]

Last night I think it was for only one shift, but saw a few nice plays when Ritchie was on the ice with Krejci and Pasta

Ritchie Krejci Kuhlman was doomed to fail

Ritchie Krejci Kase ... lets see how that looks

I wouldn't even mind if Cassidy also tries

Marchand Bergeron Kase
Ritchie Krejci Pasta

On Thursday

Marchand Bergeron Pasta
Ritchie Krejci Kase
Debrusk Coyle Bjork/Kuhlman
Kuraly Lindholm Wagner

You won’t see Bruce split those guys up right now or ever unless things go really bad, and I don’t see that happening.

Look how long he kept Pasta with them in the playoffs when things weren’t working. Even when he put him with Krejci it didn’t last more than a few shifts to maybe one full game.

I say keep em together.

Marchand/Bergy/Pasta
Ritchie/Krejci/Kase
Debrusk/Coyle/Bjork
Kuraly/Par/Wagner

 

[rocketdan9]

Marchand/Bergy/Pasta
Ritchie/Krejci/Kase
Debrusk/Coyle/Bjork
Kuraly/Par/Wagner

Good call

this will be the lineup tonight according to stanleycupofchowder

Hopefully it clicks. Team needs secondary scoring badly

 

[Alberta_OReilly_Fan]

it is interesting to see a healthy lineup with debrusk moved onto the coyle line and Ritchie on the krejci line

to be honest I have always felt krejci and debrusk succeed despite one another... and have never really meshed

if this was the plan all along once the palermi and Kreider ideas fizzled on the vine... then I am even more happy about the Ritchie deal.

I think Ritchie in terms of raw skills... has lucic ability. im not sure he has lucics smarts or will power to succeed. but lets remember krejci made lucic look like an all star

I think at the moment we dont have an elite second line... we probably have two slightly below average second lines.

this might work for us though... it means we have a very elite 3rd line. so we win matchups for 1st and 3rd lines... try to break even on our 2nd and 4th lines.

this could be a formula that excels come playoff time... I like it

 

[rocketdan9]

Next game hope to see

Marchand Bergeron Kase
Ritchie Krejci Pasta
Debrusk Coyle Kuhlman
Kuraly Lindholm Blidh

 

[rocketdan9]

Not seeing much chemistry between Ritchie and Krejci. Still early but both have mediocre skating speed. If both are "stuck" on the offensive end, could cause a defensive breakdown/odd man rush going the other way

What about

Marchand Bergeron Pasta
Debrusk Krejci Kuhlman
Kuraly Coyle Bjork
Ritchie Lindholm Kase

Or Ritchie Coyle Kase

 

[Rubber Biscuit]

Not seeing much chemistry between Ritchie and Krejci. Still early but both have mediocre skating speed. If both are "stuck" on the offensive end, could cause a defensive breakdown/odd man rush going the other way

What about

Marchand Bergeron Pasta
Debrusk Krejci Kuhlman
Kuraly Coyle Bjork
Ritchie Lindholm Kase

Yikes. No thanks. Let's try not to overreact just yet

 

[rocketdan9]

Yikes. No thanks. Let's try not to overreact just yet

Its not about overreact... ritchie and krejci are not fast skaters

 

[Rubber Biscuit]

Its not about overreact... ritchie and krejci are not fast skaters

I've been reading here for years about how Krejci shouldn't be playing with fast skaters.

This bit- "Not seeing much chemistry between Ritchie and Krejci." is overreacting.

Kase on the 4th line is a waste. Kuhlman doesn't belong in the top 6. Kuraly needs to stay on the 4th line.

 

[shoulders7]

Its not about overreact... ritchie and krejci are not fast skaters

Karson Kuhlman should never ever be in a top 6 of a contending team. He doesn’t have the offensive game for it. Same goes for Kuraly anywhere but the 4th line. Kuraly has been an abject disaster for the majority of the season and he gets a promotion to the 3rd line, while Ritchie gets dropped to the 4th after 3 games with the team. Doesn’t make much sense.

 

[rank]

. Kuraly has been an abject disaster for the majority of the season......

Disaster? I don’t see it.

-Surpassed career high point total with 17 games still to play
-2nd on team in hits
-3rd in face off percentage
-6th in even strength assists even though he gets 4 to 7 minutes per game less ice than the 5 guys above him
-$1.2 million cap hit

 

[Bumper]

right? I note that he is having a great season, his second best out of several full seasons here. they must be confusing him and his regular linemates, the horribly-off Nordstrom or the "but his hits total" slumping Wagner. Kuraly/Lindholm/Kuhlman is a HUGE upgrade over Nordstrom/Kuraly/Wagner. it sucks that the Bruins failed to get the extra right winger they so desperately needed. Bjork should be the substitute, not the pillar.

 

[13Hockey]

Bjork playing his way out of the lineup Kuhlman can’t score its time to call up stud

top 9

Marchand Bergeron Pastrnak
Ritchie Krejci Kase
DeBrusk Coyle Studnicka

 

[Alberta_OReilly_Fan]

on the sports hub radio show... one of the insiders said sweeney was talking about callups from providence in march

i want to see senyshyn who has run out of waiver options this summer. I feel we MUST give him his chance at the nhl to see if he has value. he wont get any trade value playing in providence where he clearly doesnt produce

we have the 1 open spot on rw right now... everything else is button down

marchand/Bergeron/pastrnak cant be f'd with... this is our key to cup contention

krejci needs to get tried out with the new guys... and debrusk should get his chance to get his ass in gear... so we got a little flux going on here but we know who the contenders are

coyle picks up the leftovers... im kind of hoping Ritchie works with krejci and that debrusk ends up with coyle. as for the 3rd member of this line... this is where i want to see senyshyn get his audition. we can work Bjork in rotating him with Ritchie/debrusk/senyshyn/kase so he keeps sharp and ready for game action.

kuhlman I would simply drop into the 4th line mixup. id actually like to see him get a few games at center.

in the future guys like kuhlman and Bjork will figure more strongly into our plans but right now neither is setting the world on fire. we can slow cook them. its ok to give them pro experience being with the team and getting spot duty so they watch and learn... and when they play they play hungry

I see a suggestion of studnicka... perhaps if an injury opens a spot but we dont need to bring him up for a 3rd line and play him out of position. let him dominate the full year at ahl

the one name left to discuss... is trent federic. id probably bring him up for a 2-3 game look and see just how much hunger he has. st louis/Washington still loom large in our future. we might want to have federic as an option.

a 2-3 game taste of the big leagues can be a reward to a guy like this to stay hungry... contrinue working on his defense... continue taking the big hits and making the big hits.

looking ahead to next year... I think studnicka is going to have a hard time making the team with so many guys ahead of him for top 6 duty. so he is young... we can continue to cook him to perfection

but Bjork/senyshyn are out of options... and kuhlman clearly can play nhl {if not top 6, he is still well suited for bottom 6}

federic is a unique talent that brings something we can use

these are the 4 kids we need to focus on working into the lineup next

studnicka/lauko/even steen… might all have greater future impact but timeline for these guys is still down the road

 

[Deuce17]

on the sports hub radio show... one of the insiders said sweeney was talking about callups from providence in march

i want to see senyshyn who has run out of waiver options this summer. I feel we MUST give him his chance at the nhl to see if he has value. he wont get any trade value playing in providence where he clearly doesnt produce

we have the 1 open spot on rw right now... everything else is button down

marchand/Bergeron/pastrnak cant be f'd with... this is our key to cup contention

krejci needs to get tried out with the new guys... and debrusk should get his chance to get his ass in gear... so we got a little flux going on here but we know who the contenders are

coyle picks up the leftovers... im kind of hoping Ritchie works with krejci and that debrusk ends up with coyle. as for the 3rd member of this line... this is where i want to see senyshyn get his audition. we can work Bjork in rotating him with Ritchie/debrusk/senyshyn/kase so he keeps sharp and ready for game action.

kuhlman I would simply drop into the 4th line mixup. id actually like to see him get a few games at center.

in the future guys like kuhlman and Bjork will figure more strongly into our plans but right now neither is setting the world on fire. we can slow cook them. its ok to give them pro experience being with the team and getting spot duty so they watch and learn... and when they play they play hungry

I see a suggestion of studnicka... perhaps if an injury opens a spot but we dont need to bring him up for a 3rd line and play him out of position. let him dominate the full year at ahl

the one name left to discuss... is trent federic. id probably bring him up for a 2-3 game look and see just how much hunger he has. st louis/Washington still loom large in our future. we might want to have federic as an option.

a 2-3 game taste of the big leagues can be a reward to a guy like this to stay hungry... contrinue working on his defense... continue taking the big hits and making the big hits.

looking ahead to next year... I think studnicka is going to have a hard time making the team with so many guys ahead of him for top 6 duty. so he is young... we can continue to cook him to perfection

but Bjork/senyshyn are out of options... and kuhlman clearly can play nhl {if not top 6, he is still well suited for bottom 6}

federic is a unique talent that brings something we can use

these are the 4 kids we need to focus on working into the lineup next

studnicka/lauko/even steen… might all have greater future impact but timeline for these guys is still down the road

Shouldn’t we just bring up the player(s) that gives us the best chance to win....period? To me Studnicka > Seny for potential playoff production and I wouldn’t even think it’s close.

 

[Alberta_OReilly_Fan]

Shouldn’t we just bring up the player(s) that gives us the best chance to win....period? To me Studnicka > Seny for potential playoff production and I wouldn’t even think it’s close.

we will win the president trophy if we have studnicka playing or not playing... so theres almost no immediate benefit to calling him up this season

looking ahead... developing both players increases our chance to win in the future

so who would benefit more from playing 12-13 mins a game on the 3rd line right wing now?

and who could benefit from tearing up the ahl? {hint, senyshyn isnt tearing up the ahl and isnt developing at all down there}

we have almost nothing to lose if we give him 2-3 game tryout...
we might also have nothing to gain... but its a harmless gamble with possible benefits

 

[Deuce17]

we will win the president trophy if we have studnicka playing or not playing... so theres almost no immediate benefit to calling him up this season

looking ahead... developing both players increases our chance to win in the future

so who would benefit more from playing 12-13 mins a game on the 3rd line right wing now?

and who could benefit from tearing up the ahl? {hint, senyshyn isnt tearing up the ahl and isnt developing at all down there}

we have almost nothing to lose if we give him 2-3 game tryout...
we might also have nothing to gain... but its a harmless gamble with possible benefits

I understand what you’re saying but personally I don’t care who it benefits more individually and I don’t really care about the Presidents Trophy....I care about who could possibly help us the most THIS playoffs and this playoffs only. Maybe that’s short sighted of me but that’s where my heads at.