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

[DKH]

I'd split Marchand and Bergeron before splitting Marchand and Pastrnak. Those two have just unbelievable offensive zone chemistry. Like Selanne and Kariya from two decades ago. Here's a wacky top-9 that's obviously never going to happen, but is perfectly balanced:

DeBrusk-Bergeron-Bjork
Marchand-Coyle-Pastrnak
Heinen-Krejci-RW (Steen, or a major trade)

Krejci had a good track record with 63 & 88 last year but Bergeron’s healthy never happen he loses both especially Marchand

 

[Alberta_OReilly_Fan]

I like our guys ability to win matchups... will that always translate itself to putting up a lot of goals?

people seem to forget that half this game is about stopping goals

our pp/pk gives us a huge advantage before the first puck is dropped so far through 8 games its 9-3 for a 6 goal advantage... thats like a 1-0 lead every game we play

if we can get our team to play 500 hockey even strength we will win a lot of games thanks to our specialty team excellence.

people are acting like losing in game 7 of last years finals is some sort of 'proof' we arent deep enough. people, our top line got badly hurt. we all know bergeron with his groin and pastrnak with his hand were way less than 100% throughout the playoffs. marchand had a very strong playoff but eventually I think he tried to do too much and came unraveled... but over his last 2 years marchand has 40 points in 36 playoff games. anyone trying to lay crap at his feet is very misguided. we win because of marchand

its not a sin to have the best first line in hockey

its not a sin to have the leagues best defense as a team with the deepest goaltending.

will our second/third lines struggle to score this year? you know... its possible... but will it result in us missing the playoffs or sucking?

we are 5-1-2. weve already had games again vegas/Colorado tampa/Toronto... and we are doing just fine.

despite the scoring struggles... we are doing just fine

give our kids a chance to develop... make a move at the deadline if needed...

in the meantime... give the kids the best chance to develop... we have the luxery of trying to put guys with better players to spread out some scoring.

last year we saw Heinen get nitro boosted with Bergeron/marchand. why not give him a confidence boost now too? try it... see if it will help... at the very worst we know Heinen doesnt hurt those guys.

I wouldnt want to slow pastrnak down... but he can stay on the PP with the big 2... in the meantime throw him together with debrusk. Debrusk is a major key to depth scoring. give him a chance to connect with the dynamic pastrnak... and throw out coyle with them they will need the defensive help

focus on getting Heinen and debrusk going... and its possible when krejci comes back we might be able to drop him to 3rd line where he would be a MEGASTAR... if krejci ends up giving us a huge advantage at 3rd line we can hope for more development out of kuhlman…

and as time passes… it will be time to bring Bjork up... if Heinen is hot we can move him down with krejci/kuhlman for one hell of a 3rd line and hope Bjork slides in with Bergeron/marchand

theres a chance for 3 lines that are defensively very solid... and all potentially top scoring units... and honestly people if it doesnt work and one of these guys didnt come through... there is the deadline. we will have cap room and assets. we found marcus Johansson last year cheap and there will be similar people we can go after this year too

 

[BradMarchandismydad]

Marchand - Bergeron - Pastrnak
Bjork - Krejci - Heinen
Debrusk - Coyle - Ritchie
Lindholm(?) - Kuraly - Wagner

I'd say we continue the Ritchie experiment and see if the grit can hold up.

I'd like to see Steen get some games up in Boston at some point but there are a number of guys in the A who can take that 3rd line wing (Seny, Lauko, Cehlarik) spot if Ritchie starts to get exposed (which I think might happen) Bjork can adjust sides/lines accordingly

 

[Alberta_OReilly_Fan]

another possible lineup id like to tryout...

marchand/Bergeron/pastranak {needs no explanation}
Nordstrom/kuraly/wagner {again needs no explanation}
and then...

debrusk/coyle/krejci {a lot of people would suggest coyle on the wing but krejci can play wing too}

use Heinen and Bjork or Ritchie as the start of the remaining line... and then id like to see a healthy kuhlman get a chance to center... give Lindholm some time here... if they cant get the job done id like to see Heinen get a chance to center... and then im also ready for a couple guys at providence to get tryouts.

with 3 super solid lines averaging between 15-20 mins a night we have room to experiement with the remaining guys to find some chemistry

our second line scoring has been weak enough... id like to see our three best possible guys put together for awhile

 

[BruinsFanSince94]

another possible lineup id like to tryout...

marchand/Bergeron/pastranak {needs no explanation}
Nordstrom/kuraly/wagner {again needs no explanation}
and then...

debrusk/coyle/krejci {a lot of people would suggest coyle on the wing but krejci can play wing too}

use Heinen and Bjork or Ritchie as the start of the remaining line... and then id like to see a healthy kuhlman get a chance to center... give Lindholm some time here... if they cant get the job done id like to see Heinen get a chance to center... and then im also ready for a couple guys at providence to get tryouts.

with 3 super solid lines averaging between 15-20 mins a night we have room to experiement with the remaining guys to find some chemistry

our second line scoring has been weak enough... id like to see our three best possible guys put together for awhile

You're trying to reinvent the wheel. Leave Krejci at center. Leave Coyle at center.

 

[Alberta_OReilly_Fan]

You're trying to reinvent the wheel. Leave Krejci at center. Leave Coyle at center.

if the wheel is flat... it might need some air pumped into it. I guess you would rather see us get some new tires on the wagon but until we manage that we might have to just rotate and fill with air.
theres been a long history of playing guys like sakic and Forsberg together... drasiatl and McDavid... Crosby and malkin…

coaches try it when they need to fix a scoring problem. then they usually spread the guys out once everyone heats up because depth is important

right now we got so many guys who are ice cold and I personally am not excited by the idea of moving pastrnak away from marchand. maybe we could try it later but not during this hot streak

we need to experiement with the guys below the first line

 

[BruinsFanSince94]

Delete.

 

[Blowfish]

Who can help?

What the heck will the bruins decide when Miller, Nords, Backes, and Moore are cleared to play?

There must be a trade brrewing?

Miller/Moore replace Clifton/Gryz? I like both pairings so I can live with either decision, however I need to see if either Miller/Moore injuries have impacted their play plus I love the speed/play making ability of Gryz and the physical play of Clifton.

Nords replaces Ritchie? This is obvious

Backes replaces Senny? This sucks

Then you have a Coolman lurking... Great potential and speed to burn.

Help?

 

[BruinsNetwork]

Who can help?

What the heck will the bruins decide when Miller, Nords, Backes, and Moore are cleared to play?

There must be a trade brrewing?

Miller/Moore replace Clifton/Gryz? I like both pairings so I can live with either decision, however I need to see if either Miller/Moore injuries have impacted their play plus I love the speed/play making ability of Gryz and the physical play of Clifton.

Nords replaces Ritchie? This is obvious

Backes replaces Senny? This sucks

Then you have a Coolman lurking... Great potential and speed to burn.

Help?

This fascinates me because Miller, Moore, Grzelcyk, Clifton and Kuhlman are all NHL players and none of them should be playing elsewhere. Yet here we are, with 2 of the 4 defenders riding the bench or being subject to waivers. I’d think that if all defenders are healthy at once, the Bruins will be trading one or two of them. Kevan Miller seems like a logical one to trade, especially with his contract running up and Clifton taking the steering wheel at 3RW.

Not sure what happens with Moore, but he’s good enough to play second-pairing on some teams, IMO, so he’s too good to sit. Second-pairing aside, he’s still a solid and fleet-footed defender for the third-pair.

Really unsure hows it’s all gonna shape up, to be honest. Especially factoring in Lindholm, Ritchie, Nordstrom, Backes and now Senyshyn. Sounds like some tough decisions will have to be made.

 

[Blowfish]

This fascinates me because Miller, Moore, Grzelcyk, Clifton and Kuhlman are all NHL players and none of them should be playing elsewhere. Yet here we are, with 2 of the 4 defenders riding the bench or being subject to waivers. I’d think that if all defenders are healthy at once, the Bruins will be trading one or two of them. Kevan Miller seems like a logical one to trade, especially with his contract running up and Clifton taking the steering wheel at 3RW.

Not sure what happens with Moore, but he’s good enough to play second-pairing on some teams, IMO, so he’s too good to sit. Second-pairing aside, he’s still a solid and fleet-footed defender for the third-pair.

Really unsure hows it’s all gonna shape up, to be honest. Especially factoring in Lindholm, Ritchie, Nordstrom, Backes and now Senyshyn. Sounds like some tough decisions will have to be made.

Agree with this.

Very surprising this isn't being discussed in the media.

Bruins have a goldmine. It's time to enhance the top lines.

 

[wintersej]

Agree with this.

Very surprising this isn't being discussed in the media.

Bruins have a goldmine. It's time to enhance the top lines.

I don’t know how a surplus of bottom of the roster players turns in to enhancing the top lines.

 

[Blowfish]

I don’t know how a surplus of bottom of the roster players turns in to enhancing the top lines.

The "D" surplus is how.

 

[remer]

Marchand - Bergeron - Pastrnak
Debrusk- Krejci - Heinen
Bjork - Coyle - Senyshen
Nordstrom - Kuraly - Wagner
Backes /Lindholm/ Ritchie/Kuhlman



* Some of the bottom six players need to be moved in a trade.

 

[wintersej]

The "D" surplus is how.

What is this team that is interesting in Moore or Miller for forward top line forwards?

What is this team that wants a UFA d-man in Krug who is the missing piece to a top notch power play... but in exchange for one of their top 6 forwards?

Give me an example of one team.

 

[UncleRico]

I’m not saying break up krug and Carlo just yet, but if we get another 10 or so games into the season and Kevan Miller is healthy, I would break up this pairing if it doesn’t improve.

 

[Blowfish]

What is this team that is interesting in Moore or Miller for forward top line forwards?

What is this team that wants a UFA d-man in Krug who is the missing piece to a top notch power play... but in exchange for one of their top 6 forwards?

Give me an example of one team.

Teams looking for young D prospects (NHL ready) like a Lauzon...

And that's pretty much any team.

 

[Trap Jesus]

Despite the good goals against numbers, I'd argue every single D-man on the team has underperformed this season, except for Krug's offense and Grz overall I think has looked fine (Pens game aside). Might help to mix things up.

 

[JCRO]

Missing JDB

 

[Mainehockey33]

Missing JDB

Interesting to see Mcavoy with Grzelcyk, I think that could be a good pairing moving forward.

 

[Blowfish]

Missing JDB

My spidey senses are kicking in...somethin UP!

Good to see Nords/Lind king around.

Hoping to see Cehlarik Krejci Heinen line. Played well together in the past.

 

[KlausJopling]

DeBrusk being out looks like it gave Ritchie another chance before being scratched.

 

[Absurdity]

DeBrusk being out looks like it gave Ritchie another chance before being scratched.

Also a chance to showcase Cehlarik and maybe bump up his trade value.

 

[mjhfb]

Interesting to see Mcavoy with Grzelcyk, I think that could be a good pairing moving forward.

Worked at BU.

 

[PlayMakers]

Worked at BU.

Worked really well last year too, when Chara was out for 20 games.

 

[BigBear83]

im really afraid of butch wearing down our top players.. double shifting pastrnak already! not playing the third line when they had been creating some decent scoring chances.. and even if they didnt score i dont know how many times they at least kept the puck in the offensive zone.. just seems like butch hits the panic button too early for some games . 7 minutes a game for some of these guys are going to make them any better