Line Combos: 63-37-?

[Bmessy]

This nonsense of weakening their top line in a feeble attempt to get David Krejci going needs to stop. Pasta does not need to get DK going. DK needs to get himself going with whomever they partner him up with. The constant cycling through wingers in a misguided attempt to balance out their scoring needs to be over. DK needs to decide he wants to play hard and contribute a solid effort every night.

What have Krejci's wingers been the last 2 years? Spooner/Backes/DeBrusk/Stafford/Vatrano. Looks like either rookies or 3rd liners, and he still put up .67 ppg. Funny how in 2015-16 when Krejci played with Eriksson and Pastrnak that he was back to his old production of .87 ppg. Feeble attempt? Looks like just a fact.

Another fact is that our 2nd line isn't that good and Krejci isn't good enough to carry an entire line. There's not alot of 2nd line centers that can. Even more rare for a guy on the wrong side of 30. Good teams have depth. See: every good team in the conference finals the last decade. Living and dying by one line won't get us further than last year.

 

[Glove Malfunction]

Yeah, just imagine how well Bergeron and Marchand could do together, if only Marchand could speak French fluently.

I'm sure he knows all the important words.

 

[Glove Malfunction]

Pasta for sure.
It's the best line in hockey why mess with that? If they were that concerned with spreading out the offence, they should have got a top 6 RW in the offseason

I believe they have a top 6 RW coming, just as soon as Bjork is completely done with his rehab.

 

[TwineTickler]

They are simply the best line in hockey. You can't break it up. Krejci needs to figure it out with Debrusk and Bjork/Donato/Heinen etc. Spread out the scoring by having a 2nd line that can contribute, but do it without breaking up that top line. That should be the goal. I have a feeling they will break them up but I just don't get it. First line isn't broke so you don't fix it.

 

[TCB]

I voted other. Holding out for mark Stone. It might not be until the 2019 trade-deadline but he's the guy.....Bjork/Donato will keep it warm till then or Sweeney goes out an acquires Christian Fischer.

Seriously Though. Its Pasta.

 

[easton117]

This nonsense of weakening their top line in a feeble attempt to get David Krejci going needs to stop. Pasta does not need to get DK going. DK needs to get himself going with whomever they partner him up with. The constant cycling through wingers in a misguided attempt to balance out their scoring needs to be over. DK needs to decide he wants to play hard and contribute a solid effort every night.

I’ve heard a story before about Brett Hull. Apparently he used to yell things like ‘guess we’re not trying to win tonight’ at Ken Hitchcock when he saw his less than skilled line mates that evening.

Not saying Krejci would do that. That’s actually kind of mean lol. But, it has to drain the legs a little bit knowing the guys you are playing with are either raw or in over their heads.

Having a bonifide partner consistently would hopefully keep him engaged nightly if nothing else.

 

[Emerz]

With a first line that good, you don't even need the 2nd line to be great, you just need it to be okay and provide some scoring. Which lines 2-4 did not do against Tampa Bay at all, not often 3 lines go cold at the same time but it happened unfortunately.

I'd keep it together.

 

[Mr. Make-Believe]

I’ve heard a story before about Brett Hull. Apparently he used to yell things like ‘guess we’re not trying to win tonight’ at Ken Hitchcock when he saw his less than skilled line mates that evening.

Not saying Krejci would do that. That’s actually kind of mean lol. But, it has to drain the legs a little bit knowing the guys you are playing with are either raw or in over their heads.

Having a bonifide partner consistently would hopefully keep him engaged nightly if nothing else.

So who are you suggesting? By the sounds of it, some folks are implying the only candidate on the team is Pastrnak.

 

[PlayMakers]

82 games plus pre-season plus playoffs... I would definitely tinker with that line. You know you can always go back to it. But imagine if 63-37 could be just as effective with another winger.

Personally, I think Donato is going to get first dibs. I think he'll be this year's favored son.

Honestly, the bigger concern for me (with regard to taking Pasta off the Bergeron line) is that I haven't liked DeBrusk-Krejci-Pasta together, and last year they seemed committed to DeBrusk as the 2LW (to the point where they didn't even want to see what other players might look like in that spot).

A new year sometimes brings change. We've seen lines with great chemistry one year (Sturgeroyes) completely lose it, and we've seen players who looked awful together one year (Krejci-Eriksson) look good together a year later. At any rate, I think it's all worth a look. Start with DeBrusk, but don't be afraid to try Heinen, Bjork or even Cehlarik. Sometimes the combos that have chemistry are unexpected and I've always been a big believer that good chemistry can make a line better than the sum of it's parts.

Also, fwiw, I think we're kidding ourselves if we think we don't need another dominant line. Crosby & Malkin. Matthews & Tavares. Kuznetsov & Backstrom... We need another really powerful line to match up with these guys in the playoffs.

 

[wintersej]

82 games plus pre-season plus playoffs... I would definitely tinker with that line. You know you can always go back to it. But imagine if 63-37 could be just as effective with another winger.

Personally, I think Donato is going to get first dibs. I think he'll be this year's favored son.

Honestly, the bigger concern for me (with regard to taking Pasta off the Bergeron line) is that I haven't liked DeBrusk-Krejci-Pasta together, and last year they seemed committed to DeBrusk as the 2LW (to the point where they didn't even want to see what other players might look like in that spot).

A new year sometimes brings change. We've seen lines with great chemistry one year (Sturgeroyes) completely lose it, and we've seen players who looked awful together one year (Krejci-Eriksson) look good together a year later. At any rate, I think it's all worth a look. Start with DeBrusk, but don't be afraid to try Heinen, Bjork or even Cehlarik. Sometimes the combos that have chemistry are unexpected and I've always been a big believer that good chemistry can make a line better than the sum of it's parts.

Also, fwiw, I think we're kidding ourselves if we think we don't need another dominant line. Crosby & Malkin. Matthews & Tavares. Kuznetsov & Backstrom... We need another really powerful line to match up with these guys in the playoffs.

I actually was going to throw up a poll about that, too. Are we sure DeBrusk and Krejci are tied at the hip?

Donato Krejci Bjork could be a fun combo.

 

[easton117]

So who are you suggesting? By the sounds of it, some folks are implying the only candidate on the team is Pastrnak.

Ya I’d say Pastrnak with Krejci and Debrusk.
Donato with Bergeron and Marchand

Being honest here. Boston has two wingers you can rely on nightly to score right now.
That’s not the fault of Debrusk, Donato, Heinen, Bjork etc. But it is what it is. They are inexperienced still.

Having Marchand and Pastrnak on separate lines at least makes opposing teams think twice about loading up against one line. You can always stack a line when down a goal or when guys can’t get going that night.

 

[pkunit]

Crosby is the only player that might make that line better.

 

[LSCII]

I’ve heard a story before about Brett Hull. Apparently he used to yell things like ‘guess we’re not trying to win tonight’ at Ken Hitchcock when he saw his less than skilled line mates that evening.

Not saying Krejci would do that. That’s actually kind of mean lol. But, it has to drain the legs a little bit knowing the guys you are playing with are either raw or in over their heads.

Having a bonifide partner consistently would hopefully keep him engaged nightly if nothing else.

Yet his history has shown otherwise. Even when he had top tier scoring wingers. This is why the guy is frustrating because we all know he has the talent to be far more dominant than he is. He simply lacks the drive. And moving Pasta down won't fix that.

 

[LSCII]

What have Krejci's wingers been the last 2 years? Spooner/Backes/DeBrusk/Stafford/Vatrano. Looks like either rookies or 3rd liners, and he still put up .67 ppg. Funny how in 2015-16 when Krejci played with Eriksson and Pastrnak that he was back to his old production of .87 ppg. Feeble attempt? Looks like just a fact.

Another fact is that our 2nd line isn't that good and Krejci isn't good enough to carry an entire line. There's not alot of 2nd line centers that can. Even more rare for a guy on the wrong side of 30. Good teams have depth. See: every good team in the conference finals the last decade. Living and dying by one line won't get us further than last year.

Yet he's not being paid as a second line center, now is he? Guy makes more than anyone else on the team. You want to pretend he's supposed to be a second line center, feel free, but we both know you're only lying to yourself...

 

[Smitty93]

Looks like I'm in the minority, but I'd like to try someone other than Pastrnak. We know 63-37-88 works, but I think this team has a higher ceiling if you can spread out the talent. One line teams rarely succeed in the playoffs, and that's exactly what the Bruins were last year and we all saw what happened.

At the beginning of the year, I thought that Marchand-Bergeron-Bjork played really well together, so I'd like to try that again. Donato would be my second choice. I like Heinen, but I want him anchoring the 3rd line.

I get the frustration with Krejci. I'll be the first to complain about his lackluster play, but I don't think there's any question that this team is much better if he/his line are playing well. If it takes putting Pastrnak there to make that happen, I'm all for it.

 

[Pia8988]

I may see moving Pastrnak off the line, but it isn't to play with Krejci.

Marchand-Bergeron-Bjork
DeBrusk-Krejci-Donato
Heinen-Backes-Pastrnak.

 

[Glove Malfunction]

I may see moving Pastrnak off the line, but it isn't to play with Krejci.

Marchand-Bergeron-Bjork
DeBrusk-Krejci-Donato
Heinen-Backes-Pastrnak.

I think I understand what you're trying to do, but that seems like a gross waste of Pastrnak.

 

[Pia8988]

I think I understand what you're trying to do, but that seems like a gross waste of Pastrnak.

Possibly. Less of a waste than forcing him next to Krejci. Let the Krejci and Backes line fight for 5 on 5 ice time. Pasta gets top PP time, move up if down a goal or 2 with 10 minutes left.

 

[Mr. Make-Believe]

I may see moving Pastrnak off the line, but it isn't to play with Krejci.

Marchand-Bergeron-Bjork
DeBrusk-Krejci-Donato
Heinen-Backes-Pastrnak.

I have a better idea:

Heinen - Bergeron - Bjork
Cehlarik - Krejci - Donato
Marchand - Backes - Acciari
DeBrusk - Kuraly - Pastrnak

 

[Pia8988]

I have a better idea:

Heinen - Bergeron - Bjork
Cehlarik - Krejci - Donato
Marchand - Backes - Acciari
DeBrusk - Kuraly - Pastrnak

Very much the same and not asinine at all. You can run 3 scoring lines and split up time. Pastrnak would still play over 3 minutes of PP a game. But yeah. You listing them both with Kuraly is exactly the same.

 

[CaperJay]

I may see moving Pastrnak off the line, but it isn't to play with Krejci.

Marchand-Bergeron-Bjork
DeBrusk-Krejci-Donato
Heinen-Backes-Pastrnak.

That third line was was the best line in pre season a few years ago and they never put it back together it would really interesting to try it again

 

[Midship]

Ad me to the 63-37-88 crew. Feels like a no brainer - actually just had a weird grin thinking about how good that line is

 

[Mr. Make-Believe]

Very much the same and not asinine at all. You can run 3 scoring lines and split up time. Pastrnak would still play over 3 minutes of PP a game. But yeah. You listing them both with Kuraly is exactly the same.

I never said it was the same. I said it was better.

 

[Pia8988]

I never said it was the same. I said it was better.

Now you're just being disingenuous

 

[SoldiersOfFilth]

1st round against Toronto should tell you all you need to know. Pastrnak alone had what, 20 points in 7 games? Like 40 between the 3 of them. It was absolutely mindblowing.