Per @AnsarKhanMLive
Lines:
Bertuzzi-Zetterberg-Abdelkader,
Tatar-Sheahan-Jurco,
Franzen-Helm-Nyquist,
Miller/Andersson-Glendening-Legwand.
Per @AnsarKhanMLive
Defense pairs:
Ouellet-Smith,
DeKeyser-Quincey,
Lashoff-Kindl.
That's worse case scenario with kronwall down. I sure hope he plays and Kindl is scratched.
Per @AnsarKhanMLive
Lines:
Bertuzzi-Zetterberg-Abdelkader,
Tatar-Sheahan-Jurco,
Franzen-Helm-Nyquist,
Miller/Andersson-Glendening-Legwand.
Per @AnsarKhanMLive
Defense pairs:
Ouellet-Smith,
DeKeyser-Quincey,
Lashoff-Kindl.
I've always been a big Franzen supporter, but I'm not a fan of him with Pav. People try the NHL 14 sniper + playmaker line combo, which simple doesn't work in real life. What Franzen lacks in speed/effort, Helm certainly provides. I also think Gus and Pav are very smart players and play well together. Abby crashes the net so Pav likes to have him on his line, which I don't mind. Alfie can play with anyone, although I think he's pretty seriously injured right now since he hasn't looked the same for over a month. I'd rather see something like this (which Babs switched to more or less at the end of the game last night):
Gus - Pav - Abby
Mule - Helm - Alfie
Kids
Miller - Glendening - Legwand
Obviously, Babcock does think it will work (or let's hope he did think so, since he changed his line combinations during the last game). The Red Wings need to score, what the former line combinations simply could not provide.The lines do matter. You can't just put players together and think they will work.
Franzen and Nyquist produced with Legwand. Helm played well with Miller and Glendening. Legwand has been terrible on that 4th line, whereas Helm has looked best in his brief periods with his ex-linemates. Yet they're switched.
Babcock's decision-making has departed from the merely stupid and moved into the outright delusional.
Bob Duff @asktheduffer 3m
[...] a big heavy body."
Helene St. James @HeleneStJames 1m
[...] speed ...]
Helene St. James @HeleneStJames 1m
[need of] veteran presence on kid line
But finally, late in Game 3, Babcock changed the lines again. And even by trying not to be too subjective, I could hardly overlook the energy flushing back into the lines.
And as fast as they came, they're gone again.
Yep. Bertuzzi's inclusion is ridiculous, and the 3rd and 4th lines continue to be absurd. Let's go over Babcock's thorough lack of logic here:
1) Legwand has played successfully alongside Helm and Nyquist;
2) Helm has played successfully alongside Miller and Glendening;
3) Legwand has played very poorly alongside Miller and Glendening since the lines were changed;
4) Helm has performed poorly with everyone since the lines were changed;
5) Neither Nyquist nor Franzen has any appreciable experience playing on a line with Helm;
6) Both Nyquist and Franzen have spent plenty of time playing on a line with Legwand;
7) The team is having trouble scoring, and Legwand is a proven producer whereas Helm is not.
All of this somehow sums in Babcock's head to decide him upon playing Helm with Nyquist and Franzen and Legwand with Miller and Glendening. It's these sorts of unfathomable stupidities from Babcock that make me want to put my fist through a window. What the **** is wrong with the guy? Can anyone explain this logic to me?
And there's more. Zetterberg hasn't played in two months, yet he's on the 1st line with Datsyuk, meaning that Babcock will either need to curtail the ice time of them both or mix up the lines again. Worse, he's there with Abdelkader too; those three have never played particularly well together. Furthermore, putting both Datsyuk and Zetterberg on the same line will make the Bruins' matchups exceedingly easy. Finally, Babcock ignores the trios of Nyquist/Zetterberg/Franzen and Nyquist/Zetterberg/Abdelkader, which were the team's most successful in the regular season. The third, incidentally, was Nyquist/Legwand/Franzen. Figures.
I don't get it. I really don't. Will somebody please give me an explanation?
Let's go over Babcock's thorough lack of logic here:
1) Legwand has played successfully alongside Helm and Nyquist;
2) Helm has played successfully alongside Miller and Glendening;
3) Legwand has played very poorly alongside Miller and Glendening since the lines were changed;
4) Helm has performed poorly with everyone since the lines were changed;
5) Neither Nyquist nor Franzen has any appreciable experience playing on a line with Helm;
6) Both Nyquist and Franzen have spent plenty of time playing on a line with Legwand;
7) The team is having trouble scoring, and Legwand is a proven producer whereas Helm is not.
All of this somehow sums in Babcock's head to decide him upon playing Helm with Nyquist and Franzen and Legwand with Miller and Glendening. [...]
Franzen - Datsyuk - Legwand
Nyquist - Zetterberg - Abdelkader
Tatar - Sheahan - Bertuzzi
Miller - Helm - Glendening
Or, if Babcock simply must have Zetterberg on the 1st line with Datsyuk and Abdelkader:
Zetterberg - Datsyuk - Abdelkader
Franzen - Legwand - Nyquist
Tatar - Sheahan - Bertuzzi
Miller - Helm - Glendening
Easy enough.
Why not Franzen with Nyquist and Zetterberg? I seem to recall that working before to some success...