Armchair GM Playoffs- Rd 2- Skating Jabronis (3) vs Doblett of Fire (6)

Winger for Hire

Praise Beebo
Dec 9, 2013
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Quarantine Zone 5
Skating Jabronis

Forwards
Ovechkin - Malkin - Tarasenko
Krutov - Larianov - Makarov (The KLM Line)
Giroux- LaFontaine - Recchi
Drury - Getzlaf - Perry

Defense
Lidstrom - Keith
Fetisov - Kasatonov
Ozolinsh - Boyle

Goalies
Quick
Vernon

Press Box
Backstrom - Loob - Reinhart - Miller


vs

Doblett of Fire

Forwards
Kariya - Sakic - Hossa
Marleau - Datsyuk - Gartner
Stevens - Kopitar - Fleury
Duchene - Matthews - Kucherov

Defense
Coffey - Pietrangelo
Howe - Desjardins
Hedman - Kubina

Goalies
Braden Holtby
Jean Sebastian-Giguere

Press Box
Trevor Linden - Eric Staal - Ed Jovanovski - Alexei Zhitnik
 

KIRK

Registered User
Aug 2, 2005
109,700
51,216
REPOSTING FROM THE ARMCHAIR GM GENERAL DISCUSSION THREAD:

Forget Penguins-Capitals.

You want something REALLY personal?

Try Skating Jabronis-Doblett of Fire.

That one's been PERSONAL from the day Jabroni's GM Kirk slashed the tires of the prized all terrain vehicle owned by Doblett of Fire GM @Shady Machine

f282dcd6-9b5c-4386-a707-2be626902b72_1.f2e8bb5f0d883233237e511d06a9b379.jpeg


Since then, there have been more similar acts committed by both GM's, most notoriously when @Shady Machine sabotaged Kirk's Red Rider BB Gun, thus causing Kirk to almost shoot his eye out.

And now, after all the wars on and off the ice, the feud comes to an end in a monumental best of 7 Armchair GM series between the Skating Jabronis and Doblett of Fire.

Oh, it's on . . . this **** is on . . .

tenor.gif
 
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KIRK

Registered User
Aug 2, 2005
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All jokes aside, what an incredible matchup. First glance, here's the four things I'm looking at from a matchup perspective . . .

1. The Skating Jabroni's coaching staff will have to make sure the ice time of the Ozolinsh-Boyle pairing is limited (and to more protected matchups). As noted on the roster page, the coaching staff plans to ride the top 2 pairings and Lidstrom, Keith, and Fetisov especially. So, Ozolinsh and Boyle more often will play individually with one of the big three than as a pair (kind of the approach Chicago took with it's bottom pairing defensemen in its recent cup years). Still, the #5 and #6 defensemen are a concern.

2. While the Doblett of Fire lines aren't designed to really 'work you' deep in the offensive zone in general, that Stevens-Kopitar-Fluery pairing definitely plays a heavy game. This is a big wild card for me. Should the Skating Jabronis look to get L1 or L4 out against that line more regularly, as we don't have a pairing that plays a heavier, more physical game like the Doblett of Fire third pairing of Hedman-Kubina? OR, do we risk sending out the Russian 5 (a risk/reward of the reward of having a 5 man unit that will force Stevens and Fleury to play defense versus the added risk of getting worked deep in the defensive zone IF the Doblett L3 sustains some possession)?

3. I think up front the Skating Jabronis have a lot more top 9 firepower and the Doblett of Fire will try to counter with an elite 200 foot player on each of the top 3 lines. Perhaps the Skating Jabronis possession game and firepower up front will prove too much to handle over a best of 7 series?

4. Quick versus Holtby is a matchup that I think favors the Skating Jabronis. I think the defensive personnel is comparable, but perhaps the Doblett of Fire neutralize some or all of the advantage with what guys like Datsyuk, Kopitar, and Hossa add to team defensive play. Definitely a key to the series.

@Shady Machine . . . all jokes aside, best of luck, my friend. Well, ALMOST best of luck . . . :D
 
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KIRK

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For voters interested in the Skating Jabronis special teams (for better or worse) . . .

Special Teams: The Skating Jabronis PP units consist (a) of their 1st line and Ozolinsh-Boyle (Ovechkin left circle, Malkin right circle, Ozolinsh and Boyle up top, Tarasenko down low) and (b) of the KLM line with Lidstrom and Fetisov (a more roving, less stationary PP with a lot of player interchanging). On the PK, lead units include Giroux-Drury and Getzlaf-Perry and Larianov-Krutov up front and Lidstrom-Keith and Fetisov-Kasatonov on the blue line.
 

Shady Machine

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Aug 6, 2010
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The match-up I've been waiting my entire HFBoards life for. The showdown with @KIRK

I will get to a more detailed analysis later, but an important question I would pose for others to consider is how best to account for the Russian players that the Skating Jabronis will rely heavily on. There is no doubt the Russian 5 and KLM unit dominated international tournaments, but their NHL records vary and this is primarily an NHL performance based league. It is up to each voter to judge which versions of these players will be represented, but I believe that could impact the outcome of this series.

Similarly, Doblett of Fire relies on a dynamic 4th line which consists of young stars of today, but are still early in their careers. This may not be the defining choice of this series, but it is an important consideration.
 

KIRK

Registered User
Aug 2, 2005
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It's a fair question from @Shady Machine about the Russian 5 and I'll answer it this way:

1. We pretty clearly are basing how we evaluate players on their peaks and how that translates to an abstract league. How do we evaluate players who didn't play in the NHL at their peaks? How do we compare NHL players from the dead puck era to players from the wide open 80's to players who have only started their careers? Definitely an element of imagination involved with questions like these.

2. With respect to the first question, everyone knows the peak of the Russian 5 came in the 80's. None of them came over to the NHL until their 30's. So, what we really have is a 100% subjective question: How would the 80's Russian 5 look against the NHL all time greats? It's no different than asking how all time great Negro League baseball players AT THEIR PEAKS would've looked against all time MLB greats.

3. Again, part of answering this question is left to the imagination, but it's no different in that way than asking how Crosby and McDavid would stack up against peak Lemieux and Gretzky.

4. But, unlike asking how Crosby and McDavid would stack up against peak Lemieux and Gretzky, we actually have empirical evidence of how the KLM line and the Russian 5 stacked up against all time NHL greats. We saw it at the Canada Cup in 1987 when the KLM line skated circles around and lit up the scoreboard against a 'checking unit' including Mark Messier and Mike Gartner. And, we saw it when the KLM line, at their PEAK, opened a game against a Gretzky-Messier-Lemieux line . . .

 
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td_ice

Peter shows the way
Aug 13, 2005
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USA
Another great matchup. Two great teams here as well.

The Jabroni's with their Russian Power. What a great first line. Legendary 2nd line. Great skill and grit on the 3rd line, and a superb 4th line, with real life chemistry. Their 1st pairing on D, probably my favorite D pairing of the league. Lidstrom and Keith?? Damn. A proven winner in net, capable on going on a insane run of games, in Quick.

Doblet of Fire, also with crazy depth down the middle. First two lines, TREMENDOUS speed and skill, and defensive acumen in Hossa and Datsyuk. Love those 2 lines. You got the dynamic Paul Coffey on the 1st pairing, and Petro to stabilize on him on the other side. And you know you have a great 2nd pairing, when you Mark Howe is on it. Also a Proven winner in net.

Another great matchup.
 
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Shady Machine

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Forwards: Skating Jabronis gets the nod for real life chemistry. The KLM line and Getzalf-Perry are proven commodities together although as mentioned before, KLM was outside of NHL play. As KIRK pointed out, they did prove it on the international stage against NHL talent, so there is evidence it will be successful. IF the Ovy-Malkin-Tarasenko line can click without giving up too many odd man rushes against, then I give Skating Jabronis the edge up front.

Team Doblett of Fire will push for the following match-ups:
Stevens-Kopitar-Fleury vs Ovechkin-Malkin-Tarasenko
-I am going to alternate between head 2 head Kariya-Sakic-Hossa and the Kopitar line and see which line presents the best fit. I like the idea of the size of Stevens-Kopitar along with Fleury's speed and tenacity against this line. I could see them driving the Malkin line nuts if they can gel and grind in the ozone.

Marleau-Datsyuk-Gartner vs KLM
-I love the idea of Datsyuk against this line. It's going to be a significant challenge no doubt and the goal of this line should be to neutralize KLM, break up their possession, cause turnovers and counter attack with speed. If Datsyuk can get this line near a draw, I feel good about things.

Kariya-Sakic-Hossa vs Giroux-LaFontaine-Recchi
-This will be primary matchup for for Sakic line. This is a damn good 3rd line for Skating Jabronis, but I'll take the matchup and think we win head 2 head.

Duchene-Matthews-Kucherov vs Drury-Getzlaf-Perry
-Potential series x factor although probably give the edge to Getzlaf line due to chemistry and Cup experience.


Defense: I'm biased of course, but I think Doblett of Fire has the better 6 man unit, although Skating Jabronis has the best pairing in the league. One of the keys to this series for Skating Jabronis is to pick their poison in terms of match-ups and how best to utilize that 3rd pairing. Of course, when you can play Lidstrom-Keith 25-30 minutes a night, that problem can by mitigated.

Doblett of Fire feels comfortable throwing any of his 3 pairings out at 20+ minutes a night against any line which allows me to focus more on the center matchups.

Goalies: This is a close matchup and Quick had one dominant Cup run, on a tight defensive unit, but I give Doblett of Fire a slight edge. Holtby has better career playoff stats (GAA and SV%) and proved last year that he can get it done when it counts as Quick has historically proven. Giggy can come in and shut it down if the series dictates it early. Holtby is my starter, but will have a relatively short leash if he's pulled in Giggy take the reigns.

X Factor: Special teams. Both teams PP's will be very dangerous, but Doblett of Fire's PK units are dangerous with some of the best PK goal scorers in NHL history. If Doblett of Fire can put Jabronis PP on their heels with their speed, that could help swing the series.

My personal opinion, biased as it might be, is that this will be a long series.
 
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KIRK

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I do understand why @Shady Machine would seek those matchups, although I'm not sure if, in his shoes, I wouldn't switch the top 2 matchups. Conversely, in terms of matchups, here's what the Skating Jabronis are looking for:

1. A dosage of Drury-Getzlaf-Perry against the Kariya-Sakic-Hossa line. We also are going to use Lidstrom-Keith heavily against that line, as the Skating Jabronis coaching staff sees it as the Doblett of Fire's only higher powered scoring lines (that's no offense, by the way, to the Doblett of Fire's excellent lines 2 and 3).

2. While the Doblett of Fire's line 4 is comprised of some very exciting players in today's NHL, the Skating Jabronis see an overwhelming advantage in looking to get out one of the top two lines every chance possible against those kids. It's one thing for them to shine in today's NHL. It's quite another to ask them to go against all time greats at their PEAKS.

3. The Skating Jabronis also will look to attack the Doblett of Fire's Hedman-Kubina pairing with the career peak speed you'd see from the KLM and Giroux-LaFontaine-Recchi lines.

4. The Skating Jabronis certainly will look to avoid playing Ozolinsh-Boyle much, as noted. BUT, when you have 3 defensemen all capable at their PEAKS of playing 30+ minutes a night, the Skating Jasbronis can limit the ES minutes of Ozolinsh and Boyle and almost completely limit minutes to playing only 1 at a time with Lidstrom, Keith, or Fetisov.
 

KIRK

Registered User
Aug 2, 2005
109,700
51,216
There is one other move that I'd expect to see from the Skating Jabroni's coaching staff:

Late in periods, after icings, or as matchups otherwise permit/dictate, I fully expect to see the coaches sprinkle in a Ovechkin-Malkin-Makarov line.
 

Winger for Hire

Praise Beebo
Dec 9, 2013
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Quarantine Zone 5
The match-up of the century starts off with some Russian Fireworks. The KLM asserted their dominance in game one, accounting for 4 goals and massive amounts of zone time the entire game. Gartner is able to pull one back for Doblett, but can't help over come the KLM line.

Game Two shows the contemporary Russian skill with Malkin potting a goal and Ovie posting one on the powerplay. Doblett are finally able to shake Paul Coffey loose as he nets a pair to bring the game even. The game tightens up after this with both defenses making their bluelines near impenetrable. Clean entries become few and very far between. Dump and chase becomes the prescription on both sides, but each blueline is well equipped to retrieve and clear. Finally the mass of bodies in the neutral zone result in a Kevin Stevens holding penalty. The hero of the game ends up being not Russian, but Canadian. Mark Recchi scores one of his patented garbage goals to seal game two.

Game Three becomes a continuation of Game Two with the neutral zone being a battle ground and any zone time ends up fruitless with both Holtby and Quick having their big boy pants on and turning away everything. The game goes scoreless into OT... and the 2nd OT... and the 3rd OT... finally in the 4th OT the breakthrough happens. With bodies dragging, line changes getting sloppy, and schemes breaking down, the Getzlaf line is able to hold the offensive zone for a full minute. At the end of that minute and body strewn along the ice with sticks and limbs thrown everywhere in desperation, Perry is able to finish it off with a backhanded roof job.

Game Four shows the effects of a 4OT game. The defensive war that marked the previous two games is gone. Tarasenko and Marakov are able to stake the Jabronis to an early two goal lead before most fans have found their seats. Karyia comes back and shoulders the load two tie the game with a pair of his own. The second period, the damn breaks. Each team buries 4 goals each. The Jabronis get theirs from Malkin, Fetisov, Larianov , and Recchi. Doblett's scorers are Kubina, Marleau (2), and Sakic. The third period sees both back-up goalies coming to relieve their gassed starters. Both Vernon and Giggy look solid, but each let up one goal early- Karyia completes his hat trick and Lidstrom reminds everyone he's an offense force. Doblett survive a 5-on-3 kill at the 8 minute mark and even have Kopitar getting a chance for a shorty, but firing high and wide. We got to more bonus hockey. Thankfully, we don't get 4OTs this time. In the first OT Ovie puts on a tour de force and causes a turnover with a big hit and finishes the sequence with a one timer from the circle.

Skating Jabronis advance 4-0
 

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