ATD #9 Bob Cole Semifinal: #2 Glace Bay Miners vs. #3 Kingston RMC Paladins

[FissionFire]

The Glace Bay Miners
Coach: Ken Hitchcock
Assistant Coach: Al MacNeil
Captain: Bob Gainey
Alternates: Phil Esposito, Chris Chelios

Wayne Cashman - Phil Esposito - Anders Hedberg
Marty Pavelich - Billy Burch - Ron Ellis
Bob Gainey - Doug Riseborough - Mario Tremblay
Fred Stanfield - Art Chapman - Eddie Oatman
Bronco Horvath

Chris Chelios - Guy Lapointe
Allan Stanley - Reed Larson
Jerry Korab - Harvey Pulford
Pekka Rautakallio

Gump Worsley
Paddy Moran

PP#1
Wayne Cashman - Phil Esposito - Anders Hedberg
Chris Chelios - Reed Larson

PP#2
Fred Stanfield - Billy Burch - Ron Ellis
Jerry Korab - Harvey Pulford

PK#1
Bob Gainey - Doug Riseborough
Allan Stanley - Guy Lapointe

PK#2
Marty Pavelich - Mario Tremblay
Chris Chelios - Jerry Korab



Kingston RMC Paladins
Coaches: Viktor Tikhonov, Arkady Chernyshev
Captain: Mario Lemieux
Alternates: Steve Yzerman, Dick Irvin, Sr.

Sid Smith - Mario Lemieux (C) - Bobby Bauer
John Leclair - Steve Yzerman (A) - Ace Bailey
George Hay - Dick Irvin, Sr. (A) - Tony Leswick
Ven Alexandrov - Alex Almetov - Konstantin Loktev
Jozef Golonka

Ken Reardon - Doug Wilson
Larry Murphy - Jim Neilson
Vas Pervukhin - Zin Bilyaletdinov
Harry Westwick

Grant Fuhr
Mike Vernon

PP#1
John Leclair - Mario Lemieux - Bobby Bauer
Larry Murphy - Doug Wilson

PP#2
Ven Alexandrov - Alex Almetov - Konstantin Loktev
Vas Pervukhin - Zin Bilyaletdinov

PK#1
Steve Yzerman - Tony Leswick
Ken Reardon - Jim Neilson

PK#2
Dick Irvin Sr. - A.C. Bailey
Doug Wilson - Larry Murphy​

Click to read more...

 

[VanIslander]

Last round LL tried to label Kingston as a two-man team, which is disingenuous in the extreme, though understandable given the superstars at centre. The top-4 wingers on the Paladins are bona fide accomplished playoff heroes and talents to make things happen in their own right, albeit with more space and opportunities than even they would be used to, thanks to their pivots.

Mario Lemieux's wingers are first class

As HO mentioned in the last round, Sid "Muff" Smith was an NHL top-ten goal-scorer five years in a row, eight times leading his Leafs in scoring categories, and more importantly here was a strong playoff performer: Toronto's top playoff goal scorer in two of his four cups and netting big goals: in 1949 the left winger scored two goals and assisted on another in the first game of the semifinal series against the Bruins and went on to score a hat trick against Detroit in the stanley cup finals; he also got an overtime goal in the 1951 Stanley Cup finals against Montreal, one of 7 he got in 11 games that postseason, remarkable for the era. The three-time all-star, two-time Lady Byng HHOFer was the team's big gun on left wing and the ex-Leafs captain should play even better with Mario Lemieux rather than Teeder Kennedy as his pivot. An all-time great.

Bobby Bauer, the 4-time second team all-star right wing won two cups as the brains of one of the great lines in the history of hockey, the Kraut line. His linemates characterize him as the thinking playmaker of the trio, spotting the openings, making the key passes and breakouts, knowing always where to be. Milt Schmidt called him his right arm, and the HHOFer would be likewise for a creative Mario on the Paladins.

Steve Yzerman's wingers are clutch, two way

Ace Bailey led the NHL in goals and points in 1929, the following year scoring his personal best and leading the Leafs for a third season, then when the Kid Line became the Leafs top line, the HHOFer slipped seemlessly into a more defensively responsible role

..one of the game's fiercest defensive players. He was a penalty-killer extraordinaire and a great shadow. Though his scoring totals were down, in no way was Bailey any less an important member of the Leafs than when he was their scoring hero. In fact his selfless defensive sacrifice and gritty play and leadership made him more valuable than ever, and it showed in the team's success. In 1932 he spirited a great playoff run which was capped off with the Stanley Cup championship

http://mapleleafslegends.blogspot.com/2006/07/ace-bailey.html

Most of you should know John Leclair was the all-tourney star left winger after finishing second in points and leading the U.S. team to the 1996 World Cup championship. And he is the only NHLer to ever score playoff overtime winners in back to back games when his Habs won the stanley cup in 1993. He's a two-way force along the boards, in the corners and by the net, and he'll backcheck as tenaciously as Stevie Y will.

 

[VanIslander]

Kuddos to the Miners top defensive pairing but they won't be on the ice for even half the game, unless they are broken up and put on different pairings (an idea). As it stands, Glace Bay's "Snowshoes" Stanley and "King Kong" Korab will have to stay at home against a speedy Paladins team sure to burn either of them on the rush or pass. That could result in a lot more odd-man rushes, screened shots and room at the perimeter for Kingston to play its puck control game.

(btw, how could Guy Lapointe not be on a Miners powerplay unit? I know Larson has a helluva shot but Lapointe at the point is a must. Maybe move King Kong off of it.)

The Paladins will be vulnerable to set plays by the Miners from the point, though outside of the pp units and the top d pairing it's hard to see Glace Bay setting up many shots from the point without risking getting burned by the Paladins transition game when puck possession shifts on turnovers, saves, deflections, etc.

Glace Bay seems to be built to better handle teams that crash the net, Shero style, and indeed Leclair and Mario will be well matched in close, requiring more cycle, slot and set plays from the point, as well as odd man rushes as a Miners blueliner on each of their second and third pairing conservatively stays back toward the net.

It's surprising to see speedy Pavelich on Lady Byng Burch's scoring line as Pavelich made a career of it on a checking line with the Paladins' own third liner Leswick ("Hi ol' buddy"). Sacrificing second line scoring prowess might be in coach Hitch's game plan against some opponents, but how wise is it against offensive-deep Kingston? This Burch line seems even less offensively threatening when you consider the other winger was also a defensive-first sort of winger, though at least HE played most of his career on a scoring line:

Ellis's role was crucial since he usually stayed back to guard against the counter attack while his linemates pushed forward

http://www.legendsofhockey.net:8080/LegendsOfHockey/jsp/SearchPlayer.jsp?player=12544

Ellis and Pavelich as Burch's wingers seems like a recipe for offensive mediocrity albeit checking mastery, in an all-time context.

The Miners' second line seems very much like the Paladins' third line.

 

[VanIslander]

The Miners fourth line isn't gonna get much offense from "Steady Freddie" Stanfield, who brings hard work, Chapman who plays defense first to a fault (often "chided" for focusing so much on that aspect, to the detriment of scoring chances), leaving Eddie Oatman to think offense. It sure seems like Burch could use Oatman on the second scoring line, and Ellis could complete a shutdown fourth line (a suggestion). As things stand now, the only scoring the fourth line can expect is from Oatman with double shifting of the Miners top blueline pairing.

 

[VanIslander]

Let me take a moment to applaud the Miners top 5 of Cashman-Esposito-Hedberg-Chelios-Lapointe and third line trio of Habs Gainey-Riseborough-Tremblay.

Gawd I love that!

Looking forward to a great series.

 

[Hockey Outsider]

(btw, how could Guy Lapointe not be on a Miners powerplay unit? I know Larson has a helluva shot but Lapointe at the point is a must. Maybe move King Kong off of it.)

Agreed - Lapointe is one of the best powerplay defensemen ever. He had a hard, accurate slapshot and was also able to find an open man near the net. (The only defensemen with more PP goals during Lapointe's career were Potvin and Park).

If forced to choose I'd probably play Lapointe on the PP before the PK, but he's so durable he can probably handle ice time in both situations.

 

[Frightened Inmate #2]

Well at least this is another team that Kingston will be able to dominate offensively, possibly even moreso now that they are facing a goaltender who isn't of Brodeur's caliber. I look up and down the forward lines of the Miners and I am in general unimpressed... they have Esposito who was for all of his strong points a complimentry player and while the Miners have a great top pairing, they don't have a defenseman who can dominate the game as Orr could in terms of rushing the puck up the ice and feeding it into the slot. The wingers remind me a great deal of the Leafs, solid two way players, but no one that really stands out as any sort of offensive threat... and the second line might be one of the worst in the draft, with Billy Burch centering two players who should realistically be on the third line and this will be exposed a great deal in an all time setting (Ellis and Pavelich).

This team reminds me a lot of the modern day Wild, good enough to win a round on defense alone but really without the offensive punch the defense starts to break down and eventually the team is left with no one to rely on other than one player.

 

[Pwnasaurus]

Orr?

 

[Rick Middleton]

Orr?

FF is smoking crack again

 

[FissionFire]

Between this Top 100 List and the ATD I've got so many names bouncing around in my head I think I'm losing it. Just ignore my lunatic ravings.

 

[VanIslander]

So is Glace Bay going to keep a career defensive 3rd liner (Pavelich) on the 2nd line as well as drop-back defensive Ellis? Poor Burch!

The following changes to the lines would at least give the Miners more than one offensive line:

Bob Gainey - Billy Burch - Eddie Oatman
Marty Pavelich - Doug Riseborough - Mario Tremblay
Fred Stanfield - Art Chapman - Ron Ellis​

That way Burch actually has an offensive winger (Oatman) and an all-around performer who deserves more minutes (Gainey). It would put a career third liner where he belongs (Pavelich) and move a defensive-obsessed Ellis to what would become a pretty solid shutdown fourth line.

Otherwise, the Miners have to count on the top line offensively and hope for 2-1 and 1-0 hockey games against a Kingston team built to score 3-4 goals a game and disciplined to take few penalties.

Glace Bay needs to seriously consider putting one of its two star d-men on the second pairing. Their blueliners Snowshoes and King Kong remind me of when their coach Hitchcock had Derian Hatcher and Richard Matvichuk play like pilons and only one offensive line of merit. Hitch won the cup with a Modano line and a Nieuwendyk line, not with an Esposito line and a bunch of defensive wingers; when Joe was out, and for years since, Dallas has struggled as a one-line offensive team (until this season's big trade).

In the end, the eggs in one basket approach of having a great offensive first line with first defensive pairing is easier to coach against, and the Paladins will gladly ice Mario's line against Esposito's when Stevie Y's or the third line are on the bench. While Glace Bay technically could end up with one more home ice game if it goes seven, Kingston has real last shift change advantage when playing at home by being able to key its best blueliners on just ONE Miners line. Contain that line to some degree, draw more penalties than commit, execute the Paladins game plan, and that's the series.

 

[God Bless Canada]

Glace Bay's team defence is outstanding. Those bottom three lines are all very tough to play against. I was very happy to see Art Chapman finally get selected in this thing; he's better than quite a few of the defensive line centres in the ATD. It actually proved to be a pivotal pick for Glace Bay, because I think Chapman will be very effective against either Lemieux or Yzerman. (Not saying he'll stop them; just saying he'll be effective against them).

But Glace Bay will have their work cut out for them. Kingston's top two lines are potent. Lemieux and Yzerman might not have superstars on their lines, but they have players who will be very effective as complimentary players.

I think the question for Glace Bay in this series is two-fold?

1) Can they score enough to win? If you think they can, vote Glace Bay. And obviously, there are people out there who think they can score; they finished second in the division (I thought they were built for the playoffs) and they beat a good Maroons team in the first round.

2) Can they find a way to contain, not stop, but contain, that potent 1-2 punch down the middle for Kingston? And can they stay out of the penalty box? BTW, am I missing something, or does Kingston have their Russian five on the PP ahead of Steve Yzerman?

I give an edge to Kingston in net, but it's small. Gump Worsley might be the most underrated goalie in this thing. Poor Gump. He spent the prime years of his career saddled by being behind a dreadful Rangers team. Not sure what happened in 58 (you couldn't use a first round match-up with Montreal as an alibi) but the Rangers were DNQs for the playoffs, or first round fodder for the eventual Cup champs, throughout Gump's tenure. When he got to Montreal, he got to show the hockey world how good he really was. One of hockey's all-time good guys, and a guy you really want to pull for.

 

[Frightened Inmate #2]

Orr?

Esposito, while a great player in his own right benefited the most out of everyone in the league who played with Orr. He was able to plant himself in front of the net and score the garbage goals that were scored as a direct result of Orr's brilliance. Unfortunately for Glace Bay and fortunately for Kingston there is absolutely no one who even comes close to a player of Orr's calibre (if there ever could be one) and once again I really don't see much in terms of offensive potential.

I just don't see who is going to be scoring the goals on this team, it seems like a lot of third line players are on the team, some filling in spots on the top two lines.

 

[Transplanted Caper]

Have been busy, will post some thoughts later, hopefully later tonight or tomorrow. Looking forward to a great series.

 

[Leaf Lander]

Have been busy, will post some thoughts later, hopefully later tonight or tomorrow. Looking forward to a great series.

you better get cracking

 

[Transplanted Caper]

Team defense will once again be the key for the Miners, and to capitalize on the opportunities they get in the offensive zone. Not many teams will be prepared as us to stop Yzerman and Lemieux. Any of the bottom three lines will make life difficult for the Top 2 Kingston centres. The line-up will only change slightly, with Lapointe taking a spo. In goal, we have the underrated Gump Worsely. An excellent goaltender in his own right, he's made even that much better playing in front of this tight checking, defensive oriented Miners team. And ask yourself. Really ask yourself. Can you really vote against a team with a guy named Gump on it? Didn't think so.

In terms of offense, the Paladins have an obvious edge. No sense arguing about it. Lemieux and Yzerman are a phenomenal one-two punch. Congrats to Kingston for having the stones to make the trades necessary to make it happen. The Lemieux line, will as much as possible be facing the Gainey line, with the Chapman line taking on the Yzerman line. The 4th line will be improved defensively with the addition of Ron Ellis, and the 2nd line will be able to contribute more with the addition of Eddie Oatman who will also take a spot on the 2nd PP unit.

Offensively for Glace Bay, we all know what Espo can do, and his old teammate Wayne Cashman will help him make it happen. Cashman's chemistry with Espo justifies his place on Line #1. The new 2nd line gets an offensive boost with Eddie Oatman who was an elite goal scorer during his excellent career. While the 3rd is there for its excellent defensive abilities, their puck control will lead to numerous opportunities, and all 3 can help generate offense when given the opportunity.



Wayne Cashman - Phil Esposito - Anders Hedberg
Marty Pavelich - Billy Burch - Eddie Oatman
Bob Gainey - Doug Riseborough - Mario Tremblay
Fred Stanfield - Art Chapman - Ron Ellis
Bronco Horvath

Chris Chelios - Guy Lapointe
Allan Stanley - Reed Larson
Jerry Korab - Harvey Pulford
Pekka Rautakallio

Gump Worsley
Paddy Moran

PP#1
Wayne Cashman - Phil Esposito - Anders Hedberg
Chris Chelios - Guy Lapointe

PP#2
Fred Stanfield - Billy Burch - Eddie Oatman
Jerry Korab - Harvey Pulford

 

[VanIslander]

I respect the changes TC has made and - now - with his new lines, I can see his team as a contender for the divisional championship. Well done.

This series can go either way.

 

[Transplanted Caper]

I respect the changes TC has made and - now - with his new lines, I can see his team as a contender for the divisional championship. Well done.

This series can go either way.

You put together a hell of a team yourself. It's going to be a helluva series I think, and I look forward to the results.

 

[VanIslander]

The Miners have more defense, less offense and lesser goaltending than the Maple Leafs faced by the Paladins last round, and Kingston has more offense and better goaltending than the Maroons faced by Glace Bay last round.

increasingly better defense vs. increasingly better offense and goaltending

(with special teams, chemistry, leadership, championship experience all at play)

gawd let the Bob Cole semi-finals begin!

 

[Leaf Lander]

stop sucking up to each other

 

[FissionFire]

I predict that LL will storm the arena with his team and win the series by beating both teams into a pulp. Braveheart style baby.

 

[Leaf Lander]

I predict that LL will storm the arena with his team and win the series by beating both teams into a pulp. Braveheart style baby.

I'm feeling the Freeedoooooom

 

[Transplanted Caper]

I predict that LL will storm the arena with his team and win the series by beating both teams into a pulp. Braveheart style baby.

Won't be too hard. Leaf Lander has season tickets to the Miners

 

[Leaf Lander]

Won't be too hard. Leaf Lander has season tickets to the Miners

I was actally in the old miners forum in glace bay many times
I even played hockey there.

 

[VanIslander]

I predict that LL will storm the arena with his team and win the series by beating both teams into a pulp. Braveheart style baby.

It better be in game 7 or else the hockey-lovin' warden of the Kingston Pen might give guided day passes to some of his inmates: Paul Bernardo and Clifford Olson and other serial killers.