Bob Cole Division 2nd Round - Belfast Giants vs Rogle BK

[TheDevilMadeMe]

Belfast Giants

General Manager: Velociraptor
Home Venue: Odyssey Arena

Head Coach: Fred Shero
Captain: Bobby Clarke
Assistant Captains: Shane Doan, Derian Hatcher

ROSTER

Doug Bentley - Bobby Clarke - Teemu Selanne
Fred "Bun" Cook - Eric Lindros - Ken Hodge
Kirk Muller - Don McKenney - Shane Doan
Gregg Sheppard - Steven Stamkos - Anders Hedberg

Paul Coffey - Art Coulter
Derian Hatcher - Jim Neilson
Zinetula Bilyaletdinov - Andrei Markov

Cecil "Tiny" Thompson
Curtis Joseph

Spares:
Bob Armstrong, D
Neal Broten, C
Pit Martin, C/RW
Alex Tanguay, LW

Powerplay:

PP1: Eric Lindros - Bobby Clarke - Teemu Selanne
Doug Bentley - Paul Coffey

PP2: Bun Cook - Steven Stamkos - Ken Hodge
Andrei Markov - Art Coulter

Penalty Kill:

PK1: Bobby Clarke - Gregg Sheppard
Derian Hatcher - Art Coulter

PK2: Don McKenney - Kirk Muller
Zinetula Bilyaletdinov - Jim Neilson

VS.

Coach: Anatoli Tarasov

George Hay - Frank Boucher - Bernie Geoffrion
Mats Näslund - Gilbert Perreault - Helmut Balderis
Craig Ramsay - Guy Carbonneau (A) - Joe Klukay
Dennis Hull - Thomas Steen - Wilf Paiement
Ryan Walter, Miroslav Satan

Nicklas Lidström (C) - Larry Murphy
Ulf Samuelsson - Bill White (A)
Ted Harris - Sandis Ozolinsh
Calle Johansson, Ed Jovanovski

Roy Worters
John Ross Roach

PP1: Mats Näslund - Frank Boucher - Bernie Geoffrion, Nicklas Lidström - Larry Murphy
PP2: Thomas Steen - Gilbert Perreault - Helmut Balderis, Sandis Ozolinsh - Bill White

PK1: Guy Carbonneau - Craig Ramsey, Nicklas Lidström - Bill White
PK2: Joe Klukay - Thomas Steen, Ulf Samuelsson - Ted Harris​

Click to read more...

 

[Velociraptor]

Best of luck to you, Hobnobs. Looking forward to this series.

I am gone away from Saturday to Tuesday so I will try and post what I think about this series before then.

 

[Hobnobs]

Good luck to you too Velo! Lets get this rocking

 

[Velociraptor]

At first glance:

Goaltending seems to be very even, I will explore this later.

Pretty good leadership on both sides, an edge to Belfast however.

Fred Shero is the better coach but Tarasov is no slouch, not entirely sure what kind of style he employed but he knew how to win games.

George Hay is an incredibly weak first liner, his attributes as a glue-guy are perhaps his only valuable contribution to the line. Boucher - Geoffrion is a very nice duo and should be able to create a lot of chances. Boucher is an elite defensive centre in the same conversation as Clarke and Nighbor.

Clarke > Boucher
Selanne < Geoffrion
Bentley >>>> Hay

Belfast owns a fairly substantial advantage at first lines.

Naslund seems to be a fairly weak second scoring line winger, as his Vs7 does not exceed a percentage of 63. His best year was 78, in 1985-86. Cook is a serviceable second line winger that not only possesses intangibles but is a better scorer than Mats.

Perreault is a very good second line centre, I'd say him and Lindros are likely even given into consideration what Lindros offers besides offense.

Balderis is the best offensive winger on either side, and his connection with Perreault is probably going to be a force. It doesn't appear that he provides much else besides offense, Hodge is an elite player on the boards and had a terrific shot.

I'd say these lines are more so even.

Don't expect much offense, but Rogle's third line cannot be beaten defensively. Very well-assembled unit that will give opposition's offense fits. However, I built my team so they could hold their own against a solid checking unit. They will be effective when on the ice, and should eliminate a few solid scoring chances.

Belfast's unit can be a checking unit but also doubles as an offensive force, definitely a stronger offensive line than Rogle.

In terms of the lines' objective, Rogle holds an advantage defensively, but they will not be a scoring threat like the Giants' third line.

I like Rogles fourth line, they should be decent in their limited minutes. A better overall line than the Giants' fourth line. Both units can contribute offensively when on the ice.

I'll make some comments on defense and Worters vs. Thompson later on.

 

[Velociraptor]

Roy Worters *unofficial All-Star Voting

• 1st Team All Star (1926) over ? (Charles Stewart was 2nd in Hart voting among goalies)
• 1st Team All Star (1927) over ?
• 1st Team All Star (1928) over George Hainsworth and Alec Connell
• 1st Team All Star (1929)
• no records for 1930 (but Charlie Gardiner led goalies in Hart voting)
• 3rd Team All Star (1931) behind Charlie Gardiner and Tiny Thompson
• 2nd Team All Star (1932) behind Charlie Gardiner, ahead of George Hainsworth
• 3rd Team All Star (1933) behind John Ross Roach and Charlie Gardiner
• 2nd Team All Star (1934) behind Charlie Gardiner, ahead of Tiny Thompson
• 3rd Team All Star (1935) behind Lorne Chabot and Tiny Thompson

Tiny Thompson All-Star Voting

• In 1930, Thompson was awarded the Vezina for best GAA but Charlie Gardiner is the only goalie who got significant Hart votes. No record of All Star Teams.
• 2nd Team All Star (1931) behind Charlie Gardiner, ahead of Roy Worters
• In 1933, Thompson won the Vezina for best GAA but was 4th in All Star voting behind John Ross Roach, Charlie Gardiner, and Roy Worters. Otherwise unheard of in this era and points to a perception that he was a product of his team.
• 3rd Team All Star (1934) behind Charlie Gardiner and Roy Worters
• 2nd Team All Star (1935) behind Lorne Chabot, ahead of Roy Worters
• 1st Team All Star (1936) ahead of Wilf Cude and Mike Karakas (Thompson's 3rd Vezina season)
• 3rd Team All Star (1937) behind Normie Smith and Wilf Cude
• 1st Team All Star (1938) ahead of Dave Kerr and Wilf Cude (Thompson's 4th Vezina)

Thompson was ahead of Worters in 1931 and 1935. Worters was ahead of Thompson in 1934. Thompson has the better record head-to-head.

Worters:
4 FAST - 2 unofficial
2 SAST
3 TAST
1st, 2nd, 4th, 5th in Hart Voting
3 playoff wins in 11 games.
1 Vezina (lowest GAA)

Thompson:
2 FAST
2 SAST
2 TAST
4th in Hart Voting
20 playoff wins in 44 games.
Stanley Cup Champion
4 Vezina's (lowest GAA)

Worters possesses the more attractive AST and Hart record, however his playoff resume is dismal. He did play on a pretty bad team, but he is not a proven winner in the post-season. Thompson was decent in the post-season, with a career post-season GAA of 1.88 whereas Worters has a 2.09 GAA.

Worters holds the advantage in net, but they are fairly close in that regard. Joseph is likely a better backup then Ross Roach, but neither will be factors in the series most likely.

 

[Velociraptor]

Lidstrom, a top-5 defenseman of all-time and Murphy are a strong pairing, they had real-life chemistry and represent a solid unit that can do a bit of everything besides exhibit a physical element.

Coffey and Coulter are your classic, OFD/DFD pairing, will work well together.

Advantage: Rogle

IMO Samuelsson is beginning to become overrated in the ATD, yes he is a punishing defender who is decent defensively but his voting record is paltry, I consider him a low-end #4/decent #5. Bill White is a solid #3, overall it's a decent pairing but not spectacular. Puck-moving is below average.

Hatcher-Neilson is a shutdown pairing with physicality on Hatcher's side, Neilson is a good puck mover so the line is fairly versatile.

Advantage: Belfast

Harris/Ozolinsh is a decent complementary pair. As is Bilyaletdinov/Markov. Pairs are essentially a wash.

In terms of PP/PK, not having Geoffrion on the point is a waste of his ability on the PP, I know its tough where you want to keep Nik and Murphy together. Geoffrion will still perform well, but having him on the point is a huge plus.

PK Solid.

PP Advantage: Belfast
PK Advantage: Rogle

Good luck Hobnobs.

 

[Hobnobs]

My retort then

Hay is weak for a first line but not incredibly weak. He was 4th in hart voting where was voted just marginally behind Eddie Shore. Morenz was the winner and my goalie Worters were second. Hay could produce on a high level while being a elite defensive forward. He will make life hard for your right wingers to score.

Mats Näslund is underrated in this. Mainly because he played for a defensive minded team and never really had that "Wow-factor" on paper. He was tenacious tho and is another one who will make life hard for your right wingers. Fits on a Tarasov line with Gilbert and Helmut.

My third line will probably be able to ship in a goal or two here and there when they play with Lidström but yea, they are out there to shut things down with Samuelsson and White.

My fourth line will probably match up well with yours.

I agree on the goalie assesment. Lets hope our goalies dont get injured

Geoffrion will be on the point with an umbrella-styled cycle unit where Murphy and Lidström can feed him from the sides.

........................Boucher
Näslund
Lidström..........................................Murphy
........................Boom-boom

 

[TheDevilMadeMe]

Belfast wins in OT of Game 5

Stars:

1. Bobby Clarke
2. Nicklas Lidstrom
3. Eric Lindros

Paul Coffey was also big in the win for Belfast, and Bernie Geoffrion played well in the loss.

 

[Hobnobs]

I told you on FB velo! I might win one game

Gratz to your series victory and good luck against Guelph!