Line Combos: Elite Third Line?

[AvsCOL]

Is it too early to say that the Avs 3rd line might be one of the best in hockey right now, if not the best? 33 games of sample size, and absolutely dominating possession. 112 mins of TOI at 5v5.

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[PepsiCenterMagic]

The synergy is real

 

[Pierce Hawthorne]

Right now? Yeah probably. Does anyone really expect them to keep this up though?

 

[henchman21]

Right now? Yeah probably. Does anyone really expect them to keep this up though?

Yeah, I could see it in the West... Blues are probably the best center group top to bottom, but are playing like hot garbage. Vegas' weakest part of their roster is center. The rest of the West is pretty weak. The back-to-back Friday/Saturday is lone set of games prior to the deadline where the armor might show some signs of wear. Post deadline we might see some more against St Louis or LA (if they call some guys up). The real tricky part is a potential matchup against Carolina/Tampa in the semis.

 

[Cousin Eddie]

Yeah, I could see it in the West... Blues are probably the best center group top to bottom, but are playing like hot garbage. Vegas' weakest part of their roster is center. The rest of the West is pretty weak. The back-to-back Friday/Saturday is lone set of games prior to the deadline where the armor might show some signs of wear. Post deadline we might see some more against St Louis or LA (if they call some guys up). The real tricky part is a potential matchup against Carolina/Tampa in the semis.

Agree 100% but as much as I hate playing the shit teams in this division I think it’s exactly what these 3 needed. They all have ability but clearly lacked confidence. They’ll struggle sometimes when they face tougher competition no doubt but I love that their clicking and growing more and more confidence and chemistry with each game. They’re going to have to get through Vegas at some point in the playoffs which will be a great adaptation for them before taking on Carolina or Tampa.

 

[henchman21]

Agree 100% but as much as I hate playing the shit teams in this division I think it’s exactly what these 3 needed. They all have ability but clearly lacked confidence. They’ll struggle sometimes when they face tougher competition no doubt but I love that their clicking and growing more and more confidence and chemistry with each game. They’re going to have to get through Vegas at some point in the playoffs which will be a great adaptation for them before taking on Carolina or Tampa.

Yup... agree especially on the bolded. They'll need to be playing as well as they can to matchup there. If that group can even hold their own (not beat, just hold their own) against Trocheck/Staal or Cirelli/Gourde... then they are good enough to win a Cup with and the 3rd line issues are solved.

 

[Spilot23]

I've always been so critical on Jost but man this year he seems like someone else. He looks like he understands his role what he is for this team. The major improvement is probably his game along the boards he seems stronger and more elusive also looks a bit faster. I don't know if we need to trade for a better #3C anymore but hey I said that last year and injuries got the best of us

 

[Richard88]

I've always been so critical on Jost but man this year he seems like someone else. He looks like he understands his role what he is for this team. The major improvement is probably his game along the boards he seems stronger and more elusive also looks a bit faster. I don't know if we need to trade for a better #3C anymore but hey I said that last year and injuries got the best of us

At this stage the deadline play is probably to add a rental like Laughton or Nick Foligno who can play LW and also slide into 3C if we have an injury or if Jost's play falls off against Tampa/Carolina/etc.

 

[Avsavsavsavsavs]

Right now? Yeah probably. Does anyone really expect them to keep this up though?

I do yes, that 3rd line is considerably more skilled than most.

 

[flyfysher]

This thread ought to be paired up with all the previous negative comments about Jost and Donskoi. Our evaluations would come out pretty bipolar as a fan base. I don’t always appreciate it when JB scratches starters or plays scrubs, especially early on in the season in bigger games but it seems he’s just getting to know his squad. It’s like, just be patient and let’s see how these guys come together. That said, I’m surprised our third line is so dynamic.

 

[AvsCOL]

This thread ought to be paired up with all the previous negative comments about Jost and Donskoi. Our evaluations would come out pretty bipolar as a fan base. I don’t always appreciate it when JB scratches starters or plays scrubs, especially early on in the season in bigger games but it seems he’s just getting to know his squad. It’s like, just be patient and let’s see how these guys come together. That said, I’m surprised our third line is so dynamic.

I think we’ve all been guilty of piling on Jost or Donskoi at some point in the last two seasons. I was down on Donskoi for sure on a couple of occasions, but I always wanted Jost to have a legit opportunity at 3C.

As far as what you want out of a 3rd line, these guys are bringing it. Control possession, and chip in some offense. Check and check.

 

[PAZ]

I've always been so critical on Jost but man this year he seems like someone else. He looks like he understands his role what he is for this team. The major improvement is probably his game along the boards he seems stronger and more elusive also looks a bit faster. I don't know if we need to trade for a better #3C anymore but hey I said that last year and injuries got the best of us

This, so much this. I think the last few years Jost was struggling mentality of not being one of the go to guys and he was thinking he deserved more icetime. I believe it came out sometime last year where his agent said Jost wanted more icetime, or something along the lines.

This year for whatever reason, he's had a wake-up call and fully embraced being a bottom 6 forward and it shows, along with whatever he did in the offseason to improve his strength and skating. His development this year is a bit reminiscent of Nuke's 1st year on the team, where he was pretty solid everywhere but couldn't score for the life of him until the latter half of the season.

 

[Avs_19]

"Are they the best third line in the league? Yeah, they're the best third line in the league. They're one of the best lines in the league period."

 

[GoNordiquesGo]

I've always been so critical on Jost but man this year he seems like someone else. He looks like he understands his role what he is for this team. The major improvement is probably his game along the boards he seems stronger and more elusive also looks a bit faster. I don't know if we need to trade for a better #3C anymore but hey I said that last year and injuries got the best of us

This.
He was slow and weak.
Then he became stronger and able to absorb checks but was still slow, so whenever he would break and turn, he would get pinned down.
Then he seems to have become...not fast, but not ssoo ssssllloooowwww anymore. So he's able to play along the board and its making a world of difference. He always had the hands and shiftiness. Now he seems able to do something with it.
But... will it last???
Plus its not like his linemate Donskoi is not notoriously streaky....

 

[GoNordiquesGo]

I think we’ve all been guilty of piling on Jost or Donskoi at some point in the last two seasons. I was down on Donskoi for sure on a couple of occasions, but I always wanted Jost to have a legit opportunity at 3C.

As far as what you want out of a 3rd line, these guys are bringing it. Control possession, and chip in some offense. Check and check.

Not sure if "guilty" is the right word, since the criticisms were deserved...

 

[the_fan]

The question I have is what took so long for Bednar to switch Jost and JTC where he put Jost at C and JTC at wing. That had worked better before and Bednar should have done it from the get go

 

[Richard88]

This thread ought to be paired up with all the previous negative comments about Jost and Donskoi. Our evaluations would come out pretty bipolar as a fan base. I don’t always appreciate it when JB scratches starters or plays scrubs, especially early on in the season in bigger games but it seems he’s just getting to know his squad. It’s like, just be patient and let’s see how these guys come together. That said, I’m surprised our third line is so dynamic.

I'm surprised that Jost and Nichuskin are working so well offensively. We all knew that they would be dominant defensively, but I expected extremely low-event hockey from them together. Somehow it just works though.

 

[Richard88]

The question I have is what took so long for Bednar to switch Jost and JTC where he put Jost at C and JTC at wing. That had worked better before and Bednar should have done it from the get go

Nah, Jost came into this season with really low expectations from fans. Last season he wasn't even one of the teams regular PKers and was even scratched for Nieto. It made sense for Compher to be 3C and to have Jost on the 4th line focussing on purely defense. The platform that Jost set by being great on the PK and improving faceoffs along with being faster gave Bednar justification to bump him up to 3C, but early in the season a lot of people on here wanted him to stay on the 4th line so he could have some stability in his new-found niche role.

 

[Pokecheque]

The question I have is what took so long for Bednar to switch Jost and JTC where he put Jost at C and JTC at wing. That had worked better before and Bednar should have done it from the get go

I don't know--the main driver on that line is Nichushkin and by his own admission he wasn't able to work out the way he wanted in the offseason and had a really slow start. If you had switched Jost in for Compher then the result may not have been pretty. Turns out everything came together at the right time--Nuke found his legs and Donk is shooting at an insane, albeit unsustainable rate. Jost, for his part, is managing to find the separation to put shots on net that eluded him in times past--prime example being that opening goal by Donk.

 

[shadow1]

Props to Jost. He's quickly become one of the best defensive forwards on the team, and has really worked on his face-off ability. He's at 49.5% this year, and has already won 10 more face-offs than he did last year in 63 fewer opportunities.

Nichushkin has been a beast lately. He had a slow first 20 games, bit he's turned it on in a big way the last 15. Possibly because he's no longer attached to Compher at the hip.

 

[AvsFan29]

"Are they the best third line in the league? Yeah, they're the best third line in the league. They're one of the best lines in the league period."

It’s crazy that 2/3 of the top lines in the league are on our team...it’s even crazier that our top line isn’t one of them. Unrivalled depth.

 

[Richard88]

Props to Jost. He's quickly become one of the best defensive forwards on the team, and has really worked on his face-off ability. He's at 49.5% this year, and has already won 10 more face-offs than he did last year in 63 fewer opportunities.

Nichushkin has been a beast lately. He had a slow first 20 games, bit he's turned it on in a big way the last 15. Possibly because he's no longer attached to Compher at the hip.

I made the argument earlier in the season (with customary stats and charts and complex graphics) that Donskoi was being held back by having Compher as his center, given that Donskoi had produced any time he played with top 6 players or on PP2. Low-and-behold, get Donskoi even a semi-decent center and he flourishes.

 

[Richard88]

It’s crazy that 2/3 of the top lines in the league are on our team...it’s even crazier that our top line isn’t one of them. Unrivalled depth.

Our top line isn't that far off the top 3 either. Their GF% is 71.43, and xGF% at 66.36. Bearing in mind that they face the opposing teams best Dman/goons each night that's really impressive.

 

[Tralfamadore]

I was shocked to see that despite his solid consistent play this season Jost only has 8 points and 3 goals in his 33 games which actually paces for his worst offensive production for a season so far. He's undoubtedly been a net positive for the team but you'd still like to see a bit more production there.

Nuke and Don have been absolutely fantastic.

 

[Richard88]

I was shocked to see that despite his solid consistent play this season Jost only has 8 points and 3 goals in his 33 games which actually paces for his worst offensive production for a season so far. He's undoubtedly been a net positive for the team but you'd still like to see a bit more production there.

Nuke and Don have been absolutely fantastic.

Jost has 5 points in his last 7 games, so perhaps he's turning a corner.... though I feel like I've said that each of the last two seasons. Like last year for example when he had 7 points in 9 games around the trade deadline.

He seems to have some chemistry with Donskoi and Nichuskin though. He tends to get shots on net when he shoots, and that is a recipe for rebounds, and Nichuskin and Donskoi both do a good job getting to the crease for rebounds, and deflections/tips in Donskoi's case. Donskoi is pretty decent at getting to open spots on the ice, and Jost has some underrated passing and vision which seems to work well in tandem, especially with Nichuskin doing a lot of the heavy lifting on the cycle.