Foster Hewitt Division Semi Finals - Spokane Canaries (2) vs Halifax Mooseheads (3)

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Spokane Canaries (2)


Coach:
Mike Sullivan

Cy Denneny- Wayne Gretzky (C)- George Armstrong (A)
Bob Pulford- Phil Watson- Aleksandr Maltsev
Dave Balon- Ryan O'Reilly- Eric Nesterenko
Thomas Vanek- (double shifting Gretzky/Maltsev/Watson/O
Reilly)- Al MacAdam
Tiger Williams- Jason Allison

Valeri Vasiliev (A)- Harry Cameron
Mark Gioirdano (A)- PK Subban
Francois Beauchimen-Goldie Prodgers- Doug Barkley (Rotate depending on situation)

Hap Holmes
Andrei Vasilevskiy

PP1: Denneny- Gretzky- Maltsev- Subban- Prodgers
PP2: O'Reilly- Gretzky- Vanek- Cameron- Giordano

PK1: Pulford- Armtron- Vasiliev- Girodano
PK2- O'Reilly- Nesterenko- Beauchimen- Barkley



vs


HALIFAX MOOSEHEADS (3)


Coach
Al Arbour

Captain
#17 Rod Brind’Amour

Assistant
#19 Larry Robinson
#28 Éric Desjardins

#17 Rod Brind’Amour - #10 Syl Apps - #11 Mike Gartner
#27 Frank Mahovlich - #61 Aleksander Barkov - #99 Wilf Paiement
#9 Clark Gillies - #16 Derek Sanderson - #23 Bob Nystrom
#24 Bob Probert - #55 Keith Primeau - #22 Rick Vaive
Spares: #8 Peter McNab - #35 Mike McPhee

#19 Larry Robinson - #37 Éric Desjardins
#72 Mathieu Schneider - #6 Ken Morrow
#2 Doug Mohns - #29 Reijo Ruotsalainen
Spares: #26 Glen Wesley

#1 Bill Durnan
#47 Jean-Sébastien Giguère

Power Play
#27 Frank Mahovlich - #10 Syl Apps - #9 Clark Gillies
#72 Mathieu Schneider - #2 Doug Mohns

#22 Rick Vaive - #17 Rod Brind’Amour - #11 Mike Gartner
#19 Larry Robinson - #29 Reijo Ruotsalainen

Penalty Kill
#17 Rod Brind’Amour - #61 Aleksander Barkov
#19 Larry Robinson - #37 Éric Desjardin

#16 Derek Sanderson - #23 Bob Nystrom
#2 Doug Mohns - #6 Ken Morrow
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2 things I like about Spokane:

Top 6
-Top line is fantastic. I could easily see Gretzky-Denneny finishing 1-2 in the goal scoring race. Armstrong is obviously pretty weak for a top line winger offensively but he's a very strong checker both ways and brings a nice physical element. Line is on the slower side. 2nd line has a subpar scorer in Pulford but again, he brings very valuable defense. Watson and Maltsev are a nice blend.

Holmes hangs in as postseason goalie
-Durnan is a good postseason goalie but Holmes can also claim that given his postseason record, both in peak and longevity.

1 thing I don't like:

-That 2nd pairing. I think Gio could pass for a 4 now but Subban isn't a good partner for him IMO.


2 things I like about Halifax:

Arbour big, big advantage
-Sullivan certainly looked good winning back to back but he's still without any real longevity and Arbour is a top 5 coach of all time.

Robinson big advantage
Big Bird gives Halifax a noted advantage looking at #1's.

1 thing I don't like:

-2nd pairing seems like it would be over matched more than normal.

 

[rmartin65]

Would have loved to have had the time to put into this, but time got the better of me this week. I'll go ahead and switch my D around, following the advice of several:

Valeri Vasiliev (A)- Harry Cameron
Mark Gioirdano (A)- Doug Barkley
Francois Beauchimen-Goldie Prodgers*- PK Subban (Rotate depending on situation)

*Prodgers spent time as the LD on the Prodgers-Hall pairing (I believe), so he should be capable of playing the more responsible partner when he is on the ice with Subban.

I think Spokane comes out on top here because of firepower. Yeah, Halifax has the top defensive pairing, but those second and third pairings won't hold up against lines with Gretzky and Maltsev, who will be getting double shifted on the 4th line.