GDT: Game 81 | Columbus vs. Pittsburgh | 4/5 7PM

[CBJWerenski8]

Not really , he brings little to the game , Foligno steps in, and it’s an instant upgrade . Letestu, Dubinsky, and Sedlak, Dubois

Sedlak and Dubinsky over Wennberg? Lol.

I get what you're saying, and being frustrated with him is reasonable. But having him sit is not reasonable. You play your best players. If you don't think Wennberg is one of our best 12 forwards then I don't know what to tell you.

 

[DJA]

I wouldn't be surprised if Milano doesn't set foot on the ice at any point during the playoffs. Torts barely trusts him in the regular season, and he went MIA last night.

 

[CBJ goalie]

Sitting Wennberg, unreal....mot gonna happen, and it shouldn't.

He's slumping a bit now, but he'll come around.

 

[Socks]

I think Dubi had his best game in a long while last night, possibly of the season, and honestly it didn’t look like he was playing his normal ‘get under Crosby’s skin’ game.

We tried to beat them physically last year and it didn’t work. We need to play smarter than that this year, all the way through the lineup.

 

[KJ Dangler]

Sedlak and Dubinsky over Wennberg? Lol.

I get what you're saying, and being frustrated with him is reasonable. But having him sit is not reasonable. You play your best players. If you don't think Wennberg is one of our best 12 forwards then I don't know what to tell you.[/QUOTE

He has 2 points in last 7 games and taken a whopping 4 shots on goal. The kid has 0 fire in his belly and plays a lazy game . It’s why Torts blew him up a few games ago , and last night he was invisible aside from the poor defense he played giving up the game winning goal . Let’s be real , the kid has a whopping 35 points on the season , and is just a 3rd line center , that’s poor on face offs[/QUOTE]

 

[EspenK]

Wennberg is a +22. Just saying.

 

[MoeBartoli]

Dubi and Sedlak over Wennberg? We've now entered Bizarro World.

While I do think Sonny should play over Dubi if Foligno returns, Sonny may well sit. If it's Pittsburg, Sonny is even more likely to sit as Torts showed no confidence in that line last game. But without Foligno, everyone's "last game wonder" Dubi will play.

 

[CharlotteJacket]

Sonny needs to hit the weight room big time. He's just too easy to knock off the puck

 

[CharlotteJacket]

I don't know who's decision it is who to start and who to sit. Jarmo or Torts has a big call on their hands because all if these guys have played key minutes for us this season.

 

[mikeyp24]

I would sit Wennberg, before I sit either Milano , who 8th on the team in goal scoring , or Bjorkstrand , who’s 10th on the team . Both guys bring a lot of speed, and ability to score goals .

Wennberg has 2 points in his last 7 games .

And if Bob becomes playoff Bob like last night , we will need all the goals we can get

I'm with you on the Wennberg needs to be dealt with bandwagon but I give him 1 chance and if he f***s up pull him. Sedlak should not suit up at all this series.

Agree with sit Milano. Bjorkstrand has been great the past few games from.behind and has hitnso many damn posts he is do plus he has been playing strong on the boards. Milano while he has speed isn't as strong on the puck and has a tendency to not make the simple smart plays and that can cost us against a Malkin or Kessel.

 

[hardkorejackets]

Not really , he brings little to the game , Foligno steps in, and it’s an instant upgrade . Letestu, Dubinsky, and Sedlak, Dubois

I think people adequately covered that Wennberg, with his faults is still one of our top 12 players... So, I'm not going to harp much on that.

But, Sedlak is out indefinitely after taking a puck to the head 2 weeks ago, so he's not even an option at center.

 

[CBJWerenski8]

He has 2 points in last 7 games and taken a whopping 4 shots on goal. The kid has 0 fire in his belly and plays a lazy game . It’s why Torts blew him up a few games ago , and last night he was invisible aside from the poor defense he played giving up the game winning goal . Let’s be real , the kid has a whopping 35 points on the season , and is just a 3rd line center , that’s poor on face offs

[/QUOTE]

2 points in 7 games isn't awful. It isn't good, mind you, but it isn't awful. Also a weird sample size. At least go to 10 games (4 points in 10 games btw)

I suppose this 0 fire in his belly thing comes from the Torts incident. No, he's not get on your horse and go type guy like PLD is. And that's fine. PLD is the better player offensively. Wennberg isn't lazy, he plays a selective defensive game kind of like Letestu does. Is he prone to some mistakes? Yeah. But Torts trusts the kid in key minutes. He's our most creative center and has the best vision out of anyone on the team aside from Panarin. But yeah, I do agree that he's a center by position only because he's piss poor at faceoffs. 3rd line center? We'll see. He's like 23 and not a finished product. 35 points isn't ideal, and he needs to produce more, but he also missed time. 35 points in a down year isn't exactly awful production.

Our PP resurgence? Wennberg has been a big part of it. He's not coming out of the lineup.

 

[Byrral]

I would be very surprised if Torts went against what he has said this season because it's the playoffs. He says he plays no favorites and will have some tough decisions to make. So he goes with the lineup that he believes gives them the best chance to win. And they are going to need to score goals no matter who they play.

Some players may not have had the seasons management nor themselves would have expected. But to those who have personal vendettas against certain players, for whatever reasons, you are going to be disappointed because but I doubt the CBJ brass feel the same way. Some of those players are going to play in game 1 of the playoffs. The playoffs are a one game at a time tryout and things can change immediately from game to game depending on performance, situation of series or injury.

I will go out on a limb (not really much of a reach) and say Wennberg is not going to be sitting in game 1 nor should he. He may ultimately end up on the bench if his play warrants or the series script determines it but he is not sitting game 1. I doubt he sits regardless of the situation unless he gets hurt but that's just my opinion.

So if all players are ready to go it's some combination of below:

Panarin - PLD - Cam
Jenner - Wennberg - Vanek
Milano - Foligno - XXXX
Calvert - Letestu - XXXX

Werenski - Jones
Murray - Nutivaara
Cole - Savard

Bob
Korpi

Andy is the wild card depending on how Torts wants to roll with him. That will set up the last two lines. Andy and Bjorkstrand are the last two players. They can/are a threat to score goals. I've been hard on Sonny this season and he still needs to improve his strength in the offseason. But his speed and skill are needed in the playoffs and they don't have someone to replace that. Bjorkstrand has been cold lately but it would be a different conversation if a few of those post shots would have gone in. He can score goals and goals are going to be needed to win. I'm not concerned with him. The rest of his game has been solid throughout his scoring drought.

So if everyone is healthy I believe Dubinsky and JJ will sit game one. Dubinsky is not an offensive threat and JJ has the ability to make some very questionable decisions with the puck. Adjustments will be made once game one plays out and results of play are known. Dubi and JJ may be used/needed at some point depending on what happens as the series moves along.

I don't have any angst or preference of who they end up playing. Nobody expects them to succeed. It's them against the world. I'm excited they made it. No matter who they play I expect them to not only play well but to win. It may not happen but that's my mind set.

 

[EDM]

The one guy who is not suited for the playoff is Pooh. As he showed allowing Kessel to score the winning goal on Thursday nite, he simply lacks the heart and desire to win under adverse conditions. And that lack of heart has been the one consistent part of his game that he has had since he first stepped on the ice at Nationwide. It isn't going to change next week. Of course, I realistically know they will not sit Pooh for the playoffs although they should. I would go with the following lines:

Bread-PLD-Cam
Bjork-Foligno-Sonny
Boone-Letestu-Vanek
Calvert-Dubinsky-Anderson

Depending how Anderson does, I might flip him with Bjork.

As I said, I know this will not happen. But it should.

 

[CBJWerenski8]

I need some convincing on how sitting Wennberg for Dubinsky and Letestu is something that helps us score goals and win games.

And no, no hot take opinions like "Pooh has no heart." I want facts, as in statistics.