Gritty 3rd liners vs soft Top6ers

[Kshahdoo]

Imagine there are two teams. One is full of tough and gritty 3rd liners and the other is full of soft and delicate top6ers. Defense and goaltending is the same. Which of these two teams would win?

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[ReginKarlssonLehner]

So roughly Finland(emphasis on roughly) vs Russia in sochi 2014.

Finland won.

But i'd say, whoever plays better as a team will win. I'd presume it's the grittier 3rd liners tho.

 

[Howboutthempanthers]

The key to winning hockey is a lot of hard work. The gritty 3rd line team would win.

 

[clunk]

Soft top 6ers cause grit is overrated in hockey.

 

[Aceboogie]

Top 6 and not really close. If you truly believe gritty depth players well you'd probably buy a book written by Don Cherry and roenick

 

[mm11]

I just dont see how a team can win a NHL playoff series with six soft top six guys day in and day out...

 

[Autism]

The Soft top 6 with the gritty defenders would win!

 

[Dogewow]

You could make an argument for either team being better.

Both teams have flaws that hold them back pretty substantially if their weaknesses are exploited.

 

[me2]

Top 6 and not really close. If you truly believe gritty depth players well you'd probably buy a book written by Don Cherry and roenick

Yep and then you'd buy a team and trade all your soft top 6 players and replace them with 25-30 point 3rd liners and wonder why you can't score goals.

 

[Kshahdoo]

Yep and then you'd buy a team and trade all your soft top 6 players and replace them with 25-30 point 3rd liners and wonder why you can't score goals.

Guys like Shaw or Komarov can score goals though.

 

[Dogewow]

If we're talking just one game, then the argument could easily be made for the gritty team. Plenty of 3rd liners can score enough to win any given game, and be gritty enough to play tough against a soft top 6 and throw them off their game.

 

[Machinehead]

The top sixers win easily because they're a better hockey team with better hockey skill.

 

[nmbr_24]

There is no way anyone could know because all players are individuals. If these soft top sixers are so soft that they are afraid to go after the puck then they would never get the puck once the gritty 3rd liners had it and if the gritty 3rd liners can't shoot the puck into the ocean from the deck of a boat they aren't going to score.

 

[Warden of the North]

So like Phil Kessels vs Abdelkaders?

Ill take the Kessels

 

[nmbr_24]

So like Phil Kessels vs Abdelkaders?

Ill take the Kessels

I wouldn't be so sure about that, with Kessel playing D Abdelkader might be a 50 goal scorer

Kessel is also pretty bad at faceoffs so him even getting the puck is going to be pretty scarce.

 

[Warden of the North]

I wouldn't be so sure about that, with Kessel playing D Abdelkader might be a 50 goal scorer

Kessel is also pretty bad at faceoffs so him even getting the puck is going to be pretty scarce.

Scenario has both teams with the same defense.

 

[MayDay]

Skill players will win 9 times out of 10.

If the "gritty" 3rd liners actually had more skill, they wouldn't be relegated to the 3rd line. They'd be top 6.

We only talk about players "grit" and "sandpaper" and "compete" when they lack skill. It's a euphemism for players who have to play physical as a way to compensate for their lack of skill.

Sometimes you have players who play a physical game AND have skill. We don't call those players gritty because we don't need the euphemism. We call them "power forwards."

 

[BruinLVGA]

Imagine there are two teams. One is full of tough and gritty 3rd liners and the other is full of soft and delicate top6ers. Defense and goaltending is the same. Which of these two teams would win?

It depends what "soft" means in this case. If it means players who are not physical but can take physical abuse (= strong physical play), the top 6ers win. But if "soft" means that they get thrown off their game easily by physical hockey, then the gritty 3rd liners win.

 

[g00n]

I think we have the format for the next ASG

 

[CanuckistanFlyerfan]

So like Phil Kessels vs Abdelkaders?

Ill take the Kessels

Who's getting Kessel the puck? Kessel sure isn't going into the corner.

 

[howkie]

USA vs Canada? We know who won that matchup

 

[varano]

I think we have the format for the next ASG

I have a better idea....

North america vs. the world

 

[Warden of the North]

Who's getting Kessel the puck? Kessel sure isn't going into the corner.

Kessels will score off the rush on breakout passes from the D.

It will be Abdelkaders cycling continously then a rush resulting in a goal.

 

[Satan]

We've reached peak HFBoards.

 

[wgknestrick]

Imagine there are two teams. One is full of tough and gritty 3rd liners and the other is full of soft and delicate top6ers. Defense and goaltending is the same. Which of these two teams would win?

Show me a scoreboard that records grit or a goal that was scored from a hit.
Would you take Backes (45pts) or Kessel (59pts)?


Goal differential rules hockey and players who excel at it also rule hockey. As a coach, it is significantly easier to get "soff", highly skilled players to commit to defense than it is to turn gritty players into goal scorers. You just can't teach puck skill as quickly as defensive structure and body positioning technique.