MacLean wants Nylander to play with Matthews to bust slump

Nithoniniel

Registered User
Sep 7, 2012
20,913
16,749
Skövde, Sweden
I would like to see Kapanen-Matthews-Nylander tried for a longer period of time with Hyman out. Nylander wasnt the reason that line wasn't working against Detroit. Matty and Kap were a bit off that whole game.
Yeah, they got two goals against where the blame can be almost exclusively placed on Gardiner. They had a very, very short leash if those two shifts was enough.
 

Guided by Veseys

Registered User
Nov 14, 2011
3,704
2,996
I like three dangerous lines, I think it would be the key to defeating Boston and Tampa. Relentless three line pressure. Keep Nylander on the third line, even if he isn’t scoring he is controlling possession.
 

A1LeafNation

Obsession beats talent everytime!!
Oct 17, 2010
27,284
17,190
Everyone in a slump needs to be relegated to the third line:

Johnsson Tavares Marner
Kadri Matthews Kapanen

Moore Gauthier Lindholm
 

Stephen

Moderator
Feb 28, 2002
77,850
51,520
His timing is still off and it would be wasting Matthews. Been seeing Nylander rush with the puck more but when he goes into the corner and does his little curl he often mishandles the puck. Until his timing is where it needs to be and his conditioning is up, you'd just be handcuffing Matthews from doing more productive things.
 

Leafling

Registered User
Oct 24, 2015
503
182
I hate Marleau with Matthews so I'd love to see

Johnsson Tavares Marner
Kappy Matthews Nylander
Marleau Kadri Brown

I don't know man, that is not a great third line at all. I love AJ with JT/Marner but i feel when Hyman returns, AJ should go on that third line to give some offence to it. JT and marner are great regardless of any winger they get.
Brown cannot be a top 9 with our forward depth.
 

Battle Lin

Registered User
Dec 18, 2015
4,412
744
willy is getting into game shape now, and its not like the current matthews line is doing that good 5 on 5, a matthews top line needs to be generating dangerous chances almost every period
 

TMLS

Registered User
Oct 30, 2013
1,748
1,218
London, Ontario
Marleau-Kadri-Hyman should get Babcock excited enough to forget about the other lines being loaded up. Only problem is that line would be on for 30+ mins a game.
Nah he likes playing plugs on top 6...so Marleau and Hyman will be split up and put in first 2 lines instead.
 

sxvnert

Registered User
Nov 23, 2015
11,023
6,033
He has many times and looks 50 steps behind everyone else. Honestly it looks like he spent his entire hold out eating burgers and relaxing at the beach.
 

Larcos_Unal

Excuses are for losers
Jul 6, 2007
5,249
5,645
Toronto
Didn't watch the game, is it true he was getting a few boos when he touched the puck? Mike in Buffalo alluded to this on Twitter.
 

GodEmperor

Registered User
Oct 12, 2017
2,919
3,168
I'm fine with Nylander on the first line, but man he has been absolutely terrible and done nothing to earn it. I'm also fine with shipping his ass outta here.
 
Oct 18, 2010
2,662
284
Kapanen took his spot 5 on 5, Kadri took his spot on the PP. It's easy to lose your spot when you don't show up.

It should be easier for him to produce on the 3rd line. He's playing with Kadri so what exactly is everyone's excuse? Kessel did it just fine.

When he gets back up to speed he'll be on Matthews wing... Because he'll be better than Kapanen by then. Not sure what the rush is. Babcock already gave out his timeline. Mid-January.
 

7even

Offered and lost
Feb 1, 2012
18,570
14,127
North Carolina
Diasagree. Nylander should not be treated like a prima donna. He has to earn the right to play with Matthews. The way to do that is to work, play a 200 ft game and put up points. Prove he is worth the new contract. He also needs to earn the respect of his teammates as well as Babs.

There's justice and there's pragmatism. I'm pretty pissed off at Willy, if you're going to pick a mountain to die on in the off-season you better damn well make sure you're alive again by the time you actually have to start playing. Whether that's poor preparation and maintenance or just the risk you run when you miss training camp and two f***ing months of the season, I don't know, but either way it's his own damn fault. So I see where you're coming from.

At the same time, there's nothing we can do about that now. If we want to make any noise at all in the playoffs we need the team to be the 4 headed monster it's constructed to be. If we can't muster that our entire gameplan is out the window. Without 3 very strong scoring lines we don't have an edge at all against Tampa and we lose a lot of separation on Washington and Boston. At the end of the day we just cannot afford for Nylander to have a write-off year. He needs to get going at some point. With Matthews looking like less than himself it's twice as appealing. The sooner we can put the Matthews-Nylander chemistry back in our arsenal the better we'll be.
 

hullsy47

Registered User
Dec 7, 2005
6,338
1,043
He's been playing well anyways, one will trickle in and the floodgates will open from there
lol c'mon it's a concern next time someone sits out let him sit
not fair to fans to pay to see 15 games of average or below avg performance
he's not ready after 11 games to go head to head with pasternak which is the bar HE chose to set!
 

thewave

Registered User
Jun 17, 2011
39,884
9,723
lol c'mon it's a concern next time someone sits out let him sit
not fair to fans to pay to see 15 games of average or below avg performance
he's not ready after 11 games to go head to head with pasternak which is the bar HE chose to set!

It's a shit show every time and disruptive. Dubas f***ed up and overpaid. Best offer, table it, take it or leave it, no trades, you eat the salary if you sit. No negotiations past that date either, the hell with it. He f***ed around like a beta manager and got taken advantage of.

The Pasta 6.6 x 6 should have been absolute max and even that is probably the high end of his worth.
 

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