Cyborg Yzerberg
Registered User
True elite checking matchups rarely went to that line. Yes they were first over the boards for the PK in terms of Maltby and Draper. However, they didn't chase matchups as much with them. Bowman was fine with leaving them out there, but check the tape on those teams. Fedorov and Yzerman saw the heavy diet of top line players. The Gretzky, Sakic, Forsberg matchups were not being handled by the grind line, in part because you would basically be punting possession. A lot of what the grind line did well was their PK work and abusing the bottom six matchup they were given tilting the ice and gaining momentum.
The other thing about the grind line that was so great is that if they got stuck against the Gretzky's or whatever because of the other team getting priority in favorable match ups, they often times were able to handle their own. As far as bottom 6 checking lines go, obviously among the best in league history.