Line Combos: Nick Foligno as Second Line Center

[RD616]

Honestly thought that I would see a thread on this subject already, but there wasn't.

Did seeing Foligno as the second line center catch anyone else off guard? For some reason, I thought Foligno was exclusively a winger. How did you guys feel about his performance last night? For me, I was really surprised how well Foligno performed on the faceoff dot.

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[Chief keefe]

Honestly thought that I would see a thread on this subject already, but there wasn't.

Did seeing Foligno as the second line center catch anyone else off guard? For some reason, I thought Foligno was exclusively a winger. How did you guys feel about his performance last night? For me, I was really surprised how well Foligno performed on the faceoff dot.

One word- Leader

 

[Menzinger]

It was a bit of a surprise, but makes sense in a way given his vet status and helps be less disruptive to the lineup if they were to bump up Kerfoot.

He clearly needs more time to get comfortable in that role on that line though

 

[Funk21]

Personally would have put Willy in the middle with two very responsible wingers. My ideal line would have been this without JT:

Galchenyuk Matthews Marner
Foligno Nylander Hyman
Kerfoot Engvall Mikheyev
Thorton Nash Spezza
Simmonds

it’s balanced and while our top two each have a week defensive link in Galchenyuk and Nylander the others are there to pick up the slack.

 

[zeke]

Foligno plays a center-type game imo so I'm not surprised to see them try this. He's a guy that you should be able to line up against even the best centers and do the job defensively.

And imo he was good there last night, though galchenyuk wasn't great on that line.

 

[moon111]

Earlier I was thinking how it's a great thing he's a gritty winger who can replace Hyman. Now he's a leadership captain playing center. If Campbell goes down, maybe I'd consider putting him in net before Andersen even.

 

[Stonehands1990]

Foligno plays a center-type game imo so I'm not surprised to see them try this. He's a guy that you should be able to line up against even the best centers and do the job defensively.

And imo he was good there last night, though galchenyuk wasn't great on that line.

Ding ding ding. This is the correct answer

Also it’s hard to expect Galchenyuk to get going with zero PP time. It’s unheard of for a 2nd line winger to get 0 PP time. No other team in the NHL would do that. But we have a Keefe and we have a Thornton

 

[Le Cobra]

Earlier I was thinking how it's a great thing he's a gritty winger who can replace Hyman. Now he's a leadership captain playing center. If Campbell goes down, maybe I'd consider putting him in net before Andersen even.

Reilly should be backup. He saved a goal in game 1 on a shot from Anderson

 

[Le Cobra]

Ding ding ding. This is the correct answer

Also it’s hard to expect Galchenyuk to get going with zero PP time. It’s unheard of for a 2nd line winger to get 0 PP time. No other team in the NHL would do that. But we have a Keefe and we have a Thornton

THIS 100% Sandin, Galchenyuk, Marner, Matthews, Nylander. THATS YOUR PP KEEFE

 

[Mickey Marner]

He's a versatile player who not only does anything that's asked of him, but he'll volunteer for it. He'd probably play defense or goal if you asked him. Exactly the sort of player we were missing.

 

[Stephen]

No problem with him. He's a versatile grit grinder who plays in a variety of situations and gives you heavy hockey and good energy. He seems to be hitting less than before his injury though, wondering if he's being judicious with the contact.

 

[Nylander88]

13 for 16 on the draws is unreal for a winger. Whether he's played C before or not...that's hard to step back to an old position and be that effective in the dot. Played good defensively as well. Glad we have him. Sad we won't be able to afford to keep him. Spezza and Simmonds need to sign cheap contracts again and retire Leafs. Let's keep it rolling on Monday. GLG

 

[ponder]

He did shockingly well on draws, and pretty well defensively. Offensively though, looked a bit out of sorts.

I’d be down to keep him there, or to try Spezza at 2C. Spezza has looked great all season, including the playoffs, I can see it working. Something like:

Hyman - Matthews - Marner
Foligno - Spezza - Nylander
Engvall - Kerfoot - Mikheyev
Galchenyuk/Thornton - Brooks - Simmonds

 

[Rokker]

I'm really hoping this guy comes back next year.

Asks to step in at C. Stands up for his fallen Captain. Natural leader.

IMO he was the right move over Hall for those reasons alone.

 

[Advanced stats]

Not surprised, he was my #1 choice to play 2c after Tavares went down.

He actually takes a decent number of faceoffs every year and is defensively responsible.
It also allowed us to keep the 3rd line intact for the most part. I'm excited to see how it goes going forward.

I think he'll be well worth a 1st round pick going forward.

 

[Doublerum1975]

Give him a few more games the line will gel

 

[Leafsfan74]

Foligno plays a center-type game imo so I'm not surprised to see them try this. He's a guy that you should be able to line up against even the best centers and do the job defensively.

And imo he was good there last night, though galchenyuk wasn't great on that line.

I thought Gal he you did fine in a retrieval role. I'd like to see him shoot more when he has the chance.

 

[kk87]

Foligno has really impressed me so far, and his versatility is becoming more obvious with Tavares out.

I agree that Spezza deserves reps up the lineup though. He's done nothing but impress; one of our most consistent players outside of our stars, plays his heart out every night, and rarely makes mistakes.

 

[Randy Randerson]

I was more surprised that Spezza hasn't gotten a look given how ridiculously productive he's been in smaller minutes.

I don't love Foligno at center on a scoring line just because he's not very creative.

 

[crump]

He was great on face offs last night. We will see if he can get up and down the ice 200 ft with high minutes. I like that both Nylander and Galchenyuk have good speed, I think Foligno does too, but may wear down as the night goes on with whatever injury he is managing.

 

[darrylsittler27]

It is an option depending on the type of game we are in. In a close, grinding late round yes. But right now we are trying to score as many goals on Price as we can. We need to break him, like we broke Montreal last night.

 

[TorontoTrades]

He was a killer on faceoffs last night.

 

[LeafGrief]

Was a little surprised to see it, thought Nylander or Kerfoot would go 2c, but I am more than happy with the results. Foligno didn't create a ton offensively, but the line was still pretty effective with him as the pivot. Did well defensively and crushed the faceoff circle.

Need Nylander to stay in high gear though, he's the one who will be creating most of the offense for that line.

 

[Wafflewhipper]

I seen a dominating game from everyone and a frustrated opponent. This is a good team. Unfortunately for our opponent they lit a fire under their arses
This won’t go 6 games. The team is hateful ofbthe Habs right now to a man. Combine that motivation with the skill and the Habs are in for a humiliation

Foligno can play and will play any role the team wants. That kind of player. Love em

 

[Buds17]

It makes sense to me given the circumstances. Kerfoot's game is the better fit for the 3rd line in comparison to Galchenyuk. In turn, Foligno's game slots better at centre than either of Galchenyuk or Nylander.