Line Combos: Ottawa 2016-2017 thoughts

[Sensinitis]

If one of Ekblad, Demers, Yandle get injured long term it's very possible the Cats don't make the playoffs and are right at the bubble.

If Luongo declines a bit too...

 

[trentmccleary]

If one of Ekblad, Demers, Yandle get injured long term it's very possible the Cats don't make the playoffs and are right at the bubble.

If Luongo declines a bit too...

At least on the right side, they have Ekblad and Demers with experience to handle the bigger minutes. If one of them goes down, the other can pick up some slack. Then they're loaded with Petrovic, Pysyk and Kampfer behind them.

On the left
If Yandle goes down, you're putting a lot of faith in Matheson. Then you have one or two RHD playing out of position behind them or giving lots of minutes to Kindl.

It would almost be like us going into a season with something like:
Methot - Karlsson
Claessen or Chabot - Ceci
Wideman - Gryba
#7 Lundin

Oh yeah... nuthin' gonna go wrong with that left side.

 

[TheNewEra]

You guys are crazy if you think the Hoffman-Turris-Stone line is getting split up. It makes no sense putting Brassard with Hoffman when he's left-handed; it's better that he has Turris to feed him. I think the absolute pairs we will see are Hoffman-Turris, Brassard-Ryan, and Pageau-Smith.

honestly imo you have to try stone with pageau and smith and see if that magic is still there

if it is we can potentially have 3 deadly scoring lines

 

[StoicSensFan]

honestly imo you have to try stone with pageau and smith and see if that magic is still there

if it is we can potentially have 3 deadly scoring lines

I think that's a good idea. Now that I think about it I think I was more surprised that some people have Hoffman and Ryan on the same line. It just makes no sense.

 

[BondraTime]

In no way should we be playing our #1 forward on our 3rd line to see if we can keep two 3rd liners playing at a higher level.

Let Stone play with Turris (who he's had bigger success with) and Hoffman. I'd rather have a competent 1st line than a scoring 3rd line.

What other teams in the league have their #1 forward, both offensively and defensively, on their 3rd line? None

 

[Hale The Villain]

What other teams in the league have their #1 forward, both offensively and defensively, on their 3rd line? None

I believe Pavelski is pencilled in as the 3rd line center on San Jose, despite being their best player offensively and defensively.

I'm not saying I agree with keeping Stone with Pageau and Smith, but if the Sens want to try to get Lazar going offensively:

Hoffman - Brassard - Ryan
MacArthur - Turris - Lazar
Smith - Pageau - Stone

Sens could field 3 lines that are a realistic threat to score on any given shift. It's an interesting idea to say the least.

 

[BondraTime]

I believe Pavelski is pencilled in as the 3rd line center on San Jose, despite being their best player offensively and defensively.

I'm not saying I agree with keeping Stone with Pageau and Smith, but if the Sens want to try to get Lazar going offensively:

Hoffman - Brassard - Ryan
MacArthur - Turris - Lazar
Smith - Pageau - Stone

Sens could field 3 lines that are a realistic threat to score on any given shift. It's an interesting idea to say the least.

Interesting, I'd be lying if I said I knew that. I thought he was their #1 RW when I saw them in the playoffs, so that shows what I know. He's listed as their #1 RW on their depth chart as well, though the site I'm using can be misleading/incorrect.

He did lead their forwards in ice time by 50 seconds per game, more than 3 minutes more than the next guy on their 3rd line (Ward, who led them in SH time on ice).

I would be massively disappointed if we try to spread scoring over 3 lines.

Putting our best playmaker in Stone, on a line without a goal scorer like Hoffman or Turris, doesn't seem like the best way to build our forward corps. I do not count Smith as a goal scorer, last years asterisk aside.

 

[Micklebot]

I believe Pavelski is pencilled in as the 3rd line center on San Jose, despite being their best player offensively and defensively.

I'm not saying I agree with keeping Stone with Pageau and Smith, but if the Sens want to try to get Lazar going offensively:

Hoffman - Brassard - Ryan
MacArthur - Turris - Lazar
Smith - Pageau - Stone

Sens could field 3 lines that are a realistic threat to score on any given shift. It's an interesting idea to say the least.

Really? didn't he play pretty much all of last year on Thornton's wing? Surprised they'd be penciling him in anywhere else.

 

[Sensinitis]

Hoffman-Turris-Lazar
MacArthur-Brassard-Ryan
Smith-Pageau-Stone

That could be iiinteresting.To switch things up during a game or something.

 

[MarkStone]

Thoughts? It feels like a lot of people are projecting us to be worse than last season, when everything went wrong. A lot of people are going to eat crow and Ottawa will be one of the more surprising teams.

They'll be over 5 points above Florida at the halfway mark.

Not really interested to argue too strongly about this stuff on the main boards now... seasons almost here, so the proof will be in the pudding.

I would be highly disappointed if we finished even worse than last year and once again missed the playoffs. You can slot them in different placements for conference placement predictions but this group barring terrible injury luck like last year, is an improved shoe-in playoff team.

Hopefully we start off strong and stay that way until the deadline so we can make whatever improvements are deemed possible, but I definitely like the roster as a playoff group as it stands.

Florida has some promising talent and are probably a rich man's us from 3 years ago. I would not be surprised by some fluctuating seasons for the next couple seasons from them like we have had. Maybe the older guys take a step back and any new veterans they bring in aren't the right fit. Maybe Gerard Gallant loses the plot and the room as a result and they have a turnstile of coaches. You just never know how these things pan out.

 

[Lehner]

Hoffman-Turris-Lazar
MacArthur-Brassard-Ryan
Smith-Pageau-Stone

That could be iiinteresting.To switch things up during a game or something.

I agree, do that lineup for 2 periods and if we need some scoring, just double shift stone for lazar.

 

[delchief]

Really? didn't he play pretty much all of last year on Thornton's wing? Surprised they'd be penciling him in anywhere else.

JOONAS DONSKOI JOE THORNTON JOE PAVELSKI
PATRICK MARLEAU LOGAN COUTURE MELKER KARLSSON
MATT NIETO CHRIS TIERNEY JOEL WARD
DAINIUS ZUBRUS NICK SPALING TOMMY WINGELS

Technically the Pens had Malkin on their "3rd line"....

Kunitz - Malkin - Rust

But I absolutely agree that we don't use Stone to prop up the 3rd line. They should do this in the top 9:

Hoffman - Turris - Stone
Smith - Brassard - Ryan
Mac - Pageau - Lazar

 

[NyQuil]

I doubt we'll see the same line combinations all season long.

We'll see what works on the ice.

 

[Do Make Say Think]

If we have to put Stone on the third line for an extended period of time because we need to spread out the offense it means things aren't going great.

 

[PatrickEaves]

If we have to put Stone on the third line for an extended period of time because we need to spread out the offense it means things aren't going great.

What if Stone is put on the third line for an extended period because both Lazar and Ryan score 50 goals and thus force Stone down to the third line due to performance?

 

[Cosmix]

Hoffman-Turris-Lazar
MacArthur-Brassard-Ryan
Smith-Pageau-Stone

That could be iiinteresting.To switch things up during a game or something.

I think that over the season there will be a lot of line changes as injuries occur and lines go hot/cold.

But having said that, I think it would be a wise move to see if the Smith - Pageau - Stone line would continue to work well together, because if it did, then that would mean Smith and Pageau would be doing better than normal or expected, and allow the coaches to experiment with MacArthur - Turris - (Lazar/Puempel/what's his name). And Hoffman - Brassard - Ryan/one of the above) to see if the team could get 3 offensive lines going.

I also think that a so-called offensive third line could do well against weaker 3rd lines on other teams.

I am looking forward to hockey season starting again. It has been a long summer!

 

[Sens of Anarchy]

Lazar has not shown that he can compliment his line mates in a top 6 role. Unless his game has improved in a lot of areas he should not be in the top 6. You would be asking his two top 6 line mates to carry him and thus diminish their overall effectiveness. I like Lazar but he is a 3rd liner on this team. If we could have upgraded the 3rd line RW spot he would be even more like a 4th liner at the moment.

 

[God Says No]

Lazar has not shown that he can compliment his line mates in a top 6 role. Unless his game has improved in a lot of areas he should not be in the top 6. You would be asking his two top 6 line mates to carry him and thus diminish their overall effectiveness. I like Lazar but he is a 3rd liner on this team. If we could have upgraded the 3rd line RW spot he would be even more like a 4th liner at the moment.

Lazar was and most likely be a 4th liner this year. He should have been playing limited minutes and sheltered. But he wasn't. Actually, he should have been in the AHL the minute he was eligible. But that's another story. This was the issue with this team in the past. We had a top 6, then two 4th lines. I wouldn't be surprised if he's on the bubble to make this team.

I'd start with something like this in the bottom 6:

Puempel - JGP - Dzingel
Smith - Kelly - Robinson

extra: Neil
AHL: Lazar

 

[Cosmix]

Interesting, I'd be lying if I said I knew that. I thought he was their #1 RW when I saw them in the playoffs, so that shows what I know. He's listed as their #1 RW on their depth chart as well, though the site I'm using can be misleading/incorrect.

He did lead their forwards in ice time by 50 seconds per game, more than 3 minutes more than the next guy on their 3rd line (Ward, who led them in SH time on ice).

I would be massively disappointed if we try to spread scoring over 3 lines.

Putting our best playmaker in Stone, on a line without a goal scorer like Hoffman or Turris, doesn't seem like the best way to build our forward corps. I do not count Smith as a goal scorer, last years asterisk aside.

I am not trying to "spread scoring over 3 lines", I am trying to find 3 lines that can be offensive and score. As the Smith - Pageau - Stone line worked well, I think it should be used again next year, at least at the start of the season to see if it still works.

If you roll 3 lines and give them equal even strength TOI, then it becomes simply a line matching exercise rather than a labeling one of calling them lines 1, 2 and 3.

 

[BondraTime]

I am not trying to "spread scoring over 3 lines", I am trying to find 3 lines that can be offensive and score. As the Smith - Pageau - Stone line worked well, I think it should be used again next year, at least at the start of the season to see if it still works.

If you roll 3 lines and give them equal even strength TOI, then it becomes simply a line matching exercise rather than a labeling one of calling them lines 1, 2 and 3.

We would be playing our best forward, with our 7th and 8th best offensive forwards. It is a pointless endeavour in my opinion, regardless of how well it worked last year due to injuries.

 

[PatrickEaves]

So, have we signed a defenseman to get this guy out of the lineup yet?

 

[Micklebot]

So, have we signed a defenseman to get this guy out of the lineup yet?

The tweet box isn't showing up for me, what's it saying?

 

[PatrickEaves]

The tweet box isn't showing up for me, what's it saying?

Here's a link.

https://twitter.com/SeanTierneyTss/status/768456234555043840/

 

[trentmccleary]

Meh, after replacing the 9 assists/total points in 89 games from Wiercioch/Cowen with Phaneuf... Boro just doesn't seem like that big a deal.

 

[TheNewEra]

If we have to put Stone on the third line for an extended period of time because we need to spread out the offense it means things aren't going great.

Or it could also be because we want to give one of our top forwards an easy/easier matchup that we could potentially exploit

Sample Lineup tossup
Hoffman-Turris-Lazar/Dzingel or Puempel if he can play RW
Macarthur-Brassard-Ryan
Smith-Pageau-Stone

By putting our best forward (who was producing with smith and pageau) on our third line it forces the other team to make a tough matchup choice that we can exploit. If the other team puts their top pairing on vs stone one of our lines have an exploitable matchup.

By spreading it out we could potentially have a lesser Hagelin-Bonino-Kessel Line as the line that does the damage when it matters the most