Post-Game Talk: Pre-Season GM 8: Oilers 2 @ Canucks 3 - No witty pun until TPM shows up

[fancouver]

I remember when people where losing their minds at first when AV put third line scrub Burrows with the twins. I was one of them.

Not saying were likely to catch lightning in a bottle twice.... but if we did, man that would open up a world of options for us.

I'd just put Vrbata back on with the Sedins. That forms a legit top line in the league. Horvat looks better with the kids and it spreads out the depth around the roster. Have Sutter center the 3rd line and McCann eased into the lineup with 2nd unit PP time.

Sedin - Sedin - Vrbata
Baertshi - Horvat - Virtanen
Burrows - Sutter - Hansen
Higgins* - McCann - Dorsett
*Prust in for now
(Vey)

Edler - Tanev
Hamhuis - Bartkowski
Hutton - Sbisa
(Corrado - Weber)

I'd also keep Corrado on board. Looking at EDM's D, they will be first to pick him up.

 

[Robongo01]

Is Klefbom injured? Not playing in back to back games

 

[Baby Pettersson]

I remember when people where losing their minds at first when AV put third line scrub Burrows with the twins. I was one of them.

Not saying were likely to catch lightning in a bottle twice.... but if we did, man that would open up a world of options for us.

Ya I don't get all the freaking out. It's the preseason. I for one am happy our coach is ballsy enough to try out new combinations. That's what the pre season is for after all.

 

[MadaCanuckle]

People need to understand one thing: we are tanking. So, ff you found a line that can produce 10 points in a game, that line must be apart at all costs.

 

[Shareefruck]

To all the people saying it's just preseason, you shouldn't do wild experiments in the final preseason game before opening night, IMO

I remember when people where losing their minds at first when AV put third line scrub Burrows with the twins. I was one of them.

Not saying were likely to catch lightning in a bottle twice.... but if we did, man that would open up a world of options for us.

This sounds like total revisionism to me. By the time Burrows was put with the twins, he was already a key two way player on this team, treated with the same enthusiasm and fan-favoritisim as Kesler-- far from being treated like a scrub. To that point, we had been used to the Sedins playing with revolving door wingers (often third liners), and I don't recall an ideal Sedin winger who we all felt was better than Burrows at that point.

Who was with the Sedins before Burrows was put on it again? Bernier? Yeah, I don't think anyone was upset that Burrows was getting a chance (Demitra didn't work at all and was now playing with Sundin-- who else would they rather put there, Hansen?). Upset that that fantastic Burrows/Kesler shutdown line was being broken up, maybe.

Nobody thought it would explode, but Burrows already WAS one of our best forwards at the time he was put with the Sedins. Any sourness about that move had more to do with "The Sedins need a RH shot!" or "We need a shutdown line!" or "Spread out the scoring! Why mess with Burrows/Kesler's Sedin-like chemistry?"

 

[The Stig]

Ya I don't get all the freaking out. It's the preseason. I for one am happy our coach is ballsy enough to try out new combinations. That's what the pre season is for after all.

I like you Baby Shink.

 

[arsmaster*]

But I thought they wanted to build chemistry. Lol.

The whiteboard wins again.

 

[Skirbs1011]

D. Sedin - H. Sedin - Sutter
Baertschi - Horvat - Vrbata
Burrows - McCann - Hansen
Prust - Cracknell - Virtanen

Edler - Tanev
Hamhuis - Bartkowski
Hutton - Sbisa

In all honesty looking at this line up I kind of hope that maybe Sutter works on the wing with the Sedins. That frees up the 3rd line C for McCann where he does not have to play with the scrubs in Dorsett and Prust on the 4th line and waste his talent. Keeping Vrbata on the the 2nd line with Bae and Bo keeps the offence a bit spread out.

I think the top 2 D pairings are going to be our top 4 Edler, Tanev, Hammer and Bart seem to be Willies top 4. Sbisa will be gifted the 5th spot as usual and if Hutton can keep showing the offensive upside he may edge out Corrado and Weber.

 

[Baby Pettersson]

I like you Baby Shink.

Your not to shabby yourself.

 

[Get North]

I don't the mind the lines. Virtanen will probably start on the bottom 6 since we have Vrbata, Burrows, Hansen and possibly Sutter. Baertschi-Horvat-Vrbata is what everyone wanted but all I hear is *****ing so I'm confused. McCann looks like he has a spot considering his wingers and where Sutter is right now. I bet Desjardins is more confident in 19 year olds now since Horvat last year.

 

[canuckking1]

D. Sedin - H. Sedin - Sutter
Baertschi - Horvat - Vrbata
Burrows - McCann - Hansen
Prust - Cracknell - Virtanen

Edler - Tanev
Hamhuis - Bartkowski
Hutton - Sbisa

In all honesty looking at this line up I kind of hope that maybe Sutter works on the wing with the Sedins. That frees up the 3rd line C for McCann where he does not have to play with the scrubs in Dorsett and Prust on the 4th line and waste his talent. Keeping Vrbata on the the 2nd line with Bae and Bo keeps the offence a bit spread out.

I think the top 2 D pairings are going to be our top 4 Edler, Tanev, Hammer and Bart seem to be Willies top 4. Sbisa will be gifted the 5th spot as usual and if Hutton can keep showing the offensive upside he may edge out Corrado and Weber.

But that leaves Virtanen with Plugs and were stuck with the same Problem again

I guess they could send Virt down and trade Vrbata at the deadline and that could be Virt spot for next season

 

[Bgav]

I hate Willie so much

 

[Orca Whalers]

Are you ****ing god danm serious?

@HockeyAbbs: Desjardins says he'll remember Baertschi-Horvat-Virtanen line "down the road" Do we read between the lines? #Canucks #TSN1040

**** off willie.. Like **** right the **** off

Stop cracking on the coach. You're going to argue against his decisions when he took us to the playoffs last year when everyone said we weren't a playoff team. Not to mention in his rookie year as head coach. Talk about an overreaction. Be glad we don't have Dallas Eakins. Willie knows what he's doing so RELAX!!!!!

 

[Tv9924]

I don't understand the outrage of Willie breaking up the kid line. Did you guys really think we'd go into the season with two rookies on our second line? (I know Baertschi isn't technically a rookie but he may as well be.) Willie came out last year and said that he wasn't happy at first about having a 19 year old Horvat on the roster at the start of the season, Virtanen and Baertschi are nowhere near as poised defensively as Horvat was at the beginning of his career.

As for Sutter with the Sedins, if it works then great. We get Horvat on the second line with Vrbata, which everyone wanted in the offseason, and McCann on the third line with some actually talented players.

 

[Tiranis]

Ya I don't get all the freaking out. It's the preseason. I for one am happy our coach is ballsy enough to try out new combinations. That's what the pre season is for after all.

The ballsiest thing is to keep that line together and see if you have something there. If they play well yet again, then the next ballsiest thing is to keep them together for game 1 of regular season.

As is, we're very unlikely to see that happen.

 

[Shareefruck]

Just like Virtanen/Booth, Sutter is stylistically an awful fit with the twins.

 

[Powder]

People need to calm down.

A) It's a preseason game.

B) If I told you before preseason started that Vrbata would be playing with Horvat and Baertschi in the last preseason game and that management wants to make that line work, you'd be ecstatic and happy.

C) If Sutter works with the Sedins, that leaves a great opening for McCann on the third line with good linemates. Again, if I told you this before preseason, you'd be happy because of more youth.

D) Virtanen needs to be tried out in a 4th line role because I there's no way he plays with Bo for the whole 82 game season. He needs to be able to be flexible in who he plays with if he wants to make this team.

E) Just like the Sedins can play with Vrbata and Burrows, which gives WD options, he now knows that Bo can play with Virtanen and Vrbata, which also gives him options. It's a positive note that he said he'll remember that line down the road because that not only points to him using later in the season, but it also points to Virtanen likely staying up for the season. More youth.

I'm not fond of this management team as much as the next guy, but this excessive complaining over neutral or even positive news is getting ridiculous. Put down your hate-filled glasses and try to look at situations objectively for freak's sake.

 

[Serac]

I feel bad for Virtanen
He gets dragged around the lineup no matter where he plays
Great game the other night ? Let's split him up and play him on the 4th line
Starts gelling with teammates at the world juniors ? Gotta split them up
Finds some chemistry with linemates with the hitmen ? Well no one else is scoring, gotta split up the only good line

We might as well try Virtanen at center like the hitmen have

 

[jrlp]

It's depressingly hard not to turn every thread into a "**** this goddamn piece of **** management team" thread.

I hear what you're getting at but in my view, what's depressing is the complete opposite.

It's actually super easy not to, yet it happens all the time.
I like the idea of that second line and considering the only way to see it is to break up the (super cool) line from last game, well that seems ok to me. I suspect the staff too, is likely having to put a lid on their enthusiasm for that line in order to attend to assessing other scenarios. Good problem to have, as they say.

 

[embee]

Holy crap some people complain a lot.

The line worked and thats great, of course he isn't gonna do it again in the preseason... he has gotta try different combination to see WHAT ELSE is gonna work. That's what preseason is for.

 

[Canucks LB]

Down the road could be this season, not just next.

 

[canwincup]

Holy crap some people complain a lot.

The line worked and thats great, of course he isn't gonna do it again in the preseason... he has gotta try different combination to see WHAT ELSE is gonna work. That's what preseason is for.

Ahh I don't think the last pre season game is for trying out new line combos. Disagree? Ask Vrbata what he thinks

 

[alternate]

Ya I don't get all the freaking out. It's the preseason. I for one am happy our coach is ballsy enough to try out new combinations. That's what the pre season is for after all.

Remember last season all the griping because Willie stuck with his first line up inclinations come hell or high water? This season he takes a look at a few different options, same grumbling.

Problem with the SS Vrbata is opposing teams figured them out last year. Stick close to Vrb to take away the one timer, then collapse to the net and let the Sedins cycle in the corner. Maybe if we had some offensive blueliners, but yeah. I like the trio thrown out after a PK but full time they lose their effectiveness.

Do need to try and find another option with the twins. In case of injuries or when the team needs a shake up. On paper Sutter isn't an obvious fit, but then either was Burrows. Sutter does have the right hand shot and a willingness to shoot, and he should be better at puck retrieval and own zone play than Vrbata. Sutter should also be able to go to the net and cause some traffic if the Oilers want to collapse on defense. I will be surprised if it works out, but examining options while the games don't count is a good thing.

Same with Virtannen on the 4th. Had his best game last outing, brings the same crash and bang that Dorsett does, but also gives that line a shooter. Dorsett has had quite a few quality looks this peeseason, have to hope our #6 over all pick will convert at a higher rate.

 

[mangdas]

Talbot starting tonight, and Nilsson backing up

 

[embee]

Ahh I don't think the last pre season game is for trying out new line combos. Disagree? Ask Vrbata what he thinks

Yes, it is. Its a preseason game. It counts for nothing.

You think that kid line is gonna score 10 points a game every game? No. Even if they did start the season together (which they won't) there would be times when they struggle and WD has to shuffle the lines.