GDT: Preseason Game #6 NYR @ NYI | 7PM | W 5-2

[SI]

Toews clearly making a case to stick around.

Some really tough decisions unless we see a trade down pike.

If Ladd starts on the IR-
Here are the certainties
18-13-7
27-29-12
17-53-15

That leaves 5 Forward spots -
Komarov and Filppula takes up two of those, leaving 3 spots for
Kuhnackl, Bellows, Ho-Sang, Kovar, Fritz, and Johnston to battle it out.

Has Kovar been that good? Serious question.

My guess - Ho-Sang, kuhnackl, and Kovar make the team.

Good idea for Bellows to get more acquainted to the pro game at Bridgeport. Fritz has looked good, but 1C at Bridgeport

Toews should make the team and then you release Sbisa.

 

[BelovedIsles]

I’d hang on to Sbisa.

I’m getting the sense we see Bailey w Beau and Barz. Trotz seems to like that combo.

 

[CREW99AW]

I’d hang on to Sbisa.

I’m getting the sense we see Bailey w Beau and Barz. Trotz seems to like that combo.

I am leery about breaking up the Beau/Barzal/Eberle line.
why mess with the success of that line?

 

[Joedoggy]

The Ciz line has shown great structure at all ends of the ice. It didn't take them long to gel, they show they can control/Hem/cause turnovers at will with their forecheck. They will be a force against top lines...Big difference seeing guys stand up for each other from the past 2 years..Welcome back #17.

 

[PK Cronin]

Toews clearly making a case to stick around.

Some really tough decisions unless we see a trade down pike.

If Ladd starts on the IR-
Here are the certainties
18-13-7
27-29-12
17-53-15

That leaves 5 Forward spots -
Komarov and Filppula takes up two of those, leaving 3 spots for
Kuhnackl, Bellows, Ho-Sang, Kovar, Fritz, and Johnston to battle it out.

Has Kovar been that good? Serious question.

My guess - Ho-Sang, kuhnackl, and Kovar make the team.

Good idea for Bellows to get more acquainted to the pro game at Bridgeport. Fritz has looked good, but 1C at Bridgeport

Toews should make the team and then you release Sbisa.

Kovar has been good in his games so far. He's still adjusting to the North American style of play. Can't see Johnston or Fritz making the team. Johnston will need to clear waivers, but that contract he just got will help him get through. He's great insurance in case one of the third liners gets hurt. I don't think we'd lose much if Martin or Clutterbuck went down with Johnston coming in.

Fritz is pure effort, he just isn't good enough to bump the other guys out.

Bellows has been good and I wouldn't be upset if he stayed up. I understand it's likely he'll get sent down though. Waiver exemption will most certainly play a role in who stays and goes, it always does.

I am leery about breaking up the Beau/Barzal/Eberle line.
why mess with the success of that line?

We don't have anyone to drive the second line. Eberle can play drive play a little more, has some playmaking ability, and can gain the zone. If he's on the second line, now there are two lines that can get some offense going. We know Barzal can play with just about anyone and we can always put them back later.

It's the same argument I always made with Tray-Toor here. It makes more sense to decrease the offensive production to line 1 a little bit, if it boosts the second line tremendously. Spread the wealth.

 

[Jester9881]

Absolutely agree with this. I do not like that switch with the top two lines. Bailey, Barzal and to a lesser extent Beau are all playmakers. Lee, Nelson and Eberle are all shooters. Those combos seem counterproductive to me. I am more willing to see Lee on the top line instead of Beau than I am to have Eberle taken off for Bailey. Honestly when I think of chemistry with Barzal, I think of Eberle even more than Beau.

I always felt that the top line was Tavares then Lee/Bailey feeding off their own chemistry. I thought when Trotz had Barzal centering that line on the PP all three started to open up offensively. I also liked the combination of Nelson/Beauvillier late in the game.

Lee - Barzal - Bailey
Beau - Nelson - Eberle

Is a good balanced top six IMO

 

[Jester9881]

I’m pretty sure Toews was with Mayfield and Wotherspoon was with Pulock the majority of the night.

They were, there was a handful of times (possibly on the PP) they were out there together though.

 

[CREW99AW]

K

We don't have anyone to drive the second line. Eberle can play drive play a little more, has some playmaking ability, and can gain the zone. If he's on the second line, now there are two lines that can get some offense going. We know Barzal can play with just about anyone and we can always put them back later.

It's the same argument I always made with Tray-Toor here. It makes more sense to decrease the offensive production to line 1 a little bit, if it boosts the second line tremendously. Spread the wealth.

Good points. I cannot argue about spreading the scoring around because I am concerned about teams focusing more on shutting Barzal down, with Tavares gone.

 

[LamorielloAndSon]

Yup. I suspect he has Ebs on the Nelson line bc Ebs can gain the zone consistently.

Either way, don’t mess w a good thing. Move Ebs up; Lee-Nelson-Bailey will be fine I suppose. Or Lee-Kovash-Bailey.

Lee kovar bailey makes too much sense

 

[Macch]

Lee kovar bailey makes too much sense

Brock is going to be given every chance to succeed with Lee and Bailey.

 

[Jester9881]

Has Kovar been that good? Serious question.

Toews should make the team and then you release Sbisa.

Kovar was getting sheltered on the 3rd line with wingers like Mooseknuckle. By the end of his 2nd game he was getting more comfortable and earning more time. Before Nelsons game last night, I had Kovar eventually edging him out for the 2C..... not so sure about that now, but he still should make the roster.

If Toews doesn't make this team it will be a travesty. Sbisa is going to be sticking around, no doubt in my mind. It's Mayfield and Pelech that should be worried at the moment. That contract Hickey got was dumb, I don't care who wants to defend the guy he's an awful defenseman. That turnover last night (which very well could have been a goal in the reg season with a coaches challenge) was vintage Hickey.

I am leery about breaking up the Beau/Barzal/Eberle line.
why mess with the success of that line?

That line was always Barzal/Eberle feeding off eachother to the benefit of whoever was on the LW. I think with a change of system and subtraction of 91 a shakeup is for the best. Barzal works well with Bailey/Lee who already have great chemistry but need a carrier/distributor to open up their game.

 

[miscs75]

Am I one of the few that would like to see this:
Bailey-Barzal-Lee
Beauvillier-Kovar-Eberle
Insert 3 guys from the list (Kuhnhackl, Nelson, Komarov, Filppula, Ho-Sang/ preference would be Kuhnhackl-Filppula-Komarov)
Johnston-Cizikas-Martin
Clutterbuck as the 13th/rotating on the 4th line with Martin and Johnston

Bellows starting in the AHL so he gets a little bit more accustomed to the pro game/more defensively responsible.

 

[boredmale]

I'll repeat what I said before here but I would spread the wealth over 3 lines instead of trying to come up with 2 lines with our best 6 offensive players. Given we lack a true #2 center I think a scoring by committee might work better with this team then trying to create 2 scoring lines and have 2 checking lines

I probably will do some combination of

? - Barzal - Beau/Eberle
Lee - ???? - Bailey
? - Nelson - Beau/Eberle

Note Beauvillier could play either side

 

[PK Cronin]

I'll repeat what I said before here but I would spread the wealth over 3 lines instead of trying to come up with 2 lines with our best 6 offensive players. Given we lack a true #2 center I think a scoring by committee might work better with this team then trying to create 2 scoring lines and have 2 checking lines

I probably will do some combination of

? - Barzal - Beau/Eberle
Lee - ???? - Bailey
? - Nelson - Beau/Eberle

Note Beauvillier could play either side

I don't think this is bad. Maybe put Bellows in place of Komarov if he makes it or there's an injury. Nelson and Ho-Sang have shown chemistry in the past I think, right? Beauvillier and Ho-Sang played well together in the past too, so maybe that's an option too. The more I look at this lineup, the more I don't see how Ladd even makes the damn team.

Lee Barzal Bailey
Beauvillier Kovar Eberle
Komarov Nelson Ho-Sang
Martin Cizikas Clutterbuck

Filppula Kuhnhackl

 

[boredmale]

I don't think this is bad. Maybe put Bellows in place of Komarov if he makes it or there's an injury. Nelson and Ho-Sang have shown chemistry in the past I think, right? Beauvillier and Ho-Sang played well together in the past too, so maybe that's an option too. The more I look at this lineup, the more I don't see how Ladd even makes the damn team.

Lee Barzal Bailey
Beauvillier Kovar Eberle
Komarov Nelson Ho-Sang
Martin Cizikas Clutterbuck

Filppula Kuhnhackl

That works for me if they determine one of Bellows or Ho Sang should make the roster

 

[cbtitan]

The unwillingness by both Lamoriello and Trotz to play Dobson in the last 3 games makes me think that he could be back to Juniors way quicker than expected.
I don't know the rationale behind this but it does not seem like Management want to speed up his development.

 

[MJF]

Brock is going to be given every chance to succeed with Lee and Bailey.

I agree.

I think a big part of Lou's audit of the team is where Brock Nelson fits in and whether he's worth committing a long term contract to. He's one of the reasons Lou didn't go out and look to import more skilled forwards this summer. IMHO it's long past time to package Nelson off in a trade but I suppose Lou wants to see him with a new coaching staff and new systems in place. After all Nelson is still a guy with 20-25 goal potential.

 

[MJF]

I’d hang on to Sbisa.

I wouldn't. I think Toews should be in the top 6 and Pelech should be the guy who sits every night.

 

[PK Cronin]

The unwillingness by both Lamoriello and Trotz to play Dobson in the last 3 games makes me think that he could be back to Juniors way quicker than expected.
I don't know the rationale behind this but it does not seem like Management want to speed up his development.

There's a glut of defensemen who are closer to being NHLers than Dobson at the moment. Toews and Wotherspoon both look good. We all knew Dobson wasn't making this team. Too many guys in front of him and it's just not necessary.

I agree.

I think a big part of Lou's audit of the team is where Brock Nelson fits in and whether he's worth committing a long term contract to. He's one of the reasons Lou didn't go out and look to import more skilled forwards this summer. IMHO it's long past time to package Nelson off in a trade but I suppose Lou wants to see him with a new coaching staff and new systems in place. After all Nelson is still a guy with 20-25 goal potential.

I don't like him, but he's pretty much a lock for 20+ goals a year. It's crazy.

 

[MJF]

There's a glut of defensemen who are closer to being NHLers than Dobson at the moment. Toews and Wotherspoon both look good. We all knew Dobson wasn't making this team. Too many guys in front of him and it's just not necessary.



I don't like him, but he's pretty much a lock for 20+ goals a year. It's crazy.

Such skilled hands but he's a floater.

 

[doublechili]

I’m getting the sense we see Bailey w Beau and Barz. Trotz seems to like that combo.

Yes, I agree. I've been doubtful ever since Trotz was hired that he'd keep Beau-Barz-Eberle together. Bailey provides some defensive responsibility and veteran presence to the kids, and Eberle is a nice fit with Lee and Nelson b/c he can both make plays and shoot. And I'll bet Trotz is a bit of a traditionalist and wants to mix up the LH/RH.

 

[YearlyLottery]

The unwillingness by both Lamoriello and Trotz to play Dobson in the last 3 games makes me think that he could be back to Juniors way quicker than expected.
I don't know the rationale behind this but it does not seem like Management want to speed up his development.

I think the rationale behind this is he still looks like a kid who just graduated high school.

 

[Lame Lambert]

Can Pulock play 2C?

 

[YearlyLottery]

Can Pulock play 2C?

Probably more consistent than Nelson can.

 

[seafoam]

I’d rather have Toews making the team causing one of Mayfield/Pelech to be in the pressbox every night and then call up guys from Bridgeport (Aho, Wotherspoon, Vande Sompel, Rathgeb, Buroughs) when the injuries hit than sign Sbisa.

The first few on that list are such good skaters and puck movers, while Sbisa is consistently out of position and the team gives up more shots when he’s on the ice that they get on goal themselves.