FlyguyOX
Registered User
- Jun 29, 2018
- 3,724
- 3,616
It’s certainly interesting, but I’d argue that it appears so from stat watching, and not accounting for utilization, whereas Gustafsson is the man if you’re actually watching games.
Berglund gets sheltered, he has effectively been playing 8+ and 4+ minutes less than Gustafsson and Lundkvist respectively, for good reasons. Gustafsson is our #1 shutdown and 1# transition defenseman. Berglund is good with the puck and valuable in offensive situations, and — as was the case with Lundkvist last year — paired up with the very reliable Gustafsson, Berglund receives more freedom to go out on offensive missions. Berglund is weak in front of his netminder and I feel he tends to watch the puck too much, making him a liability in his own zone, in my opinion.
Lundkvist has improved his defensive awareness immensely and is better at transitions than Sondell, while Sondell is very good at getting in passing lanes and blocking shots. However, Sondell has a tendency to make stupid stick infractions, fumble pucks at the blue line, and misread situations resulting in breakaways, making Gustafsson-Berglund perhaps a slightly better ES pairing.
Thanks for your input! Hard to watch SHL here in the states so I always appreciate the first hand info.