René Lecavalier Quarterfinals: Chicago Shamrocks vs. Ottawa 67's

[Sturminator]

Chicago Shamrocks

Head Coach: Darryl Sutter
Captain: Milt Schmidt
Alternate Captains: Chris Chelios, Shane Doan

Vladimir Krutov - Milt Schmidt (C) - Sergei Makarov
Roy Conacher - Evgeni Malkin - Shane Doan (A)
Marty Pavelich - Bill Thoms - Tony Leswick
Ab McDonald - Brent Sutter - Jamie Langenbrunner


Moose Vasko - Chris Chelios (A)
Ryan Suter - Ken Reardon
Lars-Erik Sjoberg - Reed Larson

Henrik Lundqvist
Alec Connell

Spares: Clint Smith, Leo Labine, Dickie Boon, Allan Cameron


PP1
Roy Conacher - Milt Schmidt - Sergei Makarov
Reed Larson - Evgeni Malkin

PP2
Vladimir Krutov - Bill Thoms - Shane Doan
Chris Chelios - Lars-Erik Sjoberg

PK1
Marty Pavelich - Tony Leswick
Moose Vasko - Chris Chelios

PK2
Ab McDonald - Brent Sutter
Ryan Suter - Ken Reardon

PK3
Bill Thoms - Jamie Langenbrunner

Extra PK F: Milt Schmidt
Extra PK D: Lars-Erik Sjoberg
​

Estimated Minutes

Forwards

Player | ES | PP | PK | Total
V. Krutov | 12 | 5 | 0 | 17
M. Schmidt | 15 | 5 | 0 | 20
S. Makarov | 15 | 5 | 0 | 20
R. Conacher | 14 | 2 | 0 | 16
E. Malkin | 12 | 5 | 0 | 17
S. Doan | 12 | 2 | 0 | 14
M. Pavelich | 12 | 0 | 3.5 | 15.5
B. Thoms | 10 | 2 | 1 | 13
T. Leswick | 12 | 0 | 3.5 | 15.5
A. McDonald | 8 | 0 | 2.5 | 10.5
B. Sutter | 9 | 0 | 2.5 | 11.5
J. Langenbrunner | 7 | 0 | 1 | 8
TOTAL | 138 | 26 | 14 | 178

Defense

Player | ES | PP | PK | Total
C. Chelios | 19 | 2 | 4 | 25
M. Vasko | 16 | 0 | 4 | 20
K. Reardon | 19 | 0 | 3 | 22
R. Suter | 16 | 0 | 3 | 19
L. Sjoberg | 15 | 2 | 0 | 17
R. Larson | 7 | 5 | 0 | 12
TOTAL | 92 | 9 | 14 | 115

Vs.​

GMs - Hawkman & Hedberg
Coach: Al Arbour
Captain: Denis Potvin
Alternates: Doug Wilson, Brian Sutter

Luc Robitaille - Marcel Dionne - Teemu Selanne
Brian Sutter - Dale Hawerchuk - Alexander Mogilny
John Tonelli - Doug Jarvis - Brian Bellows
Mats Naslund - Eric Staal - Bill Fairbairn

Denis Potvin - Doug Wilson
Gary Suter - Craig Hartsburg
Mathieu Schneider - Brent Seabrook

Billy Smith
Mike Vernon

SPARES - Fs Doug Risebrough, Garry Unger, Andre LaCroix, D Pekka Rautakallio

Powerplay:
PP1: Luc Robitaille - Marcel Dionne - Teemu Selanne - Potvin - Wilson
PP2: Eric Staal- Dale Hawerchuk - Alexander Mogilny - Suter - Schneider

Penalty Kill:
PK1: Doug Jarvis - Brian Bellows - Potvin - Wilson
PK2: John Tonelli - Bill Fairbairn - Hartsburg - Seabrook​

Click to read more...

 

[Elvis P]

The voters were very fair with me. I like my dmen and my special teams, but my team is flawed. It will be interesting to see how you do with Lundqvist in the 2nd round. Good luck.

 

[Hawkey Town 18]

Well, although it sounds like Hawkman is giving up, I'll still do a brief analysis:

Coaching: Arbour is elite, Sutter is about average. Edge Ottawa

First Line: Robitaille is better than Krutov, Schmidt is better than Dionne, Makarov is better than Selanne. There is also no defensive or physical presence on Ottawa, whereas Chicago has Schmidt to match up against Ottawas largest offensive threat. Edge Chicago

Second Line: Conacher over Sutter, Malkin over Hawerchuk, Mogilny over Doan...really Sutter/Doan and Conacher/Mogilny should be compared here, since they're playing the same roles. In that case I think Chicago has the better players across the board. Edge Chicago

Third Line: IMO Pavelich, Leswick, and Jarvis are 3 very strong defensive players, Tonelli and Thoms are strong defensive players, and Bellows is neutral at best. Tonelli and Bellows bring a physical element that Chicago does not have. Thoms is the best offensive player on either line, followed by Bellows. Leswick is in the next tier alone, and then Pavelick, Jarvis, and Tonelli bring little offensively. Overall I give the edge to Chicago.

4th Line: Really tough to compare, Chicago's is a defensively responsible, physical, grinding type 4th line where Ottawa has gone for a more offense focused 4th line.


I have to run, will likely get to the Defense, Goaltending, and Special Teams tomorrow

 

[Hawkey Town 18]

Continuing...

Defense: Ottawa has their top 2 Dmen on the 1st pair whereas Chicago's are split, so I will look at individual player comparison:

Potvin > Chelios: Not much to say here, Chelios is a top 10 Dman, but Potvin is clearly a tier or 2 ahead.

Wilson < Reardon: These 2 are close as average to slightly below average #2's, but I give the edge to Reardon who has a much higher peak but shorter career. I would say the edge Potvin has on Chelios is larger than this one, so at this point Ottawa remains ahead overall.

G. Suter = Vasko: These 2 are both about average #3's and close enough to call equal.

Hartsburg < R. Suter: This is the biggest edge for Chicago. Suter is essentially a second #3 for Chicago...his peak/short prime is actually better than the above 2 guys (especially when you factor the votes Weber stole from him), but he is lacking in longevity and playoffs. Hartsburg is more of an average to below average #4.

Schneider < Larson: Both of these guys aren't much in the ways of defense, but Larson is the better offensive threat.

Seabrook < Sjoberg: I think this is another large advantage for Chicago. Sjoberg is the best bottom pairing Dman between these 2 teams IMO and Seabrook is probably better as a spare.

Overall Defense: Ottawa has the advantage at the top, both with the best #1 Dman and best top pair, but beyond that it's all Chicago. Ottawa will rely heavily on it's top pairing, whereas Chicago has 2 strong pairs that can handle tough matchups. Edge Chicago.

Goaltending: Lundqvist actually has a better regular season resume than Smith by quite a bit, and also better than any modern goaltender of the "Post-Brodeur Generation" but Smith is a playoff legend and still the better goaltender overall. Edge Ottawa

Powerplay: The top units are close, but I'd give a small edge to Ottawa. 2nd unit for Ottawa is clearly better. Edge Ottawa.

Penalty Kill: I have no idea why Brian Bellows is on a 1st unit PK. Jarvis is good, but Bellows gives Chicago the edge up front. Chelios is a PK phenom and equal if not better than Potvin in this aspect of the game. Wilson is more offensive minded and more suited to 2nd PK unit if you ask me. Vasko's large size gives Chicago the edge. Outside of Tonelli, a weak 2nd unit for Ottawa, and who is killing penalties if one of the PKers is in the box? Edge Chicago


Overall: I think a large edge up front and advantage on the blueline for Chicago will be too much for Ottawa's coaching and goaltending advantages to overcome. I also think a physical blueline, two-way 3rd line, as well as a power on power matchup to have big Milt Schmidt neutralize and beat up on Marcel Dionne will make it difficult for Ottawa to put up points.

 

[Elvis P]

... as well as a power on power matchup to have big Milt Schmidt neutralize and beat up on Marcel Dionne will make it difficult for Ottawa to put up points.

Underdog Factor

Marcel Dionne played in 10 play-off series', and was the underdog 9 times. In those 9 series' as an underdog, Dionne's team finished an average of 22 points behind their opponent in the standinge! The one series victory was over Edmonton, who finished 48 points ahead! The Los Angeles Kings were a one line team, and pretty much a one player team. Can anyone name a defenseman from LA? How about somebody from the 2nd line?

Compared to Peers 1977-1985 Play-offs

Marcel Dionne – 20 goals and 43 points in 43 games = 1.00 PPG

Jacques Lemaire – 27 goals and 57 points in 48 games = 1.07 PPG
Bryan Trottier – 54 goals and 154 points in 148 games = 1.04 PPG
Jean Ratelle – 23 goals and 56 points in 58 games = 0.97 PPG
Doug Gilmour – 3 goals and 13 points in 14 games = 0.93 PPG
Bobby Clarke – 31 goals and 79 points in 87 games = 0.91 PPG
Rick MacLeish – 26 goals and 57 points in 66 games = 0.86 PPG
Steve Shutt – 44 goals and 83 points in 83 games = 1.00 PPG
Joe Mullen – 9 goals and 20 points in 20 games = 1.00 PPG
Mike Gartner – 7 goals and 17 points in 17 games = 1.00 PPG
Rick Middleton – 36 goals and 86 point in 88 games = 0.98 PPG
Bill Barber – 41 goals and 79 points in 84 games = 0.94 PPG
Michel Goulet – 24 goals and 47 points in 50 games = 0.94 PPG
Dino Ciccareli – 28 goals and 50 points in 57 games = 0.88 PPG
Brian Propp – 22 goals and 53 points in 60 games = 0.88 PPG

As you can see, compared to some of his high profile peers, Dionne was a solid play-off performer. He always played for garbage teams, so he always played strong opponents and got bounced early. Despite that, his per game numbers stack up respectably.

Dionne is the 6th leading scorer of all time. Despite playing on inferior teams with less talented teammates and always being guarded by the other team's best defender, Dionne was a PPG player in the playoffs, he's playing on a first unit and PP1 with Luc Robitaille - Teemu Selanne - Denis Potvin - and Doug Wilson, and will not be neutralized by Miltie.

 

[Hedberg]

I also think a physical blueline, two-way 3rd line, as well as a power on power matchup to have big Milt Schmidt neutralize and beat up on Marcel Dionne will make it difficult for Ottawa to put up points.

I think for the most part Hawkey Town has done a fair and reasoned analysis of the series, except for this part about beating upon on Dionne. Sure, Dionne can be stopped, but as Hawkman has pointed, his playoff numbers are fine. There's getting to be a bit of a false ATD binary that a player is either tough or soft, when in reality, Dionne wasn't going to play physical, but he wouldn't shy away either.

 

[Hawkey Town 18]

I think for the most part Hawkey Town has done a fair and reasoned analysis of the series, except for this part about beating upon on Dionne. Sure, Dionne can be stopped, but as Hawkman has pointed, his playoff numbers are fine. There's getting to be a bit of a false ATD binary that a player is either tough or soft, when in reality, Dionne wasn't going to play physical, but he wouldn't shy away either.

I'm fine not singling out Dionne, but someone on that line is getting beat up going into the corners against Schmidt/my top 4 D.

 

[Sturminator]

Chicago wins in 6
- Three stars: Makarov, Potvin, Chelios

 

[Hawkey Town 18]

Good series fellas

 

[Elvis P]

Good series fellas

Congrats! The best team won.

 

[Hedberg]

Good series fellas

Congratulations. Good luck in the next round!