René Lecavalier Semifinals: Pittsburgh AC vs. West Island Lions

[Sturminator]

Pittsburgh Athletic Club

Coach: Anatoli Tarasov
Assistant Coach: Billy Reay

Paul Kariya-Gordie Howe
Ebbie Goodfellow-Ted Kennedy(C)
Dit Clapper(A)

Darryl Sittler (A)-Dany Heatley
Glen Harmon-Dave Taylor
Herb Gardiner

Veniamin Alexandrov-Vladimir Vikulov
Pit Lepine-Lennart Svedberg
Rod Seiling

Kelly Miller-Ryan Kesler-Ron Stewart

Johnny Bower
Roberto Luongo

Spares: Mike Green, Johnny Gagnon, Paul Shmyr

PP1: Heatley-Sittler-Howe-Kariya-Clapper
PP2: Alexandrov-Kennedy-Vikulov-Svedberg-Goodfellow

PK1: Kesler-Miller-Gardiner-Seiling
PK2: Lepine-Stewart-Goodfellow-Clapper​

Estimated Minutes:

Forward| ES | PP | PK | total
Gordie Howe|16|4|2|22|
Paul Kariya|16|4|0|20|
Ted Kennedy|16|3|2|21|
Darryl Sittler|14|4|0|18|
Dany Heatley|14|4|0|18|
Pit Lepine|14|0|2|16|
Vladimir Vikulov|14|3|0|17|
Veniamin Alexandrov|14|3|0|17|
Dave Taylor|14|0|0|14|
Ryan Kesler|3|0|3|6|
Ron Stewart|3|0|2|5|
Kelly Miller|0|0|3|3|
Total | 138 | 25 | 14 |177

Defense|ES|PP|PK|Total
Dit Clapper|17|4|3|24|
Ebbie Goodfellow|17|3|3|23|
Herb Gardiner|15|0|4|19|
Rod Seiling|14|0|4|18|
Lennart Svedberg|14|3|0|17|
Glen Harmon|15|0|0|15|
Totals|92|10|14|116

Vs.​

WEST ISLAND LIONS

Coach: Alain Vigneault
Assistant Coach: John Muckler
Captain: Scott Niedermayer
Alternates: Chris Pronger, Brendan Shanahan

Brendan Shanahan - Mickey MacKay - Jaromir Jagr
Kevin Stevens - Joe Thornton - Cecil Dillon
Don Marshall - Blair Russel - Tony Amonte
Dennis Hull - Claude Giroux - Eric Nesterenko
Steve Thomas - Craig MacTavish

Chris Pronger - Cy Wentworth
Barry Beck - Scott Niedermayer
Robyn Regehr - Jiri Bubla
Bob Dailey

Jiri Holecek
Tom Paton

PP1
Brendan Shanahan - Mickey MacKay - Jaromir Jagr
Chris Pronger - Scott Niedermayer

PP2
Kevin Stevens - Joe Thornton - Cecil Dillon
Barry Beck - Jiri Bubla

PK1
Don Marshall - Eric Nesterenko
Chris Pronger - Cy Wentworth

PK2
Blair Russel - Cecil Dillon
Barry Beck - Robyn Regehr​

Click to read more...

 

[jarek]

Rob, can you please take the time to discuss how your matchups are going to work with Tarasov's 5 man units? I will admit this had me scratching my head during voting last round.

 

[TheDevilMadeMe]

This is a great matchup here. I really love that Rob did something different and did it well and voted him high in regular season voting. But now it's time to see if the build holds up to scrutiny against a strong West Island team.

I actually voted West Island a little lower than I wanted to in the regular season because I really don't see Paton as an ATD-calibre backup (I realize other GMs are a lot higher on early 1890s hockey than I am), and Holecek seems like a guy who would need his backup to play in the regular season. But in the playoffs, that's largely irrelevant.

 

[Sturminator]

Generally speaking, I'd say this matchup looks like:

1st units: Pittsburgh clearly better

2nd units: West Island clearly better

3rd units: Pittsburgh clearly better

4th lines: different (but generally a win for Pittsburgh because they're using the lesser players for fewer minutes)

Goal: relatively close, though I'll point out that the transitive Holecek -> Tretiak argument doesn't work very well in a series against Johnny Bower, who in many ways was to Glenn Hall what Holecek was to Tretiak.

Coaching: big win for Pittsburgh.

------------------------------------------------------------

I think West Island needs the Thornton/Niedermayer connection to carry them if they want to win this. Those two represent a real edge over their counterparts (Sittler/Gardiner, who are also good), and the rest of the second units are close. I like Beck/Dillon a bit more than Harmon/Heatley, but I like Dave Taylor quite a bit more than Kevin Stevens, so that tilts it back towards Pittsburgh. West Island should be able to gain some ground in this matchup, the question is whether or not it's enough.

Pittsburgh will win the 1st unit matchup because they simply have the better personnel, with Cy Wentworth looking like a guy who might get picked on, and Mickey MacKay liable to get physically abused. Seriously, the four-man group of Howe, Kennedy, Goodfellow and Clapper is kind of crazy in terms of all-around play and physicality, and Howe and Goodfellow were both very strong and aggressive. Mickey MacKay going into a corner against either of those guys is kind of a scary thought, especially in light of how MacKay responded to physicality in the playoffs during his actual career, and I don't think Shanny and Pronger will have much to say to Pittsburgh in terms of physicality when things get rough.

The question, then, is whether or not West Island can shuffle the deck in such a way as to try to get a better matchup about the Howe unit. I dunno...I don't see it. Donnie Marshall can make a go of it against Gordie Howe, but Gordie Howe saw checkers like Donnie Marshall an awful lot, and the coaching matchup is so much in Pittsburgh's favor here, that I don't know if a good matchup would be exploited even if one existed.

Pittsburgh will win the 3rd/4th unit battle simply because the combined minutes coming from its bottom units will be better minutes than what West Island will get out of its bottom units.

 

[Rob Scuderi]

Rob, can you please take the time to discuss how your matchups are going to work with Tarasov's 5 man units? I will admit this had me scratching my head during voting last round.

It's not clear to me how much hard matching Tarasov did, but in my mind this team is built to go power on power.

My first unit has a lot of skill, physicality, and two-way ability.

Kennedy: extremely hard-working, strong defenisvely and forechecker, all-time great on draws (Tarasov will be so confused ), good playmaker and stickhandler. Here's a good anecdote on his game:

“Elmer Lach was a tough, skilled veteran who tried to physically intimidate most opposition centres,†Davidson recalled. “When they lined up for the opening faceoff in the first game, Lach leaned close to the kid and said, ‘Stay away from me or I’ll cut your head off with my stick.’ Teeder leaned right back even closer to Lach and said, ‘If you try that, I’ll put you in the hospital.’ We knew then we had a young guy who wouldn’t be frightened by anyone.â€

Kennedy battled Lach for every inch of ice and scored three goals as the Leafs won the series in six games, then beat the Red Wings in a seven-game Final.

Clapper: massive for his day at 6'2", 195, strong defensively and blocking shots, converted forward who could rush the puck well, some articles praised him as an elite two-way defender comparable to Seibert, others praised him as being a steady guy who could cover for a rushing partner, called by Frank Boucher the "the greatest ice general" he ever saw.

Goodfellow: called one of the best all-around players during his career, good stickhandler, great shot that was repeatedly praised, very physical player who was a good fighter.

I don't think I need to mention Howe, and you won't see me trying to sell Kariya beyond his skill.

With the combined skillsets these players offer, this unit should be well-served matching the opposition's top lines. They'll physically punish players which will be an issue for smaller or softer players, they're good enough defensively to hang against a top line, and most importantly they will be able to push the pace with their skill level.

 

[Rob Scuderi]

Also congrats on the victory Dwight, this should be a good series.

The third unit of my team is also very important for the style of play I tried to build around Tarasov. It's obviously not a shutdown line or typical two-way line we usually have, but a third wave Tarasov can roll out continuing his up-tempo style. Matching up against bottom six lines should be where this unit excels.

The midfield partnership of Lepine and Svedberg will create challenges for units who are light on skill and susceptible to having their counterattacks snuffed out by their aggressive defensive work in the neutral zone.

Lepine's game fits very well with the idea of a Soviet midfielder. He was also a goal-biased center which will put him at home with Alexandrov and Vuklov. Combine his hookchecking with Svedberg's penchant for charging puck carriers/intercepting passes in the neutral zone and this unit has a nice foundation defensively.

 

[Rob Scuderi]

Fleshing out what I mean about a comparison of our third units:

To gauge the offensive ability of my third unit forwards, consider the comparisons of Alexandrov to Starshinov and Vikulov to Yakushev. They are known quantities that find homes in an ATD top six, and I think this helps show how accomplished Vikulov and Alexandrov were.

Comparison of Vikulov and Yakushev's international scoring records:

Vladimir Vikulov

Year|Games|G |A|P |Place|Tournament|Awards
1966 |7 |4 |2 |6 |7th |WEC-A |--
1967 |7 |6 |6 |12 |5th |WEC-A |--
1968 |7 |2 |10 |12 |T-2nd |WEC-A/Olympics |--
1969 |9 |2 |4 |6 |T-20th |WEC-A |--
1970 |10 |9 |5 |14 |5th |WEC-A |--
1971 |10 |6 |5 |11 |T-4th |WEC-A |All-Star
1972 |10 |12 |4 |16 |2nd |WEC-A |All-Star
1972 |5 |5 |4 |9 |T-2nd |Olympics |*
1975 |6 |6 |3 |9 |T-16th |WEC-A |--
Total | 71 | 52 | 43 | 95 |-- | Points-Per-Game | 1.34

Alexander Yakushev

Year|Games|G|A|P|Place|Tournament |Awards
1967 |2 |1 |0 |1 |-- |WEC-A |--
1969 |6 |1 |1 |2 |-- |WEC-A |--
1970 |6 |3 |3 |6 |T-23rd |WEC-A |--
1972 |10 |11 |4 |15 |T-3rd |WEC-A |--
1972 |5 |0 |3 |3 |-- |Olympics |*
1973 |10 |9 |6 |15 |T-5th |WEC-A |--
1974 |10 |7 |7 |14 |3rd |WEC-A |All-Star
1975 |8 |11 |5 |16 |T-4th |WEC-A |All-Star; Best Forward
1976 |10 |6 |1 |7 |T-24th |WEC-A |--
1976 |6 |4 |9 |13 |4th |Olympics |*
1977 |10 |7 |4 |11 |T-10th |WEC-A |--
Total | 83 | 60 | 43 | 103 |-- | Points-Per-Game | 1.24

Comparison of Alexandrov and Starshinov's international tournament scoring records

Veniamin Alexandrov international performance:

Year | GP | G | A | P | Place | Tournament | Awards
1961 | 7 | 6 | 2 | 8 | T-8th | WEC-A | --
1962 | *|*|*|*|*|*|*
1963 | 7 | 4 | 6 | 10| T-9th | WEC-A | --
1964 | 7 | 4 | 3 | 7 | T-13th| Olympics | --
1965 | 7 | 4 | 5 | 9 | T-6th | WEC-A | --
1966 | 7 | 9 | 8 | 17| 1st | WEC-A | All-Star
1967 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 14| 4th | WEC-A | All-Star
1968 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 6 | -- | WEC-A/Olympics| --
Total | 46 | 37 | 34 | 71 | -- | Points-Per-Game | 1.54

Vyacheslav Starshinov international performance:

Year | GP | G | A | P | Place | Tournament | Awards
1961 | 7 | 6 | 3 | 9 | T-5th | WEC-A | --
1962 | *|*|*|*|*|*|*
1963 | 7 | 8 | 3 | 11| T-6th | WEC-A | --
1964 | 7 | 7 | 3 | 10| T-3rd | Olympics | --
1965 | 7 | 6 | 2 | 8 | T-9th | WEC-A | Best Forward
1966 | 7 | 11| 1 | 12| 3rd | WEC-A | --
1967 | 7 | 4 | 2 | 6 | -- | WEC-A | --
1968 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 12| T-2nd | WEC-A/Olympics| --
Total | 49 | 48 | 20 | 68 | -- | Points-Per-Game | 1.41

* USSR did not compete in the 1962 WEC-A tournament.

This excludes the following:

Alexandrov:

Year | GP | G | A | P | Place | Tournament | Awards
1958 | 7 | 9 | 3 | 12| T-4th | WEC-A | --
1959 | 8 | 4 | ??| ??| ?? | WEC-A | --
1960 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 13| 4th | Olympics | --

Starshinov:

Year | GP | G | A | P | Place | Tournament | Awards
1969 | 10 | 6 | 1 | 7 | -- | WEC-A | --
1970 | 9 | 5 | 5 | 10| T-7th | WEC-A | --
1971 | 9 | 4 | 5 | 9 | T-9th | WEC-A | --

Amonte is the strongest offensive player on West Island's third line. He had a VsX7 of 73.3, which puts him in company with the following:

Woody Dumart (73.5), Gaye Stewart (73.1), Larry Aurie (72.7), Steve Larmer (72.1)

Amonte is flanked by a pair of players who were light on offensive ability. This post by seventieslord looking at Vs1 numbers by pre-consolidations players showers Russel is one of the weakest offensive forwards in this group drafted in the ATD. This is despite the fact he played with Russell Bowie.

Marshall was a top 20 point scorer only twice in his career.

West Island's third line will rely heavily on Amonte in transition and to create offensively.

Lepine was a top 20 point scorer only once in his career being stuck behind Morenz. He's flanked by a pair of skilled Soviets forwards however.

In terms of defensive ability, I see it as something like:

Lepine
Marshall (big part of his defensive ability tied to PKing)
Russel
------
Amonte
------
Alexandrov, Vikulov
============================================================
When you bring in the defenders, I see Pittsburgh pulling ahead further.

Bubla and Svedberg make for a clean comparison.

Svedberg was a 3x WC AST member, and Bubla twice. Both won the WC Best Defender award once.

Regehr and Seiling were both steady, stay-at-home types, but Seiling received AST voting attention (finishing top 10 three times) that Regehr didn't.
=============================================================
Up front, I think you have to give Lepine the nod over Russel. Amonte is better defensively than Alexandrov and Vikulov, but their offensive comparables are stronger. When you factor in the difference at defense I think Pittsburgh's unit is stronger.

Again, I like the skillsets in play here. Amonte is quite a bit more offensively talented than Russel and Marshall so Lepine and Svedberg can focus their attention in the neutral zone. If they are successful this will enable Vikulov and Alexandrov to do what they did best: carrying the puck and putting their skill to use.

 

[Rob Scuderi]

Dwight seems to be tied up so there's not a ton for me to say.

He split his #2D and #1C onto his second units. This gives him an advantage comparing second units, but it weakens his top line and pair. My first unit is the strength of my team so facing a team with a #2C #3/4D on their top unit will make their job easier. Sturm mentioned above how that particular center in MacKay will have a hard time dealing with my unit.

One other final change, I'll be giving Kennedy and Howe 2 minutes a night on the PK to be used when West Island's second unit is out. Both killed penalties in their career and pose a pretty serious counterattacking threat against second unit pointmen.

 

[Sturminator]

Pittsburgh wins in 5
- Three stars: Howe, Jagr, Sittler

 

[BenchBrawl]

Surprised this one ended in 5.Thought Dwight deserved better, very strong team he managed to build.

Was expecting a very close series but apparently not.