@tinyzombies
Hey bud, congrats on making it into the dance here, looking forward to a good series! Valleyfield is a sneaky good roster.
I'll start off by subbing out Hakan Loob for Bobby Gould on the 4th line @ RW.
He's an above average defensive player and I think that's important to get into the lineup with a 2nd line that has Bentley-Bentley.
As the home team, we'd be rolling out the following to star this series:
Davidson-Madden-Randall will match up against Trottier's line for a couple of reasons. One, BT is the best offensive and overall player on the Braves. Two, he played a hard game and was an uber physical SOB. Madden is about as well suited to go toe to toe with a guy like Trottier given his own physicality traits and defensive acumen. Obviously Trottier will get his chances but I do like Madden to do a better than average job of shadowing him and not giving up an inch in the physical battles.
Kerr-Shadrin-Gould will see a good bit of Bentley-Bentley-Neely. As far as 4th line defensive presences goes, Shadrin-Gould isn't too shabby going up against Bentley-Bentley but obviously the latter duo has a sizable advantage. I think it prudent to counter a strong real life partnership with better defensive ability/awareness.
As for the match ups:
Coaching:
Admittedly I'm not much of a fan of Babcock. I think him quite overrated in the modern game but at the end of the day I think he's still one of the top 3-5 coaches of the past 20 years. With that being said I think Tarasov is a good bit superior. I'm not exactly sure I know where I'd put AT all time but I lean towards the top 10 simply because he had such a big hand in building hockey in the Soviet Union and is record is very strong. Here he has a roster I think he would mostly love, though I do know Petrov and he clashed and big Buff would probably drive Tarasov nuts with his conditioning.
With that being said, I think he bulk of Saskatooon is a great fit for Tarasov.
I don't think this is some sort of massive advantage but Tarasov is at least a full notch above Babcock to me.
Forwards:
Taylor was an electrifying offensive player, elite wheels, deft stick handling, great goal scorer, passer. Some might say an artist. Palffy would be a good fit. Responsible defensively, really great offensive flair and skill. Quite underrated from the DPE. I think he and Taylor would be a treat to watch in the transition game. Northcott is the glue. The uber physical check. Real strong defensively, passable offense.
Trottier is a touch better than Taylor all time but the gap is small. Pittsburgh gets the win comparing first lines based on the superior wing players on both sides. Taylor, in my eyes has a good bit more to work with on his flanks especially at LW which is a big big win for Pitt.
Both 2nd lines are fantastic. How cool is it that you have the Bentley brothers and the reunion of Kharlamov-Petrov!
Really close overall, but I'll give Valleyfield a slight edge here. I do prefer Kharlamov-Petrov slightly to B&B, but Neely is a good ways ahead of Loktev, even if the latter is a strong fit next to his fellow Soviets.
The 3rd line shifts back to favor the Snipers IMO. Better on the wings with Davidson/Randall vs Prospal/Wharram. Stamkos is a better all time player than Madden but I think Madden's impact in this series has the potential to be much bigger given his assignment of Trottier.
Strong 4th line for Valleyfield. Give them the edge here though as I said, I like Pittsburgh's bottom 6 with Gould in there to have more success slowing down the top 6 of Vallefield than vice vera.
Defense:
Really nice top pairing for the Braves. PP is an above average # 1 whereas Hod Stuart is probably just on the edge of being passable as a #1 though I do think Howell is a solid #2 and a bit stronger than Vasko. But overall this is a clear advantage for Valleyfield. You have real life teammates and a much stronger #1 for the Braves. It's not a giant gap because Howell closes it somewhat but it's advantage VF.
I think the 2nd pairings flip though.
Schoenfeld is pretty clearly the better D of the 4. And I think he's a fantastic fit for Svedberg who was a pretty dynamic offensive player in Sweden and the international circuit before he tragically died at 28 I think, right in the middle of his prime.
3rd pairings look to be a wash.
Goalies:
Broda, IMO, is where the series really tilts. I do like Price a good bit. I think he's a top 30 G of all time now but he's still below average in this draft/series.
Broda on the other hand is one of the best playoff G's of all time
.
Special Teams:
I like Valleyfield's depth on the PP. Gotta love that F depth and the point men
. The Braves have better PK forwards but I think Saskatoon is a touch better on the blue line.
Overall:
I think Pittsburgh has clear advantages behind the bench and G with a small win comparing F's.
Valleyfield has a touch better defensive group, based on the top pairing and I'll give them a nod on special teams but at the end of the day I think Saskatoon is just better in more areas and Tarasov has a roster mainly full of guys he coached in real life or would have likely been fond of.
