Should Matthews, Nylander and Marner play on the same line?

[kindalaidback]

william has no chemistry with kadri, why you guys always want this to happen-- i don't know. i'd rather have him on the fourth line (ugh) than on a line with kadri.

 

[Martin Skoula]

I just don't see what the harm is in giving line combinations a try for more than a couple shifts in a game we're losing. Try Nylander at C with different wingers, try stacking the top line, try Hyman with Kadri.

What other career would it be ok to take an experts opinion as fact if he directly tells you he refuses to try any experimentation to see which methods are the most effective? Would you trust a doctor that insists on treating you with leeches because he just "knows" they work best and he has no reason to even try any of this new "penicillin" nonsense?

 

[ShaneFalco]

I just don't see what the harm is in giving line combinations a try for more than a couple shifts in a game we're losing. Try Nylander at C with different wingers, try stacking the top line, try Hyman with Kadri.

What other career would it be ok to take an experts opinion as fact if he directly tells you he refuses to try any experimentation to see which methods are the most effective? Would you trust a doctor that insists on treating you with leeches because he just "knows" they work best and he has no reason to even try any of this new "penicillin" nonsense?

Agreed. And given the number of pending UFA's they have there should have been some more experimentation. Now we don't know if Leivo can step in, unsure if Nylander can be an answer at C, how Marner and AM play together etc......

 

[Martin Skoula]

Agreed. And given the number of pending UFA's they have there should have been some more experimentation. Now we don't know if Leivo can step in, unsure if Nylander can be an answer at C, how Marner and AM play together etc......

Yeah I get sticking to what you know last season, but we were a playoff lock since February/March. Even more than that, we knew we'd be facing one of Tampa/Boston regardless of where we finished.

 

[ErnieLeafs]

If you want to stack a powerplay, sure. Have the 3 kids up front. Matthews/Nylander already have chemistry, and Marner drives and provides the spark for the Kadri line.

Nylander has enough trouble covering his defensive duty as a winger, let alone putting him at centre, where he'll have to defend down low and in front of the net. He's better as a winger in the NHL.

 

[Mats13]

No. But I'm so sick of watching players like Hyman, Brown, Komarov, Bozak etc. be thrown out there when we're down 1 with a minute left.

What the f*** are they thinking. There's a minute left. Just load it up and put all 3 out there.

 

[TIGERCOOL]

No. But I'm so sick of watching players like Hyman, Brown, Komarov, Bozak etc. be thrown out there when we're down 1 with a minute left.

What the **** are they thinking. There's a minute left. Just load it up and put all 3 out there.

This one gets to me. Babcock still stubbornly believes that it's the grinders who earn and maintain puck possession with the net empty, when the reality is that they're simply much more prone to game ending turnovers and low percentage plays. On top of that, Matthews, Marner and Nylander are probably actually the best puck retrievers and 50/50 battle winners on the team. Maddening.