RememberTheRoar
“I’m not as worried about the 5-on-5 scoring.”
It was always our go-to in the clutch. Jamie Benn plays with Seguin. Kucherov plays with Stammer. Getzlaf plays with Perry. When we're down and out in a playoff game, we put them together, and usually something good happens.
Let me preface this by saying that I understand why, in principle, it is better to spread out the talent. Kane is very capable of putting points up on a line by himself, and that has been a great luxury to have over this run. While Kane is still producing at an elite level, I'm sure I'm not the only one who sees how effective other teams have been at keying in on him and limiting his ES opportunities.
Toews on the other hand, well, he needs some help. We need to go on a MASSIVE run to even just sniff a wildcard. That means both Toews and Kane need to be producing at above career average for the remainder of the year. As unlikely as this seems, I would much rather go down doing something different than dragging our feet with the same useless line combos every game. Match-ups be damned, it's time to finally see what kind of damage Kane and Toews can do together, especially when you consider how off Anisimov has looked since he got back from injury. Kane and Schmaltz have been having to hold the puck up and wait 2-3 seconds on every entry just waiting for Anisimov to catch up to the play.
So here is my attempt at forward line combos to shake things up. I welcome your comments. Please try to keep it positive. I know the playoffs are a long-shot at this point, but we should be doing everything possible to make that slim chance a reality:
DeBrincat - Toews - Kane
Hinostroza - Schmaltz - Duclair
Saad - Anisimov - Hartman
Sharp - Kampf - Jurco
Thoughts?
I've thought about this, and thought about copying the Penguins strategy.
Simon-Crosby-Rust best all-around center with an up-and-comer and a decent winger
Hagelin-Malkin-Hornquist best pure offensive center with a speedy guy and good power forward
Guentzel-Sheahan-Kessel good young sniper, meh center who can win faceoffs, best pure scorer
4th line- leftovers
So for the Hawks, it'd be harder to do this because they don't have Crosby, and Schmaltz can't score goals like Malkin can. However, Kane is better than Kessel, and DeBrincat may already be as good as Guentzel. Also, if you're worried about ice-time, Kessel gets about identical 5on5 TOI as Malkin.
Hartman-Toews-Duclair just worry about shutting down opposing top lines, and use Duclair's speed to counter-strike. Deploy this line for nearly every defensive zone faceoff.
Hinostroza-Schmaltz-Saad speed, playmaking/defense, and a power forward hoping to rediscover his offensive game. This line takes mostly neutral zone faceoffs, and some defensive and offensive zone draws.
DeBrincat-Kampf-Kane I'm guessing Anisimov gets moved at the deadline, so Kampf takes over. Start this line on every offensive zone faceoff, unless they're all so tired they're puking. Kane double shifts at various points in the game to ensure he's getting proper ice time.
Wingles (or any not mentioned)-Hayden-Jurco Can Hayden play center and take faceoffs? Maybe that's what he's working on in Rockford. This line is used as an energy line, and backs up the Toews and Schmaltz lines when they're too tired to take a defensive zone draw.