Zadina-Larkin pairing

[ChrisJP23]

Like I said in a prior post it will be interesting to see how the lines shake up once Bert is back in the lineup. I'm fine with Zadina being on the top line with Larkin and Bert or second line with Fabbri and Ryan.

Pinning Larkin's decline in this Corsi stat you seem to hold in high regard could also be because he doesn't have Bert. Maybe Brome is the issue. Everyone here seems to be baffled why Brome is even on that line. I haven't seen him do anything at least.

 

[Henkka]

Zadina's been playing a lot of minutes lately with Dylan Larkin.
Now, Larkin has improved Zadina's CF/
CF% Larkin 46.38
CF% without 27.27
Larkin's CF% without Zadina 54.69

So Zadina is crushing Larkin's CF%. (Note, this doesn't account for the third winger - which has been Brome recently)..

There's also other variables.

That pretty much settles it, Zadina belongs on the second line, and put the BLM line back together

Larkin. Yeah, Zadina is not as good and Bertuzzi.

Team is playing better as a whole, when Zadina is with Larkin. BEtter depth in lower lines. Can't wait Bertuzzi back this week, when it will be even better. Maybe top line will start working again.

Zadina at 2nd line would be good, but I'd like to see first

Zadina - Larkin - Bertuzzi
Mantha - Fabbri - Ryan

Finally the best possible Top6. You could swap Mantha and Zadina later, if these won't work. But I'm sure BErtuzzi will add so much more than Brome, who can't just score ever.

 

[Ed Ned and Leddy]

We're essentially playing with house money this season, might as well give our best young winger a long stretch of games with our best young(ish) center and see how things go.

I'd sort of like to see Larkin with both Mantha and Zadina, even though it means the second line is kinda rough (Fabbri, Ryan, and some bender). Bertuzzi coming back should give us a bit more firepower too.

 

[RedWingzz]

I'd say Zadina has looked fine. He started the year looking ready and engaged and was one of our best players in the first 4 games. Then the whole covid thing happened, and he hasn't looked as engaged over the last 3 or 4 games in my opinion.

Obviously with the minutes he is playing, you'd like to see more offensive production from him. The team still isn't scoring much, and recently its been the depth lines chipping in. I'd give him a few more games on the first line, but if he's still not producing, then you do have to demote him to a lower line. At the end of the day, we need Zadina to score and be an offensive contributor. 1 goal and 3 assists in 10 games isn't enough.

He's still young, so hopefully he can finish the season at around or above 0.5 pts/GP. Anything less would be a disappointment in my opinion. Eventually he's gonna have to start to produce.

 

[Gniwder]

There's also other variables.



Larkin. Yeah, Zadina is not as good and Bertuzzi.

Team is playing better as a whole, when Zadina is with Larkin. BEtter depth in lower lines. Can't wait Bertuzzi back this week, when it will be even better. Maybe top line will start working again.

Zadina at 2nd line would be good, but I'd like to see first

Zadina - Larkin - Bertuzzi
Mantha - Fabbri - Ryan

Finally the best possible Top6. You could swap Mantha and Zadina later, if these won't work. But I'm sure BErtuzzi will add so much more than Brome, who can't just score ever.

ZAdina and Ryan both like to slow it down whereas Mantha and Larkin play a speed game. I think Bertuzzi can play either style, and Fabbri wants to play a speed game but I don't think he's fast enough. Not to mention that Ryan can mentor Zadina a bit, get him to get in the dirty areas and shoot the damn puck.

 

[Gniwder]

FYI, probably just another penny pinching move, but Brome is now on the taxi squad.

Don't think there's much of a difference if he plays the next game or if Helm does. Brome is like a slower, softer Helm with a little more puck skill but the same amount of finish. Helm is declining but still better defensively than Brome, neither one has scored this season.

If Brome had the same amount of motor that Helm did before his back injury, he'd be the better player right now but Brome doesn't seem to skate at 100% all the time like Helm did back in the days.

 

[lomekian]

Its interesting that after a junior career of being a scorer, at the NHL level he has so far been more of a defensively sound playmaker.

For me, the biggest concern with Zadina remains that he needs to get stronger and quicker. He has excellent on-ice IQ, has shown passages of excellent play without the puck, particularly with deft steals and covering pinching d-men, and deffo has an eye for finding his man on the opposite wing. He's still struggling to fight free of attention and keep up with the play when in ramps up.

In the short term, we'd be getting better output from him with Fabbri & Ryan, but I suspect being on the first line is investment in his development. The problem is that Larkin & Brome are not a good fit for him. I don't doubt that Bert for Brome would make an impact (Brome has shown himself to be - as the poster before said - a less defensively effective but more offensively skilled version of latter day Helm - but without the bite that Helm sometimes still brings), as Bert remains great glue for more skilled line-mates, and is great at reading dangerous areas...but I just don't think Larkin and Zadina are a great match. Larkin's motor makes him our best player, but he only really meshes with those who can fit in with him...he's kind of doing his thing regardless, and its up to others to come along for the ride. That's not to say he lacks situational intelligence, but rather that his effectiveness is partly predicated on a playstyle that doesn't work for everyone.

What Mantha has that Zadina doesn't is the size to win a good % of physical battles and fight through coverage and a shot that is powerful as well as accurate and this makes him a danger from more positions. Were they not the same position, I'd actually like to see Mantha & Zadina together as I think they would complement each other well.

 

[MBH]

• Covid didn't slow him.
• Feels like he's getting chances, but not sure when the goals will come.
• Thought the Larkin-Mantha-Zadina line managed good chances and created space for each other, but he's happy with Larkin/Brome. Doesn't care who he plays with.
• Zadina has been on a losing team before. Losing is tough. The team just can't score right now. But he loves to play hockey. The team could use a little bit of luck.
• It's not going in. Just got to keep battling.

Some of these questions are brutal. Like, Zadina is still early in his career, for whoever didn't know that.

 

[Shaman464]

• Covid didn't slow him.
• Feels like he's getting chances, but not sure when the goals will come.
• Thought the Larkin-Mantha-Zadina line managed good chances and created space for each other, but he's happy with Larkin/Brome. Doesn't care who he plays with.
• Zadina has been on a losing team before. Losing is tough. The team just can't score right now. But he loves to play hockey. The team could use a little bit of luck.
• It's not going in. Just got to keep battling.

Some of these questions are brutal. Like, Zadina is still early in his career, for whoever didn't know that.

His attitude is pretty amazing all things considered, especially with how hard the questions are.

 

[MBH]

His attitude is pretty amazing all things considered, especially with how hard the questions are.

You thought the questions were hard?

1) 5 variations of "Do you think that if you keep doing things right, you'll eventually score?"
2) Do you think you're handling this scoring drought than you would have earlier in your career (to a guy with what? 50 games).

So tomorrow or today come all the Zadina questions.

I like his attitude about lines. He seems he doesn't care who he plays with and is focused on scoring goals and helping the team.

 

[Shaman464]

You thought the questions were hard?

1) 5 variations of "Do you think that if you keep doing things right, you'll eventually score?"
2) Do you think you're handling this scoring drought than you would have earlier in your career (to a guy with what? 50 games).

So tomorrow or today come all the Zadina questions.

I like his attitude about lines. He seems he doesn't care who he plays with and is focused on scoring goals and helping the team.

As a 21 year old being the center of the focus along with Larkin. Especially compared to how softball everything was up until the wheels came off. Detroit's media use to be very very easy on players. Now it feels like they can be more out for blood.

 

[GettingYourMoms]

From what i´ve seen last year i didn´t like Larkin with Zadina either, they had absolutely no chemistry, but puting Brome on that line by Blashill was last nail in the coffin. I would reunite Ryan Zadina Fabbri line.