Quote:
Originally Posted by Jussi
Horrible line. Pulkkinen needs to play with a playmaking center to get the best out of him. Ruuttu is not a playmaker. They didn't gel that well (based on stats) at the Lake Placid tournament either.
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Why don’t you give your own line combos, if you know what’s horrible and what’s not? I have a feeling that it’s going to be Mi.Granlund and Pulkkinen together and the rest doesn’t really matter.
Nowadays Pulkkinen is himself more of a playmaking winger and on power play he often starts on the perimeter which isn't an ideal place for a scorer. He doesn’t need Mi.Granlund on his line to create some offense. I think it’s important to find players who can balance some of Pulkkinen’s weaknesses and at the same time leave some good building blocks for other lines as well.
Pulu didn’t score as much as he often does, because Sweden and USA were very good teams and played a North American game in a North Amrican rink. He was pushed around and kept on the outside for the most part. He simply didn’t have good tools to challenge in one-on-one situations, separate himself from defending players or break into the central lane in the offensive zone. His shot was dangerous on the power play, but overall and especially on even strength it was his passes that created the best chances, and it’s not like Ma.Granlund didn’t set Pulu up for a few good scoring chances. Maybe we should find a scorer to play with Pulu?
BTW, Ruuttu didn't play in the last 2 games because of sickness, although finhockey’s report from the last game states otherwise. Apparently Mikael Salmivirta has been K-Vantaa’s first line centre forward in exhibition games, so it’ll be interesting to see which of the two ends up on top, assuming that Ruuttu also ends up there.