IIHF World ChampionshipDiscuss International Tournaments like the WJC, Olympics, and World Cup, as they take place, or discuss past tournaments. performances.
Canadian lines (Who do you want to play with Crosby?)
Knowing another dominant center is backing you up on the wing also allows the primary center to "cheat' more, which increases his chance of winning the faceoff. If the primary center cheats too much and gets tossed, the second center can go in a still be a favorite to win.
Good call, you're very right. And with that in mind, I would not be surprised at all to be seeing Jarome Iginla be taking draws on the right hand side for his line. He'll always have either Richards and/or Toews there to take the 2nd draw if he gets tossed.
Saying that, isn't there some rule in International Hockey that if your team gets tossed from the faceoff twice then it's a 2-minute minor for delay of game? I may be way offside here, but something like that rings a bell.
One is left handed and one is right handed. Centres are much stronger taking draws on their backhand than forehand.
Yep - Crosby (a lefty) will take the draws in the left zone, Bergeron (a righty) in the right. Its much more important in the defensive zone, obviously. As players are typically much better on their backhand (as a poster above correctly pointed out), you'd want the lefty pulling the puck back into the far corner in the defensive zone, instead of close to the net. Sounds simple, but its really important. I think the Bergeron was an outstanding "outside-the-box" pick by Yzerman and Hockey Canada - it showed me that they had a vision of what the team should look like, did the scouting leg-work, and went out and got the guys who fit into that team, even if they weren't the popular "fantasy" picks. Now lets hope they go out and execute.
Is that really necessary when Crosby is pretty much just as good at faceoffs?
Whatever... You guys know that I think Bergeron shouldn't have made the team. I'm not the only one. Stamkos or Carter would have been better options IMHO. I'm leaving this at that.
Maybe, it depends on what side of the ice the faceoff is in. They're both fantastic at faceoffs, absolutely. But they shoot different ways. An over-looked, but very important fact.
Stamkos and Bergeron would both be playing wing... it doesn't matter for the most part.
Personally, I'd be looking for scorers and PP specialists playing on the top two lines. The bottom two lines are the PK specialists...
So in your team who would be your bottom 6? Is the San Jose line our 3rd line? If so, that's bottom 6. So I'm assuming Heatley and Thornton wouldn't make your team. Marleau can PK so he'd stay. Or is the Staal-Getzlaf-Perry line the 3rd line? If so Staal is probably the only one out of them 3 who will PK so Getzlaf and Perry wouldn't make it. You want Stamkos so that knocks off another top 6 player. You want Bergeron off the team but he is an elite penalty killer.
I'm not asking this to be a **** as I haven't seen many of your posts before, but do you tend to point out problems without bringing up solutions? I'd be really curious to see your ideal line-up with a true top 6 / bottom 6.
Not much better, but A HELLUVA LOT BETTER! Stamkos seems like the perfect winger for Crosby. Bergeron will do ok, but I think he actually becomes the 13th forward by the medal round.
if the team was picked today stamkos would be on it, but it wasnt so bergeron is there and i think he will play great alongside sid, i really like the 4 lines and i expect guys like morrow and bergeron to play great in this tournament and prove the hf critics wrong
Bergeron issue has been beaten to death on these boards, give it up
Agreed !
With the talent on this team, there is no real # 1 line. Bergeron has offensive skills, can win faceoffs, great defensively and just a really smart hockey player. I am personally tired of the constant questions of who is on this team and who isn't. Sure I had my own thoughts of what the team should have looked like, but once the team was announced then we move on and support the Canadians.
Yeah, he does, no doubt. I just see the other 5 guys getting more PK time on this team (Pronger, Keith, Seabrook, Weber, Nieds).
this year he has been playing more on the PK, but historically weber doesnt play much on PK.
gonna be interesting to see shea play with another partner. been him and suter for a while. excited that it could be neids. (learn with a captain and all). but nervous too. weber relies on suter a lot to be there for him. weber can get beat on the outside occasionally. excited to see the games tomorrow
Why is Mike Richards not playing? He's better than Bergeron, Morrow, Toews and he's arguably Canada's best defensive forward. Some one explain this to me.
Why is Mike Richards not playing? He's better than Bergeron, Morrow, Toews and he's arguably Canada's best defensive forward. Some one explain this to me.
Seriously, Bergeron will not make or break the canadian team. This canadian team is as scary as it can be. That Getzlaf will be playing actually scares me the most. I think he will dominate opponents, like he always does, especially against the teams im rooting for.
Anyway, the game against the US will be interesting, i think that will be a very close game.
Agreed !
