Andrei with Gomez/Gionta is perfect. I've wanted to see this for the last two years in Montreal. Gionta can place himself near the crease for garbage, Andrei can carry and wire it from a pass by Gomez. There will be one less player trying to get the puck from the boards and instead play in position. I think it will ignite Gomez and Gionta.
To all the people who laugh at the fourth line, please go compare it to all the other fourth lines in the league. It's really not that bad. Plus, it's a fourth line, so who cares?
I would rather see Plekanec on the first wave of the PP, or at least have him play with Markov, but what can you do? At least the second wave won't be a turnover machine anymore.
The best decision is to remove Pouliot from the PP. Next, he needs to be removed from the NHL...
Wake up and compare Pouliot's stats in every category to those of Gomez, Gionta, and Eller. Your notion doesn'r coincide with reality.
Maybe I'm the only who sees it this way, but we talk about Gomez like he's career "average" center. He's not, he's a prolific playmaker and when he's on, he makes everyone around him better. If you get him going, and then in turn get Gionta going, the team will become exponentially better. So i have no problem with putting him on the 1st pp unit--and besides, the PP hasn't been working anyway, so might as well change it up.
Also, all the changes (ones that i semi-predicted yesterday) make the team more balanced. None of then may work, but if they do we'll be way better off than we were before. We'll have two really good top lines (not just one) and two really good PP units (with 2 legit point shooters). With our team healthy and still amongst the league leaders in points, this is the perfect time to attempt these experiments. If they pay off we could really be a good team, and not just battling for a playoff spot.
What do you call a playmaker who isn't on? Surely not a playmaker.
I'm loving the new lines if only to shake up the roster a bit and change things up as they can become complacent.
The only thing I'd knit pick isn't Eller or Kosty on the right but rather Pouliot on the 4th line. I think he's been playing really well lately and has scored some good goals by working hard. I'd rather see him on the 3rd and Lappy on the 4th. That being said, I don't think it makes a big difference in any case. Also, I wish Spacek would be bench for a game just so he can assess how to pull his head out of his ass during the game.
I'm just happy to see some proactive coaching and hopefully it shakes the Habs out of their mini funk. Who knows, maybe we'll find some new line combos that we can put together if things stop working during the playoffs.
You can love the idea of a shakeup, but do you really love the shaken-up lines? I have my doubts.
Kostitsyn will help Gomez and Gionta produce not sure the Plek line will work but will see, Eller will do everything he can to stay on that line. The D pairing could work , I really like Gorges with Markov
But he's one of the few guys who will actually go in front of the net...We're sticking him in back for what exactly?
I know he has a great shot but I dunno, he's better in the slot than at the point.
I think just having a pointman who can actually hit the net will be enough to open up the opposing teams PK box allowing for more downlow plays, especially since Cammalleri's hockey IQ isn't limited to just shooting.
Streit showed us that you don't need a bomb from the point(not that his shot wasn't hard) you just need to be accurate and get your shots on net or at least be a threat that there is a potential shot that can come in. So long as the pointmen are challenged, it will be a postive thing for the powerplay. It could work, but they won't know until they try it and right now it can't get any worse than not trying it.
I like that they put Eller on the same line as Cammy and Plek. Now he has a great chance to show what he can do when put in a scoring role. I also like the fact that AK is on the line with Gionta and Gomez, and that Subban and Markov aren't on the same pairing and that Gorges is paired up on the top unit with Markov.
yup, doesnt take a genious to figure that one out.
So does Lapierre. So does Halpern. Both have more offensive ability than Darche yet average less PP time combined (already) than Darche. I'm no genius, but to me that seems a bit odd. Especially since Halpern is one of our point leaders and has played on the PP many times before in his career and Darche on the PP hasn't even shown any success in the past couple games he's played on it.
Plekanec might be sick and Eller was currently practicing at the center of Cammy and Moen.
I'm excited to see Eller at the center of Cammy. Very annoyed at him having Moen on the other side, but for whatever reason Martin seems convinced that Moen is top 2 line material despite him missing I don't know how many passes cause he's a step or 2 behind the play.
So does Lapierre. So does Halpern. Both have more offensive ability than Darche yet average less PP time combined (already) than Darche. I'm no genius, but to me that seems a bit odd. Especially since Halpern is one of our point leaders and has played on the PP many times before in his career and Darche on the PP hasn't even shown any success in the past couple games he's played on it.
He's not my first choice either. But i can understand why he is there. He does what he's told, he works hard, he battles hard and he's able to put the garbage goals in. I think he might actually get the job done in front of the net, and if not, aw well, another experiment bites the dust.
Plekanec might be sick and Eller was currently practicing at the center of Cammy and Moen.
I'm excited to see Eller at the center of Cammy. Very annoyed at him having Moen on the other side, but for whatever reason Martin seems convinced that Moen is top 2 line material despite him missing I don't know how many passes cause he's a step or 2 behind the play.
pouls eller cammy would be great actually, i dont get martin sometimes.
I'm excited to see Eller at the center of Cammy. Very annoyed at him having Moen on the other side, but for whatever reason Martin seems convinced that Moen is top 2 line material .
I think Moen was confined to a defensive role in the NHL... JM remembers full well that Moen also notched a big 8 goal in the AHL, and even potted 10 goals in his 4th Junior season. It's just a question of getting the synch back.
pouls eller cammy would be great actually, i dont get martin sometimes.
I dont think its a good idea to put Pouliot and Eller, two young players with the mistakes they will do, together, on the same line.
And with Cammalleri, which is not our best defensive forward, thats even more unlikely.
And switching again the lines whereas Martin just decide to try something to help Gomez and Gionta seems not appropriate right now. Bad timing.
So, its either Moen or an other plumber...
(Halpern seems to have a good effect on Pouliot, and he's doing better in the last weeks...so i dont see them being separated)
I dont think its a good idea to put Pouliot and Eller, two young players with the mistakes they will do, together, on the same line.
And with Cammalleri, which is not our best defensive forward, thats even more unlikely.
And switching again the lines whereas Martin just decide to try something to help Gomez and Gionta seems not appropriate right now. Bad timing.
So, its either Moen or an other plumber...
(Halpern seems to have a good effect on Pouliot, and he's doing better in the last weeks...so i dont see them being separated)
First PP unit - Cammy will be on the point with Markov.
Second PP unit - Plekanec, Darche, Eller, Subban, Hamrlik
Thoughts?
Gorges doesn't belong on the first pairing. Markov and Subban would be great, leave them alone. But I guess JM wants to get a look before cementing anything.
I don't see the point of Moen or Lapierre on the third line, but I know most people think Max is a third liner. Then again, he is capable of 15, but I would try to groom someone for the top 6 with this line and I don't see that in Max's future at all. He reminds me too much of Jan Bulis.
This team kinda needs Pouliot to be that top 6 guy, or it's back to the drawing board to find someone with size and skill that we never seem to have. Don't see any reason to stick him on the 4th line for long, just for motivation.
I would try:
Cammalleri - Plekanec - Eller (this should work well)
Gionta - Gomez - Kostitsyn (meh, worth a look, I guess)
Pouliot - Halpern - Boyd
Moen - Lapierre - Darche OR Moen-Pyatt-Lapierre again
Pyatt
Markov - Subban
Hamrlik - Spacek
Gill - Gorges
Last edited by tinyzombies: 11-05-2010 at 06:39 PM.
