Not sure that with Torts you can really identify any line as being the 1st, 2nd or 3rd line.
If the Double A - Stepan - Gabby line is going, they get run.
If the Dubi - Boyle - Callahan line is going, they will get run
If Avery - Richards - Feds line gets going, they will get run.
While not a big believer in Boyle, I'm going to be interested in seeing how that trio makes out tonight. Not a playmaker amongst them, so there's going to be alot of net crashing going on there.
Should be a fun game.
I am too. I agree with your assessment of how Torts doles out playing time to his lines. The line numbers are kind of irrelevant if Richards and linemates are getting their fair share of the pie.
As soon as a line starts becoming ineffective Torts breaks em up. and when its going well together for a long period of time, hes more apt to give them more time than if it was a 1 period wonder.
i mean seriously, not a single person on this board ever though of doing AA-Stepan-Gabby and right now that line has pretty much carried us through most of this winning streak.
does boyle have blackmail materials on torts, i mean i know richards hasnt lit the world up at even strength....but boyle has? hes played like a glorified 4th liner for most of the year, he gets a point at the end of the carolina game so that means he gets to play with dubi and cally (both of whom did most of the work on their goals). i know torts will shuffle it up when boyle gets pushed off the puck like hes had done all season. the richards line will have good chances tonight and he will shuffle boyle into averys spot.
He got a point when he lost a faceoff at center ice and Cally turned it into a scoring chance. Boyle will not stay with that line for very long; he's a 4th liner; period.
Richards's best contribution so far has been the power play, easily.
I can't say I'm the biggest supporter of Boyle as 2nd line pivot, though.
It wont last, I cant believe he sees Boyle on the 2nd line. The dude has bad hands and zero speed, hes a big body and a DECENT skater but thats it. He gets pushed off the puck so easily for his size.
This is all about distributing talent across as many lines as possible. This isn't high school where you can roll two lines and consistently win games.
I don't mind the line juggling these days, now that we actually have the depth to pull it off, and that is what is important. If the top 3 sets of lines can all get it done, who cares who plays with who then?
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"Of course giving Sather cap space is like giving teenagers whiskey and car keys." - SBOB "Watching Sather build a team is like watching a blind man with no fingers trying to put together an elaborate puzzle." - Shadowtron
Sestito still on the make a wish tour. - rholt168
But, back on topic. I like Richards centering Avery and Feds. He can make that line productive. I personally think we need to break up Cally and Dubinsky.
