Higgins - Koivu - Kost
Samsonov - Grabo - Kovalev
Ryder - Pleck - Perezhogin
Bonk - Begin - Johnson
1st PP
Ryder - Koivu - Kovalev
Markov Kost
(ouch)
2nd PP
Samsonov - Grabo - Perezhogin
Streit - Rivet
take out Bonk and replace him by Murray, more hearth and nice scoring touch, and i don't know why you don't want to put Souray on the powerplay? Ohter then that, you've got exactly what i want, those are the best lines period!
take out Bonk and replace him by Murray, more hearth and nice scoring touch, and i don't know why you don't want to put Souray on the powerplay? Ohter then that, you've got exactly what i want, those are the best lines period!
I would like to see something different on the second line. Yes Smay and Kovalev will be working well together but I think they need a big body that will
1- Go to the net and take rebounds
2- Go in the heavy traffic to fetch the puck
This description to sounds a lot like Chipchura. I would realy like him to get a decent shot at centering the second line during training camp...
So I would go with the following lineup
Higgins, Koivu, Ryder
Samsonov, Chipchura, Kovalev
Perezhogin, Plekanek, Kostsitsyn
Begin, Bonk, Johnson
That should give us plenty of flexibility down the road (ooups I forgot ribs)
Even though we haven't even had rookie camp yet, forget training camp, I am getting revved up for another year! My African Grey is even saying "GO HABS GO" and "HE SHOOTS, HE SCORES"
As you know, lines that start the season, rarely stay static throughout the year, depending upon injuries, chenistry, line matchups etc.
So here are a few line combo that I would like to see for next year, starting with the the basic set that most of us seem to see.
Before camp
Higgins--Koivu--Ryder
Higgins was one of the hottest player after the break and with Ryder's back being better, let's hoipe he is as aggresive as he was in his first year when he would go for the net with gusto.
Samsanov--Ribero--Kovalev
I am not convinced that this is the lineup, not that we need to bash Ribero AGAIN, but Kovalev and Samasnov's speed I don't know if Ribero can keep up. All three are better setup than finishers, so this will be interesting to watch.
Perezhogin--Plekanec---Johnson
I can see Perezhogin switching with Samanov or even Higgins at some point in the season if Higgins numbers fall. Be interesting to see what kind of chemistry that this line has.
Begin--Bonk--Murray/Downey
I can't see Downey and Murray being on the ice together, but I can see Bonk moving up with inspired play.
I think ONE rookie will suprise us and make the team, Koysitsn or Lapparrie.
Other combos that look good to me
Samsanov--Koivu---Kovalev
Higgins--Ribero--Ryder
Perezhogin--Plekanec--Kosistyn (love to see this line for 10 games)
Begin--Bonk--Johnson
Perezhogin--Koviu--Kovalev
(looked great last year, before Jullien killed Perezhogin's confidence)
Higgins---Plekanec--Ryder
Samanov--Bonk--Johnson
Begin--Ribero---Kosistyn
No matter what... I think by the end of the year, the lineup will change a few times as the season goes on. The main question is can we stay healthy and get hot over the final 10 games of the season.
I don't understand why you keep trying to GUESS the lines. Nobody will have any idea until training camp is over and even then the lines will change every month anyways. Let just hope for the best and hope that the Habs play to win every night now that Theodore is gone and there is no excuse to play crappy. If Huet repeats his heroics from last year, it should be a fun year for us Hab fans.
I don't understand why you keep trying to GUESS the lines. Nobody will have any idea until training camp is over and even then the lines will change every month anyways. Let just hope for the best and hope that the Habs play to win every night now that Theodore is gone and there is no excuse to play crappy. If Huet repeats his heroics from last year, it should be a fun year for us Hab fans.
Oh Brother!
Isn't what these boards are for, to discuss the Montreal Canadiens and hockey?
To be armchair coaches, GM's and fans?
Here's an idea, if you don't care for the thread..IGNORE IT.
The rest of us are just kicking around ideas for possible line combos, we're not plotting any dastardly scheme.
Of course you can always go back to the Luongo for Theo or Lecavelier's coming to montreal threads.
Just for the record, as I've said numerous times before, I do not want Samsonov, Ribeiro and Kovalev on the same line. That line will get eaten alive in the defensive zone, especially on the road.
Just for the record, as I've said numerous times before, I do not want Samsonov, Ribeiro and Kovalev on the same line. That line will get eaten alive in the defensive zone, especially on the road.
Agree, you need some kind of defensive minded forward, maybe Plekanec or even Johnson?
Agree, you need some kind of defensive minded forward, maybe Plekanec or even Johnson?
Anybody who can play well on the boards and who can also backcheck would be fine. Plekanec comes to mind because he's also got great offensive potential (IMO, better than the scouting reports suggest). I've argued this ad nauseum but many fans, I think, are thoroughly distracted by the offensive potential of Samsonov-Ribeiro-Kovalev. I think it's a mistake to think like that and I have also wondered openly whether Samsonov and Kovalev would clash because they both like to hang onto the puck in the offensive zone. Kovalev has always needed (and always lacked) an adequate supporting cast. The poor guy had to play with Bulis and Ribeiro last season, 3rd line and AHL calibre players respectively. He does not need someone to compete with him for the puck. It's more difficult to predict that last part, which is chemistry, but I don't think it's hard to predict poor two-way play. Without having watched any of training camp yet, my preliminary lines would be something like:
I dont like samsonov and kovalev on the same line. There similar in alot of ways. Both love to cary the puck and make things hapen with it. By having both of them play on the same line were taken away the talent of one of them. Kovalev is a first line player not a second line player and we got samsonov to make are second line more balance and give it a litle more punch.
Anybody who can play well on the boards and who can also backcheck would be fine. Plekanec comes to mind because he's also got great offensive potential (IMO, better than the scouting reports suggest). I've argued this ad nauseum but many fans, I think, are thoroughly distracted by the offensive potential of Samsonov-Ribeiro-Kovalev. I think it's a mistake to think like that and I have also wondered openly whether Samsonov and Kovalev would clash because they both like to hang onto the puck in the offensive zone. Kovalev has always needed (and always lacked) an adequate supporting cast. The poor guy had to play with Bulis and Ribeiro last season, 3rd line and AHL calibre players respectively. He does not need someone to compete with him for the puck. It's more difficult to predict that last part, which is chemistry, but I don't think it's hard to predict poor two-way play. Without having watched any of training camp yet, my preliminary lines would be something like:
But I do not want to waste another year of Kovalev’s $4 million contract by putting him with Ribeiro.
You know what.... I REALLY LIKE these lines!
Two good offensive lines and a third that should be pretty under-rated and should produce some points since they won't be head to head against a checking line. The only issue is the defensive responsiblilities on that third line, but with Ribero as center that will always be an issue.
Two good offensive lines and a third that should be pretty under-rated and should produce some points since they won't be head to head against a checking line. The only issue is the defensive responsiblilities on that third line, but with Ribero as center that will always be an issue.
You're right that the third line would still be deficient in terms of two-way play. I'd also argue the same for the second line. But no matter how you slice the lines, there will still be 2 of them that lack this ability and that shows you how badly the Habs need more gritty Plekanec/Chris Higgins-type two-way players. We really don't have enough of them. But it's better that the third line lack the ability to play defensively than either of the top two lines because, generally speaking, the third line tries to stay off the ice when the other team's top 2 lines are on...unless of course they are a special defensive unit (an "old NHL" tactic). Making the third line your biggest defensive liability is a good way to minimize the risk because they will play against players who are weaker offensively as much as they can. Road game become the big problem, because you don;t get to choose match-ups. Again, remember that the Habs had a .500 road record last season. That's where they need to improve the most and that mediocre record is direclty related to our lack of strong two-way forwards. That's because, if you're the opposing coach (of a team with good depth), you're throwing your big guns out against the other teams weakest line as much as you can.
With the line-up as is, I would expect the Habs to be marginally better on the road this year than last year. But that's mostly because Huet and Aebischer probably won't single handedly blow as many games as Theodore did. I'm not expecting us to win enough road games to challenge for home ice, though.
I see Perez and Kosty fighting for a 3rd line spot to play with Pleks and Johnson to start, but only because I want an actual grinding/shutdown/annoying 4th line of Begin-Bonk-Murray/Downey. Not a finesse player.
REALLY want to see what Koivu with Ryder and Higgins can pull off starting the season together. And then... it's time for Ribeiro to really step up on the 2nd with Sammy and Kovy. Of course, lines changing wouldn't be surprising. You want to go with what works best and experiment a bit.
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