That's genius right there. Leave the top line alone obviously, I agree. Break up Higgins and Koivu, it has to be done. They simply aren't working well together anymore. Love putting Higgins with Grabovski and Ryder - it's a great combination of speed, skill and strength. I think they would compliment each other very nicely. And the bottom line works well too - just keep Smolinski out of the lineup and we'll be good.
But please, they need to play Ryder more than 5 mins a game, and Lats more than 8! Both Lats and Ryder have shown improvements in their game lately, and that's how you get them going - by sitting them on the bench? Everyone looked tired on the ice yesterday - why not play some players that aren't?
Honestly...The lines I'd see working the most are;
Higgins - Plekanec - A.Kost (A.Kost in his natural position, Higgins with Plekanec duo)
S.Kost - Grabo/Koivu - Kovalev
Latendresse - Koivu/Grabo - Ryder
Begin - Lapierre - Kostopolous
Thats exactly why your not the coach of the Habs if you think those lines will work!!!!
First of all, why on earth would you even consider splitting up the A.Kostitsyn - Plekanec - Kovalev line? They have been great all year long and they have been the only consistant line we have had. Leave them together at all costs.
Second of all, Kovalev and Koivu on the same line doesn't work. We get the best out of both players when they play on seperate lines.
I think we should try Grabs with Higgins and S.Kostitsyn because Grabs needs to play with good players in order to be effective. Higgins are S. Kostitsyn are both good defensive players who can make up for Grabs lack of defence, but they are also very gifted offensively so they will be able to put the puck in the net too. Its worth a shot.
I would put Koivu at center between Latendresse and Ryder and see what happens. Tender and Ryder have both had a lot of success with Koivu and Koivu is a good player that could get both of these guys scoring again.
The 4th line should consist of Lapierre, Kostopoulos, Streit and/or Smolinski. Begin is always hurt and Dandy is too soft so neither of those guys deserve a spot over the 4 I mentioned above.
Defence remains the same. Markov - Komisarek stay together, Hamrlik - O'Byrne stay together and Gorges - Boullion should remain together. This is the best our defence has been all year. We have a good mix of size and skill with these lines. Brisebois doesn't play again all year and if we have injuries on defence, Streit goes back to fill the hole....not Brisebois.
Put Grabby with Higgins and Sergei, and Koivu with Lats and Ryder and yup, I think that would be solid. We should not take Plek out of the first line.
That's exactly what i want except i would keep S.Kost with Koivu and bring Grabovski beetwen Higgins and Ryder.Latendresse needs some freackin playmakers on his line
Grabovski hasn't done anything to warrant a full time job on this team.
Neither has Price, but that hasn't stopped him from getting his chances too!!
Grabs needs to play with good players in order to be effective. He played with A Kostitsyn and Kovalev tonight and he looked great.....a big difference from playing with Dandenault and Begin.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Maxpac
That's exactly what i want except i would keep S.Kost with Koivu and bring Grabovski beetwen Higgins and Ryder.Latendresse needs some freackin playmakers on his line
I fixed it for you. Koivu hasn't been on the top line since last season! I like those lines though.
I think Higgins and Ryder need a change from Koivu and Grabovski could be the answer. Grabs has a lot of offensive flare and he could be good for Higgins and Ryder. I also like Koivu with Latendresse and S. Kostitsyn too. They looked good together earlier this season when they were together and they need to provide more scoring so this could be the shakeup everybody needs.
Last edited by Beakermania*: 03-10-2008 at 11:26 AM.
Thats exactly why your not the coach of the Habs if you think those lines will work!!!!
First of all, why on earth would you even consider splitting up the A.Kostitsyn - Plekanec - Kovalev line? They have been great all year long and they have been the only consistant line we have had. Leave them together at all costs.
Second of all, Kovalev and Koivu on the same line doesn't work. We get the best out of both players when they play on seperate lines.
I think we should try Grabs with Higgins and S.Kostitsyn because Grabs needs to play with good players in order to be effective. Higgins are S. Kostitsyn are both good defensive players who can make up for Grabs lack of defence, but they are also very gifted offensively so they will be able to put the puck in the net too. Its worth a shot.
I would put Koivu at center between Latendresse and Ryder and see what happens. Tender and Ryder have both had a lot of success with Koivu and Koivu is a good player that could get both of these guys scoring again.
The 4th line should consist of Lapierre, Kostopoulos, Streit and/or Smolinski. Begin is always hurt and Dandy is too soft so neither of those guys deserve a spot over the 4 I mentioned above.
Defence remains the same. Markov - Komisarek stay together, Hamrlik - O'Byrne stay together and Gorges - Boullion should remain together. This is the best our defence has been all year. We have a good mix of size and skill with these lines. Brisebois doesn't play again all year and if we have injuries on defence, Streit goes back to fill the hole....not Brisebois.
Why on earth split up the Spezza line? Cuz you can't always depend on 1 line to produce.
That's genius right there. Leave the top line alone obviously, I agree. Break up Higgins and Koivu, it has to be done. They simply aren't working well together anymore. Love putting Higgins with Grabovski and Ryder - it's a great combination of speed, skill and strength. I think they would compliment each other very nicely. And the bottom line works well too - just keep Smolinski out of the lineup and we'll be good.
But please, they need to play Ryder more than 5 mins a game, and Lats more than 8! Both Lats and Ryder have shown improvements in their game lately, and that's how you get them going - by sitting them on the bench? Everyone looked tired on the ice yesterday - why not play some players that aren't?
The 5mins and 8mins is due in large part to the amount of time we spent on the PK yesterday.... It really disrupted the icetime of Ryder and Lats who are not PKers, and then when the penalties were over, one of the top 2 lines got out there, and they never got to the third line cause there was inevitably another penalty.
Why on earth split up the Spezza line? Cuz you can't always depend on 1 line to produce.
That makes no sense when they are producing though!!! If they sucked for the last 10 games then sure split them up, but they are playing awesome together all season long.
Its the 2nd, 3rd and 4th lines that need to be tinkered with. We have enough good players that can put the puck in the net, its just a matter of finding out who works best with who, but that doesn't mean you have to tear apart the only line that is consistantly scoring.
Juggle the 9 players that make up the bottom 3 lines and put in a couple of scratches too and I'm sure we'll be able to find something that works sooner or later.
A. Kost pleky Kovy ( don<t touch that line it s amazing)
Lats koivu Ryder ( did some damage before , imo it can work well)
higs grabo s.kost ( speed, good passing, hard work in corners and good forecheking )
streit smoke laps ( defensive line that can also score)
with that we have 3 lines that can do some damage and can fit in the offensive open play that haps now have.
One thing for sure, grabovski made some major league passes yesterday vs the ducks. The atlanta trashers are going to regret not taking are offer because he would of look so good with kovalchuck.
A.K.-Plekanec-Kovalev
Higgins-Koivu-Ryder
Latendresse-Grabovski-S.K. (I know its young but I love the energy these 3 could bring to the table.)
