Rangers Forum Lineup Thread - First Line Left Wing
I've done this for 2 years now, no reason to stop.
Who should be the first line left winger. Obviously Torts changes the lines around, so just pick who YOU would put in that spot.
I'm going to pencil in the obvious ones, Staal, Gaborik, Biron and Lundqvist. The rest are up for grabs.
First Line Left Wing - First Line Center - Marian Gaborik (100%)
Second Line Left Wing - Second Line Center - Second Line Right Wing
Third Line Left Wing - Third Line Center - Third Line Right Wing
Fourth Line Left Wing - Fourth Line Center - Fourth Line Right Wing
Backup Forward
First Pairing Defenseman - Marc Staal (100%)
Second Pairing Defenseman - Second Pairing Defenseman
Third Pairing Defenseman - Third Pairing Defenseman
Dubinsky on the 1st? Really? Over Frolov, Prospal and MZA? I didn't see the step up in his game last season, to make him a legit 1st liner.
Dubinsky's passing game isn't good enough, the 1st line needs someone who can pass on LW. It's enough to have a fake #1 center. I have Dubi as 3rd LW, after Frolov and Prospal.
I voted Frolov, with Prospal as a 2nd choice. It's possible Frolov would work out better on a 2nd line with his puck possession skills, together with MZA. It's all up to who meshes best with Gaborik on LW, I would say.
I could see the work horse Prospal getting his old spot back due to chemistry, but I could also see either Frolov with his excellent puck possession and board work, or MZA with his excellent playmaking skills as legit choices. Anybody else, not so much.
My choice for top 6:
Frolov - Christensen/ White - Gaborik
Excellent board worker/ puck possession guy who has alot of skill. If White proves legit, give him a try, otherwise go with Christensen. Gabo is a given.
Prospal - Anisimov/ White - MZA
If Prospal isn't on the 1st line, he sure as hell should be on the 2nd. Excellent work horse, good defensively, good all round. If Anisimov doesn't disappoint, which I sadly expect, give him a go on 2nd. If White proves to still be a top 6 NHL:er, give him the spot and Anisimov the 4th line. MZA is a given on the 2nd RW for me.
I went Dubi. It's probably better to spread the offence around most of the time. If we really need a goal then we move Frolov to the first line but only then.
This may be a tad premature, Inferno - I think that Slats ain't done.
That said, I say Frolov on the first line, despite Dubi's success there last year. Given how AA stepped up his play knowing that there was a little sandpaper to back him up, I think the team would be better served with Dubi on his wing. Also, given Fro's board work, I think he'd be just as good if not a better fit with Gabby.
I really don't get the Dubinsky argument. He is a CENTER. Yes, he can play wing. But honestly, he is a lot better suited for the Center position. Why? Because he has:
size
powerful stride
gets to the net well
better passer than scorer
Those are all qualities of a Center!
Frolov also has size but he is more of a goal scorer. Frolov for 1st line LW, and it's not even close.
I went Brandon Dubinsky. I would put Frolov on the 2nd line to space out the scoring.
I'm with you on that.
While Dubinsky has a long way to go to be a true and legit 1st line forward, I like his size and the game he plays and think that it's of the utmost importance to make sure that we spread the offense.
He made some strides last year, but he's no 1st line talent yet.
This makes more sense than having Frolov who we know is the better offensive player playing LW on the top line.
I really don't get the Dubinsky argument. He is a CENTER. Yes, he can play wing. But honestly, he is a lot better suited for the Center position. Why? Because he has:
size
powerful stride
gets to the net well
better passer than scorer
Those are all qualities of a Center!
Frolov also has size but he is more of a goal scorer. Frolov for 1st line LW, and it's not even close.
Except that he was moved to LW last year, and responded by scoring 17 goals in his last 51 games. His game also translates to the wing. Those attributes you listed are what make him an excellent candidate to play wing, And, statistically, once he moved to wing, he had more goals than assists.
dubi isnt a centerman. he doesnt think the game well enough to be a 1c.
hed be a fine 3c but a 1c he is not. his numbers support that as well.
with his game, hes better suited playing wing. he can crash the net, work the wall and transport the puck along the edge with more room to use his wheels. he wont do as well if he has to focus on the 2 way play required of a top pivot. making him a centerman againj means seeing more of dubi's famous 10 game invisible man routines.
let him bang and crash and work the opposite side of the ice as gaby. his game is better suited as a support guy rather than a go to guy. he does create space and gaby is the guy who benefits from that dirty work brandon does.
i like dubi prospal and gaby as a unit. 2 guys who carry the mail and one guy to stuff it.
dubi isnt a centerman. he doesnt think the game well enough to be a 1c.
hed be a fine 3c but a 1c he is not. his numbers support that as well.
with his game, hes better suited playing wing. he can crash the net, work the wall and transport the puck along the edge with more room to use his wheels. he wont do as well if he has to focus on the 2 way play required of a top pivot. making him a centerman againj means seeing more of dubi's famous 10 game invisible man routines.
let him bang and crash and work the opposite side of the ice as gaby. his game is better suited as a support guy rather than a go to guy. he does create space and gaby is the guy who benefits from that dirty work brandon does.
i like dubi prospal and gaby as a unit. 2 guys who carry the mail and one guy to stuff it.
100% agreed on your analysis of Dubi, ODC. If he is to become the first line player we all hope to see, I really, really feel that it will be as a LW.
That said, despite his success with Gabby last year, I think he'd be better suited on AA's line (especially if MZA is playing the other wing) and Frolov would do equally well, if not better, with Gabby and EC/Prospal on the first line.
i really think the point of not having frolov with gaby is to allow for something resembling balance with 2 lines that can score goals. i said can, not will...
a good case could be made that after gaby, fro is our 2nd best weapon. gaby can score his share without fro. we saw that last season.
2 lines at even strength that potentially can score is better for us as a team. i mean, if fro can score, we might even win a game or 2 when gaborik doesnt score.
fro and gabs will create plenty of magic on the pp.
Who should it be? Dubinsky. The Dubi-Christ-Gaborik line was pretty good last year, so I don't see why a good line should be broken up, especially with the chemistry problems on this team. As mentioned above, putting Frolov on line 2 evens out the scoring up and down the lineup.
What do I think will happen? Frolov will start out the season as 1st line LW but will eventually be moved to the 2nd line.
Looking at the top 6, it really seems like Prospal could be the odd man out (unless he plays 2nd line center). Which is not a bad thing at all. He is due for a down year, is coming off knee surgery, and is 35-years-old. Maybe if he gets less minutes on the 3rd line he won't struggle in the second half like he did last season. Prospal's at the point of his career where his minutes should be reducing... hard to believe there were some games early last season where he was logging well over 20 minutes per game.
Dubinsky....although I'm still upset we didn't flip him for Heatley and I don't think he'll ever reach the expectations put on him....I really think he deserves to be there
Dubi was lost as a center last year but seemed to really find his niche at left wingg. He is a bigger, stronger, faster version of Cally as a winger.
Considering we don't have a legit 1st line LW this spot is likely to change a bit during the season. As far as who should be given the first shot...good question. Since Frolov is more of a scoring threat than Dubi or Prospal perhaps he should be on a different line than Gaborik. Prospal is a better playmaker than Dubi...so maybe he's the answer. Then again we'll still likely have EC has 1st line center. The only thing I know is we really don't have much 1st line talent. lol
Just curious why did you start with the LW instead of center position? Probably makes sense since it's a stronger position on the Rangers.
The point is if you started with the center and Christensen won (very possible) then it almost guaranteed that Dubinsky would be 1LW over Frolov. It obviously works the other way now too, so if Frolov is voted over Dubinsky it almost guarantees that Christensen is NOT the first line center and it would be one of either Prospal or Anisimov.
