Playoffs Playoffs Playoffs Playoffs Playoffs!
Playoffs!
Oh man okay so the playoffs start tomorrow. We're in DC at 7:00. Home of Alex Ovechkin and Mike Green. It's going to be quite a job to win this series. But in true guided-by-Torts fashion, I don't want to talk about them. I want to talk about us.
Yesterday, I covered Antropov and Betts. I think they're two of our strongest players, most reliable going into this battle. Let's talk a little about who else we can rely on, who we can't, and who we'd better hope we can if we're gonna move forward. I'll start by continuing (start by continuing?) to talk about forwards.
Brandon Dubinsky, Ryan Callahan, Sean Avery, and Fredrik Sjostrom all get a pass. They have all consistently been playing solid hockey. Sure, each of them has had a less effective game here and there along the way, but they all generally make smart plays with the puck and are unafraid to take the body game in and game out. I expect more consistency from them. Avery may be a special case: I feel like he's capable of a little more, now that it's playoff time, and while more is always better, I'd be fine with it if he kept doing what he's doing (Dayenu).
Add Colton Orr to that list. He doesn't do as much as the others, because he can't shoot worth a damn, but he plays strong and he punches well. Good work, Colton.
Lauri Korpikoski, I feel, is capable of more. Maybe he's just not as good as I want him to be, and he hasn't been bad, he's just been kinda a non-presence. I'd like to see that change, this week. I saw him score live in Game 5 against the Pens last season, his first NHL goal (his first NHL game). I'll be at Game 5 (if necessary) again this series. Got any more for me, Lauri?
Chris Drury is not, as everyone thinks he is, a shitty forward, or in a slump, or anything else bad. He is a guy who is the captain of a team that isn't great, and he does not know how to be a leader. Some men choose greatness, some have greatness thrust upon them, and some probably shouldn't have had greatness thrust upon them but did anyway. He's a very good hockey player when he's allowed to do his job, which is to be in the right place at the right time in case the puck is there. My big wish for Drury is that he relax and let the C on his chest imaginarily (this is not a word) drift over to Dubinsky's chest. He doesn't have to be a 50-goal scorer, he never was. Let him do his job: we could use someone who does it.
Oh, and he's injured. Remember when he got hit with all those pucks on Thursday? And then he sat out Sunday because of it, but was "definitely going to be ready for the playoffs"? Yeah, now he's "day-to-day." So, there that is. If he's out, almost certainly Aaron Voros is in. That's...a downgrade.
Scott Gomez, Nikolai Zherdev, and Markus Naslund. Streaky. These are the three forwards I really need better performances from. They have each had games in the last month or two that have been fantastic. Even Naslund, as soon as Torts took over, spent a few games playing the best hockey I've seen him play all season. If these three guys step it up to the level I've seen each of them play at individually at some point S.T.E. (Since Torts Era), or, Hanuman forbid, a step beyond that cause it's the playoffs, then we'll be in decent shape. If they play at their average S.T.E. level, we may have an issue.
So, in conclusion, my Passover list (mail directly to Moses on Mt. Sinai, he will bring gifts in an unleavened sack in a sleigh pulled by camels):
-Korpikoski maybe picks it up a little
-Drury gets healthy and relaxes
-Avery annoys everyone
-Gomez, Zherdev, and Naslund each play their actual best
-Everyone steps it up 'cause it's the PLAYOFFS!
These things would be nice. The Caps are tough. Maybe now I'll write about defensemen. Let's Go Rangers!
Showing posts with label forwards. Show all posts
Showing posts with label forwards. Show all posts
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Avery as a Ranger
So, with apologies to John Tortorella's master plan, here are the lines he seems to mostly like to start out using, for now, basically:
Naslund - Gomez - Zherdev
Dubinsky - Drury - Callahan
Dawes - Korpikoski - Prucha
Sjostrom - Betts - Orr
The funny thing about Sean Avery is that he actually has to go on one of these lines, somewhere. Let's start with the simple solution: Avery, being a left wing, replaces a left wing. It goes without saying (despite my saying it) that he doesn't replace Naslund or Dubinsky: Torts is a very "these are my top 6 guys" kind of guy. The way Naslund's been playing since the coaching change, why not? And obviously Torts wants Dubi in the top 6 enough to take him off of center and put him on wing - I'm not thinking Avery's gonna change that. He could stick him on the 4th line instead of Sjostrom, but he tried that a game ago with Voros and found that he missed Sjostrom a lot. Again, with good reason - Sjos has become hells of solid. He's where he needs to be, backchecking when he's supposed to and (GASP!) forechecking, even on the PK. That leaves Dawes. I like the Korpikoski line so far, but if Torts is gonna stick Avery in for one left wing, this is the only reasonable place to put him. It'll allow Avery to show his skill and his spunk, while still under the somewhat diminished ice time Torts tends to give his third line. He'd be out of place on any of the other 3.
And come on, how much do you love an Avery-Korpikoski-Prucha line? Answer: a lot. You love it a whole fucking lot.
Take that, Adult Content Filter.
OK, now that I'm back from my 10-minute hiatus spent fantasizing about an Avery-Korpikoski-Prucha line, let's move on to rearrangements. What if Torts decides to do something a little bit more misaligning? Really, the team is his oyster. I still don't think there's any reason to put Sean on the 4th line, and I doubt he'd ever stick him on the first. Really, outside of replacing Dawes, which we (for small values of "we," meaning "I") discussed, there are only 3 other viable forwards Avery could knock out of their spots: Callahan, Korpikoski, and Prucha. If he knocks out Callahan, I think Callahan will stay in the lineup and get sent to the 3rd line, knocking out one of the other 3rd-liners. So the question is: what does the 3rd line look like? Dawes-Korpikoski-Callahan is a likely option, but I can't imagine Torts turning around and benching my boy after how well he's been playing and all the shit Renney used to give him. If that happens, as my dad said, I might have to resort to starting a blog. If Korpikoski has to stay at center, there's always Prucha-Korpikoski-Callahan, as Torts has shown he sometimes takes people out of position, but that seems weird. If ANYTHING, I think that he will finally resort to Dubi being a center, make the second line Avery-Drury-Callahan, and the third line Dawes-Dubinsky-Prucha, sitting Korpikoski. Really, I think these are the only two viable options.
To sum up, I think it likely that the first and fourth lines will be left alone, and the second and third lines will either be:
Avery - Drury - Callahan
Dawes - Dubinsky - Prucha
(sit Korpikoski)
or, more likely:
Dubinsky - Drury - Callahan
Avery - Korpikoski - Prucha
(sit Dawes)
Is this good? Yeah, I think so. I like Dawes and Korpikoski, but I think Avery has the potential to bring a little more scoring and a little more fire. Regardless, it's gonna be fun...
Naslund - Gomez - Zherdev
Dubinsky - Drury - Callahan
Dawes - Korpikoski - Prucha
Sjostrom - Betts - Orr
The funny thing about Sean Avery is that he actually has to go on one of these lines, somewhere. Let's start with the simple solution: Avery, being a left wing, replaces a left wing. It goes without saying (despite my saying it) that he doesn't replace Naslund or Dubinsky: Torts is a very "these are my top 6 guys" kind of guy. The way Naslund's been playing since the coaching change, why not? And obviously Torts wants Dubi in the top 6 enough to take him off of center and put him on wing - I'm not thinking Avery's gonna change that. He could stick him on the 4th line instead of Sjostrom, but he tried that a game ago with Voros and found that he missed Sjostrom a lot. Again, with good reason - Sjos has become hells of solid. He's where he needs to be, backchecking when he's supposed to and (GASP!) forechecking, even on the PK. That leaves Dawes. I like the Korpikoski line so far, but if Torts is gonna stick Avery in for one left wing, this is the only reasonable place to put him. It'll allow Avery to show his skill and his spunk, while still under the somewhat diminished ice time Torts tends to give his third line. He'd be out of place on any of the other 3.
And come on, how much do you love an Avery-Korpikoski-Prucha line? Answer: a lot. You love it a whole fucking lot.
Take that, Adult Content Filter.
OK, now that I'm back from my 10-minute hiatus spent fantasizing about an Avery-Korpikoski-Prucha line, let's move on to rearrangements. What if Torts decides to do something a little bit more misaligning? Really, the team is his oyster. I still don't think there's any reason to put Sean on the 4th line, and I doubt he'd ever stick him on the first. Really, outside of replacing Dawes, which we (for small values of "we," meaning "I") discussed, there are only 3 other viable forwards Avery could knock out of their spots: Callahan, Korpikoski, and Prucha. If he knocks out Callahan, I think Callahan will stay in the lineup and get sent to the 3rd line, knocking out one of the other 3rd-liners. So the question is: what does the 3rd line look like? Dawes-Korpikoski-Callahan is a likely option, but I can't imagine Torts turning around and benching my boy after how well he's been playing and all the shit Renney used to give him. If that happens, as my dad said, I might have to resort to starting a blog. If Korpikoski has to stay at center, there's always Prucha-Korpikoski-Callahan, as Torts has shown he sometimes takes people out of position, but that seems weird. If ANYTHING, I think that he will finally resort to Dubi being a center, make the second line Avery-Drury-Callahan, and the third line Dawes-Dubinsky-Prucha, sitting Korpikoski. Really, I think these are the only two viable options.
To sum up, I think it likely that the first and fourth lines will be left alone, and the second and third lines will either be:
Avery - Drury - Callahan
Dawes - Dubinsky - Prucha
(sit Korpikoski)
or, more likely:
Dubinsky - Drury - Callahan
Avery - Korpikoski - Prucha
(sit Dawes)
Is this good? Yeah, I think so. I like Dawes and Korpikoski, but I think Avery has the potential to bring a little more scoring and a little more fire. Regardless, it's gonna be fun...
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