New line combos...

As you all probably read this morning, Hartsburg hasn't even waiting until the regular season begins to declare the top line 'back together!'. No big deal really, it was probably bound to happen sooner rather than later. But...then he disclosed what he thought would be a nice 2nd, 3rd and 4th lines - and we finally get what we've been screaming for for ages:

Heatley - Spezza - Alfredsson
Vermette - Fisher - Winchester
Kelly - Foligno - Neil
Ruutu - Bass - Donovan

Lay it on me! It's about time we have Fisher and Vermette together. Now keep it that way (unless you decide to move Fisher to wing). Let them gel and thanks to Winchester being a hard working, very skilled young man, we have an excellent top 6. I'm finally pretty happy with the way it looks.

More than that, Foligno is centering a line with Neil and Kelly, but look for him to get some PP time too.

I like what he's done - and it was 'suggested' by pretty much everyone here.

We could be the toughest team to play against. Period.

Exactly! I was wondering how long Hartsburg was going to take before he put Vermette with Fish, and to compliment that line Winnie is just awesome!!

I still like our 4th line too, although that Neil-Bass-Ruutu line was just amazing to watch!

Cronenbergfan wrote:Exactly! I was wondering how long Hartsburg was going to take before he put Vermette with Fish, and to compliment that line Winnie is just awesome!!

I still like our 4th line too, although that Neil-Bass-Ruutu line was just amazing to watch!

We're kind of stacked actually. Just not with guys that can score, but we're stacked with strong (mother)Diddle who would rather kill you than see you score. 8)

I like those lines and hopefully the Vermette-Fisher-Winchester line will give us the secondary scoring we need so badly and get us away from the "Sens are a one-line team" stigma.

I gotta say though, something bugs me about this team's inability to successfully break up that top line. What does that say about Spezza and Heater? Are they so dependant on Alfie to make that line work? What gives?

I dunno. I don't think it has anything to do with Spezza or Heatley personally, but I was wondering the same thing this morning. What's the deal?

maybe we're reading WAY too much into it, but you do have a point.
is it that they CANNOT function when they are not intact, or is that they DO NOT want to..?

And, for what it's worth, as Hartsburg pointed out, you need your TOP line to be the best of the best at all times (and I agree) but unlike Paddock, you shouldn't rely on them 110% of the time. Like Murray did, give them regular shifts and when you're down by a goal with 2 mins left, put them out.

Any idea on what the defensive pairings will be?

504Heater wrote:As you all probably read this morning, Hartsburg hasn't even waiting until the regular season begins to declare the top line 'back together!'. No big deal really, it was probably bound to happen sooner rather than later. But...then he disclosed what he thought would be a nice 2nd, 3rd and 4th lines - and we finally get what we've been screaming for for ages:

Heatley - Spezza - Alfredsson
Vermette - Fisher - Winchester
Kelly - Foligno - Neil
Ruutu - Bass - Donovan

Lay it on me! It's about time we have Fisher and Vermette together. Now keep it that way (unless you decide to move Fisher to wing). Let them gel and thanks to Winchester being a hard working, very skilled young man, we have an excellent top 6. I'm finally pretty happy with the way it looks.

More than that, Foligno is centering a line with Neil and Kelly, but look for him to get some PP time too.

I like what he's done - and it was 'suggested' by pretty much everyone here.

We could be the toughest team to play against. Period.

Love those lines.

There is also talk about swapping Donovan for McCammond.

Also to note, Schubert has already been moved up to forward. I wouldn't be surprised if he asks for a trade at some point if he doesn't get his time. Afterall, he's been replaced by Richardson, he's not going to be real happy.

shabbs wrote:Any idea on what the defensive pairings will be?

So far it is:
Phillips-Volcenkov
Smith-Kuba
Lee-Picard
Richardson

A couple of points on the above:

-- Put Ruutu-Bass-Neil together! That line killed. They'd be line 3A rather than line 4. Line 3 could be Foligno-Kelly-McAmmond/Donovan/Schubert, if need be.

-- As for the "why can't we break up the top line" question, I think the problem is Spezza: he needs good players around him to accept his dishes because he's more of a playmaker than a scorer. Heater, by contrast, does just fine on his own, putting up goals as usual; when he has to, he can carry the puck and be harder on the puck. I hope Hartsburg considers playing Spezza with Alife and Vermette/Winchester, and Heater with Fisher and Vermette/Winchester at some point.

-- We've got Donovan, McAmmond, and Schubert all fighting for one spot, probably on the forth line. Amazing. Nice options there. McAmmond is the most skilled guy and can move up a line or two if needed; Schubert, on top of his utility, is a great 4th-line bang-and-crash guy and would fit well with Ruutu-Bass; and Donovan is all heart and energy and dirt cheap, but without the skill of McAmmond or the utility or size of Schubert. I'm still lost as to who ends up where with respect to this three.

-- That Lee-Picard pairing is a little strange, and I wonder if we'll see changes on that one before long -- it wouldn't surprise me to see Phillips taking shifts with Lee and Volchenkov with Picard at times. They strike me as guys who will need insulating, at least early in the year. I hope they pan out offensively, tho', and am excited to see how they progress.

Personally i would rather seen McAmmond than Donovan, but that's just me.. Other than that lines are looking insanely good to me..

My twist on the whole "Cash" line back together is pretty much the consensus around here, the fact that they are together is great, but don't over use them, before it was 1st line, 2nd line, 1st line, 3rd line, 1st line, 1st line, 1st line.... maybe 4th line in there somewhere, but you get my point. Use them when you need them (last minutes, pp, etc.) not all the bloody time.

rooneypoo wrote:
-- That Lee-Picard pairing is a little strange, and I wonder if we'll see changes on that one before long -- it wouldn't surprise me to see Phillips taking shifts with Lee and Volchenkov with Picard at times. They strike me as guys who will need insulating, at least early in the year. I hope they pan out offensively, tho', and am excited to see how they progress.

Yeah, I don't get that at all. Pair them with Smith and Phillips and let Volchenkov and Kuba play together. There has to be something we can do, because those guys are so green - and to have them play together makes me scared.

Cronenbergfan wrote:Exactly! I was wondering how long Hartsburg was going to take before he put Vermette with Fish, and to compliment that line Winnie is just awesome!!

I still like our 4th line too, although that Neil-Bass-Ruutu line was just amazing to watch!

Yeah exactly... I wish we could keep Ruutu, Bass and Neil together... That would be such a bruising line...

Vermette and Fish together should definitely turn on a few red lights this year... Hopefully it works!

I can see Hartsburg putting Neil-Bass-Ruutu together for a few shifts in a game if we need some energy to turn things around and get some momentum.

shabbs wrote:I can see Hartsburg putting Neil-Bass-Ruutu together for a few shifts in a game if we need some energy to turn things around and get some momentum.

Yeah true... He can also do the same with the big line... Alfie can always drop down... or one of the other 2, god forbid...