GDT - Game #1: Leafs @ Sens, Oct 12, 2016, 7pm

tim1_2 wrote:

DefenceWinsChampionships wrote:

Flo The Action wrote:

tim1_2 wrote:

DefenceWinsChampionships wrote:Nice to see Neil throw his body around but is his role ever unnecessary considering the pace of the game and size of the players now.

I get so sick of this dumb discussion every year.  Neil knocked out on of their defensemen early in the game with a huge hit, and threw a few more good checks that get players (especially young defenders like Zaitsev) thinking twice.  On top of that, he had a few decent scoring chances, and his line had a couple of the only sequences of actual pressure in the offensive zone.  Neil has adapted his game over the years and is still quite valuable as a 4th liner.  And you know that if anyone starts pushing around Karlsson or Turris or Stone or whoever that Neil will step the Diddle up and deal with it immediately.  The only other guy that might do that is Boro, and his position on the blue line is tenuous at best.

Yeah personally I'd rather have Neil on the 4th than Boro on the blue line. At this point I'd rather have a forward deliver the hard checks than a dman. Less dangerous in terms of puck possession

I agree. Neil has a role and he plays it well. The point I am making is that his role is becoming less and less significant as fighting league-wide is on the decline. Yes he is there to protect the players on the team and make the opposing players react when they see him coming. But couldn't a Buddy Robinson do that? Max McCormick? Guys who can kill penalties and bring something else to the table... I am not arguing that Neil isn't good at doing his job. I am arguing the fact that the role of an enforcer is quickly disappearing.

And I'm saying that his role extends beyond the typical "enforcer" role.  Toronto had to play the game with 5 D because of a big hit he delivered early on.  And I'm not saying that he should be going around looking to injure opponents, but that kind of sustained physical play has more effects than just the odd injury.  Plus, the 4th line actually generated some scoring opportunities and o-zone pressure.

Hoff-Machine wrote:brassard/ryan don't need smith on their line.....pageau does.  I don't know if that logic registers with everyone here but it makes a ton of sense to me.  Smith isn't defining that line, I don't get the opposition to putting him back with Pageau.

PTFlea wrote:https://twitter.com/SunDoniB/status/786624228510490624?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

Don Brennan
‏@SunDoniB
Boucher says Karlsson and Tom Pyatt were #sens best players defensively 1 on 1 vs Leafs

Flo The Action wrote:

Hoff-Machine wrote:brassard/ryan don't need smith on their line.....pageau does.  I don't know if that logic registers with everyone here but it makes a ton of sense to me.  Smith isn't defining that line, I don't get the opposition to putting him back with Pageau.

I tend to agree with this view. I'd prefer smith on the third.

wprager wrote:They tried Dzingel in the top-six an he promptly went -3 in the first half of the game. That was in pre-season and I'm not sure if it was a home or away game (line matching).  He's fine on the 3rd line.

PTFlea wrote:

wprager wrote:They tried Dzingel in the top-six an he promptly went -3 in the first half of the game. That was in pre-season and I'm not sure if it was a home or away game (line matching).  He's fine on the 3rd line.

Meh, means nothing.  He played a chunk of games in the top six last year and lacked only the finish that comes with games.  I think they'll try him there soon so they can start balancing the offense around by moving Smith - no offense to the newfound scoring champ Tom Pyatt.  Or they could just leave him at 3C and hope they mesh as well as Smith did with Pageau, which I could see.  He's fast, he's feisty, they might work well together.

DefenceWinsChampionships wrote:

PTFlea wrote:

wprager wrote:They tried Dzingel in the top-six an he promptly went -3 in the first half of the game. That was in pre-season and I'm not sure if it was a home or away game (line matching).  He's fine on the 3rd line.

Meh, means nothing.  He played a chunk of games in the top six last year and lacked only the finish that comes with games.  I think they'll try him there soon so they can start balancing the offense around by moving Smith - no offense to the newfound scoring champ Tom Pyatt.  Or they could just leave him at 3C and hope they mesh as well as Smith did with Pageau, which I could see.  He's fast, he's feisty, they might work well together.

Dzingel-Pageau-Lazar/Puempel.... Could be worse

Varone/Pyatt-Kelly-Neil

Flo The Action wrote:

DefenceWinsChampionships wrote:

PTFlea wrote:

wprager wrote:They tried Dzingel in the top-six an he promptly went -3 in the first half of the game. That was in pre-season and I'm not sure if it was a home or away game (line matching).  He's fine on the 3rd line.

Meh, means nothing.  He played a chunk of games in the top six last year and lacked only the finish that comes with games.  I think they'll try him there soon so they can start balancing the offense around by moving Smith - no offense to the newfound scoring champ Tom Pyatt.  Or they could just leave him at 3C and hope they mesh as well as Smith did with Pageau, which I could see.  He's fast, he's feisty, they might work well together.

Dzingel-Pageau-Lazar/Puempel.... Could be worse

Varone/Pyatt-Kelly-Neil

I'd prefere that.

PTFlea wrote:

Flo The Action wrote:

DefenceWinsChampionships wrote:

PTFlea wrote:

wprager wrote:They tried Dzingel in the top-six an he promptly went -3 in the first half of the game. That was in pre-season and I'm not sure if it was a home or away game (line matching).  He's fine on the 3rd line.

Meh, means nothing.  He played a chunk of games in the top six last year and lacked only the finish that comes with games.  I think they'll try him there soon so they can start balancing the offense around by moving Smith - no offense to the newfound scoring champ Tom Pyatt.  Or they could just leave him at 3C and hope they mesh as well as Smith did with Pageau, which I could see.  He's fast, he's feisty, they might work well together.

Dzingel-Pageau-Lazar/Puempel.... Could be worse

Varone/Pyatt-Kelly-Neil

I'd prefere that.

lol, what's this Varone/Pyatt?  Do you really think Pyatt is ever coming out of this lineup with Boucher in charge?  Not only does he love him, but the dude scored a game-tying goal in Game 2.