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Hey,
I came across this gem while doing my morning perusal of sens news. This is rather interesting, and at this point, I don't think taking the author's advice could do any more harm. Courtesy of SensHobo, from Kuklas korner:
"Ottawa Senators coach Craig Hartsburg shuffled his lines once again heading into Saturday’s game against the Toronto Maple Leafs, but by the second period he had hit the default button and put Daniel Alfredsson, Dany Heatley, and Jason Spezza together again.
He wasn’t just throwing up his hands in desperation. He had a purpose in mind.
The Maple Leafs were all over the Senators in the first period. They were on their way to outshooting them 21-9 and most of the game was being played in the Ottawa end.
Hartsburg was looking for one line to give his team a spark and turn the momentum. He thought it might be the big three.
Instead, like everything else recently, the move turned sour.
So sour, in fact, that while the Sens managed 9 shots in the first, a fine total except when you consider the 21 shots they faced, the second period with the CASH line saw the Sens sink to a mere 4 shots. Every role the players get placed into, they can’t seem to get a handle on. Maybe, crazily enough, to restart both the offense and the defense, the players need to stop thinking about roles.
There’s only one juggle left for the big line, and that’s shuffling the three off to three separate lines. Sound crazy? The big three of Alfie, Heatley, and Spezza have scored 3-4--7, 4-5--9, and 3-6--9, respectively, and that’s not all bad, right? However, take away their powerplay points, and they fall to 0-2--2, 1-1--2, and 1-3--4. That puts them with the likes of Donovan (2-2--4), Foligno (2-1--3), Kelly (0-2--2), and Ruutu (2-0--2) in even strength scoring. Put them back together on the powerplay, sure, but where’s the merit in putting all your eggs in that lone, not-so-impressive even-strength basket?
Take Vermette, Fisher, and Alfie, and you’ve got a defensively sound line that, based on last year, you know can produce. Spezza’s been working so hard at forechecking and fishing the puck out in the offensive end, why not give him Foligno and Neil, guys that’ll work hard, and give you someone waiting in the crease Holmstrom-style. Heatley did well in Spezza’s absence a while back with Kelly, so play those two together, and give them Winchester’s puck-digging and sensible skills. That leaves only the fourth line untouched, and seeing as they’ve been so good in their roles, I would not touch them at all. I would shuffle the defenders, pairing the defensive-minded ones with their counterparts.
Crazy you say, but second-worst in the League brings out pundits by the barrel-full. You don’t see it working, but every combination that you thought you could see working has fallen flat on the ice, so there’s nothing to lose. Bring the players’ ice times closer together (I hate to say it) Toronto style, and it’s not so much 1st, 2nd, and 3rd lines, just a handful of combinations. The players and fans may not know what to expect, and so all the guys can do is play hockey, work hard, harder, and harder still until they find not their game, but the game. Typecasting really can hurt, and so you need to break down that mould, and build each player up again. Then you can have your players back, your team back, and find yourself back on the right track. That’s hockey, and that’s the punditry you’ve earned."
I came across this gem while doing my morning perusal of sens news. This is rather interesting, and at this point, I don't think taking the author's advice could do any more harm. Courtesy of SensHobo, from Kuklas korner:
"Ottawa Senators coach Craig Hartsburg shuffled his lines once again heading into Saturday’s game against the Toronto Maple Leafs, but by the second period he had hit the default button and put Daniel Alfredsson, Dany Heatley, and Jason Spezza together again.
He wasn’t just throwing up his hands in desperation. He had a purpose in mind.
The Maple Leafs were all over the Senators in the first period. They were on their way to outshooting them 21-9 and most of the game was being played in the Ottawa end.
Hartsburg was looking for one line to give his team a spark and turn the momentum. He thought it might be the big three.
Instead, like everything else recently, the move turned sour.
So sour, in fact, that while the Sens managed 9 shots in the first, a fine total except when you consider the 21 shots they faced, the second period with the CASH line saw the Sens sink to a mere 4 shots. Every role the players get placed into, they can’t seem to get a handle on. Maybe, crazily enough, to restart both the offense and the defense, the players need to stop thinking about roles.
There’s only one juggle left for the big line, and that’s shuffling the three off to three separate lines. Sound crazy? The big three of Alfie, Heatley, and Spezza have scored 3-4--7, 4-5--9, and 3-6--9, respectively, and that’s not all bad, right? However, take away their powerplay points, and they fall to 0-2--2, 1-1--2, and 1-3--4. That puts them with the likes of Donovan (2-2--4), Foligno (2-1--3), Kelly (0-2--2), and Ruutu (2-0--2) in even strength scoring. Put them back together on the powerplay, sure, but where’s the merit in putting all your eggs in that lone, not-so-impressive even-strength basket?
Take Vermette, Fisher, and Alfie, and you’ve got a defensively sound line that, based on last year, you know can produce. Spezza’s been working so hard at forechecking and fishing the puck out in the offensive end, why not give him Foligno and Neil, guys that’ll work hard, and give you someone waiting in the crease Holmstrom-style. Heatley did well in Spezza’s absence a while back with Kelly, so play those two together, and give them Winchester’s puck-digging and sensible skills. That leaves only the fourth line untouched, and seeing as they’ve been so good in their roles, I would not touch them at all. I would shuffle the defenders, pairing the defensive-minded ones with their counterparts.
Crazy you say, but second-worst in the League brings out pundits by the barrel-full. You don’t see it working, but every combination that you thought you could see working has fallen flat on the ice, so there’s nothing to lose. Bring the players’ ice times closer together (I hate to say it) Toronto style, and it’s not so much 1st, 2nd, and 3rd lines, just a handful of combinations. The players and fans may not know what to expect, and so all the guys can do is play hockey, work hard, harder, and harder still until they find not their game, but the game. Typecasting really can hurt, and so you need to break down that mould, and build each player up again. Then you can have your players back, your team back, and find yourself back on the right track. That’s hockey, and that’s the punditry you’ve earned."
