nebs 2008 dreamline up (that might be possible?)
1st line: kalus-savard-murray production 95 goals
kalus's cracks lineup and his continued preseason goal scoring lands him on the first line.
~coach tries to match this line up against oppositions second and fourth line.
2nd line: sturm-bergeron-bochenski production 90 goals
bergeron recovers from injury shines as defacto captain
~coach uses this line against other teams #1 as shut down and a counter-punch meant to take advantage of other teams usually defensively weak first line.
3rd line: axelsson-drury-kobasew production 66 goals
healthy kobasew re-invents his game and a penchant for knocking bodies.
~coach uses to start periods, after powerplays for and against.
4th line: reich-kessel-donovan - production 35 goals
reich and donovan teach kessel how to play tough.
~coach uses for energy to pump up crowd - kessel learns to hit and score while playing at top speed (who needs wings). the team really rolls 4 lines for first time ever.
first d pair: chara-ward production 18 goals
chara less minutes more physical
~coach uses to shut down top opposition forwards - on your butt sidney!
second d pair: ference-wideman production 11 goals
wideman breaks out as puck moving gem
~coach uses with 1st and 3rd lines to move pucks to forwards who are now moving fast with confidence through the neutral zone.
third d pair: alberts-stuart production 4 goals
steady, steady, steady
~coach uses to rest top 4 and after power plays for and against.
auxilary foward: mowers
chistov delt for future considerations in offseason
auxilary d-man: allen
auxilary and call up production 6 goals
goalies thomas-hannu production 0 goals
thomas given number one roll from beginning of camp. rask and toivonan battle for back up spot with hannu earning it.
~coach uses better defined rolls and overall improved team play to allow goalies to find their zones.
1st powerplay unit kalus-savard-murray-bergeron-chara
2nd powerplay unit bochenski-kessel-sturm-drury-wideman
~coach uses second unit first to allow for stronger line match ups after the kill and to potentially line up first unit against weaker or tired killers
1st penatly kill unit axelsson-drury-chara-ward
2nd penalty kill unit bergeron-donovan-alberts-stuart
total goals for 235 (improvement of 16 goals)
total goals against 201 (improvement of 88 goals)
overall record 41-31-10 92 points
improved team play and overall commitment to playing all over the ice improve team to 7th seed.
average game 3-2 win with each line getting a point.
kalus's cracks lineup and his continued preseason goal scoring lands him on the first line.
~coach tries to match this line up against oppositions second and fourth line.
2nd line: sturm-bergeron-bochenski production 90 goals
bergeron recovers from injury shines as defacto captain
~coach uses this line against other teams #1 as shut down and a counter-punch meant to take advantage of other teams usually defensively weak first line.
3rd line: axelsson-drury-kobasew production 66 goals
healthy kobasew re-invents his game and a penchant for knocking bodies.
~coach uses to start periods, after powerplays for and against.
4th line: reich-kessel-donovan - production 35 goals
reich and donovan teach kessel how to play tough.
~coach uses for energy to pump up crowd - kessel learns to hit and score while playing at top speed (who needs wings). the team really rolls 4 lines for first time ever.
first d pair: chara-ward production 18 goals
chara less minutes more physical
~coach uses to shut down top opposition forwards - on your butt sidney!
second d pair: ference-wideman production 11 goals
wideman breaks out as puck moving gem
~coach uses with 1st and 3rd lines to move pucks to forwards who are now moving fast with confidence through the neutral zone.
third d pair: alberts-stuart production 4 goals
steady, steady, steady
~coach uses to rest top 4 and after power plays for and against.
auxilary foward: mowers
chistov delt for future considerations in offseason
auxilary d-man: allen
auxilary and call up production 6 goals
goalies thomas-hannu production 0 goals
thomas given number one roll from beginning of camp. rask and toivonan battle for back up spot with hannu earning it.
~coach uses better defined rolls and overall improved team play to allow goalies to find their zones.
1st powerplay unit kalus-savard-murray-bergeron-chara
2nd powerplay unit bochenski-kessel-sturm-drury-wideman
~coach uses second unit first to allow for stronger line match ups after the kill and to potentially line up first unit against weaker or tired killers
1st penatly kill unit axelsson-drury-chara-ward
2nd penalty kill unit bergeron-donovan-alberts-stuart
total goals for 235 (improvement of 16 goals)
total goals against 201 (improvement of 88 goals)
overall record 41-31-10 92 points
improved team play and overall commitment to playing all over the ice improve team to 7th seed.
average game 3-2 win with each line getting a point.
Labels: Free Agency, overthinking, Player Signing
posted by neb at Saturday, April 28, 2007
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10 Comments:
Forward lines look great like this.
I like your idea of Kessel on the 4th line - he has to get tougher or play with limited ice time. I, unlike most other Bruins fans I talked to, do not think he will ever be a great impact player. He will bring energy but will always be a selfish player (hog who doesn't hit). Kessel like so many other young players in the game today has to realize that hockey is about playing as a team and not how good you look as an indivdual.
I still don't like our defence. I'd like to keep Ference and ditch the rest and start new.
Goalies are good and with a real defence in front of them will get the job done.
I am optomistic about next season but we have to change our defence or they will have to step it up and play better.
* Just a note: I am sorry I have been away for a while but I have been working 70 - 80 hour weeks and I still have not got a new computer. I will get one very soon and will be back posting regularly.
I dont agree with Kessel on the fourth line? What would that do? He would be given limited ice time and forced into a role in which he would greatly struggle, both offensively and defensively. Kessel needs someone like Bochenski on his line, when they were together they were the best line the bruins had late in the season, which is not saying much but still they looked very good together.
It would be so nice to get Drury!
Also, I think the D lines should be
Chara-Alberts
Ference-Ward
Wideman-Allen
Ference's speed with Ward's stay at home and diving mentality I think would work great together. Also I think Alberts backing him up would give Chara the ability to be much more physical.
I want to see Lashoff on this team next year, hopefully it happens. Put him with Ward, someone who he can learn from. Ward plays the stay-at-home style, which would allow Lashoff to jump into the offense. Lashoff would also be great on the 2nd powerplay instead of Ference.
As for Kessel, I do not agree with you guys, he's only 19 and going to get better with the more playing time he receives.
Now the goaltending situation no one knows how thats going to turn out. I wouldn't be suprised if Toivonen is in Providence for another season, personally I would like to see Chris Mason brought in on a one year deal to split time with Thomas or even play the majority of the games. I just think Hannu's confidence is shot because of his struggles this season.
I have to agree with Jimmy on this one. Kessel should be teamed with other similarly gifted offensive players in order to make the most of his talents. If you bury him on a checking or 4th line, you'll be wasting him.
pekese welcome to civilized dialog.
as for kessel getting better. its not time on the ice that is going to improve his game, as much as time in the world will. secondly if they use the buffalo approach and run 4 lines out, plus having him on my second power play.... he will get all the time he needs. however the rest of the team must stay out of the box because this is what robs a player like kessel of ice time- not being on the 4th line.
d was desperatly bad - so i agree you mix and match until you get combos that work...
lashoff - i still see him as a call up with another year to develop in A. you say lashoff up but who are you getting rid of?
as for alberts and chara together - i would fear that is two too many big guys looking to make a big hit and the little briere type lines would eat them alive...
"Chara making a big hit"
Find the oxymoron in the above sentence :-)
I think Toivonen's chances of spending next season in Providence are exactly zero. This last season was a freebie for just about everyone, but that will end next year. Toivonen will have to make his mark in Boston or be traded. Not only that, but the situation in Providence would hardly allow him to spend much time there. I've also heard speculation that Rask will play in Boston next year. I think that's little more than wishful thinking. He needs to prove himself in Providence first, which is why Toivanen can't play there much.
I agree that spending time on the 4th line and the second PP unit would do wonders for Kessel. He's already come so far with his physical game; being on the 4th line could round him into a power forward, and that combined with his skill, this kid could be one of the great players of his generation.
I think he and Kalus are proper prospects, but they are not what the team really needs next season. Rather, I think they need a veteran left winger with grit for the top line. PC says the focus in the off season will be defense, but I think the offense of this team is like a bunch of random pieces to three different puzzles. They need to come up with at least one forward line that is consistently in the plus. The problem is, given the free agents available, getting that may require giving up something in return.
And when PC said "Simply, you can't win allowing the number of goals that we've allowed..." what did he mean? He's on recond saying that he's pretty much done shoreing up the defense. It seems that would leave goaltending. Consider: with his recent play in Providence, and an Albatross hanging around his neck in Boston, Toivanen may never be worth more to the B's in terms of a trade than right now.
PC says the team needs no more sweeping changes. Yet he concedes that it needs something more than the little moves he's made so far. So I expect PC to make one key move before next season.
So what does that all add up to? Beats me! I don't pretend to have the answers.
Anyhow, trade talk is fun, but I think it likely that what the team needs more than anything else is a coach who really puts the screws to them. And I think both Lewis and PC know that. If knowing that, Lewis still can't do that job then he'll very quickly join the long list of ex-Bruin coaches.
Definitely #4, Hannu will be in Boston next year. There's no way the B's put Rask in Boston unless he is completely, utterly, phenomenally lights out in training camp. And even then, he's MUCH better off in Providence for a year getting adjusted to the NHL style of play. The kid was fantastic in the FEL, which is considered equivalent to, if not a slight notch higher than, the AHL. But the rinks are bigger, style of play is different, etc. He'll do well with a season in the A to get his bearings.
I'd hate to see Hannu traded now, I think he still has great potential, but if he can't start 30-35 games minimum next season, time to see what he'll fetch.
Dunno. Barring a trade, I think you're going to see Thomas and a veteran (Joey MacDonald?) in Boston with the two young'uns testing their chops in Providence next year. Whyyyy, in fact, I just posted about it over at The Spoked B!
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