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GDT #39: DEC 27, 7:00, Leafs @ Devils

zeke

zeke

Well-known member
Yes yes yes Keefe is rolling out perfect lines. Mikheyev-Tavares-willy is what I've wanted to see since he put Matthews and Marner together. This should be a perfect 2nd line, and get everyone back on their natural wings on both the 2nd and 3rd lines. And it should be good enough that Keefe never needs to break up the m&m twins ever again. Also thing this should give a boost to and balance out the 3rd line nicely, too.

I hope these lines stick until at least AJ comes back, and maybe even still stick when he does.




Cant be bothered to run stats for bottom feeders.

But we should really finish the year strong against 3 weak teams and bring ourselves to exactly a 100pt pace at the exact halfway mark of the season here.
 
WE are 2nd locked-up. And the great thing is, this year we'll get home ice and face a weaker opponent in round one. Our "Luck" in playoff standings has been horrific the past couple of years.
"Winning" a cup isn't just about things on paper, it's about who you face in the playoffs. Bruins had a joke of an easy ride to the finals after beating the Leafs. Leafs could have been in the finals easy last Spring.
 
JackBurton said:
WE are 2nd locked-up. And the great thing is, this year we'll get home ice and face a weaker opponent in round one. Our "Luck" in playoff standings has been horrific the past couple of years.
"Winning" a cup isn't just about things on paper, it's about who you face in the playoffs. Bruins had a joke of an easy ride to the finals after beating the Leafs. Leafs could have been in the finals easy last Spring.
Click to expand...

With Keefe instead of babs, we might even have had a cup already.
 
Those are fun line combinations. Tavares & Nylander have spent basically zero time together at even strength---even less than Marner and Matthews. So it'll be interesting to find out how well those two work together. Mikheyev also deserves a promotion into the top-6.

Matthews/Marner getting to continue playing together is of course even more fun. Engvall-Kerfoot-Kapanen also seems like it has the makings of being a very good 3rd line. And may as well give Kapanen an extended run with Kerfoot, considering it hasn't worked for him with Tavares or Matthews this year.
 
Hutch gets the start tonight:




Probably the right move. Like Detroit, New Jersey's a bottom-feeder that's one of the worst offensive teams in the league, and who've also been getting extremely bad goaltending this year, so it's as ideal an opportunity as any to give Freddie a night off.
 
Spot 'em 6 and we'll still win.

Team has to want this ... keep the streak going and stomp on the weak comp!
 
Playing Hutch is the right move. It will look even more brilliant if he can bank another W, heh.
 
zeke said:
Yes yes yes Keefe is rolling out perfect lines. Mikheyev-Tavares-willy is what I've wanted to see since he put Matthews and Marner together. This should be a perfect 2nd line, and get everyone back on their natural wings on both the 2nd and 3rd lines. And it should be good enough that Keefe never needs to break up the m&m twins ever again. Also thing this should give a boost to and balance out the 3rd line nicely, too.

I hope these lines stick until at least AJ comes back, and maybe even still stick when he does.




Cant be bothered to run stats for bottom feeders.

But we should really finish the year strong against 3 weak teams and bring ourselves to exactly a 100pt pace at the exact halfway mark of the season here.
Click to expand...


Wow, love those lines. Love that Nylander isn't being buried like he would be under Babs, and that Keefe is trying to put him in positions to succeed. He's had a tougher time being a Leaf than any other player on the team, and it makes me root that much harder for him to excel.

It is starting to feel like we have an excess up front because if Johnsson were to come back today, I don't know who I'd drop down? Hyman has been really productive. Engvall has been awesome. Kapanen has sucked, but you can't put that guy on the fourth line. And Johnsson isn't a fourth liner himself. And this is all with Moore injured too. Kind of an embarrassment of riches. You'd think that one of Kappy and Johnsson would be the centerpiece of a trade, with say Barrie, who would bring us back a key young piece on D. It's a big risk to make a move like that, but it might be one that we make if we're smart so that we can at least convert an expiring contract into something good that could help us for years to come. Basically like we could have done if we'd packaged JVR or Bozak plus Kapanen in their expiring year, maybe we'd have a better player than Kapanen right now playing for us.
 
LeafOfFaith said:
Wow, love those lines. Love that Nylander isn't being buried like he would be under Babs, and that Keefe is trying to put him in positions to succeed. He's had a tougher time being a Leaf than any other player on the team, and it makes me root that much harder for him to excel.

It is starting to feel like we have an excess up front because if Johnsson were to come back today, I don't know who I'd drop down? Hyman has been really productive. Engvall has been awesome. Kapanen has sucked, but you can't put that guy on the fourth line. And Johnsson isn't a fourth liner himself. And this is all with Moore injured too. Kind of an embarrassment of riches. You'd think that one of Kappy and Johnsson would be the centerpiece of a trade, with say Barrie, who would bring us back a key young piece on D. It's a big risk to make a move like that, but it might be one that we make if we're smart so that we can at least convert an expiring contract into something good that could help us for years to come. Basically like we could have done if we'd packaged JVR or Bozak plus Kapanen in their expiring year, maybe we'd have a better player than Kapanen right now playing for us.
Click to expand...

Yeah Mikheyev and Engvall being guys you want in the top 9 (and to a lesser extent all of goat tima Moore petan being guys we're totally comfortable with on the 4th line) has really changed the outlook up front, and definitely made the $3m Brigade (Kappy/AJ/Kerfoot) much more expendable.

I still think the play there might be to trade for a good young cheap goalie.
 
To some extent you don't want to do anything to take from the roster when you're competing for the Cup like we are, but at the same time you have to be aggressive on personnel management with an eye to the future. I mean, I don't want to subtract Barrie or Muzzin from the team this year, but at the same time, it's annoying to think they could both walk for nothing. I'd have to really look into what I could get for packaging a few guys, including one of the expiring dmen. Whether it be another good young piece on D, or a good young goalie who could potentially replace Andersen after next year. But something.
 
Pretty exciting if we keep Matthews and Marner together awhile. They can be one of the best duos in the league.
 
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