Quote:
Originally Posted by Cali Flames Fan
On the 3rd pairing: I like both players in a vacuum. They're big and tough, play hard in front of their own net, and don't make a lot of dumb mistakes. Unfortunately, they're both the exact same player and a step too slow for the opposition's top lines. I don't think either deserve to sit, but if you were to bring in a kid like Wotherspoon to add some foot speed and agility as well as strong defensive acumen and passing ability and put him in place of one of them (preferably Engelland), then I think that 3rd pairing becomes much more effective.
|
Agreed. The speed issue is also why I don't think splitting Wideman and Russell would help, since Wideman is probably slowest of our defendemen. His positioning and Russells speed make up for some of that, but it's still a clear weakness.
I'd like to see Wotherspoon (or someone else) be given a chance to steal a spot well before end of the regular season though. If we do make it to the playoffs, we could use some more speed.
I'm not overly concerned about our 3rd pairing though. Engelland had a rough start, but has since been better I think. Surprisingly good passer, although his inability to skate free from forecheckers makes it hard for him to find good passing lanes.