Quote:
Originally Posted by gvitaly
First of all, as I mentioned results go both ways, you can click the link to see the entire list. League averages for those guys(last season)- 52.2, 50.4, 52.3, and 57.2 respectively. Again, I am not saying Stajan is terrible on the dot, but he does have a hard time against the league elite. That is why I can't see him as a faceoff specialist at the moment.
On the other hand, Monahan seems to be holding his own pretty well against those guys(last season, not so much). So its the coaches choice, but I am feeling more confident with Monahan on the ice against the other teams' best lines at the moment.
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That list shows that, aside from RNH, Stajan did well against the top guys who he faced a lot last year. He's about league average against Toews (a top 3 guy in the league) and above league average against Thornton and Sedin.
I suspect he was as good or better than Monahan has been against the same guys this year (of course Monahan hasn't faced Crosby, Tavares, Datsyuk at all).
But more than that, having two centres that play good defence makes Monahan's job easier and frees him up more. It makes Hartley's job easier as well, especially on the road.