Quote:
Originally Posted by Bingo
I think it's a sound game plan, and one that should work ... if you have the horses.
Michael Stone helped things a lot by boosting the second pairing. I think Alex Chiasson has helped the third line.
But when the fourth line is out with the third pairing it's a tire fire and they have to make sure they avoid that.
Either way to your point, they've arrived her fresher than most by rolling the whole roster. Shouldn't hurt to pare that down a bit now and go for it.
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I guess we will see if it is intentional time management with a longer game strategy in mind (i.e. get to the playoffs fresher), or if it is simply how GG chooses to deploy his skaters, rain or shine.
I think it is fair to say that league wide, most 3rd and 4th lines combined with 3rd pairing defense will have a tougher time in terms of shot generation and suppression.
Which brings it full circle back to your point. The difference in aggregate impact on a game will ultimately come down to deployment. GG needs to ride his big guns in a more meaningful way. If he doesn't, that is concerning to me.
I want to see him play the 1st and 2nd pairings 25 minutes a night. Backlunds line should be getting 20-22 minutes, Monahan/Gaudreau 18+ minutes, and the Bennett line should be coming in around 10-12 minutes. If that means Stajan's line only gets 8-10 minutes a night (or less), so be it. Stajan / Bouma can get a few extra minutes on the PK.
But I am really sick of seeing GG start a period with the third pairing and our 4th line, and have it result in 2 minutes of time in our zone, followed by an icing. That sort of thing can't happen.