Patel Bure Posted July 28, 2020 Share Posted July 28, 2020 (edited) Line combinations for the Canucks in the play-ins and beyond: Green will have some tough decisions to make as far as line combinations go. 1) MacEwen has had an impressive training camp so far, but will he play ahead of Toffoli, Boeser, and the comeback kid Michael Ferland? 2) Is MacEwen a better 4th line option than the defensively savvy Loui Eriksson? 3) Where does Jake Virtanen fit into the line-up? 4) While Adam Gaudette has shown a nice improvement this past season, we can’t deny the fact that he’s played in some of the most sheltered minutes in the league. With one of Toffoli or Boeser (likely Boeser) slated to play alongside Horvat and Pearson, that line will no longer be the defacto “shut down line.” The Horvat line will be a legit scoring line now. Given this change in dynamic, will the Canucks need a shut down line that can go up against other teams’ top lines? As much as we love Gaudette, Gaudette is NOT that type of player. Beagle is a useful shut down center, but only if he’s going up against other 4th lines and possible 3rd lines. Any higher ask of Beagle and he gets quickly exposed (as this past season proved). So, A) Either the Canucks continue to roll with Pearson-Horvat-Eriksson as a shut down line and move one of Toffoli or Brock to play with Gaudette, OR, B-) The Canucks use Sutter as their 3rd line C just as they did at the start of the season when the Canucks went 9-3-3. Here is what I think the Canucks will do: 1) Miller-Pettersson-Toffoli: This line had serious chemistry before the break and I can’t see Green deviating from this. 2) Pearson-Horvat-Boeser: I think Green loves the Boeser-Horvat combo. Boeser was at his absolute best a couple of seasons ago playing alongside Horvat behind the twins if I recall correctly. Horvat’s power game and forechecking ability, will help open space for Brock to set up shop. Brock see more secondary pairings will make him a very dangerous foe. 3) Roussel-Gaudette-Ferland: The skilled Gaudette will be well protected by two gritty two way forwards that have just enough offense to complement Gaudette’s offensive skills and just enough defensive savvy (Roussel) to limit Gaudette’s shortcomings. 4) Motte-Beagle-Sutter: This is the line that makes me cry unfortunately as I feel that MacEwen gets majorly screwed here. I DONT think MacEwen will be in the line-up opening night due to his defensive shortcomings. Ditto for Virtanen. Sutter beats out Eriksson here in my opinion since Sutter can take face-offs. Furthermore, IF Gaudette gets exposed on the 3rd line and IF Green feels that they don’t have a powerful enough shut down line, then I can definitely see Green switching Sutter and Gaudette. Roussel-Sutter-Ferland Motte-Beagle-Gaudette. So, here’s how I think things will go down. Miller-Pettersson-Toffoli (Virtanen plays here if TT gets injured. Horvat replaces Pettersson and Gaudette replaces Horvat if Pettersson gets injured). Pearson-Horvat-Boeser (TT moves here and Virtanen moves to the Pettersson line if Boeser gets injured. Gaudette replaces Horvat if Horvat gets injured). Roussel-Gaudette-Ferland (MacEwen moves here if Ferland gets injured. Eriksson replaces Roussel if Roussel gets injured. Sutter replaces Gaudette if Gaudette gets injured). Motte-Beagle-Sutter (Eriksson replaces Motte if Motte gets injured, MacEwen replaces Sutter if Sutter gets injured. Sutter moves to center if Beagle gets injured). Edited July 28, 2020 by DarkIndianRises Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Nuxfanabroad Posted July 28, 2020 Popular Post Share Posted July 28, 2020 (edited) Beat Minny first. We need to finish off last yr's deal(at draft) Edited July 28, 2020 by Nuxfanabroad 4 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patel Bure Posted July 28, 2020 Author Share Posted July 28, 2020 3 minutes ago, Nuxfanabroad said: Beat Minny first..don't put the cart before the horse. My mistake. I meant play-ins and beyond.....and you are completely correct. I will edit my post. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil_314 Posted July 28, 2020 Share Posted July 28, 2020 Seems plausible for a grind-heavy bottom-6 (think it's a given that the top-6 doesn't change much). Great also to see that coach basically has interchangeable toys (e.g. MacEwen, Virtanen, Loui) to play with in case his lineup needs tinkering in any way (e.g. added scoring depth = add Jake/ Zack, added defense = add Loui, maybe reunite the shutdown second line). If Gaudette doesn't do well in his draws though I could see the following for the 3rd line: Roussel/ Ferland - Sutter - Gaudette (heavy enough on the wing and up the middle, with Gaudette as the play-maker on the wing) As long as Motte and Beagle are on the 4th with another good-skating, responsible guy they should be good to go. 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ballisticsports. Posted July 28, 2020 Share Posted July 28, 2020 Depending on how camp went I think Green goes with vets on the 3 and 4th lines on opening night No Big Mac, Virt, Gaudette Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patel Bure Posted July 28, 2020 Author Share Posted July 28, 2020 40 minutes ago, ba;;isticsports said: Depending on how camp went I think Green goes with vets on the 3 and 4th lines on opening night No Big Mac, Virt, Gaudette Miller-Pettersson-Toffoli Pearson-Horvat-Boeser Roussel-Sutter-Ferland Motte-Beagle-Eriksson Edler-Myers Hughes-Tanev Fantenberg-Stecher Markstrom Demko Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeyD Posted July 28, 2020 Share Posted July 28, 2020 It'd be an absolute travesty if Mac doesn't make it into the lineup. Kid has earned it, without a doubt. Watching him play in the AHL it's like he's men against boys in that league. He's an NHL'er through and through. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post King Heffy Posted July 28, 2020 Popular Post Share Posted July 28, 2020 Personally, I'd go with: Miller-Pettersson-Toffoli Pearson-Horvat-Boeser Ferland-Gaudette-Virtanen Roussel-Beagle-Motte MacEwen Sutter Edler-Stecher Hughes-Tanev Benn-Myers Fantenberg 4th line is rock solid defensively and 3rd line can generate a ton of energy with some offense. Prefer Benn in the playoffs for some size. 2 3 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patel Bure Posted July 28, 2020 Author Share Posted July 28, 2020 13 minutes ago, MikeyD said: It'd be an absolute travesty if Mac doesn't make it into the lineup. Kid has earned it, without a doubt. Watching him play in the AHL it's like he's men against boys in that league. He's an NHL'er through and through. The question is, where would you play him? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
samurai Posted July 28, 2020 Share Posted July 28, 2020 1 hour ago, DarkIndianRises said: Miller-Pettersson-Toffoli Pearson-Horvat-Boeser Roussel-Sutter-Ferland Motte-Beagle-Eriksson Edler-Myers Hughes-Tanev Fantenberg-Stecher Markstrom Demko Sutter and Beagle basically the same role. Ferland not much hockey played this year. Gaud and Mac I would insert for sure and Jake as well 3 hours ago, DarkIndianRises said: Line combinations for the Canucks in the play-ins and beyond: Green will have some tough decisions to make as far as line combinations go. 1) MacEwen has had an impressive training camp so far, but will he play ahead of Toffoli, Boeser, and the comeback kid Michael Ferland? 2) Is MacEwen a better 4th line option than the defensively savvy Loui Eriksson? 3) Where does Jake Virtanen fit into the line-up? 4) While Adam Gaudette has shown a nice improvement this past season, we can’t deny the fact that he’s played in some of the most sheltered minutes in the league. With one of Toffoli or Boeser (likely Boeser) slated to play alongside Horvat and Pearson, that line will no longer be the defacto “shut down line.” The Horvat line will be a legit scoring line now. Given this change in dynamic, will the Canucks need a shut down line that can go up against other teams’ top lines? As much as we love Gaudette, Gaudette is NOT that type of player. Beagle is a useful shut down center, but only if he’s going up against other 4th lines and possible 3rd lines. Any higher ask of Beagle and he gets quickly exposed (as this past season proved). So, A) Either the Canucks continue to roll with Pearson-Horvat-Eriksson as a shut down line and move one of Toffoli or Brock to play with Gaudette, OR, B-) The Canucks use Sutter as their 3rd line C just as they did at the start of the season when the Canucks went 9-3-3. Here is what I think the Canucks will do: 1) Miller-Pettersson-Toffoli: This line had serious chemistry before the break and I can’t see Green deviating from this. 2) Pearson-Horvat-Boeser: I think Green loves the Boeser-Horvat combo. Boeser was at his absolute best a couple of seasons ago playing alongside Horvat behind the twins if I recall correctly. Horvat’s power game and forechecking ability, will help open space for Brock to set up shop. Brock see more secondary pairings will make him a very dangerous foe. 3) Roussel-Gaudette-Ferland: The skilled Gaudette will be well protected by two gritty two way forwards that have just enough offense to complement Gaudette’s offensive skills and just enough defensive savvy (Roussel) to limit Gaudette’s shortcomings. 4) Motte-Beagle-Sutter: This is the line that makes me cry unfortunately as I feel that MacEwen gets majorly screwed here. I DONT think MacEwen will be in the line-up opening night due to his defensive shortcomings. Ditto for Virtanen. Sutter beats out Eriksson here in my opinion since Sutter can take face-offs. Furthermore, IF Gaudette gets exposed on the 3rd line and IF Green feels that they don’t have a powerful enough shut down line, then I can definitely see Green switching Sutter and Gaudette. Roussel-Sutter-Ferland Motte-Beagle-Gaudette. So, here’s how I think things will go down. Miller-Pettersson-Toffoli (Virtanen plays here if TT gets injured. Horvat replaces Pettersson and Gaudette replaces Horvat if Pettersson gets injured). Pearson-Horvat-Boeser (TT moves here and Virtanen moves to the Pettersson line if Boeser gets injured. Gaudette replaces Horvat if Horvat gets injured). Roussel-Gaudette-Ferland (MacEwen moves here if Ferland gets injured. Eriksson replaces Roussel if Roussel gets injured. Sutter replaces Gaudette if Gaudette gets injured). Motte-Beagle-Sutter (Eriksson replaces Motte if Motte gets injured, MacEwen replaces Sutter if Sutter gets injured. Sutter moves to center if Beagle gets injured). I think your 1-2 and 4 are very very probably. 3 i wonder about Ferland's lack of hockey this year, but hard to think that Green will not want 2 vets between Gaud. Gaud has too much O upside to leave him out. He is a lot stronger this year and again as the season went on he just kept getting better. He is a kid that seems to like the big games. D wise i dont think there are any better options then what you have laid out. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stawns Posted July 28, 2020 Share Posted July 28, 2020 Miller Petey Toffoli Pearson Bo Boeser Ferland Sutter Virtanen Roussel Beagle Motte Edler Myers Hughes Tanev Fanta Stetcher Marky I love Gaud, but he was heavily sheltered during the season and as much I as I like him, I don't think going with a rookie 3rd line C is a good idea. He can certainly provide more offense, but there's too much defensive responsibility for a 3rd line cman in the playoffs. You lose the first game and you're in a deep hole in a 5 game series. I think Green will stick with Sutter down the middle and give him two veteran cmen to anchor the bottom 6 shutdown roles. And it's not like Sutter is an offensive black hole, he can produce as well. Gaud will get his chance at some point in the series I think. Then again Green might surprise me and go with Gaud. It'll be an interesting decision and will tell us what style he wants to play. Aggressive and open with Gaud or lock it down defensively with Sutter. I don't see anyway they keep Virtanen out of the lineup. Once Benn gets back, hes in for Fanta I think.........this is why they got Benn, imo. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patel Bure Posted July 28, 2020 Author Share Posted July 28, 2020 (edited) Virtanen over MacEwen: Ive noticed a few people list Virtanen in their line-ups and for those people, I ask you this: Given the way MacEwen has played in training camp so far, can you really justify placing Virtanen ahead of McEwen? If so, why? Edited July 28, 2020 by DarkIndianRises Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Battlemonger Posted July 28, 2020 Share Posted July 28, 2020 Miller Petey Toffoli Pearson Bo Boeser Rousell Gaudette/Sutter Ferland/Virtanen Motte Beagle MacEwan/Eriksson Edler Stetcher Hughes Tanev Fanta Myers Markstrom 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timberz21 Posted July 28, 2020 Share Posted July 28, 2020 13 hours ago, DarkIndianRises said: Line combinations for the Canucks in the play-ins and beyond: Green will have some tough decisions to make as far as line combinations go. 1) MacEwen has had an impressive training camp so far, but will he play ahead of Toffoli, Boeser, and the comeback kid Michael Ferland? Are you really asking this question? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patel Bure Posted July 28, 2020 Author Share Posted July 28, 2020 1 minute ago, timberz21 said: Are you really asking this question? No, it was a rhetorical question. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timberz21 Posted July 28, 2020 Share Posted July 28, 2020 Miller Petey Toffoli Pearson Bo Boeser IMO this is pretty much set in stone, so not sure what's so hard about deciding who's playing in the bottom 6. They'll probably be a rotation. This is also pretty much set in stone....Win --> lineup will stay the same and Green will be a called a genius....Lose --> bottom lines will be shuffled and Green crucified on CDC. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrJockitch Posted July 28, 2020 Share Posted July 28, 2020 (edited) I still see Sutter as 4RW. He gives second centre for PK. Need four PK forwards unless Pearson is going to do it. Rous is usually the one in the box so he doesn’t work very well. Some interesting decisions need to be made but ultimately think it will look like it did most of the year with Ferland sliding into Jakes spot to start. I would love to see a lineup with Jake, Zack and Ferland in but just don’t see how it works unless one of them goes in the top 6 and like Timber said I think the top 6 is set. Edited July 28, 2020 by DrJockitch 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patel Bure Posted July 28, 2020 Author Share Posted July 28, 2020 1 hour ago, timberz21 said: Miller Petey Toffoli Pearson Bo Boeser IMO this is pretty much set in stone, so not sure what's so hard about deciding who's playing in the bottom 6. They'll probably be a rotation. This is also pretty much set in stone....Win --> lineup will stay the same and Green will be a called a genius....Lose --> bottom lines will be shuffled and Green crucified on CDC. With all due respect, if it’s “set in stone” as to who will play in the bottom 6, why have you neglected to list your bottom 6 lines? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stawns Posted July 28, 2020 Share Posted July 28, 2020 (edited) 10 hours ago, DarkIndianRises said: Virtanen over MacEwen: Ive noticed a few people list Virtanen in their line-ups and for those people, I ask you this: Given the way MacEwen has played in training camp so far, can you really justify placing Virtanen ahead of McEwen? If so, why? 18 goals, 18 assists, 4th on the team in hits, 4th on the team in takeaways, one of the few with more takeaways than giveaways. 17th on the team in avg toi. No one does more with the ice time given than Jake. I love Mac, but of course he had a great camp, he's trying to win a spot on the roster, which he did. Edited July 28, 2020 by stawns 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stawns Posted July 28, 2020 Share Posted July 28, 2020 12 hours ago, samurai said: Sutter and Beagle basically the same role. Ferland not much hockey played this year. Gaud and Mac I would insert for sure and Jake as well I think your 1-2 and 4 are very very probably. 3 i wonder about Ferland's lack of hockey this year, but hard to think that Green will not want 2 vets between Gaud. Gaud has too much O upside to leave him out. He is a lot stronger this year and again as the season went on he just kept getting better. He is a kid that seems to like the big games. D wise i dont think there are any better options then what you have laid out. Defense wins playoff games. I love Gaud, but the Wild will love it if he's in at 3C.........they'll match up to him at every single opportunity. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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