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2020 Playoffs - Projected Habs lineup


revvvrob

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To me a successful PP has multiple options. 

 

The whole point of the PP is having 5 players while they only have four.  That means if you have good movement and multiple options, you should always have someone open.  If you limit yourself to just trying to set up Weber and Tatar it becomes predictable and teams can take that away.  You need to use the fact that you outnumber them to your advantage to create high quality chances. 

 

Gallagher has scored 30 goals in this league, he can be a threat working down low and taking the pass to the backdoor. 

Drouin is really good at controlling the puck on the half boards or at the point. Its reported that his shot looks like it did early in the  season before the wrist injury. 

KK has been working on that one timer. 
Suzuki is really smart and in the right positions. He makes really smart plays with the puck. 
Petry has been successful from the point too. 
Domi can play the Drouin role on a second unit. 

There is talent in this group.  The best PPs in the league aren't always the teams with the most talent.  Coaching plays a huge role. 

The Oilers are number 1 in PP, so yes talent helps.  But look further down the list. The Blues are a balanced team. They don't have a big time gamebreaking scorer (especially since Tarasenko has missed most of the year).  They are more about just having four really good lines. They are third in PP because they have a plan.  The Bruins are second. Vancouver 4th. The Rangers 7th, The Wild 11th.  Dallas at 13

 

I'm not expecting the Habs to be number 1, but multiple years at the bottom of the league and we have to look at coaching.

 

 

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Yes, you have to look at coaching. Still, if this group had a sustained run of PP success when Weber was hurt - a moment when coaching most likely made a difference, and was most listened to - then you have to wonder whether the problem is in the players' heads. They tended, if memory serves, to do the same with Subban. It's as if the impressive point shot exerts a magnetic pull - or as though the players can't help but drift back to that 'tried and true' motif under pressure. The only way a coach could break that would be to pull Weber off the PP, which he probably wil. never do.

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21 minutes ago, The Chicoutimi Cucumber said:

Yes, you have to look at coaching. Still, if this group had a sustained run of PP success when Weber was hurt - a moment when coaching most likely made a difference, and was most listened to - then you have to wonder whether the problem is in the players' heads. They tended, if memory serves, to do the same with Subban. It's as if the impressive point shot exerts a magnetic pull - or as though the players can't help but drift back to that 'tried and true' motif under pressure. The only way a coach could break that would be to pull Weber off the PP, which he probably wil. never do.

 

OR ... it could be the coaching emphasizing the BOMBER and things working better when that player is out

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42 minutes ago, GHT120 said:

 

OR ... it could be the coaching emphasizing the BOMBER and things working better when that player is out

 

True! You'd hope Muller isn't that thick, but...

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A lot of analytics suggest that even with a shot like weber, the point shot shouldnt be the focal point of the pp just because you are more likely to score shooting closer to the net.

 

There are a few things that can be done here.

 

1) let petry play the top of things and move weber into the Ovechkin spot.  Let him shoot but closer to the net.

 

2) work some down low stuff with gallagher back door and tatar in the slot into things as those closer to the net shots just have more chance of going in.

 

 

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2 minutes ago, The Chicoutimi Cucumber said:

 

True! You'd hope Muller isn't that thick, but...

 

But at a certain point, if the strategy is sound but the players aren't doing what the coach wants that is as bad a job of coaching as bad strategy.

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10 minutes ago, GHT120 said:

 

But at a certain point, if the strategy is sound but the players aren't doing what the coach wants that is as bad a job of coaching as bad strategy.

 

I agree. I mean, the PP is consistently garbage. At some point, you have to axe the coach responsible; even if he is imploring them relentlessly NOT to over-rely on the boomer and offering a range of tactical alternatives, he's not getting through.

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1 hour ago, The Chicoutimi Cucumber said:

 

I agree. I mean, the PP is consistently garbage. At some point, you have to axe the coach responsible; even if he is imploring them relentlessly NOT to over-rely on the boomer and offering a range of tactical alternatives, he's not getting through.

That’s been an issue for a long time.  Big difference when we had a good PP with the big shot from the point was Markov.  He could find forwards and feed the other Dman with the big shot (Souray, Streit, subban, Weber) and Markov himself had that great shot/pass as well for the deflections. He lost some of that ability in his last couple of years and than it become all about the telegraphed Subban slapper, or the Weber bomb.  That to me is definitely a coaching issue.  But at the end of the day we don’t have a quarterback and the coaching staff hasn’t tried to have someone play that same QB type role, so it’s not all revolving around the bomb from Weber that everyone is expecting.  Maybe Domi or Drouin can be that QB from the point.  The drawback is neither of them is even remotely defensively responsible like Markov was.  It was uncanny who when could keep the puck in the zone and basically ride the blue line.  What we need more than anything else is a Markov replacement.  

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You guys are stating the obvious. A good powerplay has many options. Obviously. The point is that the Habs have been trying multiple different options and Weber and Tatar have performed the best. It’s not like they’ve been telling Gallagher he’s not allowed to score on the power play. Of course Weber gets his bombs from the point, as he should but the Habs aren’t solely feeding him pucks as the only option. That would be a myth. 
 

The Habs know everything that’s been laid out in these recent posts but the point is that even knowing all this, Tatar and Weber have produced the most. No one is saying make it obvious that it’s going to them. I’m saying find innovative ways to make those two your focal point. It’s not rocket science. 
 

What is the first thing that comes to mind when you think of Shea Weber? For me, it’s his heavy shot. If I were an opposing fan, I would cringe every time he were open for a bomb. Now as a fan on his side, I’m going to suggest he should be benched so we don’t overuse his one weapon? That wouldn’t fly on any other team. 

 

My point was our team relies too heavily on a bomb from the point because that’s the horse we have. We don’t have a Wheeler, Ovechkin, or Stamkos up front, so we can’t just magically wish our players step up to that level just because we want more options. We don’t have Galchenyuk, Pacioretty, Kovalev.

 

What I will say is that perhaps Suzuki can become that guy. 
 

 

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11 hours ago, xXx..CK..xXx said:

The Habs know everything that’s been laid out in these recent posts but the point is that even knowing all this, Tatar and Weber have produced the most. No one is saying make it obvious that it’s going to them. I’m saying find innovative ways to make those two your focal point. It’s not rocket science.

 

Weber has produced the most goals -- but he takes the most shots by far. Are there any stats handy for PP shots and shooting percentage?

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12 hours ago, xXx..CK..xXx said:

What I will say is that perhaps Suzuki can become that guy.

Weber & Suzuki on same PP unit might be interesting change, Athletic write up said they werent used together last year.

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14 hours ago, The Chicoutimi Cucumber said:

 

I agree. I mean, the PP is consistently garbage. At some point, you have to axe the coach responsible; even if he is imploring them relentlessly NOT to over-rely on the boomer and offering a range of tactical alternatives, he's not getting through.

22nd, 30th, 12th, 13th on the PP in last 4 years. So PP has "only" been garbage for last 2 years, i had thought longer than that.

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And the players in Toronto are:

 

 

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I'm a little surprised McNiven is there.  Knowing you can get goalies into the bubble even if they're not on the original roster if injuries arise (it takes 4 negative tests in as many days), I thought they'd have gone with three to get an extra skater on the roster and kept McNiven skating in Montreal to stay ready.

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at practice today.

 

Tatar - Danault - Gallagher  
Drouin - Suzuki - Armia  
Byron - Kotkaniemi - Lehkonen  
Weise - Domi - Weal
Hudon - Poehling - Evans - Belzile

 

DEFENSEMEN

Chiarot - Weber
Kulak - Petry
Ouellet - Mete
Olofsson - Folin
Fleury - Juulsen

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On 7/25/2020 at 7:55 PM, Commandant said:

A lot of analytics suggest that even with a shot like weber, the point shot shouldnt be the focal point of the pp just because you are more likely to score shooting closer to the net.

 

There are a few things that can be done here.

 

1) let petry play the top of things and move weber into the Ovechkin spot.  Let him shoot but closer to the net.

 

2) work some down low stuff with gallagher back door and tatar in the slot into things as those closer to the net shots just have more chance of going in.

 

 

 

I've been a fan of the Weber in the Ovi spot while Petry quarterbacks the whole thing idea for some time, sadly we don't see it get the run that it should.

 

Setup in my mind would be 

 

-Petry along the blue line to quarterback, all options are open to him.

-Weber at the dot on the left side for one timers, he has one purpose.

-Suzuki in the distributor spot by the goal line on the right side, has access to Petry, Drouin and Armia for plays from this spot.

-Armia in front of the net, has great hands in tight to finish plays.

-Drouin at the dot on the right side for one timers or distribution, has access to Petry and Weber if lanes are open and a one timer isn't the best option.

 

Personally, i'd love to see this setup get a good 5 to 8 game run and see what the body of work looks like.

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2 hours ago, alfredoh2009 said:

If I was abetting man I would spend $5 on the long shot.

 

we are toast

Am sure all these brainiac's also picked TB and Caps to win in 18-19 1st round...not that I disagree with them though.

 

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The good news is that 3 of the "experts" think our terrible, god awful team will over perform and stretch this out to 5 games. The better news is that the series is played on the ice and not from these guy's basements. 

 

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I find it interesting that three of the four that picked Pittsburgh in 3 are Toronto homers (Johnston, Bourne, and Fox).  Not sure if that really means anything but that's the first thing I noticed going through that list.

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1 hour ago, The Chicoutimi Cucumber said:

Listen, the smart money is on Pittsburgh. That's not news.

 

You should bet all of your available money on Pittsburgh, since you are so smart 

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