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Line Combos: Defense Pairings

  • Thread starter Thread starter Boom Boom Geoffrion*
  • Start date Start date
Zenith said:
He'll be playing top 4 mins. Just because he's listed on the "3rd" pairing doesn't mean he's not gonna play 24+ mins. That's how it was last season.
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Yeah, but by the end of the year he was playing on the second pairing with Stralman. He only started out on the third pairing because he was recovering from a concussion and they wanted to limit his workload.
 
Staal will get the same minutes as Girardi and McD. He'll be back to full strength, and he should be primed to remind everyone that he's the best shutdown defenseman on the team.
 
If MDZ playing on the 3rd pairing helps create balance/stability on our blueline then I'm all for it, but I would like to see him be given increased PP time (assuming he's on his game) to compensate for the lack of ES minutes.
 
we want cup said:
Staal will get the same minutes as Girardi and McD. He'll be back to full strength, and he should be primed to remind everyone that he's the best shutdown defenseman on the team.
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I'm sure he has that in the back of his mind as well.
 
wolfgaze said:
If MDZ playing on the 3rd pairing helps create balance/stability on our blueline then I'm all for it, but I would like to see him be given increased PP time (assuming he's on his game) to compensate for the lack of ES minutes.
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I think that's a no brainer. The PP is where Del Zotto needs to thrive. I'd also like to see McDonagh get some time when we're up a man. I could see him having an offensive breakout.
 
I don't think Staal or Girardi need to see much PP time. MDZ and McD should see the bulk of the minutes with the man advantage.
 
SwissFreakinWatch said:
I don't think Staal or Girardi need to see much PP time. MDZ and McD should see the bulk of the minutes with the man advantage.
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everyone of my non-NYR friends (so all of them :laugh:) are predicting an offensive breakout season from McDonagh. I'm not sure if they're just generalizing a breakout year as an "offensive break out year" but either way.... everyone seem to think he'll notch 50+ points.
 
McD didn't get nearly enough PP time last season. Which is a shame, because he showed some genuine flashes of offensive skill.

 
I still have hope for Sauer at 6'3" and well over 200 pounds he brings the nasty and crease clearing NY needs. Yes he had a concussion but so did Sidney slewfoot so I would expect Sauer to recover at some point.

However with the compressed schedule I am hoping and praying that coach doesn't wear down the D over the regular season so they are on fumes by playoff time.

Fortunately NY has plenty of depth on the blueline and can "afford" to rest a top guy on given nights without losing too much defensive coverage with Eminger, Bickel and Stralman ready to step in and play some minutes along the way.

I also think that Staal is the top dog on the blueline so I would expect to see him have top minutes during the regular season. I actually like Girardi with him too.

McDonaugh has totally impressed us all with his work ethic, skating and grit however he still has basically a season and a half of seasoning on him. 2nd pairing minutes for a top team like NY is in no way a demerit. Or if you prefer the #3 dman on the depth chart.

Staal
Girardi
McDonaugh

I think most of believe that NY can ride these 3 into the eastern final again this season
 
donpaulo said:
I still have hope for Sauer at 6'3" and well over 200 pounds he brings the nasty and crease clearing NY needs. Yes he had a concussion but so did Sidney slewfoot so I would expect Sauer to recover at some point.
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Not as easy when you have a history of concussions like Sauer. Crosby will find that out too if he gets more.

Genetics aren't on Sauer's side either. His brother had/has the same issues.

I think his career is in serious jeopardy, which is a shame.
 
Outsider here, just curious if any of you want Redden in your line up. Obviously he is not worth the money he is being paid, but that is neither here nor there at this point because he is going to get that money and now that 90% of his cap is going to count regardless, why not play him. He's better than Eminger, Bickell and Gilroy for sure and probably Stralman.

So in short, his cap counts and he is being paid. He makes the team better, why don't more people want him in the lineup?
 
ThatGuy22 said:
Outsider here, just curious if any of you want Redden in your line up. Obviously he is not worth the money he is being paid, but that is neither here nor there at this point because he is going to get that money and now that 90% of his cap is going to count regardless, why not play him. He's better than Eminger, Bickell and Gilroy for sure and probably Stralman.

So in short, his cap counts and he is being paid. He makes the team better, why don't more people want him in the lineup?
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It's pretty simple: if he gets injured you can't use a compliance buyout on him this summer.
 
BrooklynRangersFan said:
It's pretty simple: if he gets injured you can't use a compliance buyout on him this summer.
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He can just as easily get injured in the AHL or practice though. No way the NHLPA would allow them to just pay him and not play him if he is currently healthy. Grievance waiting to happen.
 
You don't just go switching the side a defenseman plays, especially when he's never played there in his career.

Do you know how important it is as a defenseman to have the forehand side of your stick facing the boards? Righties play the right side. Lefties play the left. This is the case 90% of the time, except for the PP where they you want a lefty on the right point (and vice versa) for the ability to one-time the puck. There are some players that CAN effectively play on their off-hand side, but it's rare.

We have 3 left defensemen - Staal, McDonagh, Del Zotto. We have 3 right defenseman - Girardi, Stralman, Eminger (Bickel as well). You pair up LD and RD, not LD and LD.

McDonagh-Girardi
Staal-Stralman
Del Zotto-Eminger

anything different on opening night and I'd be shocked.
 
You do realize right handed d men are rare right? Not every team has 3 of each
 
Do you guys see Del Zotto playing as well as he did last year with Staal back in the lineup? Never realized until looking at his stats he had 156 hits last year.
 
PAZ said:
Do you guys see Del Zotto playing as well as he did last year with Staal back in the lineup? Never realized until looking at his stats he had 156 hits last year.
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I believe the garden statisticians inflate hit numbers. Still he's actually a physical player. It's hard to know with him. He had an impressive rookie season and then stunk the next season and was good last season. If it follows that short trend he should suck, lol.
 
Here's how I handle the D pairs.

Test Staal with Stralman. Test McDonagh with Stralman. Whichever plays better with him stays with him. The other plays with Girardi, whom we know both excel with. I think people forget how good Staal-Girardi was. As great as McDonagh-Girardi was last season, they were no better than Staal-Girardi two years ago.

Leaves you with the possible two options

McDonagh-Girardi
Staal-Stralman
DelZotto-Bickel/Eminger/Gilroy

or

Staal-Girardi
McDonagh-Stralman
DelZotto-Bickel/Eminger/Gilroy
 
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