NDG Monarchs vs HC Lugano (ATD2025 Play-In Round)

[Theokritos]

NDG Monarchs
GM: @tinyzombies

Coach: Fred Shero
Captain: Toe Blake
Alternates: Lidström, Bouchard

Toe Blake - Bryan Trottier - Charlie Conacher
Jiri Holik - Jean Ratelle - Bryan Hextall Sr.
Doug Mohns - Walt Tkachuk - Craig Ramsay
Jack Walker - Syl Apps - Gordie Drillon
Allan "Scotty" Davidson
Pierre Turgeon
Bob Probert

Nicklas Lidström - Larry Murphy
Marcel Pronovost - Butch Bouchard
Flash Hollett - Bob Baun
Jim Neilson

(With the lead, Mohns moves to LD, Hollett up for Holik, Holik for Walker, Walker for Mohns at LW)

Bernie Parent
Grant Fuhr​

HC Lugano
GM: @Boreal01

Head Coach: Toe Blake
Captains: Eddie Gerard (C), Guy Carbonneau (A), Frantisek Pospisil (A)

#11 Sweeney Schriner - #21 Stan Mikita - #81 Marian Hossa
#10 John LeClair - #12 Peter Forsberg - #55 Bernie Morris
#25 Kevin Stevens - #6 Ralph Backstrom - #16 Mitch Marner
#8 Dick Duff - #23 Guy Carbonneau (A) - #22 Claude Lemieux
Spares: #77 Red Sullivan, #17 Phil Watson

#7 Frantisek Pospisil (A) - #2 Doug Harvey
#90 Roman Josi - #5 Eddie Gerard (C)
#74 Jaccob Slavin - #30 Jack Marshall
Spares: #33 Dustin Byfuglien, #57 Devon Toews

#1 Glenn Hall
#32 Jonathan Quick

Power Play #1

Schriner - Mikita - LeClair
Harvey - Marner

Power Play #2

Stevens - Forsberg - Morris
Josi - Hossa

Penalty Kill #1

Carbonneau - Marner
Pospisil - Harvey

Penalty Kill #2

Marshall - Hossa
Slavin - Gerard
​

 

[Boreal01]

Here's to a good series!

Schedule has been packed again (although these play-in series will be short anyways) so will try to get through what I can!

1st Lines: Schriner-Mikita-Hossa and Blake-Trottier-Conacher

Evenly matched down the middle as Mikita and Trottier are both very solid #1 centers, historically Mikita has been ranked slightly ahead of Trottier and I'm inclined to agree although this is offset by Conacher being comfortably considered the most talented of the four wingers

Schriner may at first glance stick out as the weak link here, however, he's been placed in a pretty optimal situation with two capable playmakers that are also excellent defensively so I'm confident he'll be able to have some quick entries into the offensive zone after a well timed takeaway by either of his Slovakian born companions

Couple matchup considerations: the Monarchs' top line will not shy away from physicality and while Pospisil/Harvey will be up to the task, Harvey is going to be heavily leaned upon and could really be getting worn down after consistent 25+ minute nights with a fair amount of that time spent banging around

On the flip side, while Lidstrom and Murphy were a solid pairing, Murphy was clearly the weaker of the two defensively and one of his greatest knocks was being a slow skater (painfully so at times); he was commended for generally being positionally sound particularly during/after his stint with Pittsburgh, however, all it could take is him being one or two strides behind and suddenly Parent finds himself one on one against Schriner

2nd Lines: LeClair-Forsberg-Morris and Holik-Ratelle-Hextall

The greatest advantage of HC Lugano in my opinion, stemming from Forsberg very clearly being the best of the six and further amplified by him being situated with wingers that will compliment him nicely

The goal scoring prowess of LeClair and Morris is an obvious plus and they're solid if perhaps not stellar defensively, however, arguably their most valuable asset is the physicality they bring which will allow Foppa to focus on finding/creating scoring opportunities and shield him from overexerting himself and winding up on the IR as happened so frequently in his career

Holik may be punching above his weight here on this second line and weighing down Ratelle/Hextall which is especially detrimental considering they're already on the back foot competing against Forsberg

3rd Lines: Stevens-Backstrom-Marner and Mohns-Tkaczuk-Ramsay

Stevens is probably the weakest defensively although I haven't come across anything to suggest he'd be an anchor per say; there should be a great deal of pucks coming his way from Backstrom and especially Marner, each of whom are defensively sound and can tighten up or looking for offensive opportunities as needed depending on the score and situation they're placed in

Mohns/Tkaczuk are a solid duo that will pack a punch even if Tkaczuk isn't as gifted a playmaker as Mikita who Mohns found his greatest success with, Ramsay is a fitting addition to round out this line

Overall fairly evenly matched, each line will be capable of providing some supporting offence without giving either coach cause for concern in their own end

4th Lines: Duff-Carbonneau-Lemieux and Walker-Apps-Drillon

Apps was my 1st line center last year so having him on a 4th line is certainly a luxury and he will benefit from being reunited with Drillon

With that said, Apps is not a sterling defensive asset and Drillon perhaps even less so (their line was broken up for lackluster defence after all) which places a great deal of pressure on Walker who is one of the better defensive forwards but could find himself overmatched in a hurry

Carbonneau's reputation is well established at this point and Duff/Lemieux are a miserable duo to have to contend with, with Duff in particular being a steady defensive presence; they are also a deceptively strong offensive threat when you consider their greatly accelerated postseason production rates

Apps is the most individually talented player on either line, however, I'm not convinced he tips the scales enough when Lugano's 4th line is built for playoff hockey and could be comfortably deployed at either end of the ice

Will hopefully be able to dive into other aspects of this series later!