Nils Lundkvist vs Zac Jones

[HockeyBasedNYC]

Lundkvist looked really comfortable out there tonight. Got a good indication of his play.

He has a really good ability to get shots through. He makes it look easy similar to Fox in that regard.

What impressed me the most tonight was his defensive play in the d zone. He had really good positioning and his gap control was perfect.

He got turned around on a couple plays which he’ll figure out, but he didn’t look like he had any issues with the smaller surface. He made some really nice reads moving up in the zone to force plays and I was surprised how well he used his stick and body in front of the net.

Veey good stuff from Nils. Surprised he wasn’t paired with Nemeth.

 

[Shesterkybomb]

Imo both are too weak to play an nhl playoff right now, especially if they are holding down the 3rd pair. I love both players though, they just need some time.

 

[EdJovanovski]

Definitely Lundkvist’s best game tonight but still not as good as Jones’s worst game imo. Especially in our own end

 

[Gr8CornHolio]

Problem with keeping both Jones and Nils on the roster is it means we have to have one very offensive minded defenseman on the penalty kill.

It why most teams have one two at most offensive dmen.

If you have two you put each on one power play line to qb. Pair them with a more defensive minded on 5 v 5.

then play the 4 defensive guys on ok.

this also gives the offensive guys rest when killing and gives the defensive guys rest on power play.

it prevents fatigue which is a huge reason why 3rd period leads are blown

 

[will1066]

It's neck and neck now!

 

[bernmeister]

nils!

 

[GoAwayPanarin]

Still Jones for me despite a pretty big step forward from Nils tonight.

We need a non Fox D who can aid transition and push pucks up ice efficiently. Jones is better at that than Nils is.

He's defended better too.

 

[will1066]

Still Jones for me despite a pretty big step forward from Nils tonight.

We need a non Fox D who can aid transition and push pucks up ice efficiently. Jones is better at that than Nils is.

He's defended better too.

Jones has really good vision of the ice, it seems. He moves the puck very quickly, just kinda slings it up ice.

 

[Janvonpobben]

Not voting on the recency bias. Typical EdJovo trying to stir shit and create friction.

Edjovo has never praised a swedish player ever.

He hated the sedins, now hating pettersson. Hated all swedes on other teams as well. Probably don cherry in disguise.

 

[Janvonpobben]

Lundkvist has dominated SHL two seasons in a row and should never see AHL time. Not a single swede has ever benefitted from AHL, it will ruin his development for sure.

The best swedes has always gone directly from SHL to NHL.

 

[chosen]

Problem with keeping both Jones and Nils on the roster is it means we have to have one very offensive minded defenseman on the penalty kill.

It why most teams have one two at most offensive dmen.

If you have two you put each on one power play line to qb. Pair them with a more defensive minded on 5 v 5.

then play the 4 defensive guys on ok.

this also gives the offensive guys rest when killing and gives the defensive guys rest on power play.

it prevents fatigue which is a huge reason why 3rd period leads are blown

3rd period leads are not blown very often.

 

[HockeyBasedNYC]

They both have great vision. We can all agree they are head and shoulders above Hajek.

Nils took a small leap up last night, but it’s very close. Both deserve to skate out of the tunnel on opening night.

They signed Nemeth to be his partner yet they haven’t skated together as a pair yet unless I am mistaken, which is odd to me.

 

[egelband]

Edjovo has never praised a swedish player ever.

He hated the sedins, now hating pettersson. Hated all swedes on other teams as well. Probably don cherry in disguise.

@EdJovanovski is this true? If so, I’m very disappointed. What about Jesper Fast? Or Olaf Palme??

 

[Chimpradamus]

@EdJovanovski is this true? If so, I’m very disappointed. What about Jesper Fast? Or Olaf Palme??

His name was Olof Palme. He did call the US government "Satan's murderers" though (not religious, it's just an adjective with about as much strength as "f***ing" in English). We're a very secular country. He was a State minister born with a silver spoon who ended up caring about the people born with a wooden spoon. But enough of that.

As for the subject at hand, I do think there's some patriotic bias in this. Alot of US fans obviously root for Jones. If it's patriotic or because they've seen him more, meh, it's a mix. Same thing with me. Am I patriotic or have I just seen more of him? Meh, I can't denounce I root for him because he's a northern Swede and he's slick as hell, but mostly it's because I've seen what he can do on the ice when he's comfortable. Probably the same for many fans of Jones.

The thing is, I've never seen a Swedish D-man who has all the elements to be a successful D-man (mobile, great skater, eye vision, hockey IQ, passing, stick handling) that also has such a nasty shot. Not only is his shot nasty, it gets through alot more than for your general offensive D-man. It's very accurate. That he can seriously threaten the opposition to shoot the puck when he gets it on the offensive blueline makes things so much tougher for them. Then they have to focus on him also as a scoring threat.

Look, I haven't seen enough of Jones to have an quantified, honest opinion of him, but he's obviously also a very slick and talented D-man. From my limited experience with watching Jones I would say the choice would be this:

Maybe Jones is currently slightly better in the defensive zone and maybe Lundkvist is slightly better in the offensive zone, especially on the PP. It's a gift from heaven for these two that Quinn was fired and Gallant is the new coach. He'll approve of offensive D-men trying to play their game as long as they give 100% doing it.

 

[EdJovanovski]

Edjovo has never praised a swedish player ever.

He hated the sedins, now hating pettersson. Hated all swedes on other teams as well. Probably don cherry in disguise.

@EdJovanovski is this true? If so, I’m very disappointed. What about Jesper Fast? Or Olaf Palme??

LOL this is funny because my uncle legitimately hates Swedes. He goes on rants about the Canucks having too many Swedes and how soft they are, all the time whenever there’s a draft the first thing he asks is how many Swedes did they take? When I tell him Canucks signed someone “are they Swedish??” He goes on drunken rants yelling about the Sedin sisters & how soft they were.

But to answer your question everyone knows I only like Russian players

 

[tomobson]

Nils looks like he found some confidence in last nights game. The fact that Nils is a natural RHD I think is gonna give him a bit of an edge over Jones. Gallant said Nemeth can play the right side but I have to think he rather keep his defensemen on their natural side if the battle between Jones and Nils is close.

 

[Slurpeelover27]

Nils looks like he found some confidence in last nights game. The fact that Nils is a natural RHD I think is gonna give him a bit of an edge over Jones. Gallant said Nemeth can play the right side but I have to think he rather keep his defensemen on their natural side if the battle between Jones and Nils is close.

I think most are discounting that Nils dominated the SHL and looked amazing during the 3 games he played at the Worlds. That is the Nils that the Rangers will be getting soon. It does take a bit of time to adjust moving across the planet as a 21 year old leaving his family and (girl)friends to play on smaller ice with all new teammates, coaches who all speak a funny language. If he was 26 years old then maybe, but he is just a kid. Jones has been a bit more poised and confident with the puck so far, but also been taking more risks and his line has been on the ice for many chances against whereas Nils has been extremely steady with better offensive acumen. Nils has massive upside. Rangers would foolish to overlook what Nils has accomplished in the SHL. Training camp is supposed to be for most players to get up to speed. That is why all the vets barely play. The kids need to jump in and show some flash in a short period. Kudos for Jones and Schneider for showing well, but Nils has the proven track record in an excellent mens league and in international play. He is the easy choice for me.

Jones has impressed enough that he has been easily better than KAM and likely better than Nemeth. To me that is the choice. Can the Rangers keep Jones over 1 of them or keep all 3? Nils should be in.

 

[haveandare]

I wouldn’t lose sleep about either, but if I had to choose today I’d choose Nils. He had his best game against the best lineup the team has played by far, and without Fox to insulate him. Also his ability to get shots through is excellent and not something we really have anywhere else in the lineup

 

[Slurpeelover27]

Schneider sent down. Nils pretty secure now I would think.

 

[Fitzy]

Schneider sent down. Nils pretty secure now I would think.

IMO we see one game each with Nils and Jones playing with Nemeth, but I could be wrong.

 

[Slurpeelover27]

IMO we see one game each with Nils and Jones playing with Nemeth, but I could be wrong.

Not sure if Nemeth good enough to play off side. Almost certain Jones or Nils will be asked to do that.

 

[GoAwayPanarin]

Not sure if Nemeth good enough to play off side. Almost certain Jones or Nils will be asked to do that.

Jones will. Nils won’t.

 

[Slurpeelover27]

Jones will. Nils won’t.

Sorry I meant not be asked to play off side. Lundkvist has done it but saw in interview only played a bit on off side.

 

[Daves a mess]

Not sure if Nemeth good enough to play off side. Almost certain Jones or Nils will be asked to do that.

Gallant stated on video the other day that Nemeth can play both sides.

 

[The Crypto Guy]

3 way rotation with Nemeth for a couple weeks, worst players becomes #7 dman (Nemeth), or sent down to AHL (other 2).

Hell make it a 4 way with Miller since he didn't have a great camp.