Tribute Playoffs Shutdown Line. Head to Head against Best.

[TheGroceryStick]

I think Thornton has shown the 'other gear' for the 4th line.
Spezza and Simmonds are tough to take out (if Nash makes 3C and Gally 2W) - been fighting with myself

But I think;

Kerfoot - Brooks - Thornton

But I doubt Brooks can do enough here to unseat Spezza in Keefe's world (eventhough it's likely the best option imo)

 

[4thline]

Foligno-Matthews-Marner in every situation and against anyone. Mikheyev-Nash-Hyman as the shutdown line. Kerfoot-Tavares-Nylander to beat up on weaker competition. Thornton-Spezza-Simmonds extremely sheltered.

That's what I'm thinking as well. I've noticed several times through the last couple games where Kerfoot comes out in place of Galchenyuk late in games. Might be reading too much in to it, but I can see that lack of trust making him the odd man out.

 

[Leafsfan74]

As I've said many times, Hyman can play on any line. His playing style is adaptable. I tend to want him to be in the top six come playoffs, which makes this a bit tricky as I also believe Gally can be an important contributor for this team.

There are clearly going to be decisions made by Keefe. My personal opinion would be to have Galchenyuk in and Mikheyev out. Galchenyuk isn't as fast as Mik, but he is harder on the puck. If he plays both ways, he's a major asset in a playoff run. Of this I am in agreement, if Gally doesn't work hard on D, he is half as valuable.

I like Mik, he is creative, his speed alone is a weapon. On the flip side, Galchenyuk can help pin in opponents, he also finishes from time to time, draws penalties and has a bit of a fire in his belly. I've watched him take shots from guys after the whistle and he gives it right back in a "I'm not backing down" manner. I want those guys all week, twice on Sundays. It's the consistency issue. If he plays as he did his first week here, it's an easy decision.

Leafs are in the enviable position of having depth and options, it's obviously a call the coach has to make based on his feel. If I am the opposition team, I prefer to see Mik in the lineup rather than Galchenyuk.

 

[Confucius]

Thats maybe what Calgary was thinking last night when they got caught against McDavid. I have watch Edmonton run him over the boards for mismatches going back a while.

You hard match McDavid or you die i think ha. He’s just to fast and dangerous alone as Bieksa said.

Yep he needs a shadow, Put soup on him.

 

[Wafflewhipper]

Yep he needs a shadow, Put soup on him.

Do you remember soup catching him down the wall after McDavid got a just quick jump on him down the left wing in the three game set we swept them? Mikheyev caught him and took the puck from him in the corner.

Mikheyev getting the assignment to shut him down and shadow him would be so fun to watch. Mikheyev is disciplined and fast enough to shut down anyone. It would take all the pressure off him to score by saying, just shut him or whoever it is and anything you get is bonus.

It has to be done having last change. Old school hockey. Burns and Quinn always applied the shadow. Sylvan Lefevrre was Burnsies shut down defenseman. Lemieux hated Lefevre.

The defenseman doing it has to be quick and physical on the wall. I’m not sure what pair of defense Keefe would employ but i would on small sample look go Sandin/Brodie with Sandin being the chaser battler on the wall.

Mikheyev- Nash -Hyman
Sandin - Brodie

That 5 could be a headache for ant team possibly.

 

[Wafflewhipper]

Foligno can play center. If yiu want the ultimate leaf shutdown line its gotta be
Hyman - Foligno - Soup
This would disrupt other lines though so Id only use it while defending a lead at the end of the game.

I like that too.

 

[Wafflewhipper]

As I've said many times, Hyman can play on any line. His playing style is adaptable. I tend to want him to be in the top six come playoffs, which makes this a bit tricky as I also believe Gally can be an important contributor for this team.

There are clearly going to be decisions made by Keefe. My personal opinion would be to have Galchenyuk in and Mikheyev out. Galchenyuk isn't as fast as Mik, but he is harder on the puck. If he plays both ways, he's a major asset in a playoff run. Of this I am in agreement, if Gally doesn't work hard on D, he is half as valuable.

I like Mik, he is creative, his speed alone is a weapon. On the flip side, Galchenyuk can help pin in opponents, he also finishes from time to time, draws penalties and has a bit of a fire in his belly. I've watched him take shots from guys after the whistle and he gives it right back in a "I'm not backing down" manner. I want those guys all week, twice on Sundays. It's the consistency issue. If he plays as he did his first week here, it's an easy decision.

Leafs are in the enviable position of having depth and options, it's obviously a call the coach has to make based on his feel. If I am the opposition team, I prefer to see Mik in the lineup rather than Galchenyuk.

All interesting thoughts/ points of interest in this post. Great post bro. So much to consider. I’m wondering how many think the “hard matchup” against the McDavids etc is necessary. I believe it is absolutely necessary . The days of Babcock costing us games just rolling 4 lines should not be a option. He really got out coached and showed he wasn’t as savvy as his reputation would have you believe.
Keefer has a complete flexibility to his style of coaching that i love

 

[Muston Atthews]

Just play the lines we've been playing. Maybe insert Nash in the 4c hole. Don't overthink it, we're slapping these teams by dominance, not by trying to "shut down" their top players. We do that by having the puck

 

[Confucius]

Do you remember soup catching him down the wall after McDavid got a just quick jump on him down the left wing in the three game set we swept them? Mikheyev caught him and took the puck from him in the corner.

Mikheyev getting the assignment to shut him down and shadow him would be so fun to watch. Mikheyev is disciplined and fast enough to shut down anyone. It would take all the pressure off him to score by saying, just shut him or whoever it is and anything you get is bonus.

It has to be done having last change. Old school hockey. Burns and Quinn always applied the shadow. Sylvan Lefevrre was Burnsies shut down defenseman. Lemieux hated Lefevre.

The defenseman doing it has to be quick and physical on the wall. I’m not sure what pair of defense Keefe would employ but i would on small sample look go Sandin/Brodie with Sandin being the chaser battler on the wall.

Mikheyev- Nash -Hyman
Sandin - Brodie

That 5 could be a headache for ant team possibly.

I also remember we put Zaitsev on Ovi and he stayed with him extremely well.

 

[Wafflewhipper]

I also remember we put Zaitsev on Ovi and he stayed with him extremely well.

I forgot that. Haha I’m not so sure i was even aware of it.

 

[majormajor]

Foligno can play center. If yiu want the ultimate leaf shutdown line its gotta be
Hyman - Foligno - Soup
This would disrupt other lines though so Id only use it while defending a lead at the end of the game.

Hyman - Foligno - Soup would definitely be the best option if you're trying to ice a shutdown line that plays a ton of minutes. Nash can't play that much and that's a bit too much Kerfoot. Foligno is an excellent defender, though I'd probably want to have him play a couple regular season games at center so he can get used to the Leafs breakouts and whatnot.

Foligno isn't a reliable scorer anymore but he's still a horse. Through two rounds last playoffs he was leading all of the league's forwards in ice time, and wasn't tired one bit.

 

[Gary Nylund]

I don't know that Nash moves around well enough to go up against a McDavid.

There's also a school of thought -- if your goal is to get Riley Nash out against Connor McDavid -- there's a very easy "solution" for the Oilers -- get Connor McDavid out at every possible opportunity, and keep Matthews/JT on bench.

Realistically, the Leafs don't have the centre to create a true "shutdown" line... however both Matthews & Tavares are defensively responsible -- so you go best-on-best. If the other team. If the opponent doesn't like that matchup, well then they can see a Hyman-Nash-Mikheyev unit while running from Matthews & Tavares.

This.

 

[Stephen]

I don't know that Nash moves around well enough to go up against a McDavid.

There's also a school of thought -- if your goal is to get Riley Nash out against Connor McDavid -- there's a very easy "solution" for the Oilers -- get Connor McDavid out at every possible opportunity, and keep Matthews/JT on bench.

Realistically, the Leafs don't have the centre to create a true "shutdown" line... however both Matthews & Tavares are defensively responsible -- so you go best-on-best. If the other team. If the opponent doesn't like that matchup, well then they can see a Hyman-Nash-Mikheyev unit while running from Matthews & Tavares.

If we get the Oilers, it seems like we would want to want to split the shadowing duties between a Nash shut down unit and a Tavares head to head unit to negate the possibility of a mismatch dictated on their terms. Or we just roll lines and beat them punch for punch. Or we do whatever shut down magic we did against them during the regular season.

 

[Menzinger]

Nash is a very good 4th liner, but only a 4th liner. He shouldn't be playing more than that on a good team like the Leafs.

The 4th line can eat up some difficult zone starts but he won't be leading any shutdown unit that's line matching an opposing 1st line

 

[Mickey Marner]

The idea of Foligno at center is intriguing. Hell, I wouldn't even rule out Hyman now that he can drive a line. Perhaps they could alternate faceoff duties based on left/right side draws. I still like them both as LWs primarily, but we do have a hole at 3C that either might be able to fill.

 

[Wafflewhipper]

Nash is a very good 4th liner, but only a 4th liner. He shouldn't be playing more than that on a good team like the Leafs.

The 4th line can eat up some difficult zone starts but he won't be leading any shutdown unit that's line matching an opposing 1st line

Keefe matched his best against Nash in last years Games against Columbus. Keefe said, you do that to gain a scoring edge. At least you think you will,it didn’t work out like that against him.

Keefe seems to have a higher opinion of him than on the board. I’m going to watch and see what Nash brings before i call him anything but a checking center that can shut down the best apparently. Thats just what he’s always done.

Now he’s just a run of the mill 4 th liner. I’m not so sure thats all he is yet.

 

[seanlinden]

If we get the Oilers, it seems like we would want to want to split the shadowing duties between a Nash shut down unit and a Tavares head to head unit to negate the possibility of a mismatch dictated on their terms. Or we just roll lines and beat them punch for punch. Or we do whatever shut down magic we did against them during the regular season.

As I mentioned in the earlier note, I'm not sure Nash moves around well enough to defend McDavid, especially coming off a knee injury.

In the home games, for me, it would be simple -- JT or Matthews head to head. If the Oilers are going to "fight" that matchup, then make the 3rd line Hyman-Kerfoot-Mikheyev and let McDavid get a good dose of speed and responsibility, while "running" from a matchup.

On the road, you probably have to put Nash on the line to have any shot of winning a faceoff against McDavid. Rotate the 3rd and 4th line centres depending on if a faceoff needs to be taken.

 

[Coachcorner]

Mikheyev-Nash-Hyman is probably the closest thing we can put together for a shutdown line in the playoffs, and they could chip in offensively as well.

A lot will depend on Galchenyuk's play down the stretch. If he falters, Hyman should be back in the top 6.

That will definitely be it sire and the OP sire too. That line will give us the biggest chance in everythang. Our squad will be almost impossible to beat. We are the lit and built. Hard.

Also uh, Tavares line will play against some goofy good lines too and they'll also break some suckas a part. Still scoring, what!!!!!!!!!!!!! Our lines is the hardest! THUGLIFE!! FOR LIFE!

 

[Albus Dumbledore]

Engvall vs Nash with Mikh and Hyman as wingers.
Engvall can keep up better with his speed and size combo. Nash plays a little meaner and is better on the dot. Engvall could shadow nearly as good as Mikh But if you want possession off the bat maybe Nash is better, hard to say. Having depth is a good problem.

 

[WilyStyless03SHYla]

The idea of Foligno at center is intriguing. Hell, I wouldn't even rule out Hyman now that he can drive a line. Perhaps they could alternate faceoff duties based on left/right side draws. I still like them both as LWs primarily, but we do have a hole at 3C that either might be able to fill.

I agree, although Engvall does a pretty decent job of skating hard and shadowing as well. Physicality might be an issue in the playoffs.

Hyman - Foligno - Mikhy would be a nightmare for opposing teams top lines, in theory at least.

 

[Dreakmur]

McDavid is going to play 25 minutes a game in the playoffs. People really want to use a bunch of dregs like Riley Nash and Ilya Mikheyev that much?

The more Keefe tries the match a 3rd line against opponents, the less Matthews and Tavares play. That’s just plain bad strategy.

 

[The Podium]

McDavid is going to play 25 minutes a game in the playoffs. People really want to use a bunch of dregs like Riley Nash and Ilya Mikheyev that much?

The more Keefe tries the match a 3rd line against opponents, the less Matthews and Tavares play. That’s just plain bad strategy.

I think the idea is more for late game securing a lead, following a PP, or neutralizing secondary offense.

Head-to-head McDavid vs Matthews/Tavares for example

Nash vs Draisaitl

Tavares/Matthews vs the rest

 

[AndyWozniewski]

Best way to shutdown McDavid is to make him defend. Play Matthews line against him as much you can.

 

[Hockey Crazy]

The dominance of Hyman with Matthews and Marner is just too much to pass up. I'd go with:

Hyman - Matthews - Marner
Foligno - Tavares - Nylander
Mikheyev - Nash - Kerfoot
Thornton - Brooks - Spezza

Simmonds and Galchenyuk would be the odd men out for me. You don't even need to worry about matchups with this line up. Every one is responsible defensively.

 

[BlueForever75]

I would put Nash on 4th line to make it more defensively capable. If you look over his career, Nash's line very rarely got scored on and contributed offensively very little when on the ice. Regardless of where you put him defense is first.

Our third line should be Micheyev-Kerfoot-Hyman. All 3 are key cogs on your PK for a reason. Utilize them together. This line will be our ace in our sleeve come playoffs and give us 3 lines that can score and forecheck.