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Playoff push trade pickups...

Willy style is rush, fast break offense. With Tavares so far, if he doesn?t have the puck already, Nylander has been asked to fly the zone early to stretch the defense vertically. Then he just sort of sits at the blueline waiting for something to come up, and then they play dump and chase or watch Tavares try to work a 1v4.

If you want top-bottom 6s, he?d be 1RW with Matthews. I prefer the top-9 approach that can always compress to top-6 as needed, in which case I think he can work with Engvall-K?mpf, even if there will be wasted offense (like that isn?t already happening with current higher priced linemates). K?mpf is a really good facilitator of rush opportunities because he?s almost always on top of the play and just needs to disrupt pucks into his wingers? lanes. I don?t think this would neuter that line?s defense enough to matter.
Bunting - Matthews - Ka?e
Mikheyev - Tavares - Marner
Engvall - K?mpf - Nylander
Knies - Kerfoot - Blackwell

Flip Bunting/Mikheyev and/or K?mpf/Kerfoot depending on what you want to do. If not Knies it could be Robertson or Spezza/Simmonds or Steeves/Seney. Or maybe Knies goes knuts and fits super well with Tavares-Marner (because he?s the perfect style of play to maximize that pair).
 
Bullfrog said:
princedpw said:
Where does Willy fit?
Click to expand...

1st line RW
Click to expand...
I'm not breaking up M&M right now...I'd put him on the 3rd line with Kampf and Giraffe...he can drive that line and should get favourable matchups and the line will still be good on the D side of things.
 
Significantly Insignificant said:
CarltonTheBear said:
Indisputable ideal line-up:

Top line
guy-Tavares-guy
guy-Kerfoot-Nylander
checking guy-Kampf-checking guy
Click to expand...

I don't know.  Your asking a lot from Guy.
Click to expand...
Guy Lafleur was great but he's kinda old now
 
https://www.tsn.ca/is-keefe-s-criticism-of-nylander-warranted-1.1777465
Further to my mid-Sunday essays written on mobile:
yost4.png
 
herman said:
https://www.tsn.ca/is-keefe-s-criticism-of-nylander-warranted-1.1777465
Further to my mid-Sunday essays written on mobile:
yost4.png
Click to expand...
So it's the goalies fault now? The eye test doesn't agree. Poor defence also leads to more goals against and it's a known fact that Willy hasn't been very good in his own end for a while now. There's a reason he has the worst +/- since Jan 1. He needs to improve that part of his game because a goal like that against on Sat can change a series. Defensive play is all about effort and wanting to do it. Having said that, I still think Willy is an outstanding talent and a great player to have on this team. Guy is amazing with the puck and can do stuff not many can. He's also played well on the defensive side of things but he needs to be a lot more consistent then he has lately. I have full confidence he will.
 
I thought Nylander was unfairly picked for the goal against by the commentators.  I noticed the commentators never actually said what he should have tried to do in that situation.

Matthews passed him the puck when he in the slot in front of goalie.  He tried to push the puck back to safety behind the net and he failed to do so.  It was a failure in execution when he was placed in a difficult situation.  It seems like many other players would fail in a similar situation.  It seems to me like the fault really lies with Matthews for putting him a position where he was screwed. 

What other decision would another player have made when in Nylander's position?  What was his mental error there?


 
princedpw said:
I thought Nylander was unfairly picked for the goal against by the commentators.  I noticed the commentators never actually said what he should have tried to do in that situation.

Matthews passed him the puck when he in the slot in front of goalie.  He tried to push the puck back to safety behind the net and he failed to do so.  It was a failure in execution when he was placed in a difficult situation.  It seems like many other players would fail in a similar situation.  It seems to me like the fault really lies with Matthews for putting him a position where he was screwed. 

What other decision would another player have made when in Nylander's position?  What was his mental error there?
Click to expand...
He tried to carry it from my memory. The Leafs and other teams do that play all the time. He made a bad decision and then skated in front of Mrazek screening him for a moment. I'm less worried about a mistake like that because every player makes them. I'm more concerned about effort like the Savard goal.
Anyway, Willy played just fine after that goal last and made a lot of really good plays. The stick lift on JTs 2nd was really slick that not many except here talked about.
 
princedpw said:
I thought Nylander was unfairly picked for the goal against by the commentators.  I noticed the commentators never actually said what he should have tried to do in that situation.

Matthews passed him the puck when he in the slot in front of goalie.  He tried to push the puck back to safety behind the net and he failed to do so.  It was a failure in execution when he was placed in a difficult situation.  It seems like many other players would fail in a similar situation.  It seems to me like the fault really lies with Matthews for putting him a position where he was screwed. 

What other decision would another player have made when in Nylander's position?  What was his mental error there?
Click to expand...

What was he supposed to do?  What was he supposed to do?  He was supposed to two hand anyone who was close to him.  Go into a full tornado stick swing getting everyone away from him, while throwing elbows at anyone in his space.  Is that what he did?  Of course not, good ole Nyl-Under just coughed up the....

Man, I don't know how people do this.  I just can't.  I'm trying, but I can't really pull it off. Guess my heart isn't in it either.
 
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