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Stars vs. Maple Leafs - Dec. 18th, 7:30pm - SN, TSN 1050

herman said:
I'm a big proponent of playing to your strengths in hockey and in life. I'm not going to expect or ask Nylander to throw hits, or block shots in the slot,
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I don't expect Nylander to throw hits or block shots "in the slot". I never said that. But I do not think it is fair to give him a pass in that regard everywhere else on the ice. Marner is not as big and finds a way as do everyone else on the team. Some of the stuff Nylander does offensively is jaw dropping stunning - a world class spectacle. I truly appreciate that. But everyone else is doing the heavy lifting and this guy is playing with eggs in his pocket - a near league leader in fewest hits and fewest blocked shots. I don't know how he looks his teammates in the eye some days. Alex Mogilny and his bad back still found a way to hit in the playoffs. I don't care how talented Nylander is: I will never fully respect that about his game. Seems to run in his family with his brother who, if he played differently, might be in the NHL
 
cabber24 said:
Broken record alert... I have been hoping to see the core 4 over 3 lines and this lineup has 3 of the 4 on one line. I have a hard time comprehending how this could be beneficial to the team as a whole. This is a good team let's prop up our role guys and utilize everyone. Let's get everyone going and feel like they're contributing. Efficiency is a beautiful thing. $37M line...

Do we want these guys playing 22 minutes a game in December?

We have a better style of hockey now let's get some balanced lines!
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I'll continue to be a broken record as well and reiterate that spreading your talent too thin does not help. It only hurts your top players. Which is why the Leafs keep returning to stacking the top two lines.
 
cw said:
I don't expect Nylander to throw hits or block shots "in the slot". I never said that. But I do not think it is fair to give him a pass in that regard everywhere else on the ice. Marner is not as big and finds a way as do everyone else on the team. Some of the stuff Nylander does offensively is jaw dropping stunning - a world class spectacle. I truly appreciate that. But everyone else is doing the heavy lifting and this guy is playing with eggs in his pocket - a near league leader in fewest hits and fewest blocked shots. I don't know how he looks his teammates in the eye some days. Alex Mogilny and his bad back still found a way to hit in the playoffs. I don't care how talented Nylander is: I will never fully respect that about his game. Seems to run in his family with his brother who, if he played differently, might be in the NHL
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You can follow his lineage all the way back to Inge Hammarström.
 
It seems unlikely that Marner-Matthews-Nylander is going to get the most out of all three guys simply because 2/3rds of the game, none of them will be on the ice. So, 2/3rds of the game, you need to transition through the neutral zone without your 3 best transition players. And in the 1/3rd of the game they are playing, I don’t see them multiplying their skills. Split them over different lines and one of those guys is making plays with the puck a greater percentage of the game.

On another note, I see Nylander being *physical* all the time — using his body to shield the puck — guys can’t get the puck off him! Or he takes the puck off guys on the boards. His physical plays may not count as “hits” — but why do we care? Blocked shots - yeah I can see a reason to care but Nylander does give us more breakaways than anyone else because he’s in a spot to break out.

The big negative to Nylander’s play is neither hits nor blocks IMHO — it is brain-dead coverage decisions where he’s not in the right spot or ignores his guy and the leafs get scored on. That can really hurt the leafs in an obvious way and we’ve seen it plenty.
 
Love the loaded line... as a December experiment. My personal belief is the Leafs will be better off dividing them across 3 lines - all 3 on one line will not get the most out of them (too many puck carriers, who is the net front presence), but I'm also a little excited to see how it plays out... these guys can score. Can't wait to see what they improvise.

I also think there's an upside where I feel like the team has drifted away from the disciplined north-south brand since getting healthy. One thing for Matthews/Marner/Nylander, another for everyone else... this simplifies things.

I've thought Nylander's backchecking has been better this year. I don't expect him to hit, and stars blocking shots is always touch and go (i like them having the stat, i hate watching them do it), I just want him to be present on defense. To say that he's not physical though is just wrong. Watching him bounce off defenders hits like an NFL running back without even noticing is part of what makes him so much fun to watch.
 
Guru Tugginmypuddah said:
You can follow his lineage all the way back to Inge Hammarström.
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Guys like Salming or Ulf Samuelsson refuted attachment to that lineage. Sundin, Lidstrom & Forsberg would hit more and block more shots. etc.

Things happen for a reason. I looked to see if William had injury history that might explain it - like shoulder surgery. Didn't find any. Nothing that would stop one from blocking shots. I looked at his brother's injury history - tore his knee - nothing that would explain it. So I looked at their father's injury history. Fractured leg in practice. Torn rotator cuff in a faceoff at 36. Freak vertebrae injury at age 38 in AHL hit from behind that was just taking him out - not nasty. So I found no obvious medical historical reason for the family to avoid hits or blocking shots.
 
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