The Divergent Duo

[Cash or Czech]

13 minutes ago, rmc51 said:

Yup. Blais or Krav in that ??? spot.

 

I'm leaning towards Blais until Krav can show he can stand up to the NHL game. The brain is there, but he needs to speed it up and get smarter since he's severely underweight versus NHL competition and getting outmuscled constantly.

 

Blais has played really well, I noticed a few times last night he's got half decent hands.

[BrooksBurner]

17 minutes ago, Cash or Czech said:

 

I'm leaning towards Blais until Krav can show he can stand up to the NHL game. The brain is there, but he needs to speed it up and get smarter since he's severely underweight versus NHL competition and getting outmuscled constantly.

 

Blais has played really well, I noticed a few times last night he's got half decent hands.

Blais showed his hands last year in preseason too. I had hopes for him to really be a staple on the 3rd line with ability to flex up when needed. He’s definitely underutilized on the 4th line, but maybe part of him being there is giving him some time to condition for more since he’s coming back from a serious injury

[Sod16]

I don't understand the Blais thing.  Just hasn't shown much so far, last year or this year.  MK and CK ended up split up quite a bit in the Columbus debacle after they were down a forward and mixing lines.  I'm not in favor of doing anything that requires splitting AP and VT.  I've been pleased with the latter.  Tough little bugger with some skill.  Easily worth the 600K per year more he's getting over Strome.

[josh]

I like Hunt more than Blais, honestly. And begrudgingly, the hockey expert in me knows you play Vesey over Blais, too. 

 

it’s almost like Blais is only playing to justify the trade.

 

put him and Reaves on the 4th and play them 6 minutes a game, but not much more than that. 
 

If you think he has talent, you put him on Lafrenieres line. 

[Pete]

46 minutes ago, Sod16 said:

I don't understand the Blais thing.  Just hasn't shown much so far, last year or this year.  MK and CK ended up split up quite a bit in the Columbus debacle after they were down a forward and mixing lines.  I'm not in favor of doing anything that requires splitting AP and VT.  I've been pleased with the latter.  Tough little bugger with some skill.  Easily worth the 600K per year more he's getting over Strome.

You always had a personal bias against Strome, so not much stock in this assessment.

[The Dude]

8 hours ago, Pete said:

I don't think that's how you motivate veteran NHLers. I do think that taking their toys away (each other) would help, for a game or so, because they seem too reliant on "the other guy is gonna do it" right now.

 

The thing is, everyone freaks out over line changes. There's no rule that says you can't change it back. How many times have we seen wacky 3rd period combos, coach looking for a goal, and they run back out the normal lineup in the next game?

 

It's not sacrilege.

I agree with your "the other guy will do it" perception.  Maybe it's Kakko? They aren't used to another puck carrier on their line. I like what Kakko is building on, but i feel like it doesn't fit on that line. He slows things down too much for those 2. 

 

I try (gulp) Vesey, Blais or Kravtsov in that spot before a big shake up. Maybe Gauthier... 

 

When Chytil gets back,  I'd like to see the kid line back together and continue the musical chairs for the top 6 RW game they has to do all last year. Or at least try Kakko with Panarin, whom seems to be operating at all different speeds and styles.  

 

Between Blais, Kravtsov, Vesey, Gauthier and Goodrow, they should be able to make something work until the arrival of Kane. 

 

I was expecting Blais to be a bit better, but I think he's still knocking off some rust. If anyone should be getting more ice time, I'd think he gets first look. 

 

But yeah. I get separating them. 

[Tonybologna]

Laf - Zib - Kakko
Bread - Tro - Blais
Kreider - Goodrow - Gaut            for the current unhealthy team

 

Laf - Zib - Kakko
Bread - Tro - Krav
Kreider - Chytil - Blais            when healthy, unless of course Gaut earns a spot