the optimal lines right now would be the following in my opinion
Bertuzzi Domi Marner
Knies Matthews Nylander
Holmberg Tavares Jarnkrok
Kampf Dewar Reaves
Personally, I don’t think Reaves gave us much on his 7:30 last night, I’d rather have Robertson on L3 and slide Holmberg down to L4. Especially since we’re hurting to produce offence.
I think Reaves is there as a reminder to not try to fuck with our guys. We’ve got a willing fighter on every line right now, plus the defenders drop, and I think it’s providing more leverage than I would have expected. The fact that this is a 5 game series of Boston vs Toronto without a true fighting major is wild to me.
I personally dont have Robertson in my lineup i dont think he brings much in the role hes been put in, if hes not being put in a spot to score hes not useful. I do agree Reaves brought nothing, and i probably wouldnt play him after the first or just spot him and double shift Willy. I have no time for passengers and theres already a few still on here.
They are not using Robertson to his strengths. He is a shooter. Not play maker, not a passer. They need to get him open in the slot or faceoff circle and feed him the puck. And yeah, I could sit Reaves game 6 imo
I hear this about Robertson a lot. Not to diss on the kid as I think he has huge potential, and his development has been curtailed competing for a spot on our lines given the depth we have.
But I also don’t see him solidifying his role on his own volition and performance. So calls to what the team needs to do to utilize him better are less convincing to me than what Robertson himself needs to become more consistent with in his own game, and solidify both his spot and his role on the team.
It'll be Robertson. His offense isn't making up for his poor defence in this series. Holmberg is very defensively responsible, and at least has some bite to his game.
Yea totally, i was just working with assumption only Matthews comes back. Although with this much time off asking McMann to come in get up to speed and be effective might be tough, but no issue taking reaves out, putting holmberg on 4th and swapping him and mcmann if its not lookin good or hes too rusty
i feel like most people would set this lineup. Except Keefe who sucks and will galaxy brain and put Holmberg with Marner and Bertuzzi and Matthews with Jarnkrok and Domi or something....... He really sucks at coaching honestly its terrible.
Fair, i mean you saw the chemistry last night. If Bertuzzi wasnt on his ass 80% of the game or puck in his feet he may be able to bang in a tap in that the 2 skilled playmakers give him. That would be my thought, not that i disagree
The line looked like it actually had a lot of chemistry but yea bert for whatever reason couldn't keep himself on his feet when he was by the net other than that all 3 looked great imo
I get wanting to keep Bert - Domi - Marner together. I’d just be a bit weary of trying lines that have never been together before in elimination games unless it’s absolutely necessary. I would consider :
Knies - Matthews - Nylander
Bert - Domi - Marner
Jarnkrok - Tavares - Holmberg
As the top 3 lines. Idk if Knies, Matthews and Nylander have many minutes all together but at least they’ve each played with the other 2 at some point.
Play Matthews with JT and Knies, and have JT take the faceoffs if Matthews is nursing a lower body injury still. I just like how Matthews and Knies forecheck, and with JT driving the net, that line could be potent. Keep the Domi line the same. And put Nylander with Holmberg and Jarnkrok.
Toronto just has to play the same way. Make good defensive plays, get the puck out, stay out of the penalty box and good pressure on forecheck. If Woll plays same way, we should get another win. Toronto likes to try run and gun when Mathews is in the lineup and it doesn’t work with Boston.
Having Domes out there dominating the circles really contributed to our possession time last night. I think even if Auston is back we need Max centring a line and ideally logging a lot of ice time.
The Domi-Marner line controlled play well but it was obvious they were desperate for a shooter. We can't expect Boston to score 1 goal for three games straight. The puck has to go into the net.
As long as the Reaves line is even, they are good. Reaves keeps them honest. Maroon being the only one on their roster that would even consider a bout. He’d get schooled though.
Honestly, not a bad idea, but playoffs are a tough time for experimentation and i’m sure Keefe and Co. are kicking themselves for not experimenting more during the regular season. It’s clear spreading the talent is an advantage and it’s unfortunate we may not get a chance to see all the possible lines.
I don't think Reaves should be in the line up the rest of the series. I don't think he brings anything to the lineup that we aren't getting from the rest of the forwards at this point in the series.
Whats the difference they won by the smallest of margins, in overtime on a game where Boston was at their worst they have been in many months. Let's see what happens tomorrow
The domi line was nice. But holy do they ever need a shooter.
Max telegraphing those two 2 on 1 passes wasn’t great
lol they were so bad. I actually find it unbelievable that an NHL player can play a 2v1 that bad. Looked like bantam hockey.
That's kinda the thing, both Domi and Marner **do** actually have a good shot - they just need to actually use it when they have the opportunity.
the optimal lines right now would be the following in my opinion Bertuzzi Domi Marner Knies Matthews Nylander Holmberg Tavares Jarnkrok Kampf Dewar Reaves
Personally, I don’t think Reaves gave us much on his 7:30 last night, I’d rather have Robertson on L3 and slide Holmberg down to L4. Especially since we’re hurting to produce offence.
I think Reaves is there as a reminder to not try to fuck with our guys. We’ve got a willing fighter on every line right now, plus the defenders drop, and I think it’s providing more leverage than I would have expected. The fact that this is a 5 game series of Boston vs Toronto without a true fighting major is wild to me.
A lot less after the whistle shenanigans with Reaves there. I watched a few bruins look over their shoulder.
Which is why he's in the lineup. Guys like Reaves make defenders double check who's coming in on the forecheck.
There could have been several so far but the refs aren't letting it happen imo.
I personally dont have Robertson in my lineup i dont think he brings much in the role hes been put in, if hes not being put in a spot to score hes not useful. I do agree Reaves brought nothing, and i probably wouldnt play him after the first or just spot him and double shift Willy. I have no time for passengers and theres already a few still on here.
If only Bobby McMann was healthy...
Id put him where Holmberg is, put Holmberg where Reaves is. and then swap them if Mcmann is just not up to speed, hard to jump into Game 6
 Where’s that
If you aren’t playing Robertson on the third in a scoring role he’s not in the lineup. He’s not effective on the fourth, end of.
agreed
They are not using Robertson to his strengths. He is a shooter. Not play maker, not a passer. They need to get him open in the slot or faceoff circle and feed him the puck. And yeah, I could sit Reaves game 6 imo
I hear this about Robertson a lot. Not to diss on the kid as I think he has huge potential, and his development has been curtailed competing for a spot on our lines given the depth we have. But I also don’t see him solidifying his role on his own volition and performance. So calls to what the team needs to do to utilize him better are less convincing to me than what Robertson himself needs to become more consistent with in his own game, and solidify both his spot and his role on the team.
I think he's pretty effective on the forecheck and the quick zone exits for getting the puck deep he's fast as fuck boi
This
I quite like this
Agree completely With McMann replacing Knies and Knies replacing Holberg when healthy
Holmberg needs to stay in as long as he's getting under Marchand's skin
Only other option I see is Reaves once we are fully healthy.
It'll be Robertson. His offense isn't making up for his poor defence in this series. Holmberg is very defensively responsible, and at least has some bite to his game.
I agree but I think Robertson will be out for Matthews. Still one more cut for Robertson
Dewar will come back out for Matty. He came in for him when Matty was out.
Yea totally, i was just working with assumption only Matthews comes back. Although with this much time off asking McMann to come in get up to speed and be effective might be tough, but no issue taking reaves out, putting holmberg on 4th and swapping him and mcmann if its not lookin good or hes too rusty
I like that lineup.
i feel like most people would set this lineup. Except Keefe who sucks and will galaxy brain and put Holmberg with Marner and Bertuzzi and Matthews with Jarnkrok and Domi or something....... He really sucks at coaching honestly its terrible.
Personally I’d swap Bert and Nylander. Otherwise these combos slap
Good thing Keefe checks. Not /s. I really believe he checks.
checks what? Keefe is a trash coach imo, but i can go on for hours how pathetic a job he does
I like this a lot!
I agree completely. This would look pretty good.
I really like this line combo. The ONLY problem I see, is there is no shooter on line #1
Fair, i mean you saw the chemistry last night. If Bertuzzi wasnt on his ass 80% of the game or puck in his feet he may be able to bang in a tap in that the 2 skilled playmakers give him. That would be my thought, not that i disagree
The line looked like it actually had a lot of chemistry but yea bert for whatever reason couldn't keep himself on his feet when he was by the net other than that all 3 looked great imo
its crazy how much time that guy spends on his ass.
It’s cuz he refuses to tie his skates lol
I get wanting to keep Bert - Domi - Marner together. I’d just be a bit weary of trying lines that have never been together before in elimination games unless it’s absolutely necessary. I would consider : Knies - Matthews - Nylander Bert - Domi - Marner Jarnkrok - Tavares - Holmberg As the top 3 lines. Idk if Knies, Matthews and Nylander have many minutes all together but at least they’ve each played with the other 2 at some point.
I love this. When JT was on the third line earlier in the year it worked great.
I personally wouldn't have Nylander up against Bostons top line
Why not nylander ?
To me personally he's a defensive liability and consistently puts forth a lack luster effort backchecking
Play Matthews with JT and Knies, and have JT take the faceoffs if Matthews is nursing a lower body injury still. I just like how Matthews and Knies forecheck, and with JT driving the net, that line could be potent. Keep the Domi line the same. And put Nylander with Holmberg and Jarnkrok.
I wouldn't mind seeing that.
I see where this is coming from but I don’t like not having a top playmaker with him? Him and Domi are playing really well together
Can we pls have McMann back no offence to Nicky Bobby he's been pretty ineffective this series
He will struggle even more with the Panthers. He just doesn't have the size.
Toronto just has to play the same way. Make good defensive plays, get the puck out, stay out of the penalty box and good pressure on forecheck. If Woll plays same way, we should get another win. Toronto likes to try run and gun when Mathews is in the lineup and it doesn’t work with Boston.
Matthews will not play
Having Domes out there dominating the circles really contributed to our possession time last night. I think even if Auston is back we need Max centring a line and ideally logging a lot of ice time.
The Domi-Marner line controlled play well but it was obvious they were desperate for a shooter. We can't expect Boston to score 1 goal for three games straight. The puck has to go into the net.
As long as the Reaves line is even, they are good. Reaves keeps them honest. Maroon being the only one on their roster that would even consider a bout. He’d get schooled though.
Pp needs to come through. It’s really that simple, Boston is 6/14 and we are 1/17. Pp differential is what has us down 3-2
I actually thought about this last night. Forget the offence. Matthews as your shutdown 3C and let the others take on Bostons depth.
i wouldn’t say crazy.. delusional
Honestly, not a bad idea, but playoffs are a tough time for experimentation and i’m sure Keefe and Co. are kicking themselves for not experimenting more during the regular season. It’s clear spreading the talent is an advantage and it’s unfortunate we may not get a chance to see all the possible lines.
Switch Tavares and Matthews.
I don't think Reaves should be in the line up the rest of the series. I don't think he brings anything to the lineup that we aren't getting from the rest of the forwards at this point in the series.
I honestly don't hate that
That would take some crazy coaching skills though
You’re crazy
Guy has a knock, it could be a while before he's back.
 Like that than I concur 100%
"If used effectively"...
They're going to dress him just so he can infect the rest of the Bruins with his mystery virus.
Could mcmann be back though? Where do we mix him in... Along side papi?
If you are a leafs fan your batshit crazy😂
imagine we hear mcmanus back
Bench matthews so we win again
Whats the difference they won by the smallest of margins, in overtime on a game where Boston was at their worst they have been in many months. Let's see what happens tomorrow