Reward Meier’s 2 goal performance with…. (Today’s lines at practice)
Some movement on the #NJDevils lineup at morning skate today ahead of facing the Panthers.
Second and third line with some adjustments.
Smith going in for Bahl as the rotation continues.
🥅 Schmid in the starters net pic.twitter.com/LW4ETgHtCa
— Amanda Stein (@amandacstein) March 18, 2023
by NYDevilsFan
27 Comments
Can Bratt or Boqvist not play on the left side?
I don’t hate trying this once to see if it works. Let’s not forget Haula had a 55 point season with VGK a few years ago – if the right combination is put around him and they can recreate that, you’ve made your 3rd line into a good 2nd line. If Meier can still play his best game on that line, we’ll be extraordinarily difficult to play against come playoff time. Imagine Meier and best-he-can-be Haula against Kakko and Laf, or if we end up against the Penguins then O’Connor and Alex Nylander…. We could dominate.
I like it. The second and third lines are now almost interchangeable. This is some scary depth where you have Timo freaking Meier on your third line combination. Let’s not forget that line “numbers/rank” aren’t necessarily indicative of ice-time.
I also think Timo needs to be “The Guy” on his line. Hughes and Bratt like to command play when they have the puck. It simply may have not been a good fit. I do think once the first line cools down a bit, we will see Timo with Nico.
think this will be beneficial as the playoffs get closer. Same reasoning Haula was with Hughes for so long. Haula’s defensive game will help cover up some of Meier’s gaps while giving Meier more ice time to learn how hes supposed to fit in the system
worth a try, first line is great right now. Timo and Jack are not working together (at least for now), you know with Haula and Boqvist Timo is the shooter in that line.
I kind of get it. With Meier and Hughes, these guys seem not to know when to pass or when to shoot. Both giving each other respect. This may be a more balanced lineup with clearer goals.
I think it’s good to try other things now, so they know what works when the playoffs start. They have the points to experience a little bit.
They need to find a line combo that works, and can’t split up the top line right now. I have no problem running 3 deep lines with a capable 4th line. Depth wins, and we can keep throwing waves at the other teams. Meier will still get PP time, and they’ll probably roll all 3 lines evenly/double up any lines that look hot.
That’s actually a pretty scary lineup. That top 9 will keep opponents from catching a break. Constant pressure.
It’s about finding balance. Everyone needs to chill the f out
So…This is the time in the season a lot of teams in our position do weird shit like this to see what options they have come playoff time. And I think it maybe makes sense to move Meier off of Jack’s wing. That said, maybe try moving Tatar down and playing Meier with Nico? I really don’t like a lot of what Ruff has done this year. I know it’s hard to argue with the results, but I think that speaks more to our talent than his coaching.
Meier was basically by himself in SJ and generated a ton of shots and offence. The top 2 lines are nasty may as well see if we can crush people with a Meier lead 3rd line too.
I mean, I see the logic here. It’s spreading out the lines, putting Meier with players who play a simpler game, and hoping he can bury Haulas rebounds.
Haula cannot finish, but he does put pucks on net. Meier is definitely still learning our system, and I think Jack’s style makes that trickier. Plus, Ruff blends the lines, so he’ll get ice time with Jack still, and McLeod who actually has been playing very well lately
I don’t get why Tatar is stapled to Nico, I understand they have great chemistry but you gotta experiment a bit to improve the overall chemistry of forward lines. Timo with Haula is just as pointless as Timo with Jack since they are both volume shooters. Let’s see Timo with Nico
If you asked Timo Meier I bet he’d say that he loves playing with a linemate like Haula who goes into the corners to get pucks and is always willing to take a hit to make a play.
Hockey isn’t a math equation, the three best players don’t always make the best combo.
These lines will change up by the 2nd period
Jesus Christ. He scored both of the goals from the right side. He is listed as a RW. Why is he being put on another line still on the LW. Let him figure out LW next season.
[I think Amanda is lurking here](https://mobile.twitter.com/amandacstein/status/1637111263921688579)
Btw, she’s hella right
If you gave me 10 tries at the lineup, I’m not sure I would have come up with the combination once.
I guess this is just another reason why I am an not an NHL coach. /shrug
I have been thinking about this as not a demotion, this is more opportunity for Timo. Third line has driven play but hasn’t scored in 4 games, despite some amazing chances. Put timo on that line and now they have a scorer who is also a play driver on the offensive end.. Plus Haul is great at faceoffs and controlling possession. You put this third line out there after an icing and they go up against some tired legs we could see some AMAZING possessions by Timo/Haula/Boqvist. Second line has too many cooks in the Kitchen. Plus Palat is in our second line, nothing to complain about. Great on the forecheck and has been making some amazing dishes from behind the net to Haula and Boqvist who just aren’t great finishers. Hughes and Bratt are. And Palat doesn’t need to score, he’s a seasoned vet who should create plenty of chances for Hughes/Bratt. I think these lines create more scoring for the team as a whole and provides more opportunity for Bratt/Hughes/Timo individually. Big fan of the switch ups and am excited to see if they work.
Meier should be on the first line. I am a firm believer of this. He has the chemistry with Nico and plays a similar north/south type of game.
I like this move timo through off the chemistry on line 2..people seem to forget jack played his best hockey this season on a line with haula
Don’t mind Meier on the third line but he’ll probably end up being shifted around during game cuz lindy loves doing that on the fly. Shame though, thought Bahl played well enough last game to get in today.
I kind of like this. The few shifts Meier and Haula played together the other night there seemed to be some chemistry.
change Boqvist and Palat. Because Boqvist can keep up with Hughes and Bratt, and Palat with Haula and Meier would be a big beefy line that cam also score with the top 2
Yea it is! He is getting his own line to drive
Yeah I just skimmed a pucks and pitchforks article about trying Haula back with Hughes. The thing with Haula is he makes you have the puck like 5% more. Haula gets you the puck, boqvist has speed, I could see how this equation is worth trying right now because there is an outside chance it ends up with Timo in high danger chances more often.
So long as Lindy is communicating that this is not a reward or punishment for Timo but putting him in a position to score I could see it being good to at least give a try.
If a team is trying to shut down the Hischier and Hughes line and then is rewarded for that awesome strategy with boqvist zooming down the ice, Haula getting the puck, and Timo using the fact that he may be the biggest boy on the ice (since opposing big boys are on bench after trying to shutdown lines 1 and 2) to bully a bunch of undersized forwards all in order to generate some more high danger chances with Meier as the recipient of many of them….. that idea has legs at least.