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PSGDT #3 - Buf @ TOR 7:30 tsn

zeke

zeke

Well-known member
Kristen Shilton ✔ @kristen_shilton
#Leafs lines at morning skate:
Hyman-Matthews-Nylander
Marleau-Kadri-Komarov
Leivo-Aaltonen-Brown
Martin-Mueller-Lindberg

Kristen Shilton ✔ @kristen_shilton
#Leafs defence pairs:
Rielly-Hainsey
Borgman-Dermott
Nielsen-Holl
LoVerde-Polak

Buffalo's icing a B team tonight.


I wonder if Dermott is actually getting a look on the right side there.
 
The lineup Scott Wheeler posted had Borgman as the guy on the right side, FWIW.

He also noted that Borgman told him that he's regularly played both sides in Sweden.
 
Doubt it, both Rosen and Borgman are LD

The Aaltonen line is interesting. This is their shot to prove they belong in the NHL
 
By the way, I shoot left, and when I play D, I actually prefer the right side.

For some reason it's more comfortable rushing up the ice and seeing ahead, and I like cutting in.
 
No, Rosen and Borgman are not only left handed, they play LD. It doesn't mean he can't play the R side, but I think so far in game 1 + 2 they have both played the L side.

Hainsey is a LHD who has primarily played the RD most of his NHL career. That's different from Borgman and Rosen.
 
Ok then ... that's a plus if he can play both sides (well).

I am a RD, and yes from an offense perspective playing the 'off-wing' is better. But from a defensive position, and especially for keeping the line in offensive zone, playing the off-wing is difficult. It takes certain level of puck skills to do it well.

Dion, as an example, is terrible at keeping the line when he's on his off wing.
 
number17 said:
The Aaltonen line is interesting. This is their shot to prove they belong in the NHL
Click to expand...

Off-topic, but this reminded me. This actually won't be their last chance. The Leafs are carrying two full rosters until the end of camp so no one has to play back to back games. So everyone will get 4 games and rest.
 
it'll be interesting to see pairings tommorrow. If it's rosen-liljegren then i'm starting to think not just Marincin's job is danger but carrick's too.
 
zeke said:
it'll be interesting to see pairings tommorrow. If it's rosen-liljegren then i'm starting to think not just Marincin's job is danger but carrick's too.
Click to expand...
It honestly wouldn't surprise me. I mean, I don't think Carrick is at risk of being waived off the roster, like Marincin is, but I don't think he's necessarily a lock for the top-6.

It's not like Carrick wasn't a healthy scratch for stretches of last season, even when it did sometimes mean Babcock eschewing his preferred lefty/righty pairings. And although he's not a bad defenseman, it's not like Carrick is a good enough defenseman that he merits a guaranteed spot in our top-six out of camp/all season.

That entire bottom-pairing is probably up for grabs. And if any of the kids really step up and prove themselves over the course of the season, I'd bet that the opportunity will also be there to bump Hainsey off Rielly's pairing down to the 3rd pair, particularly if Babcock plans to lean more on Jake this year, instead of feeding Rielly among the toughest usage in the league.
 
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the thing with carrick is that he kinda got worse as the season went on last year. and he got off to a terrible start this camp now.

and yeah it would be lovely if one of the kids could legit let us drop hainsey down to babysit another kid on the bottom pair.
 
Yeah, he did tail off noticeably towards the end of last season. I believe that coincided with Zaitsev replacing him on Gardiner's pairing.

And really, that stretch with Gardiner is the only time last season that I remember him looking any better than "meh".
 
Carrick and Marincin are perfectly fine as the #7 Dman (who only gets to play once every 20 games or so)

Dermott, Liljegren, or even Rosen and Borgman OTOH aren't. They either make the top 6, or they start with the Marlies imo.
 
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