Forward Line Combos/Discussion

[NerveDamage 4,176]

Blashill said Jurco has practiced very well last few weeks but now has a chance to jump through window of opportunity. per DanaWakiji

[VM1138 1,921]

There was no one else who could have sat for Jurco? Seriously? Mantha has what, 3 goals in the last handful of games? Yeah, let's sit him while our offensively challenged team struggles to make playoffs. Blashill must be relying on analytics because his moves don't pass the common sense test.

[kickazz 5,459]

Lol

[NerveDamage 4,176]

[Jesusberg 1,256]

Just a guess on my part, but I think it comes down to Blashill swapping Richards for Mantha, and now deciding to use Sheahan on the 2nd PP unit. That leaves Mantha with limited minutes on the 4th line, and no usage on special teams. Unlike Athanasiou, Mantha doesn't strike me as a guy who's going to have much of an impact playing 6-8 minutes. The fans might not like it, but it's the way Blashill's positioned him for the time being.

That said, I don't get why Blash seems so insistent on double dipping with his players. Now it's Abdelkader and Sheahan playing on both the PP and PK, with Abdelkader ranked 2nd in SH TOI/GP for over a month now. In that span, the team's PK is 25th overall in the league. You can attribute the issues to any number of things, but I can see how overusing Abdelkader might be one of them.

It's not like this team is void of dependable PK guys - use AA a little on the 2nd PK unit. Heck, at the very least, use Helm more. He's proven to be a capable penalty killer over the years - he has that "resume". It's probably the biggest gripe I have with Blashill - he seems to try to "play it safe" too often, and goes back to the same well over and over. Hopefully that changes as he and the team adjust to each other.

Edit: It took Abdelkader being in the box, but...

Edited April 7, 2016 by Jesusberg