If you’re a diehard Sabres fan, chances are shortly after the smoke had cleared from July 1st, you were thinking of line combinations for our new look 2011-2012 team. As a companion piece to Brian’s D-pairing projections, I’ve decided to tackle the forward lines. This is always an interesting exercise with Lindy Ruff as coach since we all know he’ll blow up a line in mere minutes if it’s not effective. But I won’t let trigger-happy Lindy ruin our fun.
One general observation with the lineup as I see it. In putting together these combo’s, the Sabres don’t have a true shutdown checking line. That could be a bad thing, but it could also indicate that there’s more offensive talent than in years’ past. Then again, just about every player brought into the Sabres’ system can play the two-way defensive Ruff style. So maybe it’s a moot point. What I like about this lineup is we should be able to roll four lines nicely. A lot of options there.
This week’s line is labeled 1A. Again, not sure if not having a true #1 will be a negative thing. Sure, it shows that we don’t have the dangerous, star center that teams focus on. But at least that forces the opposition to not match up its number one D pairing on a certain line all the time. The talent is spread out for our team, and one or more of the groupings should be left in favorable matchups at times.
Line 1A will be: Thomas Vanek at LW, Ville Leino at C & Jason Pominville at RW. After my whole spiel about the lack of a checking line, this group should be pretty solid defensively. Pommers may be our best 2 way forward at this point & Vanek has come leaps and bounds in his backchecking proficiency. I’ve heard mixed reviews on Leino’s defensive play, but under Ruff I imagine any liabilities in that area will be quickly resolved. I mean, Tim Connolly became a shot-blocking defensive center under Lindy’s watchful eye. I think Ville will be okay.
My thoughts on each player & what they bring to the line:
Leino: I wrote endlessly about this player in my “Ville Leino welcome post”, so I won’t repeat those points ad infinitum. In a perfect world, Leino wouldn’t have the pressure of being paired with Vanek and the minutes that hopefully entails. But if we learned anything from last season, it’s that Roy & Vanek need to be split up. That’s not Roy bashing – it just seems that Vanek became his own man separate from #9. So Ville’s the guy here.
What does he do for this line? For the last couple weeks, NHL Network has been replaying the Sabres/Flyers playoff series from last year. The few times my channel flipping has stopped there, I’ve tried to focus on Leino. Lindy wasn’t wrong when he said Ville is hard on the puck. Truly, he’s a bull who wins the one on one battle 9 times out of 10. He’s always around the net and has slick moves, especially the spin-o-rama. How will this translate to playing with Vanek & Pominville?I think his physical strength and aggressiveness will open holes for his linemates, especially benefitting Vanek. He’s a playmaker as well and should provide more prime shooting opportunities for Pominville. All in all, he should free up these 2 to contribute more.
Vanek: For my money, #26 is the new unquestioned leader of the Buffalo skaters. Last season he developed a steely confidence that was pleasing to see after all those years of beating himself up for every little play gone wrong. Now will Thomas ever be a 50 goal/100 point player? Probably not in this defense-first Buffalo system. But I do hope Lindy unleashes him more, gives him the freedom that a skilled sniper like Vanek deserves.
When Roy went down last season with his quad injury, Thomas had a coming out party as a puck carrier. He freely admitted that when Derek was on his line, he deferred to the little fella in lugging the puck and controlling the play. One thing I found interesting in a blog entry by Kevin Sylvestor on the Sabres site was some comments about Leino. He indicated that Ville’s solid positioning allowed Danny Briere to free wheel and cherry pick. While I don’t want Vanek to just goal hang all the time night in and night out, I hope Ville’s play will allow Thomas to wheel and deal and roam around the offensive zone. Yes, Vanek is a beast in front of the net, and I don’t want to take that part of his game away, but I’d like to see him glide all around the zone. He’s skilled, people. Let’s see him show his stuff more.
Pominville: I debated using Jason on the third line with Jochen and sliding either Stafford or Gerbe to this spot. The reason being is Pominville’s #1 attribute – smart, solid defensive play to go with effective, while not spectacular, offensive instincts. But if you’re being paid 5.3 million, you’re playing on my #1 line.
Even with Pommers’ maddening slapshots coming down the wing that quite often bounce harmlessly off a goalie’s pads, he has an above average shot. Not as good or pinpoint as I thought it was or would be after the 05-07 years, but still not terrible by any stretch. For all the heat Jason takes for his contract (not his fault), he consistently puts up 20 + goals every year. And while we’re not talking about special team units here, the two times he was out with injury last season, the penalty kill was awful. AWFUL. In general, he’s a steadying force. He’ll be a nice piece with the skilled Vanek and Leino. Someone who will be extra defensive minded to allow his linemates to display their razzle dazzle. And he’ll still be productive as well. I’m just thrilled Christian Ehrhoff is a Sabre so Pommers can be taken off the point on the PP. Not his cup of tea. Not at all.
Next week: Derek Roy & Co. on the 1B line.
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