carpandean Posted January 8, 2009 Report Share Posted January 8, 2009 My guess;Vanek - Roy - Stafford Ellis - Gaustad - Pominville Hecht - Connolly - Kotalik Paille - MacArthur - Mair Sounds familiar: Putting aside the discussion on your personal opinions of Connolly as a player, does anyone know where he will be skating? Personally, I would not want to mess too much with the lines as they are as they seem to be working. You obviously would not touch the Vanek-Roy-Stafford line. But, where do you put Connolly? Right now, I wouldn't touch the Ellis-Gaustad-Pominville line either. The only place I could see him getting inserted would be at center between Hecht and Kotalik moving Mair down to the fourth line, or simply inserting him into the fourth line with Paille and MacArthur and making either Paille or MacArthur play right wing or putting Connolly on the right wing of that line. Not sure where else you put him as I like the way the lines are right now. You're version is easier to see quickly. :thumbsup: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nfreeman Posted January 8, 2009 Report Share Posted January 8, 2009 I'd much rather see: Vanek-Roy-Stafford Pominville-Connolly-Hecht Ellis-Gaustad-Kotalik Paille-Mair-MacArthur Like you said, your guess is as good as mine. My only issue here is that Hecht just hasn't played well enough to justify 2nd line status (and a line with Connolly and Pommer will get either the highest or 2nd-highest amount of ice time). Kotalik hasn't really done so either, so I can see Gaustad getting that spot, which would leave: Vanek-Roy-Stafford Pommer-Connolly-Gaustad Hecht-Mair-Kotalik Ellis-Paille-MacArthur Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimiVbaby Posted January 8, 2009 Report Share Posted January 8, 2009 My only issue here is that Hecht just hasn't played well enough to justify 2nd line status (and a line with Connolly and Pommer will get either the highest or 2nd-highest amount of ice time). Kotalik hasn't really done so either, so I can see Gaustad getting that spot, which would leave: Vanek-Roy-Stafford Pommer-Connolly-Gaustad Hecht-Mair-Kotalik Ellis-Paille-MacArthur I like Gaustad as the third line center and can't really justify putting him on the second line, especially as a winger. I know the Vanek-Roy-Stafford line is hot right now, didn't the combination of Vanek-Roy-Connolly fair pretty well together? I like the playmaking abilities of Connolly over Roy, but Roy and Vanek are attached at the hip (for good reason). Put them all together it's a potentially lethal line. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carpandean Posted January 8, 2009 Report Share Posted January 8, 2009 My only issue here is that Hecht just hasn't played well enough to justify 2nd line status (and a line with Connolly and Pommer will get either the highest or 2nd-highest amount of ice time). Kotalik hasn't really done so either, so I can see Gaustad getting that spot, which would leave: I agree that he hasn't played well, but part of that is being in a position that isn't where he belongs. Hecht would be the last person on that line that teams would worry about, watching Connolly and Pommer far more closely. That is when Hecht thrives. I could see him getting his game back playing on that line. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NowDoYouBelieve Posted January 8, 2009 Report Share Posted January 8, 2009 I like Gaustad as the third line center and can't really justify putting him on the second line, especially as a winger. I know the Vanek-Roy-Stafford line is hot right now, didn't the combination of Vanek-Roy-Connolly fair pretty well together? I like the playmaking abilities of Connolly over Roy, but Roy and Vanek are attached at the hip (for good reason). Put them all together it's a potentially lethal line. Yeah, Gaustad should be centering the third line. He's our only saving grace in terms of faceoffs, on top of being a really good presence in front of the net. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deluca67 Posted January 9, 2009 Report Share Posted January 9, 2009 Let it go man -- injury prone or not, Connolly is an improvement to this team. He's better than Gerbe/Kennedy/Mancari (at this point in their careers), and I'd much rather have him in the lineup than Peters. Ellis should stay, though. That's like saying they should play him because they already have his name on a jersey. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SwampD Posted January 9, 2009 Report Share Posted January 9, 2009 I'd much rather see: Vanek-Roy-Stafford Pominville-Connolly-Hecht Ellis-Gaustad-Kotalik Paille-Mair-MacArthur Like you said, your guess is as good as mine. Ink, you got it! These are the exact lines I would like to see. Chemistry is everything and I would not split up Ellis and Goose. Not to pi$$ in anyone's Cheerios, but I'll believe Timmy will play when I see him on the ice tomorrow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deluca67 Posted January 9, 2009 Report Share Posted January 9, 2009 Name ONE injury that Tim Connolly sustained that WOULDN'T have knocked out ANYONE ELSE for lengthy periods? I'll even overlook the mis-diagnosed jaw problem that set back his return from the Shafer hit by months. Your logic concerning Rivet contradicts your case against Connolly. It's just more of your over-simplified opinion of Rivet=Macho Man, TC=P*ssy. You make it so personal against TC that I think you're just trying to mask the major man-crush you have on him. You've missed him because he's an above-average talent that's disappointed you with his absence. Try not to put your lips too close to the TV screen on Friday night. GO SABRES!!! I saw Umberger get blown up as bad as any hit Connolly took. He missed a game and I believe he then scored the next game. Hell, Roy's collision at the end of the first against the Bruins would have knocked Connolly out for the next two years. Is Connolly the only player in NHL history to miss games with "general body soreness?" If Walker would have punched Connolly they way he hit JovoCop he would be up on manslaughter charges. "Man-crush?" You sound as if you have a lot if experience in this matter. Live your life as you want to. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thesportsbuff Posted January 9, 2009 Report Share Posted January 9, 2009 That's like saying they should play him because they already have his name on a jersey. No. It's like saying he's one of the more talented players on this team, and whether you're pro or anti Connolly, he's a Sabre until free agency. It'd be stupid not to use him. Even if he does play four games and then get hurt again, it's an improvement for those four games. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
K-9 Posted January 9, 2009 Report Share Posted January 9, 2009 I saw Umberger get blown up as bad as any hit Connolly took. He missed a game and I believe he then scored the next game. Hell, Roy's collision at the end of the first against the Bruins would have knocked Connolly out for the next two years. Is Connolly the only player in NHL history to miss games with "general body soreness?" If Walker would have punched Connolly they way he hit JovoCop he would be up on manslaughter charges. "Man-crush?" You sound as if you have a lot if experience in this matter. Live your life as you want to. About what I expected in response. More conjecture not based on anything other than your misguided opinion of and personal animosity toward TC and his injuries. His failure to return to the lineup makes you sound like a jilted prom date with a wilting wrist corsage. First the Umberger hit. I can only hope you're not a medical doctor. If you are I doubt you'd get any company to cover your malpractice insurance. Just from a pure physics standpoint it's obvious Umberger didn't suffer nearly the impact. He was a slower mass being hit by a ligher mass (Campbell) than was Connolly when he was hit by Shafer. More importantly Umberger didn't suffer a jaw misalignment to go along with his concussion. Thirdly, like boxers who get concussions when they're knocked out, it wasn't a serious concussion. In your myopic world of diagnosis, all concussions are the same. They're not. Connolly had a grade 3 concussion to go along with his jaw problem which actually caused him to miss more games than the concussion did. If Umberger had suffered a grade 3 concussion he wouldn't have been back the next game. That simple. The hit on Roy in the Bruins game? Again, opinion based on a personal dislike for Connolly. No basis in fact. None. But like that jilted prom date who now has tears staining her new dress to go along with the wilted corsage, you'll offer any irrational opinion to justify your bitterness at the person that left you standing there. As for general body soreness I've known dozens of athletes, both professional and amateur over the years who've missed action for that very reason. It's usually a result of pushing themselves too hard after a long layoff. Doctors and trainers alike caution against this all the time. And their remedy: rest. But that desire you find lacking in TC was the reason he pushed himself back too fast. He would have avoided the stress fracture last year had he NOT shown his determination to get back. You frequently question his desire when the evidence suggests otherwise. Maybe that jilted prom date should consider that perhaps her date got caught in traffic or got involved in an accident or otherwise just couldn't get there for reasons having nothing to do with her perception that she was done a grave misjustice by her date. Finally, and perhaps most laughable of all is your (once again) ignorant claim regarding the punch by Walker to Jovo. Complete and utter speculation based on nothing but your opinion which, as I've explained earlier, is an opinion based on your feeling of intense abandonment by one you actually adore to watch play the game. Yeah, I've got experience in man-crushes in that I can spot them a mile away. Yours is a classic case. One for the books. Now I know you're hoping TC gets knocked out again tonight so you can win the latest injury pool. But I suspect the bigger reason is that if he does well, stays healthy, and makes a difference for this team, you are going to have to reconcile your hatred and start loving him again. Which makes you vulnerable. Like that jilted prom date. And you can't stand that idea. GO SABRES!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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