Vancouver Canucks: Line juggling and ideal line combinations

Over the last few games before the All-Star break, Vancouver Canucks head coach Travis Green juggled the lines quite a bit, which got me thinking about ideal line combinations.

Head coachTravis Green has shown us that he doesn’t have line combinations set in stone in his head for the Vancouver Canucks. Other than Elias Pettersson and Brock Boeser being on the first line, the rest of the lineup has been and will continue to be subject to change under coach Green.

Over the course of this season, we’ve seen Markus Granlund play center and wing. We’ve seen Tim Schaller briefly man the wing on Bo Horvat‘s line when Sven Baertschi was out with a concussion. To say the lines aren’t set in stone is an understatement.

Coach Green has done something over the course of the season that I personally like to see. When a line looks like it has nothing going for it, or the team really needs a boost, Green doesn’t hesitate to shake up his lines. Whether that means placing fiery Frenchman Antoine Roussel on a line that seems like it’s lacking energy and heart, or loading up one scoring line late in games when the team desperately needs a goal — Green isn’t afraid to shake things up through the course of a game.

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Loading up one scoring line is a strategy we saw a few times in games before the All-Star break. The Canucks were down by a goal or two, with less than 20 minutes to go in the game, and out comes the deadly line combination of Horvat, Pettersson, and Boeser. Talk about a three-headed monster.

The first time we were treated to this line combination was against the Colorado Avalanche when the Canucks tied the game late with an absolute beauty of a wrister from none other than Pettersson. On the off chance you haven’t seen the goal yet, please watch this video, showcasing the Avalanche announcers call of the goal. It’s simply priceless.

Aside from that game, this line combination has only recently been seen in Canucks’ games. A more recent time we saw it was on home ice against the Detroit Red Wings — the same night that Horvat snapped his 11-game goal drought. To break it down for you, offensive zone faceoff, and five tired Red Wings’ players on the ice. Coach Green sends out his three leading scorers, desperate for a goal.

The Canucks gain control of the offensive zone, the puck ends up at the point, and Boeser lets go of his world-class wrister that we’ve all come to know and love. The puck hits Pettersson at about the left faceoff dot, and Horvat picks up the loose puck and quickly turns and sweeps it toward the Detroit goal, through the legs of Jonathan Bernier. A very hyped up Horvat celebrates with his teammates.

The problem is that the Canucks can’t afford to roll with this stacked line for 60 minutes. They would be predictable and easy to shut down, and need to take advantage of the fact that they have two elite centers.

At the other end of the conversation is the obvious need that players require a sense of chemistry with one another in order to be effective. While you don’t want to break up a line’s chemistry by juggling the lines around in the middle of a game, you also don’t want to continue beating a dead horse by rolling with a line that has nothing going for it.

To me, line juggling is necessary for when a team looks lifeless, but what I don’t like is to see players start games with new linemates whom they are unfamiliar with, as I think this does more harm than good for the players. Start your normal lines, and make the adjustments in-game accordingly, which coach Green has done a terrific job of all year.

This all got me thinking about my ideal line combinations. Here’s what I came up with.

Nikolay Goldobin-Elias Pettersson-Brock Boeser
Sven Baertschi-Bo Horvat-Jake Virtanen
Antoine Roussel-Brandon Sutter–Josh Leivo
Loui Eriksson–Jay Beagle–Tyler Motte

Schaller and Granlund are scratched in this lineup, and I have put Goldobin on the first line with Pettersson and Boeser. I am hoping like the rest of you that Goldobin smartens up defensively, but I also recognize that he is a skilled offensive player, and would like to see him remain in the Canucks lineup in an offensive role.

Baertschi, Horvat, and Virtanen is my ideal second line solely based on speed and creativity. Baertschi is good at finding teammates in prime scoring positions, and both Horvat and Virtanen aren’t afraid to drive the net hard and get to the dirty areas.

Roussel, Horvat, and Virtanen is also a great option to have and could be a secret weapon for the Canucks come playoff time when you need that extra grit incorporated into your game. We saw Roussel get moved up to the Horvat line Saturday night in Colorado, and it resulted in a goal.

These are my ideal lines, but at the end of the day, coach Green’s line combinations are the only ones that matter. That being said, I’d love to hear from all of you as well. Let me know in the comments what your ideal lines look like, and whether or not you think juggling lines is appropriate, or if the harm it can do to a line’s chemistry outweighs the benefit.