It wasn’t long ago that we looked at each team in the All-Canadian Divison and ranked their no.1 lines one through seven. Now, we’re going to rank each team’s second line, and to do this we’ll be using the line combos from dailyfaceoff.com.
I wanted to include some fancies that would’ve given you a little bit of analytical perspective from Natural Stat Trick, but over half of the teams didn’t have any stats to go from according to Daily Faceoff’s line combos when using NST’s Line Combination tool. I don’t know, maybe I’m doing something wrong. Anyway, no numbas for this one, just good old fashioned biased~ er, I mean non-biased opinion-based judgments.
Vancouver Canucks: Pearson-Horvat-Boeser
The Conclusion: Solid but unspectacular. I wonder if Boeser can make an entire season without going on the IR. The same might be said for Captain Bo. What I like about this line is that it’s fairly beefy with all three sitting over 200lbs so they can push their way around a bit and soften up the other team’s defenders by working the alleys and the walls a bit. That should open up some space for them and any player on this line could score from medium range thanks to the high-end to elite shots they possess.
Edmonton Oilers: Kahun-Draisaitl-Yamamoto
The Conclusion: Without the defensive conscience of RNH on this unit, der MVP Leon Draisaitl will need to up his 200ft game a bit and start to show us a little bit of that Kopitar or Barkov that some were projecting him to be on draft day. Dominik Kahun will offer up the trickery and Kailer Yamamoto will give you that burning intensity, but I fear they may be hard-pressed to defend when the going gets tough.
Calgary Flames: Mangiapane-Backlund-Tkachuk
The Conclusion: I love the competitiveness of this line. They’ll be an absolute pain in the ass to face and if Vancouver’s second line is considered a meat tenderizer, this one is a wrecking ball. Andrew Mangiapane is developing into a lighter version of Brad Marchand and Mikael Backlund is one of the league’s best two-way centers in the league. The Swede also has a mean streak that fits his right-winger perfectly. Matthew Tkachuk can basically get away with anything at this point because he’s not only a prick on the ice, he’s also one of the best power forwards playing right now. I dislike him very much but he’s amazing for the NHL.
With all of that said, this line is prone to taking penalties and taking themselves out of position by trying to be too physical.
Winnipeg Jets: Ehlers-Stastny-Laine
The Conclusion: I think the Jets’ second line has the most firepower. Signing a veteran like Paul Stastny and having him center the club’s best goal-scoring wingers couldn’t be more perfect. Stastny isn’t the two-way force he once was but he doesn’t really have to be now. All he has to do is cover the bases defensively and let his wingers do the work.
I want to talk more about this line but I’m not sure what more there is to say. Paul Maurice will need to make sure that he’s got his no.1 defensive pair out there with this line to minimize the defensive risk. Not sure we’ll ever see Ehlers or Laine get nominated for the Selke but I could this line putting up 100 goals for Winnipeg in a best-case scenario.
Toronto Maple Leafs: Mikheyev-Tavares-Nylander
The Conclusion: This line is very intriguing. Tavares can’t skate as well as he used to be able to but he’s so smart positionally that that is a non-issue. He can still score 30-goals a year and his wingers have afterburners attached to their asses. Not only that, but Mikheyev is a massive body along the walls and has really great hands for playmaking. William Nylander is one of the most underrated players in the league and gets overshadowed by the $10MM stars.
I feel like this line can be checked out of a game though. In the past, other teams could take advantage of the Maple Leafs’ stars and there’d be no retribution for it. Now, Toronto has players like Wayne Simmonds, Joe Thornton, and Zach Bogosian.
Ottawa Senators: Tierney-White-Brown
The Conclusion: Nope. This is a third line at best. Whilst I really dig Colin White, Chris Tierney and Connor Brown are going to get lit up I feel. Well, the Sens are going to get lit up every night in general, but this line doesn’t really have much of an identity, does it? There’s a speed element to it I guess. I just hope to see Tim Stutzle up on the left-wing at some point and maybe Drake Batherson on the right-wing. If that happens, it still might not be a proper second-line yet, but all signs would be pointing in the right direction.
Montreal Canadiens: Toffoli-Suzuki-Anderson
The Conclusion: Oh, the potential on this line is staggering. If Nick Suzuki can keep trending up and Josh Anderson regains that form he had for the Blue Jackets two years ago when he had 27 goals and 20 assists in 82 games, they’ll be a real force for the Habs. Then there’s Tyler Toffoli who was flying for the Canucks in the playoffs last year. Should he be able to bring THAT version of himself to Montreal, I’m certain that the Canadiens will make massive gains in the standings.
So, a lot of “ifs” with this group here. Anderson and Toffoli have both had stints where they looked like shells of their former selves.
I’m really looking forward to keeping an eye on the progression of Suzuki though. I’m betting that if all goes well, he’s going to make one of Phillip Danault or possibly Jesperi Kotkaniemi expendable.
BLH’s Rankings
- Winnipeg
- Toronto
- Edmonton
- Calgary
- Montreal
- Vancouver
- Ottawa
How do your rankings look? Let us know in the comments below!
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