|
Goodrow on the First Line? |
|
|
|
|
|
Although the Lightning surrendered a first-round pick to San Jose in the trade to acquire Barclay Goodrow, the right winger had a modest impact in his brief tenure with the Bolts before the season was put on ice. He served as a useful penalty killer and bottom-six forward, and his scoring impact was passable, with zero goals and two assists in eight games. At 5v5, Goodrow had an expected goals of .77 and registered 7 scoring chances, which ranked 8th and 10th among Tampa Bay forwards since joining the squad.
The pedestrian numbers reflect an uncomfortable reality: Goodrow didn’t demonstrate any skills that the Lightning didn’t have on their roster already. But he has one attribute that is unique among Lightning forwards: he doesn’t need the puck to be effective.
Goodrow’s impact resembles Anthony Cirelli when he was a rookie, especially in Cirelli’s first 30 games. Cirelli starred on the penalty, exhibited a keen vision of how to forecheck, and was an irritating presence for opponents because of his back-checking. If Goodrow is a diluted version of Cirelli, maybe his best use will be when joined with two players who are uber puck-dominant. That way Goodrow can do the dirty work in the corners, supply puck support over 200 feet, and establish himself between the circles for screens and deflections while his linemates create offense.
Could Goodrow be the third forward with Brayden Point and Nikita Kucherov? When Ondrej Palat is their third forward, he tries to influence play without controlling possession. But Palat may actually be more impactful as an Alpha on a lesser line, and Goodrow’s promotion to playing with Kucherov and Point resets the lines nicely.
Suddenly, Steven Stamkos slides down to the second line to buoy the scoring of the Cirelli-Alex Killorn duo. When Stamkos played with Cirelli and Killorn, the line collected nine goals while allowing zero at 5v5. This also pushes Blake Coleman down to the third line, becoming a linemate to Palat and Tyler Johnson. When Palat played with Johnson, they thrived, posting a +25 high-danger chances plus-minus and notching 20 goals while only conceding six. Right now, Johnson’s best skill is his ability to transport the puck. With Coleman powering down the wing, Johnson would have a sniper to feed the puck to.
One thing Goodrow could do that would be invaluable is alleviate the defensive burden for Point. As it stands now, Point is the forward who has to sink low and aid the defensemen on breakouts. If, through his transition defense and puck support, Goodrow can relieve Point of that responsibility, suddenly No. 21 has more juice for offense.
The wrinkle in this thought exercise is what the Lightning do with their glut of expensive ancillary forwards in the offseason. It is a good bet that GM Julien BriseBois is going to try to move Johnson, Palat, or Yanni Gourde, and if more than one forward is traded, Jon Cooper may feel pressure to concentrate his talent on the top two lines like he was doing for most of this season.
The Kucherov-Point-Stamkos line was ridiculous when they were together, and the way they orchestrated scoring chances in their best moments was inspiring. But there was always a lingering concern of what would happen if the first line got stifled by an effective shutdown line. The playoffs are about adjustments, and an opposing coach could devise a strategy that could blunt their scoring. For Tampa Bay, would supplementary scoring appear? We may never know, but with the talent more diffused over three lines, the odds improve.
Tampa Bay Lightning Blogger • 
Join the Discussion:
»