Kukla's Korner Hockey
Scotty Bowman Plays With The Lines
by Paul on 06/08/10 at 07:04 AM ET
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from Chris Stevenson at the Toronto Sun,
On the flight back from Philadelphia, after losing two games and all their Stanley Cup final momentum at the Wachovia Center, Chicago Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville had the idea to hand out pieces of paper to advisor Scotty Bowman, general manager Stan Bowman, to his assistant coaches.
“He said, ‘put down some lines,’” said Scotty Bowman, who sat next to Quenneville on the flight.
“It was fun to do,” said the 76-year-old, who is perhaps the greatest all-time strategist in the game when it came to mixing and matching players, sensing who was in full flight on a given night, which combination of skill, speed and grit would present the greatest challenge to the opponent.
Bowman, remarkably, is involved in his 16th Stanley Cup final and has been a part of 11 Cup winners in different capacities (nine as the coach), so it would only figure that he might have a thing or two to contribute to the ’Hawks’ cause.
In making his suggestions, Bowman started with a basic premise: Philadelphia Flyers defenceman Chris Pronger - through the first four games - was dominating the ’Hawks top line of captain Jonathan Toews and wingers Dustin Byfuglien and Patrick Kane. They needed to be broken apart so Philadelphia coach Peter Laviolette would be forced to choose against which of the three he would want to play Pronger, leaving the other two more room, perhaps.
Filed in: NHL Teams, Chicago Blackhawks | KK Hockey | Permalink
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