After dropping the game last night to the New York Rangers, the Ottawa Senators find themselves at 5-5-0 on the season. One player who is doing everything he can to contribute to his Sens team’s success is Ridly Greig. Let’s take a look at Greig’s role and how this influences the players around him, as well as his individual productivity.
Establishing a Role for the Sens Forward Ridly Greig
Greig can definitely be best described as a Swiss Army knife type player. He does everything for your team. From a memorable slap shot on an empty net versus the rival Toronto Maple Leafs or getting under the skin of Kirby Dach from earlier this fall, Greig is a fan favourite.
How Did Greig Even Find Himself Here to Begin With
The last couple games, thanks to the injury to Shane Pinto and Claude Giroux finding chemistry on the second line, Greig has been thrust into the role of top-line winger. Therefore, Greig has been playing alongside Brady Tkachuk and Tim Stutzle a lot over the course of the last couple games. If he seems a little nervous or underperforming, you need to consider his situation. Give him time to adjust to his role, he will be all right. It is very different playing on the top line against other team’s top shutdown guys in the NHL opposed to the third line. He’s still adapting to the pace of play, as well as the critical decisions you have to make so quickly in real time.
Yes, it would be fun seeing Greig play on the third line. When the Sens get healthy again, be sure to be prepared to watch him with Shane Pinto or David Perron on that aforementioned third line. But for now, he is playing with Stutzle and Tkachuk. Our thoughts are that he will come through soon and start putting up big numbers. He seems to have the abilities to be at that level. He is strong enough on the puck, he’s fast, he’s smart, and he is skilled enough to be responsible in any role. Greig needs some consistency in his deployment and it will do wonders for his career development.
Trying to Analyze Greig’s Stats
If we look at it through a statistical lense, he does need to step it up a gear or two. Through seven games, he has only managed one goal, with zero assists, and plays around 14-and-a-half minutes a night. It can be challenging when your two other linemates play the top power play, and you only get the leftovers. It would invariably make developing strong, offensive rhythm and chemistry harder, than if you did play the speciality units together.
As a line, the Stutzle-Tkachuk-Greig trio is doing quite well analytically. They have an xGoals% around 70%. Their line hasn’t actually linked up on a goal as of yet, but it will come. That is, depending how patient head coach Travis Green can be with the young player Greig. Even when Pinto comes back, if this line is clicking by that time, Greig playing up in the lineup offers great flexibility for Green to maneuver.
All-in-all, Ridly Greig is an extremely versatile player for the Sens and any head coach would be happy to have him. He can chip in offensively or he can grind it out in a checking role. It is literally whatever you ask him. Yes, we can agree he would be very well suited for a third line role. If he could play a shift with Pinto and Giroux for example, as third liners, their competition, whoever it may be, will find themselves outclassed. Additionally, he can develop into a top line player, but there is a growing experience period still to endure. The sooner he gets on it, the better it will be for everyone.
Main Photo Credit: James Guillory-USA TODAY Sports
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