[crusadertsar]

I am still new to the game and still learning but so far this has been working well. I based this mostly on real life hockey concepts.

For my scoring lines (generally 3 out of 4 lines) I look for the following classic trio. It always includes a playmaker (usually a centre), sniper and the power forward/two way forward (so either a physical or jack-of-all trades kind of player).

Then there is my 4th line which I mostly use as my shut down, backchecking line to match up against the opposition's best line and as my main line for penalties. It is made up of all hard-working players with best checking, positioning, stick-checking and defensive read attributes. If they are physical and can hit that's always a bonus. But I mainly focus on their defensive abilities. I still like to include one player that a decent playmaker in there. So in my teams, I always try to have a good backbone of centres. IMHO that is essential in modern hockey.

I try to split time evenly for the three top lines and 4th line getting the least time.

Regarding my defenders I like to match one offensive, quarter-back type player *(or two-way if you do not have a very offensive one) with one less mobile stay-at-home defender. Also seems to be working quite well. Mind you I only tested this with Tampa Bay so far, so not too difficult a team to win with.

Good luck!