"Yet he is playing 4th line in the playoffs. So maybe player usage doesn't always have something to do with that players abilities?"

Context matters.

My point is just that you can’t judge someone based on an extremely small sample size. You can’t really judge a player’s abilities in 4 games where they’re playing 4th line minutes, which are being reduced even more than usual because the 1st & 2nd lines aren’t being matched up against Crosby and Malkin, and the 3rd line is playing extremely well.

I was judging Romanov based on his entire season in the KHL. If you think that's an "extremely small sample size" than I can't help you.

What? I thought we were talking about Domi.

Confusing, sorry. The other guy brought up Domi playing on the 4th line over a 4 game span as proof that usage is not indicative of ability, because I was pointing out that Romanov was a 3rd pairing player in the KHL this year and yet some MTL fans expect him to be top pairing in the NHL next year.

Oh, ok. I didn’t read the whole conversation. I do agree that people shouldn’t have unrealistic expectations for Romanov. He will *probably* be a 3rd pairing D for the habs next year, but it’s also not unrealistic that he starts in the AHL.