Heading into Minnesota with a tied series is big. Keeping the identity going in Game 5 will be very important. Good news for the Blues is that Leddy and Bortuzzo should be returning to the lineup. I would keep Scandella out till Game 6, which is also when Krug may come back too. Play 7D till you get Scandella or Krug back.
The lineup stays very similar, but the approach is slightly different.
Offensively, Blues run 3 lines and float a winger with Bozak and Torp. I think giving Schenn more shifts to get him going is smart, he is also a heavy player. Then ride the hot hand with another pairing, whether that’s Kyrou or Tarasenko during the game. Shifts, in a no-penalty game, would then look like this for ~4 min of play, 40 second shifts:
Set 1 - ROR line, Thomas line, Barb line, ROR line, Thomas line, Bozak (w/ Schenn)
Set 2 - Barb line, ROR line, Thomas line, Barb line, ROR line, Bozak (w/Tarasenko)
Set 3 - Thomas line, Barb line, ROR line, Thomas line, Barb line, Bozak (w/ Kyrou)
Rinse and repeat 5 times.
Defensively, give the boys assignments. Each LD gets an assignment to lock down and contain a specific line.
Hartman line - Leddy with Parayko or Faulk
Gaudreau line - Perunovich with all RD rotating
Eriksson Ek line - Mikkola with Parayko or Faulk
Jost line - Rosen with all RD rotating
This would help in understanding tendencies from offensive threats. Containment is the best way to keep the Wild off the board by limiting their opportunities on the rush. I liked seeing forwards jumping back to have 3 men back in most defensive situations.
Should be interesting going forward in this series.
Yeah, keep the 11-7, for sure. At least for one more game.
No doubt. Once Scandella or Krug comes back then 12-6. There isn’t a 4th line guy that’s detrimental to Blues success, whereas the 7th D adds stability
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