Dan Muse switched up his top-six forwards midway through Monday's Game 2 loss, putting Rickard Rakell back on the top line and moving Egor Chinakhov back on the second line.
It seemed to help -- or at least didn't hurt. Both lines were measurably better in terms of offense generated after the switch, with Sidney Crosby's line having the most drastic improvement. The top line went from controlling 54.55 of the shot attempts with Chinakhov to 77.78% of the attempts with Rakell, going from six attempts in 5:40 to 14 in 6:34. They went from zero high-danger attempts for to three with the new combinations.
I asked Crosby afterward if the switch provided a spark in any way, and he seemed to shrug off the idea a little.
"I'm not sure," he said. "I think just with the situation, being down, you have a little bit more urgency. I don't think that matters, as far as the line combinations. I thought our mentality was just a little bit more simple. I thought that we created some new looks."
Muse on Tuesday morning spoke in a virtual media availability about the need to balance patience and the idea of making a change for a "new look" when making in-game adjustments. At least in this case, though, putting Rakell on the top line and Chinakhov on the second isn't an entirely "new" look.
"We've had a number of combinations as we move over the course of the year," Muse said. "There's a past precedent there in some cases. In other cases, maybe it's just trying to get somebody going, or getting a line going."
The switch got the top line going, while also benefitting the second line a little, too. It just didn't translate to actual goals. It remains to be seen whether they'll stick with those combinations on Wednesday.
THE ASYLUM
Will Chinakhov, Rakell swap stick?
Dan Muse switched up his top-six forwards midway through Monday's Game 2 loss, putting Rickard Rakell back on the top line and moving Egor Chinakhov back on the second line.
It seemed to help -- or at least didn't hurt. Both lines were measurably better in terms of offense generated after the switch, with Sidney Crosby's line having the most drastic improvement. The top line went from controlling 54.55 of the shot attempts with Chinakhov to 77.78% of the attempts with Rakell, going from six attempts in 5:40 to 14 in 6:34. They went from zero high-danger attempts for to three with the new combinations.
I asked Crosby afterward if the switch provided a spark in any way, and he seemed to shrug off the idea a little.
"I'm not sure," he said. "I think just with the situation, being down, you have a little bit more urgency. I don't think that matters, as far as the line combinations. I thought our mentality was just a little bit more simple. I thought that we created some new looks."
Muse on Tuesday morning spoke in a virtual media availability about the need to balance patience and the idea of making a change for a "new look" when making in-game adjustments. At least in this case, though, putting Rakell on the top line and Chinakhov on the second isn't an entirely "new" look.
"We've had a number of combinations as we move over the course of the year," Muse said. "There's a past precedent there in some cases. In other cases, maybe it's just trying to get somebody going, or getting a line going."
The switch got the top line going, while also benefitting the second line a little, too. It just didn't translate to actual goals. It remains to be seen whether they'll stick with those combinations on Wednesday.
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