Carrying over the convo with
@Whileee from the Pre Game Thread:
Yeah but in their defense they had been playing with a rookie player who had been belove average defensively and in shot metrics. They were starting to look like their old selves in the last month before Scheifele went down and were putting up shot metrics like a top line in the NHL.
I don't like replacing Perreault on the Little line with Laine. We have seen the results when those 3 players are together, they don't score much, are at best average defensively and spend most shifts buried in their own zone with little offensive zone time. Maurice had unlocked Little and Ehlers' potential by putting them with Perreault but now we are going to sacrifice elite results from that line to well below par results on the new "2nd line".
I am confident that given a few games to get back into things Scheifele and Wheeler can carry another player on their LW. I would rather have an elite "2nd line" esp in Lowry's absence and put or possibly rotate Laine, Connor and Roslovic on that top LW spot.
Just strikes me as a panic move to break up the one like that was working really well. Scheifele and Wheeler are big boys, they don't need Perreault. Sure if LSW is not working, feel free to do something, just don't break up the one line that is actually working really well.
My guide for optimizing the Jets lineup is following these rules:
* Never put 2 of Ehlers, Laine and Connor on the same line (these players have proven that they are not good enough yet to play on the same line and do the heavy lifting)
* Never put all 3 of Perreault, Scheifele and Wheeler on the same (team just can't have 3 of their best drivers on the same line unless it is done for a short stint while chasing a game)
* Little needs atleast 1 winger who can do the heavy lifting