I have never been a big fan of coaches pretending his lines are X, and then when the game is on the line, changing it up to what I would call the go to lines. And then expecting instant success.
The problem with Ovi and grinders, is all the ****ing PP and PKs that will be called this year, cripples his lines. Ovi is out for the PP, the grinders out on PK duty, the lines a mish mash afterwards, and sure enough there is another penalty before the 4 lines are united.
It's an exercise in futility right now. While Oates wants his scorer (singular) and scoring lines balanced, he has to recognize scoring has not increased.
Captain! Right full rudder, 30 degree down angle. Aye, sir. This one's going to be close.
Will Oates be happy with another loss?
Just wrote a PM reply on this very subject.
The thinking on placing AO along-side grinders is three-fold:
1- AO, at some point, will score his X amount of goals.
2- When he does score, many of the goals will involve one-timers and solo efforts, so better players are not necessary... and can be used elsewhere.
3- Placing him with these 2 gives us a bit of a checking line, which feeds into AO's style: slow up your opponents via checks, and AO can generally beat a good portion of the league taking the puck into the opponents zone. An added plus is he can get off many shots with the D still in motion, generating a moving screen, so to speak.
As to it affecting the PP: very few teams use their set lines on the PP... they stack them with their better players... and they practice these special teams extensively, so it's no big deal.
As to the PK... AO is a liability... and neither him or his current linemates are gonna be nominated for a Selke anytime soon.
Just my observations.