Well, a very interesting twist by Cameron in practice, and sounds like these will be the opening night lines...
Hoffman - Turris - Stone
Ryan - Zib - Lazar
Michalek - Pageau - Chiasson
Prince - Smith - Neil.
A few things right off the bat...
Ryan on the left side is interesting, mostly because we haven't really experimented with this much since he arrived. Presumably Cameron ran this by Bobby - who needs to have a strong start to get the clear invisible piano off his back - and I could see him being pretty comfortable with his versatile stick skills, to come off the off wing. The one timer will be there at least. He did play the left side with Getzlaf and Perry in Anaheim for extended periods, so it's not totally foreign for him. Still, the entire organization really needs Ryan to get off to a decent start so late last season becomes a distant memory, rather than a perceived trend. Can't say that it looks like Cameron is worried about it though.
The second point of this is the move seems to have been done to allow Chiasson to switch over to the right side, where he is more comfortable. Certainly interesting to see Cameron make a move that potentially sacrifices some efficiency of Ryan for Chiasson, unless again, Ryan endorsed the move in some way and sees himself equally adept at both sides (Chiasson has said he simply isn't as comfortable defensively on the left side). It's an eye brow raiser though.
Finally, there is the appearance of a promotion for Lazar, who jumps into a very interesting line with Ryan and Zib. This too might have been the cause of the Ryan's shift to the left to a degree. They wanted Lazar with these guys. At first glance, I'm not sure I get it, as neither Lazar or Zib are talented playmakers per se, which really puts a lot of pressure on Ryan to be the straw that stirs the drink on this line. And he is supposed to be a goal scorer at the end of the day, not a dishman. That said, perhaps that's the plan, to basically allow Ryan to be a bit more of the focal point of the line. The line should be able to cycle pretty well, so there's at least that.
Overall, it's a curious move to have the 2nd and 3rd lines put together that I don't think ever played together in preseason, although I wasn't keeping that close track. I do like the top line, and can't say I'm really that concerned about these moves either. Easy enough to switch'em up, after all.
No other surprises, although I'm sure many fans will be up in arms given Wideman appears to be the healthy scratch, with Boro and Cowen a pair. God help them if they allow a goal or make a mistake, because this board might in fact blow up at their first mistake.