Quoting: EccE
Teams have targeted all their defense towards Kaprizov, so pairing him with another dangerous attacker like Fiala could make them split their attention. It could be a welcome change for Kirill, who badly needs a goal to keep him from getting frustrated.
Quoting: drmantalban
Exactly my thought. Neither Kaprizov nor Fiala seem to have a ton of space right now, so putting them together should theoretically open up a little more ice. I’d welcome some sort of shakeup to try and provide a spark.
Thing is, I don't necessarily think that Kaprizov is flat or that it's necessarily his lack of goal scoring that's the problem here.
He hasn't looked right or been the same since he went into the boards courtesy of Morrissey in our game against the Jets. He's been moving slow and gingerly ever since then. He just hasn't looked okay since then. I think he's nursing a injury, and currently playing through it.
I'm not convinced moving him off the top line will make a difference right now.
As for Fiala, he looked his best last night when he was out there on a extended shift with Foligno and Hartman. The three of them together probably had the best offensive pressure and puck possession 5v5 for nearly a 2 minute timepan, last night. Maybe during this entire young season yet. Outside of the powerplay that is.
I would consider putting those three on a line together.