Joined: May 2023
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Curious to see how Montgomery manages the rotations.
1. Is faceoff percentage more important than the rest of their game?
Beecher isn’t playing over Boqvist. I know people are focused on faceoff percentage, but Boqvist has played considerably better. The level of improvement the fourth line since the demotion of Steen and Beecher has been significant. Maybe Beecher comes up as a backup option for the playoffs, but part of me thinks that will likely be Patrick Brown.
2. How are going to manage left side defensive pairings when Lindholm comes back?
Do they keep Lohrei in the top 4 or send him back to Providence?
My perspective is he’s done enough to stay recently, but I do not want McAvoy to have to cover for him. Pairing Lohrei with Carlo seems more like a better complement of skill set, but I also think that the defensive pairing of Lindholm / Carlo is likely to win out. Curious to see how Montgomery manages it.
3. What do they do with Peeke vs Shattenkirk?
I know they want more size and physicality at the RD spot. Peeke was brought in to provide that option, but Shattenkirk has been playing better as of late. My assumption is you are going to see Wothespoon / Peeke and Lohrei / Shattenkirk.
4. What young forward they are bringing up?
My assumption is Richard. He’s played well enough, but he’s at his 10 day before waivers limit. Do they see if Lysell or Merkulov can add scoring to the third line while playing Frederic more minutes? Still believe Lysell is the best internal option to give you potential scoring and would like to see him get a chance to see what he can do before we just give it to Richard