From the PD:
That being said I hate slotting Tarasenko into the fourth line. I suppose the idea is to limit his minutes 5-on-5 and still have him available for a spot shift on another line or on the power play. However, this really could hurt the play of a fourth line that was a real asset on the ice. The Kings are not able to roll out their fourth line as often. They just aren't good enough to keep from getting exposed. Over the course of a playoff series this advantage could payoff hugely, as hard minutes can be lifted from our other lines who will be fresher later in the series. I'd much rather put Sobotka into that winger spot on the fourth line and shift McDonald over to center between Tarasenko and Stewart.
For the moment I'll assume Hitch knows what he is doing and take a wait and see approach.
Tarasenko, who was a healthy scratch in the first three games of the Western Conference series, will take the place of Adam Cracknell in the lineup. A right winger normally, Tarasenko will start out on the left wing on the fourth line with Chris Porter and Ryan Reaves.Cracknell was one of the obvious choices to sit, as evidenced by the fact even someone as dumb as myself predicted it.
That being said I hate slotting Tarasenko into the fourth line. I suppose the idea is to limit his minutes 5-on-5 and still have him available for a spot shift on another line or on the power play. However, this really could hurt the play of a fourth line that was a real asset on the ice. The Kings are not able to roll out their fourth line as often. They just aren't good enough to keep from getting exposed. Over the course of a playoff series this advantage could payoff hugely, as hard minutes can be lifted from our other lines who will be fresher later in the series. I'd much rather put Sobotka into that winger spot on the fourth line and shift McDonald over to center between Tarasenko and Stewart.
For the moment I'll assume Hitch knows what he is doing and take a wait and see approach.
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