Yahoo Sports Five Thoughts After Another Major Line Shuffle Pays Off For The Ottawa Senators
There are two things that have become clear about Ottawa Senators head coach Travis Green: He'll never be accused of oversharing information with the media, and he's not shy about juggling his lines.
On Saturday in Winnipeg, Green's lines looked like this:
Tkachuk-Stutzle-Giroux
Reinhardt-Norris-Batherson
Cousins-Pinto-Greig
Gregor-Ostapchuk-Gaudette
Sanderson-Hamonic
Chabot-Jensen
Kleven-JBD
Sogaard
With that setup, the Senators came out of the holiday break and lost 4-2 to the Winnipeg Jets. The next day, without the test drive of a morning skate, Green changed gears.
His lines in Minnesota looked like this:
Tkachuk-Pinto-Greig
Gaudette-Stutzle-Batherson
Cousins-Norris-Giroux
Reinhardt-Ostapchuk-Gregor
Sanderson-Hamonic
Chabot-Jensen
Kleven-Matinpalo
Merilainen
When evaluating the wisdom/mad science of wholesale changes like that, there's only one measuring stick: the scoreboard. The Sens avoided a third straight loss with a 3-1 win on the road over a very tough opponent.
Here are five observations about the changes and the state of Sens Nation.
1. Merilainen Vs Sogaard
The most impactful change came in goal, as Leevi Merilainen provided vastly better goaltending than Mads Sogaard had the night before. Merilainen made a number of huge stops and had some luck on his side as well. No fewer than four Wild shots went off the post or crossbar and stayed out.
Combined with his two appearances before the holiday break, it’s pretty clear that Merilainen will be Green's new No. 1 until Linus Ullmark and Anton Forsberg return. He might even go back-to-back on Thursday and Friday.
2. Best New Line
The most intriguing new line combination was Brady Tkachuk, Shane Pinto, and Ridly Greig. That trio was like a hyper dog on a bone all night – skating, swarming, and barging. They were rewarded with the club's opening goal of the game, as Greig tied things at one early in the second period.
That might be a line we should expect to see more of moving forward.
3. Up N' Adam
Adam Gaudette had his best game in some time, skating with Stutzle and Batherson. While Gaudette's goal-scoring drought still hit nine games, he was all over the puck and got a decent bump in ice time. His eight shot attempts left him tied on the night with (checks notes) Travis Hamonic.
4. JBD Takes A Seat
The most surprising change was Jacob Bernard-Docker coming out of the lineup in favour of Nikolas Matinpalo, who’d been in Belleville all season. TSN 1200 radio reported that the change was not injury-related. Based on the new bottom-pairing's sparkling numbers on Sunday night, that change worked out so well, Green might decide to deploy them again later this week.
Tyler Kleven and Nik Matinpalo were on the ice for 13 shots for and one against (92.86 CF%), 6 shots on goal for, 1 against (85.71 SF%). Nice job by the third pairing tonight.
— Graeme Nichols (@GraemeNichols) December 30, 2024
5. In With The New
The win in Minnesota by the new-look Sens puts a nice wrap on their schedule for the 2024 calendar year. It's the first time the club will ring in the new year with a record over .500 since the 2016-2017 season. Going 11-4-1 in their last 15 games is also something to celebrate.
The Sens will only play twice in the next eight days. They're in Dallas on Thursday and St. Louis on Friday.
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