Coaches look for combinations which will work in a number of ways. Here are some combos within the club's new lines which show promise for a variety of reasons.
Alex Tuch playing with Mark Stone gives one of the best minds in the NHL the opportunity to play with a fast, powerful player with the ability to finish. Stone freed Tuch up for a semi-breakaway which resulted in a goal on Monday night. Stone sees things on the ice often before anyone else and Tuch will be the beneficiary of his linemates hockey smarts. Tuch will also have the opportunity to learn a lot about the 200-foot game from Stone.
Placing Cody Glass between veterans Max Pacioretty and Reilly Smith creates a line with a little bit of everything. Glass is smart center who can distribute the puck and Pacioretty is one of the NHL's best shooters. Smith is quietly one of the NHL's best two-way forwards with speed, hockey IQ and finish.
Having William Karlsson and Jonathan Marchessault on your third line screams balance. Karlsson and Marchessault will generate offense and having youngster Nic Roy on the wing gives the line a second center. Roy is already an effective defensive forward but playing with creative players like Karlsson and Marchessault could help breakout the offensive side of his game.
Hart Trophy: " The Hart Memorial Trophy is an annual award given "to the player adjudged to be the most valuable to his team." The winner is selected in a poll of the Professional Hockey Writers' Association in all NHL cities at the end of the regular season," - NHL.com
Depending on where one lives and what games they are watching this season where there is only divisional play, discussions for the league's MVP trophy are very interesting. In Toronto, it's Auston Matthews. In Edmonton, Connor McDavid gets most of the buzz but Leon Draisaitl gets some too. Patrick Kane has the left-for-dead Chicago Blackhawks in a playoff spot.
After watching the Colorado Avalanche and Vegas Golden Knights play four games against each other recently the names Marc-Andre Fleury and Nathan MacKinnon would be on any list I was compiling.
