Detroit Red Wings head coach Todd McLellan has put the club's line combinations in a blender ahead of Monday evening's tilt against the Ottawa Senators.
Saturday afternoon's 4-1 setback against the Pittsburgh Penguins was arguably the most listless performance in recent memory for the Detroit Red Wings.
There was little to no on-ice cohesion between the players, who as a whole managed only 12 registered shots on goal, the first of which didn't come until the opening 20 minutes of play was already well half over.
In response, head coach Todd McLellan wasted no time putting the line combinations into a blender during their subsequent practice early Sunday afternoon.
Marco Kasper, who began Saturday’s game on the third line, was elevated to the first line, along with Elmer Soderblom, who had been a healthy scratch; Dylan Larkin remained in the top center position.
Lucas Raymond, a fixture on the first line for much of the season, was moved to the third line with James van Riemsdyk and J.T. Compher, while rookie Emmitt Finnie, who has also spent significant time on the top line, skated on line four.
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Detroit's official forward line combinations for Sunday's practice were as follows:
Kasper-Larkin-Soderblom
DeBrincat-Copp-Kane
van Riemsdyk-Compher-Raymond
Finnie-Rasmussen-Appleton
It's a meaningful shift in response to Detroit's poor performance against the Penguins on Saturday.
It looks as though Kasper, who has gone through a prolonged offensive slump with only three goals and assists each in 42 games played this season, will get a chance to try and get his game back in order playing alongside Larkin.
Soderblom will get another chance in Detroit's top-six, as he'd previously skated alongside Larkin on the club's top line during Training Camp and parts of the pre-season.
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