New Lines against Phoenix

Jackets are at home in Nationwide tonight against Gretzky's not-so-great Coyotes. Phoenix has certainly had trials and tribulations this season, just as we have. They also traded away Mike Comrie to Ottawa. Comrie is a pretty good center, and a guy I always tried to pick up while playing various editions of EA Sports' NHL games.

If you're watching tonight's game, keep an eye out for some new lines and some CBJ players in new positions. Nash will be on the opposite wing (that means the right side for those not familiar) and Sergei Fedorov will move to the wing. He's still recovering from an elbow injury, so he's not so hot on the face off. Gilbert Brule will be back to center after spending a while on the wing too.

The lines will likely be as follows:
Modin - Brule - Nash
Fedorov - Svitov - Vyborny (the "smart line" according to Hitch)
Chimera - Malhotra - Fritsche (the line that's been hottest of late)
Shelley - Konopka - Carter

Interesting lines, huh? Hitch apparently has a thing for Konopka, so we'll be seeing plenty of him in coming games. I don't like seeing Carter all the way down on the 4th line though. I think he's more talented than that, but with the 3rd line magic we've witnessed and Fedorov out of center, there's no place for Anson anywhere else. Frankly, I think that 4th line would be at its best if they sat Shelley and brought up Picard, or another AHL stud.

Oh yeah, Leclaire may be back this week, so that should be helpful.