Faceoff Factor

Therrien Keeps Lines, But For How Long?

Matt Bodenschatz | Pittsburgh Penguins

Nov 2, 08:10 AM | Hype this story!

Pittsburgh Penguins coach Michel Therrien is the first to admit he juggles his lines often.

But, while many see this as a poor management method, Therrien believes it is the best way to win.

The results vary, and the overall picture tends to show players missing assignments, making poor line changes (which lead to penalties), and entering prolonged slumps.

So maybe that is why, for the second consecutive game, Therrien kept relatively the same lineup, with two exceptions: Mark Recchi replaced Erik Christensen on the second line and Jarrko Ruutu replaced Recchi on the fourth line. Christensen was benched.

After a season and a half of line juggling, it seems improbable to expect Therrien to simply stop, but his comments in yesterday’s Pittsburgh Post-Gazette seem to indicate he might.

“I really like that combination,” Therrien said to Shelly Anderson, referring to the top line of Ryan Malone, Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin.

Those are words few would expect out of his mouth. But this next statement may be even more of a shocker.

“I think the more they play together, the more they get a feel for each other. It’s a new position for [Malkin] to play on the wing, but we think it’s a good combination.”

This completely contradicts everything he seemingly has stood for during his tenure as head coach of the Penguins.

Could this be a sign that Therrien has changed his thought process?

The answer is no. Look no further than the simple movement of promoting Recchi and benching Christensen, while reintroducing Ruutu. This came just two days after the Penguins won convincingly in Minnesota.

So maybe a little birdie (general manager Ray Shero) sent a message to the coach, suggesting a little consistency might be nice.

And, if this is the case, it may not be the first time in less than a week that it has happened.

In Saturday’s Post-Gazette, Therrien defended Recchi’s play of late, saying he is slumping and needs time to regain his form.

“I want to be fair and give [Recchi] a good chance,” Therrien said to Dave Molinari. “The reason is he had such great chemistry with Sid last year. They were playing well together.”

But when the Penguins took the ice for Saturday’s game against the Montreal Canadiens, Recchi had been demoted to the fourth line alongside Tyler Kennedy (making his NHL debut) and Adam Hall (a grinder and defensive forward).

Therrien’s comments to the paper sure didn’t coincide with his decision to demote Recchi from the first line to the fourth line.

The real test, however, will come tomorrow night as the Penguins faceoff against the New York Islanders.

Typical Therrien style would be to realign the lines to compensate for last night’s loss and/or to adjust to the new opponent.

However, if Shero has, indeed, sent a message, we likely won’t see many — if any — changes in the line formations.

And if that is the case, the chances of Therrien remaining in Pittsburgh for long aren’t very good.