Slowly we inch towards the 23 man roster as more cuts were made on Thursday. Tippett has alluded to his intentions of having essentially a finished lineup by Sunday. That means that the next two games are crucial to those players on the bubble. Those who want to see more McDavid and Draisaitl will be dissapointed; expect instead to see more of the likes of Benson, McLeod, and Perlini.
Here is the lineup expected for tonight:
Hyman - Ryan - Yamamoto Perlini - Shore - Griffith Benson - McLeod - Sceviour Hamblin - Malone - Marody
Koekkoek - Barrie Broberg - Berglund Lagesson - Kemp
Skinner Rodrigue
It's fairly obvious that Hyman, Ryan, and Yamamoto are locks for the roster but I wonder if everyone else in this lineup has been placed to show where they currently rank in the coaches eyes? Benson has been steady overall but he isn't showing much offensive prowess, nor is Ryan McLeod. These two in particular had a chance to secure lineup positions by proving they could bring more offensive ability than the likes of Shore or Turris. So far that has not been the case and I wouldn't be surprised to see Tippett stick with his vets if this remains the case. This duo needs to get on the score sheet.
Perlini and Shore has shown well together but as pre-season continues the competition grows steeper. If Perlini keeps wiring the puck on net like he has I think he is a sure lock for the opening night roster.
Koekkoek and Barrie together isn't too interesting by itself but was is interesting is that Nurse and Bouchard have been taking reps together in practice. One of the knocks on Barrie's offense is the fact that most of it came with McDavid on the ice. If Bouchard can play well with Nurse and if Barrie can bring offense away from the McDavid line than that could go a long way in stabilizing the backend.
Duncan Keith is out of quarantine and today is the first day he is skating with the team. Tippett expects that the 38 year old will play in his first pre-season game on Monday.
Out of Perlini, Benson, McLeod, Sceviour, Turris, Shore, and Marody which four would you keep? Right now I would have to say Perlini, Benson, Shore, and Turris. McLeod in particular needs to do way more.