No J.P. Dumont for the Dallas game, so what will the Predators do?

by Dirk Hoag on Oct 13, 2009 3:11 PM EDT

With word coming today from Bryan Mullen at The Tennessean that J.P. Dumont will not make the trip to Dallas for tomorrow night's game, the question on the minds of many Preds fans is sure to be, "how will the lines look?"

After last night's 6-1 drubbing by Edmonton, head coach Barry Trotz mentioned in his post-game press conference that perhaps the pairing of David Legwand and Martin Erat needs to be broken up. The two, who are the highest-paid players on the team this season, have yet to register even a single assist between them, and Legwand in particular seemed to be singled out by Trotz for criticism, as he skated for only 13:48 last night, less two guys fresh off of groin injuries (Joel Ward with 16:32 and Colin Wilson at 16:41).

So what options does Barry have to juggle the existing lineup? Let's look at a few options after the jump...

Martin Erat

#10 / Left Wing / Nashville Predators

Height: 6-0

Weight: 203

Born: Aug 29, 1981

	GP	G	A	P	+/-	PIM	PPG	SHG	GWG	GTG	SOG	PCT
2009 - Martin Erat	4	0	0	0	-2	4	0	0	0	0	8	0.0

David Legwand

#11 / Center / Nashville Predators

Height: 6-2

Weight: 202

Born: Aug 17, 1980

	GP	G	A	P	+/-	PIM	PPG	SHG	GWG	GTG	SOG	PCT
2009 - David Legwand	4	0	0	0	-3	2	0	0	0	0	6	0.0

Put either Legwand or Erat on the top line?

The idea here is to jump-start one of these guys by pairing him with Jason Arnott and Steve Sullivan. Last season, a temporary move to the wing seemed to help David Legwand escape a scoring funk, but does the team really want to break up the one unit that is actually working well? Both Arnott and Patric Hornqvist have 5 points in 4 games, and Sully generates quality scoring chances every game.

Center Colin Wilson between Legwand and Erat?

Colin Wilson looked very good last night, but is it too early to put him in a pressure spot centering these two? Worse yet, will their stone-cold hands rub off on the rookie?

Banish one of them to the 4th line?

How about burying one of them on the 4th line in an attempt to shame them into getting more aggressive offensively? Marcel Goc has shown decent two-way effort so far, so let him anchor one line, followed by Colin Wilson and Guite on the 3rd and 4th. If it works, you can always move Leggy or Erat back up during the game.

Healthy scratch?

The ultimate shame would be for one of these guys to stand in the press box and watch while the rest of the team carries on the fight.

So what do you think, Preds fans? Jeremy at Section 303 and Mark from The View From 111 also run through some of these options, and I think we can all agree that there are no glaringly obvious choices right now.

Poll

What should Barry Trotz do to boost Nashville's offense?

Sullivan - Arnott - Erat as the top line

11 votes

Sullivan - Arnott - Legwand as the top line

7 votes

Erat - Wilson - Legwand as a 2nd line

16 votes

Santorelli - Wilson - Erat on 2nd, move Legwand further down

11 votes

Santorelli - Wilson - Legwand, move Erat down

26 votes

Scratch Erat

13 votes

Scratch Legwand

11 votes

95 votes | Poll has closed

Tweet Comment 8 comments | 0 recs |

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Comments

line combos

leave hornqvist on 1st line w/ arnott and sully. he will go to the net( see thursday night). leave ward and wilson together and add either erat( im actually fine w/ scratching him) or have leggy on the wing. he played well there last year. we need to split erat and leggy. they are both pass 1st players. 3rd line is goc, jones and santorelli/erat/legwand. and for dallas smithers, guite and grant on the 4th line. grant needs to find robidas.

by predswilrule on Oct 13, 2009 3:46 PM EDT reply actions

1st line remains the same, shuffle from there...

Arnott and Sullivan are on record as saying that they were guaranteed that as long as the three of them are healthy, that they would be playing together with Dumont. I would bet with that power already yielded, that they in turn get to choose their replacement linemate as well. Don’t see them giving up Hornqvist until JP is back…

Sullivan – Arnott – Hornqvist
Erat – Wilson – Ward
Santorelli – Legwand – Jones
Smithson – Goc – Guite/Belak

Predators Hockey: Live it, Love it...

by Seth Lake on Oct 13, 2009 5:12 PM EDT up reply actions

I like those lines

by Lil cutie on Oct 14, 2009 12:59 PM EDT up reply actions

Poll is invalid...

Without a “None of the Above” option, the poll is invalid as it doesn’t address all the possibilities…

Predators Hockey: Live it, Love it...

by Seth Lake on Oct 13, 2009 5:13 PM EDT reply actions

That’s what the comments are for!

More fun than a stick to the face!
On the Forecheck is SB Nation's blog covering the Nashville Predators.

by Dirk Hoag on Oct 13, 2009 8:35 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions

Legwand needs a kick in the pants...

I say to myself every year, “break out season for Legwand, its gotta happen”
I think something drastic needs to happen, and personally a healthy scratch for Legwand is a good idea. I don’t see that determination and drive that the rest of the team portrays. He has been here since the beginning and has become too comfortable with his roll and paycheck. There is absolutely no reason why he should not be a huge leader, portray enthusiasm as a Predator, and put up the points we all know he is capable of. I see random sparks here and there of greatness here and there(his shootout goal against Dallas the other night was amazing) and little leadership on the team. Does he need to become more consistent? YES. Can he put up more points than he does? YES. Give him the healthy scratch.

by Smashvillian on Oct 13, 2009 5:51 PM EDT reply actions