The St. Louis Blues are currently the healthiest they have been all season long. As silly as it sounds, that welcome and exciting news does create its fair share of headaches and issues.
Head coach Mike Yeo is charged with determining how to piece together a lineup that seemingly has a multitude of options, but no easy answers.
When asked about his lineup, Yeo told STLToday that he plans to use a revolving group for the foreseeable future.
“We’ve got a lot of games coming up in this next little stretch. We could win 10 games in a row and we’re going to be switching players in and out. That’s the way it’s going to be because we have to keep everybody involved and I think that competition for our group is going to be good.”
Yeo is in a tough spot when it comes to selecting who plays each night. It may not be fair to bring up intangibles, but the idea of chemistry seems to be a very real, difficult item to measure in the NHL. Though the Blues will need to call on their depth during difficult stretches, they can’t go overboard and ruin any chemistry developing on the ice. Yeo having options is a happy problem that still needs to be handled delicately.
It’s important to keep players engaged. No one wants to sit out game after game, particularly if the team is doing well. That being said, the Blues have to be extremely careful with how they handle their depth. Tinkering with a lineup too much can cause or create plenty of new issues.
A revolving lineup can make sense and can keep players fresh and engaged – if it’s used correctly.
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
