Nashville Predators: 3 Things That Have Stood Out from Training Camp
By Chad Minton
Hynes turning back the clock
There’s no reason to overthink this too much when it comes to constructing the line combinations in preparation for the Arizona Coyotes. Now isn’t the time for experimenting with new lines and hoping you find lightning in a bottle.
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You can’t argue against this simple approach of putting players together who have familiarity and have produced positive results regularly in the past, which is what Hynes is looking for per a quote from Brooks Bratten’s piece on the team’s official website:
"“[Johansen, Arvidsson and Forsberg] have played well together, and people are coming off fresh from their breaks and we’d like some chemistry.”"
Hynes has been putting together familiar lines, with the most notable one being the classic JoFA line of Filip Forsberg, Ryan Johansen and Viktor Arvidsson. This line was dismantled in favor of shaking up the top line and pairing Matt Duchene with Forsberg.
The lineup became a blender after that, and now Hynes is smartly trying to recapture that chemistry from the past. He’s also keeping Nick Bonino, Craig Smith and Rocco Grimaldi together. Another line that has shown consistent success in the past.
More can develop out of this as training camp continues, and nothing is set in stone. We’ll have a more clear idea of if this is truly what Hynes plans to go with against Arizona after the exhibition game against the Dallas Stars.