King for a Day

There are some very good reasons why I shouldn't be allowed to coach the Cornell hockey team. But, if the opportunity presented itself, here are the lines I would send out.

Greening/Gallagher/J. Devin
Kennedy/R. Nash/B. Nash
Miller/Collins/Roeszler or Jillson or Moulson
Nicholls/Scali/Kary or Axell

Birch/Krueger
D'Agostino/M. Devin
Whitney/Ross

The top line has been extremely productive this season and there's no reason to split it up. For the second line, we should stop asking B. Nash to play defense and put him on a forward line with Riley. He's good at carrying the puck into the zone, and this way he doesn't have to worry about being out of position in case there's a quick turnover. Plus, both he and Kennedy have decent size, so that might give Riley some room to maneuver.

Miller and Collins are both good enough to play every day, and either Roeszler or Jillson would logically fill the third spot on the third line. I would maybe cycle Chris Moulson in there just to give him a chance to play. For the fourth line, I would abandon the pre-season theme of "four lines of offense" and return to more of a traditional checking line. Scali and Nicholls start each game, with either Kary or Axell joining them.

Defensively, the Birch/Krueger pairing has been the most reliable so far this year, so I would start them. I would also leave Devin and D'Agostino together, and Ross would replace B. Nash for the third pairing.

Thoughts?