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Lindy Ruff warned there would be some changes in the locker room. The players just didn’t think their head coach was being so literal.
The defensemen were all placed next to each other, displacing forwards Adam Mair, Jason Pominville and Tim Connolly.
Connolly’s stall was moved between two centermen in Matt Ellis and Derek Roy while Mair and Pominville were moved between Thomas Vanek and Jochen Hecht.
Paul Gaustad sat between Clarke MacArthur and Vanek while Drew Stafford was placed next to fellow Rochester American teammates Nathan Paetsch and Dan Paille.
“It’s something I’ve thought about for a long time and a decision we made as coaches,” Ruff said. “That might not be the end of the changes. There may be some other stalls moved.”
“I like the change,” Pominville said. “The defense are one one side and the forwards on the other. That’s the way it should be.”
Connolly’s stall was moved between two centermen in Matt Ellis and Derek Roy while Mair and Pominville were moved between Thomas Vanek and Jochen Hecht.
Paul Gaustad sat between Clarke MacArthur and Vanek while Drew Stafford was placed next to fellow Rochester American teammates Nathan Paetsch and Dan Paille.
“It’s something I’ve thought about for a long time and a decision we made as coaches,” Ruff said. “That might not be the end of the changes. There may be some other stalls moved.”
“I like the change,” Pominville said. “The defense are one one side and the forwards on the other. That’s the way it should be.”
Most noticeably was the shift Ruff made dropping Hecht down to the fourth line between Dan Paille and Andrew Peters.
“I was disappointed in the play of some of our key centerman and Jochen was one them,” Ruff said. “We need him to be better. I told him that face-to-face and he can’t hide from it. He has to be better… Derek [Roy] has to be better.”
Roy centered Vanek and Stafford during practice Wednesday afternoon. The shift left Pominville to play alongside MacArthur and Ellis.
The remaining line consisted of Ales Kotalik, Gaustad and Nathan Gerbe.
“I was disappointed in the play of some of our key centerman and Jochen was one them,” Ruff said. “We need him to be better. I told him that face-to-face and he can’t hide from it. He has to be better… Derek [Roy] has to be better.”
Roy centered Vanek and Stafford during practice Wednesday afternoon. The shift left Pominville to play alongside MacArthur and Ellis.
The remaining line consisted of Ales Kotalik, Gaustad and Nathan Gerbe.
Mair was absent from the skate after hurting his knee in Tuesday’s game against the Capitals.
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