Kreider needs to be more assertive. That's most likely what this is all about. He needs to stop thinking so much and worrying about his play and just play the game. Mistakes will happen, but if he is playing tentative, it won't work.
It's part of the process.
I think this is certainly the thought process (no pun intended). And, while selfishly I'd prefer to watch Kreider and see how he does, I understand why the coaching staff is doing it. As someone said a couple of days ago, Miller is playing to stick and Kreider is playing not to be sent down. He needs to be kickstarted into more aggression.
The risk is the player's psyche - is he the type who will respond to this? Or will he lose confidence? Hoping that the coaching staff has his pulse right.
Very curious to see how this plays out. Don't forget that burning a year on Miller's contract kicks in if he plays another game after this one. Maybe this is his last hurrah and we see Kreids next game with Miller being sent back?
The most important thing? DON'T SEND KREIDER DOWN. What we do know is that KG kills offensive prospects. Miller IMO would be more inured to going down given his game, (what we know about) his personality and what he surely knows about his contractual situation.
My personal hope is that at the end of the day what we see is both Krieder and Miller playing with the guy in the pressbox rotating between Halpern, Asham and Boyle.
