Biggest adjustments I would make for Game 3:
1. Gus over Fleury. This is obvious. Dean tried it and found out. Over and done with, but should definitely be remembered this offseason if the Wild lose in the 1st round. At some point the coach needs to be accountable for Bill Guerin's "it's about ****ing winning" comment. Guerin had a FANTASTIC deadline. This team has depth. Self inflicted wounds are throwing those superb moves down the drain. And if the "rumblings" that Guerin signed off on Fleury starting, then he deserves a lot of blame as well.
2. Nyquist on the wing opposite of Kaprizov. Zucc has not been good. I don't know if he needs a rest or if he's hurt or age is just taking it's toll. We need to see at least one game of Kaprizov with someone else. It's not going to be Boldy or Johansson, because we need some semblance of two scoring lines. So that leaves either Nyquist or Sundqvist. Nyquist is by far the best fit and honestly, his point totals and play driving deserve more time on ice.
3. Take Foligno off the second line. Foligno barely deserves to be in the lineup, let alone in the top 6. He's too slow. He's not skilled. He's your prototypical third liner. Get him away from any scoring line. Duhaime would have been a better option than Foligno. The smart move would be to have Gaudreau center that line. I don't know how we go into a game with Steel at 1C and Boldy, playing center for his first full game, at 2C
4. Swap Merrill out for Goligoski. Goligoski is more of an offensive dman, and he should get a game.
5. Hope to god that Hartman and Eriksson Ek are ready to go.
My ideal lineup:
Kaprizov-Hartman-Nyquist
Boldy-Eriksson Ek-Johansson
Sundqvist-Gaudreau-Zuccarello
Duhaime-Dewar-Reaves
Brodin-Dumba
Middleton-Spurgeon
Goligoski-Faber
Gus
Fleury