Reichel better be in next game. Maroon was absolute ass.
How would you slot him in? I don't like LR's lines because as long as the better vets stay healthy they have enough talent to run three o-capable lines, but LR seems to minimize the o capabilities of the bottom two lines by who he is icing.
The Hawks did score outside the first line tonight which is good, but in the limited sample size of five games they're only on pace for 208 GF. If the Hawks wanna win (?) this season they gotta score more on average and that means LR has to rejigger the lines if the guys can't generate more GFs in the current configuration going forward from tonight.
My take is make a hockey decision that's best for the team long term and stick to it. At this stage in the rebuild maximizing the talent pool is the order of the day so the hockey decision would seem to me to ice all the guys who can score so (as in the case of the vets on expiring contracts or Reichel) they can be moved now or at the TDL for more assets (hopefully).
Reichel did not outplay Maroon
The Hawks won't win many games if they don't up the scoring pace. I'm not saying they won't, but playing Maroon every night is one way to make sure they don't up the pace. Do the Hawks really need two d-first o-challenged lines at this point in the rebuild? They're not prepping for the late rounds of the playoffs at this stage.