Red Wings Still Holding Casting Call For Top Line

This season, the Detroit Red Wings are discovering what a lot of people learn the hard way. Threesomes may look good on paper, but often, the dream doesn’t equal the reality.

We’re talking about the club’s top forward unit here. Why, what were you thinking?

“Razor and Dylan are probably going to be a pair that play together for a long, long time,” Red Wings coach Todd McLellan assessed of Lucas Raymond and captain Dylan Larkin, who compose two-third of the club’s No. 1 forward line.

Four-game goal streak for the Captain!#LGRW pic.twitter.com/2Wn9GXwz8W

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As to who completes this trio, that is still a work in progress . . . and may continue to be for quite some time.

In Tuesday’s 3-2 overtime win against the Ottawa Senators, Joe Veleno started out with the unit. By game’s end, rookie Marco Kasper was skating with Raymond and Larkin.

“Joey and Marco, just a quick change,” McLellan explained. “Sometimes it’s not about whether the players are playing well or poor. Sometimes when a coach does that, it just wakes people up.

“Not those two individuals. Everybody.”

Red Wings Two-Thirds Approach Common In NHL Line Combinations

Long gone are the days of the six-team NHL and line combinations that stayed together for so long they acquired nicknames like the Production Line, Punch Line, or GAG Line.

Expansion would ultimately change that aspect of the game as more and more teams coming into existence further diluted the talent pool across numerous rosters.

“I like to keep lines in pairs and then rotate different individuals through,” McLellan said, a trait that’s commonplace on NHL teams.

Who makes it a threesome isn’t so much about chemistry as it is about circumstances.

ANTON FORSBERG JUST ROBBED MARCO KASPER 🤯 pic.twitter.com/pn8abctU4g

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“Well, there’s different elements that are needed on different nights,” McLellan said. “(Tuesday) we were trying to play Dylan’s line against (Ottawa’s Tim) Stutzle, so that’s a little more speed and pace. And if (Ottawa captain Brady) Tkachuk was there, then maybe you need somebody bigger and more size.

“That could be Ras (Michael Rasmussen) or whoever else.”

Rasmussen, Veleno, Kasper, Alex DeBrincat and Vladimir Tarasenko have all taken shifts lined up alongside Larkin and Raymond this season. Each brings a unique element to the trio.

“Joey Veleno’s provided a tremendous amount of speed,” McLellan said. “I thought Marco, when he went up there, he provided speed and tempo and had some scoring chances.

“But we may play them against another team where the size and the heaviness is needed.  So I can’t paint that line into a pure box. It could change all the time.

“They’re our best players. They’re going to play the most, so they need somebody that will complement them.”

Figuring out who best completes the trio is going to be an ongoing and oft-changing process.

Hey, but as Meat Loaf once warbled in song, two out of three ain’t bad.