Ralph Krueger: In The Driver’s Seat

Unlike a lot of assistant/associate coach promotions, we’ve had a chance to see what a Ralph Krueger run bench looks like. During his time filling in for Tom Renney, how did he arrange his forward lines and how did he use them?

The following shows the line combinations that Krueger used at even-strength in the five games in which he was the main man behind the bench (the dates are via mc79hockey). I’ve ranked the lines be even-strength ice-time, and looked at how each was deployed with the phenomenal tools available at timeonice.com.

How they were used: This was a road game, so Krueger didn’t control the matchups, but looking back through the shift charts and head-to-head ice-time it looks like what he tried to do was get the Horcoff line out in a checking role against the Kessle/Lupul duo. When he couldn’t get the Horcoff line out, the Nugent-Hopkins line – sensibly, given the veteran wingers – was the go-to choice. The Gagner line primarily saw depth opponents. Krueger also did his best to get the Nugent-Hopkins line on the ice in the offensive zone.

The Lines

How they were used: the top line was on the ice against either Colorado’s own top unit (Ryan O’Reilly, Gabriel Landeskog and Mark Olver) or against the Avs’ checking line centered by Jay McClement. The Belanger trio took on Colorado’s “second” line of Paul Stastny, Milan Hejduk and Daivd Jones, while the Horcoff trio got whatever was left. The fourth line was barely used at all.

How they were used: For the majority of the game the Horcoff line was designated to shadow Sedin/Sedin/Burrows. If the Horcoff line wasn’t available, that task went to the Belanger trio. Belanger and Horcoff both also saw significant minutes against the Kesler line. The Gagner line had an excellent game in the loss, and saw a fair bit of Kesler but also some time against the weaker Malhotra and Hodgson lines. The trio centered on Lander mostly drew Hodgson as an opponent.

How they were used: In one of the Oilers most dominant outings this season, the Gagner line went head-to-head against Tanguay/Jokinen/Iginla. Beyond that the flames lines are a bit of a mess, but the Horcoff unit mostly drew Mike Cammalleri, Belanger’s line played largely against Stajan, and the fourth lines played against each other. Gagner’s line got the advantage of a bunch of offensive zone starts.

How they were used: Beyond the fact that the Horcoff line saw a lot of Claude Giroux, the matchups were something of a mess. Interestingly, the Gagner line got a lot of work in the defensive zone, something that had not been the norm in Krueger’s previous games. Hordichuk saw minimal ice-time and when he was off the ice Eric Belanger was the most frequent replacement, which only really makes sense if the Lander/Petrell pairing were being used in a defensive role.

It was interesting for me to go back and see what Krueger had done with the Oilers’ lines when he was in charge behind the bench, but it’s pretty hard to make any grand proclamations about his tendencies based on just five games. He opted for both an old-school checking line and then for a more balanced approach at various times while he was running the bench, so he could go with either (or both) next season and it wouldn’t really be a surprise.

As for individual players, there are some interesting things here. It’s important not to read too much into it – we’re looking at a five-game stretch with players like Nugent-Hopkins out of the lineup for the bulk of the games – but a few things stand out. Ryan Jones was a healthy scratch after the Vancouver game; he spent the last two games of Krueger’s tenure in the press box. Shawn Horcoff and Sam Gagner both got better minutes under Krueger than they did for much of Renney’s time, though of course Nugent-Hopkins was hurt and that played into things.

Individually, I think the loss against Vancouver is the most interesting game. Facing a lineup far tougher than his own, and with home-ice advantage, Krueger opted for two checking lines, one primary offensive unit and a fourth line with the potential to add some kick. Reading into those decisions a little bit, it’s as if Krueger’s strategy was to hope that the Horcoff/Belanger units could weather the storm against Vancouver’s tougher lines, and that either the Gagner vs. Hodgson or the Lander vs. the fourth-line matchups would chip in enough offense for the Oilers to squeak past. It didn’t work, but it does strike me as a sensible approach, though there’s the risk of not using Hemsky as much as his talents would dictate.