"The Vegas Golden Knights made arguably the biggest headline of the offseason acquiring star forward Mitch Marner. Now, it's time to figure out how to arrange the top six in order to put the strongest lineup on the ice for opening night. Head coach Bruce Cassidy has quite the task in front of him with a seemingly endless number of line combinations that could reasonably play together."
"It's extremely enticing to envision a Vegas lineup where two of the league's most elite skaters in Jack Eichel and Mitch Marner are paired up on the top line. It's what everyone has been waiting to see since the sign-and-trade with the Toronto Maple Leafs was executed in June. They are both evasive skaters who can analyze plays on the fly and effortlessly create chances for themselves and their linemates, finding gaps in coverage to convert on scoring opportunities."
"The simplest solution to that is putting Pavel Dorofeyev on the left wing. The 24-year-old forward led the team with a career-high 35 goals last season, totalling 52 points in 82 games. He employs a shoot-first mentality that resulted in him headlining the Knights with 254 shots on goal -- 19 more than the second-place Eichel in four fewer minutes of time on ice per game."
The team acquired star forward Mitch Marner and must now arrange the top six to field the strongest opening-night lineup. Head coach Bruce Cassidy faces numerous potential line combinations that will likely rotate over an 82-game season. Two primary strategies exist for optimizing offensive weapons: concentrate elite playmakers on one top line or distribute talent across multiple lines. Pairing Jack Eichel and Mitch Marner creates potent playmaking but raises a shooting need. Pavel Dorofeyev profiles as a shoot-first finisher, leading the team with 35 goals, 52 points, and 254 shots on goal last season.
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