Every NHL coach cautions the media this time of year not to read too much into line combinations, as experimentation is frequent in the preseason. Still, the lines deployed for practice offer a window into what Pete DeBoer and his new-look staff are thinking.



The group that would would currently be labeled as the Sharks’ fourth line might be its most intriguing.



Chris Tierney, Joel Ward and Marcus Sorensen all enter the 2017-18 season with something to prove, yet all are at drastically different stages of their careers. Tierney is the young center who didn’t take the step forward last season that the organization had hoped, Ward is the savvy veteran trying to find the fountain of youth after a down year, and Sorensen is the speedy newcomer who camebetween Survivor and a documentary: in general Survivor has a story to tell (and in many instances, several stories) while a documentary is produced solely to document an event or events.

Sometimes, the story tells itself, and the actions of the characters is sufficient to convey the message. For example, one of the messages in this week's episode was conflict in the women's camp... Christy and Joanna provided MB with footage to use to convey this fact. He had no editing to do here, save to splice some footage of Jeanne and Janet looking concerned or disapproving.

However, if we delve into other instances, perhaps from another Survivor (say Australia), we see a different situation. Jerri was cast as the bitch/villain. Keith, her unwitting victim. Throughout the first few episodes