MVP Line

The MVP Line of Martins Karsums, Vladimir Sobotka, and Pascal Pelletier was the most dominant threesome of Providence's 7-1 Game 2 rout of Portland.

For Sobotka, everything is unfolding as planned so far.

Sobotka, mostly a fourth-line center with the big club, was assigned to Providence for the playoffs so he could see top-line minutes and work on his offensive game to complement his grit.

Sobotka and his mates were around the net all day, with the 20-year-old center assisting on Karsums's second goal. Sobotka recorded three shots, was a plus-1, and was finishing his checks well into garbage time in the third period.

"We want him to play the same game he played up there," said coach Scott Gordon. "But he knows he's in an offensive role. He plays on the power play. You can see he's got skill. He's a guy who makes good, hard, tape-to-tape passes. He's got great vision. He can find people. He's getting some opportunities too. He did that down here earlier. It's unfortunate that he didn't get the full year here to do that and take that confidence with him. It's like, 'You had a great year up there. You did more than anybody ever expected. Now let's see if you can put some offense in there too.' "

If he gains offensive confidence, Sobotka can take that into the offseason and bring it with him to training camp, knowing that he can do more than add sandpaper on the fourth line.

"Sometimes when you play that role up in the NHL, you lose your confidence and get tentative when you start to make mistakes," Gordon said. "You don't want to play with the puck as much. Now when you make a mistake, you have the luxury of knowing you're going to get right back out there. We don't want him to be reckless. He hasn't been. He's got great hockey intelligence."