BRIDGEPORT — To Bridgeport Sound Tigers coach Dan Marshall, there's nothing off about it. When the Sound Tigers line up in practice, their regular lines feature no fewer than five out of eight wingers on what hockey folks call their "off wing." That's a right-handed shot on the left side, or a lefty on the right. Robert Nilsson doesn't think of it that way, though. The right side is all right for him. "I don't care if I have to take the puck on the backhand, on the forehand," said Nilsson, a left-handed shot who played right wing opening night and most of his Bridgeport tenure last year. "There's so many more options coming from the right side as the left. Back home (in Sweden), that's more (common) than here."

It's rare for players never to have skated their off-wing. In fact, all of the Sound Tigers who are there now have done it before.

It's less common, though, to deliberately set up lines that way, and that's what Marshall said he hoped to do early in the season, with games tonight at Hartford and Saturday at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. "I like to get guys out of their comfort zone," Marshall said. "There might be a point in time where right wing or left wing is open. If you can't play right wing and you're a left-handed shot (you're not going to play)."

Though Marshall kept his lines fluid during the game, players frequently ended up on their off-wings, anyway. "I love it. It's my favorite position. I'd rather play the right than the left," left-handed Steve

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Regier said. "You get better chances to capitalize."

Players on their off-wing may need to take and give passes on the backhand. It's sometimes harder to pull the puck off the boards.

What they lose there, they gain in shooting angle, particularly once a team sets up in the offensive zone. "You could see it through the '90s, one-timers were the only way to beat the goalies starting a few years ago," Marshall said. The Sound Tigers' feelings seemed to range from the "It's not a big deal" feeling Jason Pitton has — Pitton said he played about half of his junior career on each wing — to Regier and Nilsson's flat-out enthusiasm. "It's a good advantage, I feel, on the off-wing to open up and make those types of plays," Regier said. It's an enthusiasm Marshall shares. "Rebounds are going to come out like crazy," Marshall said. "I like to see that one-timer. You see (Brendan) Shanahan, you see (Jaromir) Jagr. ... You see Jeff Hamilton. Guys can do that."

Bridgeport adds one more offensive weapon for tonight's game, as the New York Islanders assigned winger Jeff Tambellini to the Sound Tigers. Tambellini skated for Bridgeport in the playoffs but didn't play a regular-season game here after being acquired in a March 8 trade. Bridgeport Sound Tigers at Hartford Wolf Pack

WHEN — Tonight, 7

WHERE — Hartford Civic Center

ON THE AIR — No radio; Webcast and B2 Networks Internet pay-per-view at www.soundtigers.com

RECORDS — Bridgeport 1-0-0-0; Hartford 0-1-0-0

SEASON SERIES — First meeting of 10. The Wolf Pack won 7-3 with two shootout wins last season. LAST MEETING — Hartford won 5-1 at home April 15. ABOUT THE SOUND TIGERS — Bridgeport opened the season with a 5-3 win Sunday at Binghamton. ... The Sound Tigers are 2-6-1-1 in their last 10 games at Hartford. ... LW Jeff Tambellini came down Thursday from the New York Islanders. ... D Ryan Caldwell (shoulder) and RW Brandon Cullen (concussion) are out. ABOUT THE WOLF PACK — Hartford lost its opener 3-2 to Springfield and former Hartford Whalers G Sean Burke. ... RW Hugh Jessiman of Darien scored one goal; D Marvin Degon scored the other. ... G Stephen Valiquette, the former Sound Tiger, is back with Hartford after a year in Russia. UP NEXT — Saturday at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, 7:05 p.m.

— MICHAEL FORNABAIO