89Again

I am going to mix things up here. Benny has a big heart and we are low on big hearts!! No 1. He has looked good at times this season. He looks better with Ryan and Mangi. This line should have been given more time after a great first game. Mind you Quin is doing an admiral job and the Backlund line is better with Mangi so I get it. No 2. He is unbelievable unlucky. Call me crazy but I am pretty superstitious. He started with number 63 and should return to it. If you follow Chinese numerology 9 is very unlucky for him. Worth a shot. No 3. His stick looks as long as Janko’s and he looks slower with it. Often getting caught at release. Maybe he thought he needed it longer for D reasons maybe it’s not longer? If your a guy who bangs in front don’t you need to be a bit quick in tight with the stick? He also still has incredible passing skill in traffic. Is an inch shorter worth a shot in practice? No 4. Can he see over the Stache? No 5. The team plays better when he’s in the game. No. 6. He looks pumped but is he trying to be the power forward when he should be working on speed training. He probably thinks he needs to be tough because he has been the toughest guy on the team. Sad. He has been brutally mismanaged. No 7. I have been a huge supporter and will continue to do so for a bit but I am concerned. They need to stabilize his line mates for a while and look at all facets of training on and off the ice and if there is no grand improvement then we need to move effort to others.

Its nice to see him get the credit he deserves- many people on these boards were slamming him and he has shown how wrong they are. Great in traffic, great at going to the net, great on the boards, tough and a great teammate. Scoring has not been what we wanted to date but he has also not had linemates and ice time. We must have a guy like Mr Bennett on the team he desrves more credit because he has and is persevering.

Agreed - When you have Chucks and JH on left and if SB is not ready to move to centre (he will eventually). Then you need to play him at RW for a while. He will gain confidence with Backs and Chucky and will eventually prosper - just watch! Really like this move by BP - he’s on to it!

Very happy to see him get a goal but was as impressed with the number of chances we generated with him on the ice. He also was on the ice for Lindholm’s and was a useful screen. I wouldnt start moving him around much though, He seems to be developing some comfort so lets leave him there for a while. I have been knocking Backlund recently but saw some good play from him last night. In closing, I liked last nights lineup. Nice to see Janko and Hathaway. the 1:1 reference above I think is pretty accurate. He seems to be making more of an effort to pass and then head to the net. Instead of trying to do everything solo. really like the overall look of the team - happy for Rittirich also, he must have been crapping himselfoff the start!

I have to agree with this one, he cant really catcha break. The wrister from the wing to beat MS should not have gone in. He has had 2 goals disallowed in two games after finally getting some minutes. Backlunds goal only happens because he is crashing the net. Seriously, I am actually laughing at the poor guys luck but if he keeps playing this way its going to happen. There is still upside in him relative to trade value.

Credit where credit is due; It appears that Mr Peters is going to give him a shot up the lineup. Can.t ask for more than that. SB has looked good and now he has a shot with a playmaker and a shooter. Its up to him now. Sure like what I am seeing but still am not sure on Backlund.

Your pp minutes point is very valid. I am not basing this on one game. My point was more out of concern that another coach is not going to see value in the spark SB can provide. We have limited true hard nosed heart guys like SB and MT that bring it regularly. In the case of Baklund I dont see a high enough skill level and I dont see the same level of Compete. He has been the no.2 center for a long time and maybe thats the issue. Dube looks great, there is much more skill out there this year so SB needs to pick up his socks but I am worried that we are going to trade him and not get value. His drive is top, his puck skill in traffic also very good’ passing good’ just some issues on finish and I think thats confidence. BT did a good job this summer, I like where we are at now, but have a concern on toughness and compete and that fits SB’s profile. If he knows hes solid on the team a fixture on a third line with some PP time, I think he stops trying so hard and excels.

This guy has been screwed by coaching ever since Hartley depArted. He has played with a revolving door of poor 4th liners and now gets the least ice time on the team and still is generating shots and hits. The problem is he needs to make his linemates better or its difficult to move him up the lineup. With JH and Chucky ahead of him its very difficult on LW. I would like to know if he can play right wing maybe with Dube and Ryan. I also would like to know if others question Backlunds ability as a second line center. Its one thing to be able to play against other top line centers but we need him to be more dynamic offensively and unfortunately I dont see it and its clear Froliks days are numbered. I would like to see Sam get more ice time perhaps with Chucky and Neal, perhaps on the right wing. Bennett does not play on the periphery he presses’ we need more of this.