travel_dude

And with that shift, we take a penalty.

My bad, I thought Lucic was one the ice more. Stapled to the bench so far.

Is this game a reverse retro where we suck in the 1st and are a comeback machine in the 3rd?

Vladar is looking a lot better.

Hit the net please.

55 looks like 73 to blind refs.

Why is Hanifin out on the top unit? Never mind, Kadri in the room. High sticked.

PP time. Powerplay that is. Jarry with the shutout. Perfect for Malkin day

Sutter and his line usage is getting to me. I don't mind the use of the bench, but it's not like the 4th line should get 4 shifts in the first 10 minutes.

Please direct him to the dressing room

And we put out the 4th line after they were just scored on?

Maybe we get a break from the called off goal?

Maybe call it back?

4th line owned

I was watching the chamge of possession and wondered why the C left the ice. Worst time to do it.

It's the type of goal we get scored on. Neither goalie is great on that spot. But it's hard to always have to be ready when you sit for weeks.

Holy Hanna what a poor change by the Flames. Kadri bails leading to an open man. Vladar didn't look set, so it's part on him.

Thanks Saymzies.

Yes that line struggled as a whole to start the season. I take the point, but we also have a D-man that should be involved in transition (Weegar). What I can't be certain is whether that was just the anomoly of three players struggling to work together. All have kinda found their stride a bit. Not in a big rush to change the lines if they work, just some thought to what could work. This is all just opinion of what may or may not work. Some games we see some parts working, but it doesn't appear to be constant. The PP looks good at time, so not sure if that's Kadri or work of the unit all together. Just my take on what I think could improve the balance. I'm not at practice, so I can't be sure if that is so.

We saw exactly one game where the top line looked as a whole not great. I agree that we should let them continue to see if that was a one off or a bigger issue. TBH, I saw the Kadri line struggling more in the last few games, not just one game. Dube scored, so I will give him that, but too many missed chances otherwise. Huberdeau-Backlund was a fine duo, but maybe too much defensive responsibilities to really excel. I guess what I am trying to figure out is who best fits with Kadri. To me, that line is made up of too many shooters not enough passers. They all have been trying to take the puck themselves to the net. Maybe, since Ruzie tends to pass off, he should be with Kadri. That implies you need a good finisher on RW. For sake of argument, if we move Hiberdeau back to the top line, I would leave Toffoli there. So... Huberdeau-Lindholm-Toffoli Ruzicka-Kadri-Dube Mangiapane-Backlund-Coleman Swap Coleman and Dube if you like, I think either could work. I think the top line was just not firing on all cylinders to start the season. That shouldn't be as much an issue now. Mange and Coleman played really well last year and should be able to do similar again.

Lucic is being used to kill off a minute per shift, not really generate a scoring chance but bottle up the other team and make them use energy. That's all you can expect from a 4th line on this team. We aren't a team that uses rookies there for development purposes. But, I would agree that he tends to lose the puck. Markstrom wasn't bad last night. Made the saves he needed to. The Mangiapane giveaway was a wide open chance, so most don't stop that. The other was deflected, so not much he can do about that. To say it shouldn't have been close doesn't take into account that any game can be won by any team. There is no certain wins anymore. I also think that a game that is 3-2 keeps the team engaged. We have gotten big leads before and fallen apart. We didn't. After it was 3-2 we took a penalty, so we could have packed it in. We didn't. Last night I saw a game from Ruzie like every other player has had this season. It happens. The line wasn't clicking, so it's not just him. They shortened the bench as a result, so other lines got more minutes. No big deal. If it happens a couple games in a row, then more concern.

I would suggest that the trend may have been related to who we had. Monahan was broken so he wasn't able to get to his office. Gaudreau doesn't go there. Lindholm likes the quiet areas which is hard to find. Kylington and Hanifin like to skate behind the net in the O-zone. We have changes three lines almost entirely. It takes some time for them to figure out what level of skill and what level of in your face hockey is needed. Big difference between Backlund or Lindholm and Bennett or Barkov. Kadri is playing with two guys that are a little small, but try to get to the hard areas. Dube seems to be better at skill chances while Mangiapane finds the gritty areas. Right now Mange is missing open nets and Dube isn't burying it. But all three of those guys (Kadri incl) are shooters. You will see them score when a really good pass hits their stick. Not so much of that so far. Just to say that it isn't a great mix of players. But options aren't great for a different look there. I don't think we have seen it, but I think we could try a few options. Right now Backlund is getting close to the most minutes. On the road that might work, but I think you want to lessen his minutes. Ruzie is a good passer but isn't 100% effective. Like to see him refine his game a bit more. Show he is worth the top line minutes.

He looked different, not the same way he was playing in other games. But then again, the whole line looked a bit off. Ruzie ony really played a couple shifts less than Toffoli, who played on the PK. I'm not really concerned with one game. But it seems like he was stapled to the bench at the 8:50 mark. Toffoli only played the equivalent of one shift after that.

One of Ruzie's softer games that I saw. Minutes seemed reflective of it. Really only Linholm had decent minutes of that line. Ruzie 11:38 Toffoli 13:56 Lindy 16:11 The differences seem to be special teams for Ruzie vs Toffoli.

There is the game.