travel_dude

Too bad we didn't have a 3RW

Tuffy Toffoli

Time for the 3rd PP goal.

TO looked at it. Was a weird one

Have to score two to get one counted.

Wasted PP

No surprise.

Figured it would be called back.

Hope we don't make another backup look like a starter.

Not a great glove by Markstrom. Easy save missed.

Yammer made it there because they had nobody else. Nuge and Drai on the line already and that was their 2nd line. It worked when they did it for the end of one season. He struggled next one. Only when Woody took over did he manage to "look" like a NHL player again. It's stupid when you get called on a high stick at waist level or lower. I get that you don't hack the player when he is on his hands and knees. But a follow through at waist level should never result in it being called that way. Yammer is bigger than Phillips but not by a huge amount. He ends up injured a lot from the way he plays. All we really saw from Phillips was early competition, not exactly NHL best. Anyway, I don't think there's a spot where he could contribute. We didn't deal Monahan and sign Kadri and Hiberdeau to have a fringe player on the top 6. I actually have a problem with Dube being cemented on the 2nd line, but not so far. It's whether he can do the same thing every night. He's been standouts in games in the past. Just needs to do it every night. If so, then he belongs there.

It's rare that a small player can take the step in the NHL. Yamamoto is about the closest. The only reason Yammer is even able to play is that they gave him a top C. He can't handle the NHL really.

Lindholm was good in faceoffs in game 1 and very bad in game 2. Losing faceoffs in the D-zone is going to result in some difficulty getting the puck back and out.

My problem with the top line is too many RHS. I would prefer to see Mangiapane start there since he seems to have a knack for getting in the traffic areas and getting shots away. Toffoli has actually been one of the better players, but I think the RHS C is impacting him. Hubie has to go across the ice to hit him with a pass. Yes to Ruzie on LW and Coleman to RW. Ritchie can stay, since he's got better hands (believe it or not) than Lewis and is better on the boards. So far no changes to the lines and pairs, other than Hanifin not on the ice. Not surprised considering the two wins, but Sutter is never set after a win, so I'm curious about how he views Lewis. Ruzie has to wait for a loss to come in or show he's a defensive winger. But honestly, the one role player that has failed to do what's expected (IMHO) is Lucic. No big hits.

When your two top C's are both below 40% on faceoffs, you are setting yourself up. The 2nd line seemed better at regaining the puck. I liked some of the shifts from the top line, but I think they are missing something. The skill is there, but they are just missing the mark a bit. I found Sutter's comments funny. He said the 2nd line wingers need to do a lot more. I think their size limits them a bit. Maybe it would be something to swap Mange and Toffoli for a game. Each line still has a big winger, and even though Toffoli is just 6 feet, he's solid. The other thing I cringe at is Lewis on the Backlund line. For one game to start with, I would like to see the following: Huberdeau-Lindholm-Mangiapane Dube-Kadri-Toffoli Ruzicka-Backlund-Coleman Lucic-Rooney-Lewis/Ritchie There are no lines with 2 smaller wingers or a small C. See if it works.

The faceoff losses were glaring. Awesome depth at C, but winning faceoffs wasn't there. Any time you gift the top line with a free play, they are going to do something. The 2nd was a short bench and it stayed that way. The top 2 players played more than the top 2 D. 23 and 25 minutes in a regular season game. Shows just how shallow their depth is. Rooney is finding his way. Using Ruzie there might do something, but I think it's better to look at top 9. Lewis was always best helping Lucic. It's a clunky line at best, but Ritchie isn't really an every day player. Swap him out and use Lewis there. Get Ruzie in with Backlund. He may not be 100% comfortable there, but he adds options for Backlund. Improve his 2 way game.

To be fair, Marky played lights out against the NHL as a whole. A grueling 7 game series against Dallas. Struggled against one team where you knew PP was going to impact the results. If anything, I would have given him game 2 off to reset.

The 2nd was hard to watch. The pairings looked a bit off at times. Mostly I think it was support from the F. At times, the 4th line looked good and very bad. Would like to see them insert Ruzicka on the 3rd line. Lewis just down't do it for me. Has a couple of good shifts, but nothing to really talk about.

Bwahahaha.

Flames really having trouble in their zone. Weak clearing on the stick of McD. Along the boards to an Oiler. No support. 4th line looks gassed. Lewis needs to get off the 3rd line. Refs aren't helping but this should be an easy win. Shutout by Skinner.

Oilers are nothing unless they play McD with Draisaitl.

Flames getting shut out by backup goalie. Shut out.

Oilers allowed the pick play every game.

Dumb penalty. Skinner rocking a shutout. Maybe he should be the starter?

Time to shut the crowd again.