travel_dude

Mangiapane is likely our 2nd best, close to a tie with Tkachuk. So, we have a number of 1st and 2nd rounders that are probably our 1st or 2nd tier players. Monahan Tkachuk Dube Andersson Valimaki Kylington That's not bad for a team that traded away a lot of 1st and 2nd roun picks, n'est pas? And we still have Tato, Zary, Pelletier, Wolfie as the next ones. Possibly a few depth players that could contribute in the bottom six as well. I won't get too deep into the vax discussion. I am so tired of the debate. Science is the only justification for it, though the application of it is inconsistent and belittles its own argument for it.

AB the only progressive one in the country. Harmonized is so dumb. I can't drink tea or coffee without milk or cream. Delivery will be challenging.

And our best two players are literally late round picks. Only $2.02 in AB. Gotta love lack of 15% VAT. I always hated living on the East Coast for the ridiculous tax rules. 15% on a used car. Was 17% in the early days of GST. And it was tax on tax. What you want in your tea? Milk or cream?

Andersson given the day off, not due to his play. I think the middle two lines were just to allow Pitlick to practice with Backlund and Coleman. It waters down 2 lines instead of the just moving Lucic down. I see no value in Lucic and Lewis with Monahan, unless they are concerned about him being run over. Kassian did that. DET is going to be speed, so look at matching up against a team like that.

Dube looked good with Lucic before. Pairing him with a speedier version like Pitlick could help too. And put him back on LW.

That's where I would be too; Mangiapane-Monahan-Coleman. There is enough speed there. And less chance of being pushed off the puck on the boards or in close. I think Dube with Backlund and Pitlick could be a thing.

How did we miss out on a 6th overall? I guess we didn't trade a bunch to get there, not that ANA would have traded it. A 2020 pick, assuming we got the best D available when we picked, wasn't going to win us that game. Drysdale was the only D to play in the NHL. In 2019, no D have played from 26 onward. We didn't trade away an earlier placement. Opinions and $2 will get you a coffee. We can each go buy one.

Burying in the defensive zone is what I was getting at.

#Flames at practice today: Gaudreau-Lindholm-Tkachuk Lucic-Monahan-Lewis Mangiapane-Dube-Ritchie Coleman-Backlund-Pitlick Gawdin-Richardson Hanifin-Stone Kylington-Tanev Valimaki-Gudbranson Andersson and Zadorov not practicing.

It's not like their defense beat us. Their goalie did. They had two goals from the guy that last touched the puck, who happened to be D. Fowler scored a nice goal but entirely stoppable. Drysdale has offensive flair, but his goal was a tap in that only Backlund could miss. He may not be more than a Barrie. Yes, we do have a top pairing. They are young but are really just playing together for the first sustained time, other than playoffs against Dallas. No, we don't have a top RW that is a RHS. We do have a top line that has sustained pressure against good team and bad teams. The top 3 have 24 shots in 2 games. Most teams have limited RHS's. They are rare compared to LHS.

There is less shame for sitting a player for a game than there is to constantly have to see their mistakes on game films or being yelled at in practice or on the bench. He's not a lost cause, as he's only 2 years older than Hanifin and 1.5 years older than Ras. But he's playing his way into the doghouse. Probably there will be a full practice in the next two days, and he better learn.

Hmmm, I hadn't considered that. Backlund tends to start the most of any F in the D-zone. That might impact them negatively. That also means that we are using Pitlick in the top 6, which is not what he is meant for. When we get Eichel, all bets are off. On a side note, EDM is terminating the contract of Kiril Maximov. I like the name. He's been good playing in Russian league, just not a great start to NA pro hockey. 6'3" RHS RW. Could fit in well in Stockton. Might feel comfortable there. Was going to be assigned to ECHL.

Connor McMichael, not McD. McM was right up there as Canad's best player. No way Washington trades him.

Not sure what the story is on Richardson. He wasn't exactly a standout in the pre-season, but could be better than Gawdin. The problem is that Gawdin is playing with grinders and he isn't adept to that style of game. I have been impressed with Mangiapane and Dube. The top line is playing like a top line, though I still see Tkachuk with lazy swipes at the puck or player. It would be an interesting experiment to bring Coleman up to the top 6. Two possibilities: Gaudreau-Lindholm-Tkachuk Mangiapane-Monahan-Coleman Dube-Backlund-Pitlick or Gaudreau-Lindholm-Coleman Mangiapane-Monahan-Tkachuk Dube-Backlund-Pitlick I know, you are burying Dube, but then again he could shine playing with a digger like Pitlick. In either case, Monahan is helped by a possession beast. Gaudreau either keeps Tkachuk or gets a greasy player that will give him space.

Whatever. Other than Fowler, we had our way with them for most of the night. Fowler made the big plays and Gibson kept them in it. Had we played that way against EDM, we would have easily beat them. Smith had maybe one difficult save, whereas Gibson had a lot.

Radical, as in not in Dutter's playbook. It may happen at some point, but Dutter didn't like Kylington's skating with the puck and passing to nobody in the O-zone. Unfortunately, it's exactly what we see when Hanifin skates behind the other net in the O-zone. It's possession only, with little use of other players. If you were to rate the D-man on the team from the pre-season, it would be Ras, Hanifin, Tanev, Kylington, Mackey, Stone, Zadorov, Gudbranson. A little fuzzy on the last four, but I think Mackey was better.

Zegras is a work in progress. Fantastic WJC campaign, but will take time like Connor McM and Cozens. Would you trade either of those guys?

Cam Fowler was easily the best Duck last night and probably the best D-man on the ice. -1. And that was in a win. +/- doesn't explain mch.

Radical thinking.... Hanifin-Ras (no issues with them) Valimaki-Tanev (steady guy with young Jedi) Kylington with Guddy or Zaddy (skating helps this pair out of bad situations)

My issue with the pairing was a continual string of bad passes coming from the pair. Tanev and Zadorov were combining bad passes to give the zone back to the Ducks. Not just once or twice. Tanev had maybe one that was his fault, but Zadorov crapped the bed more than a few times. That led to a lot of zone time, that we recognized after the Lucic fight. It was coincidence that is when it happened. They were responsible for 7 giveaways. Lucic had 4 himself.

Tanev was always going to be a 2nd pairing guy. There is no shame in that. Other than his tendency to get injured, he performs and has performed that role well; last year his numbers were elite. But, let's face it, his mobility is a detriment; can't pair him without a puck moving, skating D-man. Gio-Ras was a mess, and I think part of that was being a poor fit. Zadorov might play better with a more mobile guy or perhaps Ras. If we are sticking with Hanifin-Ras, then it makes sense to use Valimaki or Kylington with Tanev. Valimaki most likely. Zadorov would be better suite playing with Kylington.

Agree with the ++. Coleman needs to play with decent players; expecting him to carry Lucic or make Backlund connect with the puck is a fool's errand. The 2nd pair is officially the worst; Zadorov-Tanev bites. Tanev seemed to bump up everyone he played with, but Zadorov seems to have zero hockey IQ. It may just be the lack of speed from the pair, whuch is possible, but lets find out. I would rather watch Kylington skate and not pass than seeing it passed to the midle of the ice with no Flame in sight.

It was an iffy play by Hanifin at best. All on him.

Poor read there. Johnny played it well, but our guys too deep.

Put Mange out there.