Calgary Flames 20/21 Roster and Lines

[cross16]

While normally I would advocate for a longer leash, Kylington was really bad in his last game. I can handle mistakes but Kylington's problem was he is playing in the NHL like he's still in junior. He's constantly cheating up higher thinking he has the speed to catch up to people and the problem is in the NHL you are no longer the best skater. On top of that when you do that, you put all the other skaters on the ice in a bind. So not only is that type of play hard to excuse at his point in his career, it runs completely counter to what the coach is trying to install. 

 

Nesterov has issues too but at least he plays to the system. I would not have argued if Sutter put him back in but I can also see why he isn't. 

[robrob74]

1 hour ago, travel_dude said:

 

While it's a minor change to bring in Nesterov over Kylington, the short leash only extends to Kylington.  Minus 1 for 1 game, plus 1 for another and even for the remaining 4 games.  Flames are 4-1-1 with him in the lineup.  In his last game (7-3 loss), he was on for a GA and a GF.  

 

While I think the bigger issues with the lineup are on the forward side, Nesterov has done little lately for me to think he is a better choice. 

 

I think I’m that last game he played he really fought the puck. It wasn’t a good look, while it wasn’t just him who was, but I guess the fact he’s a fringe player, you take him out? 
 

I agree with you, I like what I saw the other games, and I hope he can get back in. 

[robrob74]

Earlier someone posted the metrics of players playing with Johnny.

 

it could be time to throw Tkachuk with them or throw Johnny on their line. We need a dominant line and we just don’t have that. 
 

do you go:

 

Gaudreau, Monahan, Tkachuk 

 

or 

 

Gaudreau, Lindholm, Tkachuk 

 

Mangiapane, Monahan, Dube

 

Lucic, Backlund, Phillips

 

Bennett, Ryan, Leivo

 

or do we go back to:

 

Gaudreau, Monahan, Lindholm 

Tkachuk, Backlund, Mangiapane 

Lucic, Bennett, Dube

Leivo, Ryan, Ritchie

[JTech780]

5v5 Points since Feb.13:

 

Lindholm 20GP - 10P

Dube 20GP - 10P

Tkachuk 20GP - 9P

Mangiapane 20GP - 7P

Backlund 19GP - 6P

Lucic 20GP - 6P

Ryan 10GP - 5 P

Gaudreau 20GP - 5P

Monahan 18GP - 4P

 

Want to know why this team is on the outside looking in, and getting further away from a playoff spot? The top players are playing like dog shirt. Gaudreau and Monahan haven't been near good enough all season. Tkachuk and Lindholm have been decidedly average.

 

With Sutter this team is going to have to win 2-1, 3-2, they need Gaudreau, Monahan, Tkachuk, and Lindholm to be significantly better.

[robrob74]

24 minutes ago, JTech780 said:

5v5 Points since Feb.13:

 

Lindholm 20GP - 10P

Dube 20GP - 10P

Tkachuk 20GP - 9P

Mangiapane 20GP - 7P

Backlund 19GP - 6P

Lucic 20GP - 6P

Ryan 10GP - 5 P

Gaudreau 20GP - 5P

Monahan 18GP - 4P

 

Want to know why this team is on the outside looking in, and getting further away from a playoff spot? The top players are playing like dog shirt. Gaudreau and Monahan haven't been near good enough all season. Tkachuk and Lindholm have been decidedly average.

 

With Sutter this team is going to have to win 2-1, 3-2, they need Gaudreau, Monahan, Tkachuk, and Lindholm to be significantly better.

 

it really does look bad. 
 

id change it up so much em right now. 
 

throw Gaudreau on with some possession darlings. 
I think Johnny still has the moves but doesn’t have to guys to skate with him. 
 

a question for everyone, who do you put him with? It’s kind of like we gotta get him going, not to save the season, but to possibly show the league he can play and possibly get more for him. To me it’s obvious the Monahan and Gaudreau pair has dried up, there’s nothing there anymore.

 

Is Monahan injured this year? seems to be when he’s not completing is usually because he is injured.

[JTech780]

4 minutes ago, robrob74 said:

 

it really does look bad. 
 

id change it up so much em right now. 
 

throw Gaudreau on with some possession darlings. 
I think Johnny still has the moves but doesn’t have to guys to skate with him. 
 

a question for everyone, who do you put him with? It’s kind of like we gotta get him going, not to save the season, but to possibly show the league he can play and possibly get more for him. To me it’s obvious the Monahan and Gaudreau pair has dried up, there’s nothing there anymore.

 

Is Monahan injured this year? seems to be when he’s not completing is usually because he is injured.

 

I would get Gaudreau away from Monahan as fast as possible. 

 

Gaudreau-Lindholm-Tkachuk

 

That's the line I would go with. Those are the 3 best offensive players on the team, maybe putting them together would spark something.

[robrob74]

39 minutes ago, JTech780 said:

 

I would get Gaudreau away from Monahan as fast as possible. 

 

Gaudreau-Lindholm-Tkachuk

 

That's the line I would go with. Those are the 3 best offensive players on the team, maybe putting them together would spark something.

 

I would too. 
 

This would create less depth at C but for a 2nd line I would go:

 

Mangiapane, Backlund, Monahan 

Backlund could be a corsi darling when he doesn’t have Lucic on the line and I think Monahan can trend that way better than Lucic (maybe). But you also put him in a shooter position playing wing and Backs gets the play going the other way.

 

Lucic, Ryan, Dube

 

 

[travel_dude]

1 hour ago, JTech780 said:

 

I would get Gaudreau away from Monahan as fast as possible. 

 

Gaudreau-Lindholm-Tkachuk

 

That's the line I would go with. Those are the 3 best offensive players on the team, maybe putting them together would spark something.

 

 

Nothing seems to be working.

We get good shifts from the top line and boom a 2 on 1.

Inn the net.

 

[cross16]

Sutter made it very clear last night in his post game he has no plans on splitting up Gaudreau and Monahan.  Says it's where he's been most productive. 

 

Pretty frustrating because I mean that production goes back almost 2 seasons now. 

[travel_dude]

1 hour ago, cross16 said:

Sutter made it very clear last night in his post game he has no plans on splitting up Gaudreau and Monahan.  Says it's where he's been most productive. 

 

Pretty frustrating because I mean that production goes back almost 2 seasons now. 

 

A breakaway, a 2 on 1 with Monahan and another with Bennett.

Of those, one a goal and the others missed opportunities.

That exactly all they produces that even were close to high danger.

I may have slept through others, but they sure didn't stick out.

 

If he has no plans to change that duo, I would hope they make a change to help them.

Bennett is as close to a top 6 player they have had for longer than one game.

I don't think he fits them, but we have other options.

The Lindholm line produced 1 HD to 2 against with them on the ice.

Seriously?

 

The top line struggling at generating chances against a porous D.

The 2nd line getting one actual scoring chance.

Nobody in front of the net and no points shots available for a tip or 2nd chance.

Watched a sequence (might have been extra man) where there was Gaudreau on the half boards down low, a player below the goal line and the other F was literally 20 feet from the net on the other side.  Almost zero chance of that player getting the puck.

 

I don't car at this point whether you move Mangiapane to top line or Monahan line, just do something.

The lines look stale..

Dube may fit best with Gaudreau.

A 2 on 1 might actually generate a shot.

[ABC923]

I'd try Mangipane with Johnny and Mony. He's fast on the rush and can dig in the corners.  Something needs to be done to get those two going, and hopefully the Ritchie experiment is over. 

[rickross]

Backlund , Gio and Bennett should be moved for sure. I think we could could decent returns for all 3 of em

[robrob74]

It has been confirmed that Monahan is fighting a nagging injury and Loubo or Wills said he’d not be surprised if he needed surgery or some form of rehab. They said they heard it from someone close to the lineup. 
 

I get that we need him to contribute, but if he isn’t contributing because of the injury, he’s making it worse for the team.

[travel_dude]

My take on the roster this season:

 

Progress

Hanifin-Tanev - they have beocme the top pairing on the team.

Dube - was never worried about him, but he looks a lot more confident.

Mangiapane - hard to really say progressed, but he is one of our best forwards this year.

Valimaki - progressed in tht he's been able to play.

Lindholm - really just the fact he is the top C puts him there; otherwise I still think he is playing pretty good.

Lucic - doing the things you want him to do, but I hate the easy giveaways in the D-zone

Ryan - basically even, not worse, not better

Ritchie - not so much positives, but he has played better than a 4th liner at times

 

Regress

Monahan - just a loss of his deadly shot, lack of speed.

Tkachuk - where is the edge, where is the never give up attitude, why still trying the little poke passes and between the legs play.

Backlund - holy crap, what happened to the  steady two way play.

Bennett - has done little with the opportunity, hasn;t changed his shot or tactics

Gio-Ras - man, I can;t even tell you where the problem is other than it's not working

 

Neutral

Gaudreau - no help, so I don't know how he is supposed to turn it around

Leivo - shows up well, but a down year otherwise

Rinaldo - meh, he is okay but not moving the needle

Nesterov - well he;s playing in the NHL, not much else to say

 

When three of your old top 6 and two of your expected  top D regress, you aren;t going to win much.

Nobody going to the dirty areas or able to make clean passes regularly.

A PP that looks like they are just killing time.

[cross16]

Interested to see how this plays out. Lindholm was pretty public that he was okay with either but just wanted some consistency but then Sutter praised Lindholm as a center. 

 

Could just be a bump to try and get going

 

 

[travel_dude]

29 minutes ago, cross16 said:

Interested to see how this plays out. Lindholm was pretty public that he was okay with either but just wanted some consistency but then Sutter praised Lindholm as a center. 

 

Could just be a bump to try and get going

 

 

 

This is a slight modification from the last Ottawa game.

Lindholm was playing with Lucic and Bennett (thought that was a bad setup for a guy that was playing as #1C).

Dube was playing with Monahan.

 

Basically, this is a return to the playoff lines.

I'm interested to see if the 3M line can get back to what they were like last year.

Backlund had a bad shift last game with this setup and it cost us a goal.

The bigger change is obviously using Lindholm to see if they have anything to change the game.

 

[MP5029]

Why...just why do they keep trying to force the Gio/Anderson pair? It’s not working and has not worked at all this year...I think it’s time to concede that the playoff click last year was a one off and nothing more...I really wish they would try:

 

Hanifin/Tanev 

Valimaki/Anderson 

Gio/Kylington 

 

I just get the feeling the Valimaki/Anderson pairing would be amazing, and we would have two top pairing for a long time...also, Gio could also mentor Kylington who they really need to do a much better job at developing...

 

also, while they are at it I’d really like to see some changes to the forwards, the team and the lines are just too predictable and need a shakeup:

 

Tachuck/Monahan/Dube

Gaudreau/Lindholm/Levino 

Manji/Bennett/ Backlund 

Lucic/Ryan/ Ritchie 

 

obviously the right side is a mess no matter what, it’s a desperate area for a few years now...I’d also like to see them move Lucic over to the RW side, and try him on a few other lines, heck maybe even with Monahan/Gaudreau/Lindholm/Tachuck, mix and match him see if anything clicks?

 

it amy be a slow line but:

 

Tachuck/Monahan/Lucic 

 

at this stage of the season, I think Sutter needs to try and mix and match guys a bit and see who and where they click and get a guard of who they are gonna keep next season and who they are gonna move.

 

but I’d definitely try to alter those D pairs that Gio/Anderson things is horrible! 
 

[MP5029]

51 minutes ago, travel_dude said:

 

This is a slight modification from the last Ottawa game.

Lindholm was playing with Lucic and Bennett (thought that was a bad setup for a guy that was playing as #1C).

Dube was playing with Monahan.

 

Basically, this is a return to the playoff lines.

I'm interested to see if the 3M line can get back to what they were like last year.

Backlund had a bad shift last game with this setup and it cost us a goal.

The bigger change is obviously using Lindholm to see if they have anything to change the game.

 

I’d like to see Gaudreau and Tachuck switched...but moving Lindholm back to the RW is a good idea...least for now....I mean it’s possible the last year playoff lines may do well, especially if the 3/4 lines click well, they are a bit of a different look and feel so who knows? 

[cross16]

I like Lindholm back there, for me he is a RW and I would end the center experiment if I were the Flames. I get the counter argument, but as i've said before the biggest strength of Lindholm is his shot and that doesn't play as well in the middle. I like the potential he could have with Sutter by being to come off the half wall with possession (a big problem with Ritchie on this line) and also the ability to have him find open lanes/area to get that shot off. 

[JTech780]

At this point you have to try anything, but IMO Lindholm is the best center on this team, so I am not a huge fan of taking Lindholm from center and placing him on a line with Monahan who IMO is the 4th best center on this team.

[travel_dude]

1 hour ago, cross16 said:

I like Lindholm back there, for me he is a RW and I would end the center experiment if I were the Flames. I get the counter argument, but as i've said before the biggest strength of Lindholm is his shot and that doesn't play as well in the middle. I like the potential he could have with Sutter by being to come off the half wall with possession (a big problem with Ritchie on this line) and also the ability to have him find open lanes/area to get that shot off. 

 

55 minutes ago, JTech780 said:

At this point you have to try anything, but IMO Lindholm is the best center on this team, so I am not a huge fan of taking Lindholm from center and placing him on a line with Monahan who IMO is the 4th best center on this team.

 

Whether or not Monahan is the problem with Gaudreau or playing with a guy like Ritchie or a limited view with Dube, the bottom line is they aren't winning games.

I thought it was a waste to use Lindholm with Lucic, so this is at least a better look.

 

On another note, Flames are 1-3-0 since Nesterov came back in the lineup.

[sak22]

15 minutes ago, travel_dude said:

 

On another note, Flames are 1-3-0 since Nesterov came back in the lineup.

I'm not a Nestorov fan by any means, but I don't know how this is even a factor.  Not great play from him, especially the penalty late, but lets not excuse the rest of the team for 2 goals in the last 3 games.  You should win more games than you lose keeping teams to 2 goals, can't expect to win with one or zero.

[travel_dude]

1 hour ago, sak22 said:

I'm not a Nestorov fan by any means, but I don't know how this is even a factor.  Not great play from him, especially the penalty late, but lets not excuse the rest of the team for 2 goals in the last 3 games.  You should win more games than you lose keeping teams to 2 goals, can't expect to win with one or zero.

 

My point is that we've lost 1 game in regulation and 1 game in OT with Kylington on the roster, while the other 4 were wins.

In our biggest lopsided loss recently, Kylington was on for a goal for and one against.

Can you point to Nesterov as an obvious reason for any of the losses in recent games?

Not really, except for the penalty when we were down a goal late.

 

The bigger issue is that we are using a middling player with our best rookie D-man.

If he's not a big improvement over Kylington, why bother having him.

Get a D-man that is an improvement and at least were aren't scored on as much with the 3rd pair out there.

We've lost 5 games to Ottawa, which if they were wins, would put us 2nd in the division.

 

[Heartbreaker]

1 hour ago, sak22 said:

I'm not a Nestorov fan by any means, but I don't know how this is even a factor.  Not great play from him, especially the penalty late, but lets not excuse the rest of the team for 2 goals in the last 3 games.  You should win more games than you lose keeping teams to 2 goals, can't expect to win with one or zero.

 

Ha! You're new to Sutter hockey I see!

 

Love.

[cross16]

4 hours ago, JTech780 said:

At this point you have to try anything, but IMO Lindholm is the best center on this team, so I am not a huge fan of taking Lindholm from center and placing him on a line with Monahan who IMO is the 4th best center on this team.

 

I wouldn't necessarily disagree with you here, but I will say I thought Monahan played well on the road trip.

 

Was probably their best center to be honest but at the same time acknowledge that would also been seen as an indication of how the team played....