Flames Lineup - Suggested Lines

[cross16]

14 hours ago, The_People1 said:

 

I just wasted 9 minutes listening to it, thanks.  Nothing stood out.  No bad attitude.  He understands fully that he's been hurt and it's been tough playing with consistency.  Bad attitude seems more directed at his luck rather than the franchise for playing him in the minors.

 

Agreed I saw it the same way. Thought it was a pretty typical Valimaki interview as he normally isn't the most interesting/engaging with the press. 

 

I thought he was really honest and fair actually. 

[travel_dude]

Interesting to see tonight's lineup.

Ruzie was 1/7 on the dot, but played a decent game.

B2B game, we likely see one F and maybe one D swap out.

I'm less certain about the D, since Stone probably earned himself another game.

Jarnkrok is probably good to go, but we shall see.

Didn't participate in line rushes yesterday.

[travel_dude]

Still a few guys missing in action.  Ritchie came back in, so Ruzie got sent back down.  Valimaki up as an emergency callup, so we are down 2 for now.  No status on Kylington, but we won't hear much this time of year.  No benefit to go on IR or LTIR right now.

 

I would like to se them fix the middle 6 a bit.  Not liking the recent output from them.  I think the combos are just off slightly.  Our best offensive weapons playing on a shutdown line with a guy on the Schnide.  I would opt for the following:

 

Top line (no reason to break up the best line in hockey)

Coleman-Backlund-Dube (balance the defense with some speed)

Mangiapane-Jarnkrok-Toffoli

Lucic-Carpenter/Lewis-Lewis/Carpenter

 

Carpenter seems to be starting to fit in.  Both he and Lewis can take draws.  Not sure which should be on the wing.  Jarnkrok hasn't been consistent enough to know what he is.  Maybe he is a defensive winger and give Backlund a C to take draws on his weak side.  Puts Dube at C on the 3rd line.  Either way, it's a smaller C.  Ruzie is a better option in my mind, but we really don't have the spot for him full time.    

 

 

[robrob74]

1 hour ago, travel_dude said:

Still a few guys missing in action.  Ritchie came back in, so Ruzie got sent back down.  Valimaki up as an emergency callup, so we are down 2 for now.  No status on Kylington, but we won't hear much this time of year.  No benefit to go on IR or LTIR right now.

 

I would like to se them fix the middle 6 a bit.  Not liking the recent output from them.  I think the combos are just off slightly.  Our best offensive weapons playing on a shutdown line with a guy on the Schnide.  I would opt for the following:

 

Top line (no reason to break up the best line in hockey)

Coleman-Backlund-Dube (balance the defense with some speed)

Mangiapane-Jarnkrok-Toffoli

Lucic-Carpenter/Lewis-Lewis/Carpenter

 

Carpenter seems to be starting to fit in.  Both he and Lewis can take draws.  Not sure which should be on the wing.  Jarnkrok hasn't been consistent enough to know what he is.  Maybe he is a defensive winger and give Backlund a C to take draws on his weak side.  Puts Dube at C on the 3rd line.  Either way, it's a smaller C.  Ruzie is a better option in my mind, but we really don't have the spot for him full time.    

 

 

 

 

My biggest worry is that Mangiapane is likely a shooter... I worry that being with Toffoli limits them and it's why we've seen both's numbers fall off the cliff. I think that Cross was right about having the mix of playmaker and shooters off by trading for a shooter. 

[travel_dude]

10 minutes ago, robrob74 said:

 

 

My biggest worry is that Mangiapane is likely a shooter... I worry that being with Toffoli limits them and it's why we've seen both's numbers fall off the cliff. I think that Cross was right about having the mix of playmaker and shooters off by trading for a shooter. 

 

They really haven't had a defined role yet.  Shutdown?  Possession?  Shooters?  Toffee is pretty good at holding the puck, but a pass to Backlund is normally a waste.  IMHO.  The best sequence I have seen from that line was Mange and Toffee connecting on a play.  Sure, it started with a defensive play by Backlund, but really the majority occured between the blueline and the net.

 

Either we need to get Jarnkrok used to passing to those two or bring in Ruzie.

I would prefer to use Coleman with Backlund, as he's better at pressuring the other players.

Dube on RW makes sense to me.  He's played well with Backs and Coleman in the past.

 

That may give us two scoring lines, a shutdown line and a great forechecking line.

Wasting shooters on a shutdown line makes no sense to me. 

[The_People1]

48 minutes ago, robrob74 said:

 

 

My biggest worry is that Mangiapane is likely a shooter... I worry that being with Toffoli limits them and it's why we've seen both's numbers fall off the cliff. I think that Cross was right about having the mix of playmaker and shooters off by trading for a shooter. 

 

Ya for sures.

 

They say the best line is one that has one pure shooter, one pure passer, and one guy who can go into the corners and win puck battles. The Mangiapane-Toffoli combo means they have two pure shooters... couple that with Backlund who has tunnel vision... that line doesn't work very well.

[travel_dude]

2 hours ago, The_People1 said:

 

Ya for sures.

 

They say the best line is one that has one pure shooter, one pure passer, and one guy who can go into the corners and win puck battles. The Mangiapane-Toffoli combo means they have two pure shooters... couple that with Backlund who has tunnel vision... that line doesn't work very well.

 

The bolded is the real problem.  Mange is great in the corner.  And he can walk the puck out to get a setup.  Average passer can hit him in the slot.  Backlund on a two on one with Toffee or Mange = Backlund shot.  Fix the middle six, as the problem lies there.  

[travel_dude]

1 minute ago, travel_dude said:

 

The bolded is the real problem.  Mange is great in the corner.  And he can walk the puck out to get a setup.  Average passer can hit him in the slot.  Backlund on a two on one with Toffee or Mange = Backlund shot.  Fix the middle six, as the problem lies there.  

 

Just to be clear, this isn't a dump on Backlund thing.  The coach called him out for not scoring, so now he thinks he needs to shoot more.  Not a bad thing if he hits the net.  Not a good thing if it's over the net, on the diagonal or a muffin.  I've seen Backlund make perfect passes, but he seems to be focused on shooting.

[travel_dude]

Ruzie and Valimaki both sent back to AHL.

Emergency loan conditions are passed.

Should mean that we have Guddy and Jarnkrok back.

[travel_dude]

Shilly and Guddy both on ice for practice today, along with Valimali (who was re-assigned to the minors).

I do expect the team to take time getting them back in.  

3 divisional matches this week, but only VGK is a playoff bubble team.

Interesting to see how Sutter uses both the D and goalies this week.

We can clinch the playoff this week.

We can potentially clinch the division this week too.

[travel_dude]

1 hour ago, travel_dude said:

Shilly and Guddy both on ice for practice today, along with Valimali (who was re-assigned to the minors).

I do expect the team to take time getting them back in.  

3 divisional matches this week, but only VGK is a playoff bubble team.

Interesting to see how Sutter uses both the D and goalies this week.

We can clinch the playoff this week.

We can potentially clinch the division this week too.

 

Ruzie and Valimaki both recalled on emergency basis again.

The likelihood of one or both getting in the lineup is remote.

Can't just use a healthy scratch to do it.

[pikey7883]

1 hour ago, travel_dude said:

 

Ruzie and Valimaki both recalled on emergency basis again.

The likelihood of one or both getting in the lineup is remote.

Can't just use a healthy scratch to do it.

I have really liked Ruzie in the top 9, but having him and Val practicing with the big club for this week, then sending them to Stockton to be the leaders for their playoffs is a good thing I think.

 

[travel_dude]

2 minutes ago, pikey7883 said:

I have really liked Ruzie in the top 9, but having him and Val practicing with the big club for this week, then sending them to Stockton to be the leaders for their playoffs is a good thing I think.

 

 

Stockton has a good chance of winning the Calder Cup this year.

They are tops in the league.

I'm not entirely sure whether we can call up a player from the AHL after their playoffs start.

I suspect you can, but not sure.

 

From what I read, all of Kylington, Guddy, Jarny skated, but Kylington skated with Jarny and Ruzie as a 5th line.  Guddy was back with Zady, and Val skated with Stoner.  Stockton doesn't play until Wednesday, so the extra practoce doesn't hurt.  And we would know by Tuesday if we need the emergency loans.

 

[rocketdoctor]

weird having Kyller on a 5th line with Jarnkrok and Ruzicka.

[travel_dude]

30 minutes ago, rocketdoctor said:

weird having Kyller on a 5th line with Jarnkrok and Ruzicka.

 

I think they just want him skating right now.

Ruzie is a C, so I don't think they were doing too much out there.

 

[zima]

I find it funny how Stockton and Flames seem to mirror each other in the standing I know they play the same system but to have the same points in standings is very cool

 

[travel_dude]

Sutter philosophy regarding resting or playing roster players:

If you ain't injured or sick, you play.

Only exception would be a B2B with travel.

Might sub out a guy to give him a break if he's gassed.

 

[redfire11]

On 4/11/2022 at 2:15 PM, rocketdoctor said:

weird having Kyller on a 5th line with Jarnkrok and Ruzicka.

I always thought Kyle would make a great LW/LD

[cross16]

This would suggest Kylington is either ready to play or very close. 

 

I'm interested to see the impact because to be honest I really haven't noticed a drop off with him out. 

 

 

[travel_dude]

32 minutes ago, cross16 said:

This would suggest Kylington is either ready to play or very close. 

 

I'm interested to see the impact because to be honest I really haven't noticed a drop off with him out. 

 

I believe he was ready for last night's game, but they kept him out one more time.

The drop off from the recent Kylington to Mackey maybe not as obvious.

The drop off from previous Kylington to Mackey is quite a big difference.

[redfire11]

Looking forward to seeing a continuation of this line:

Gaudreau-Lindholm-Mangiapane

[conundrumed]

57 minutes ago, redfire11 said:

Looking forward to seeing a continuation of this line:

Gaudreau-Lindholm-Mangiapane

That was a really fun 3rd period. Sutter beginning to get into playoff mode himself.

Everybody, play with everybody. lol

I was confused, then laughed. Marky pulled, didn't understand, then, "oh, what team is this"?

Speaks volumes about having depth.

Holy renewed optimism. I was so negative with this entire mess last year that I had to leave the board for months out of frustration and spewing venom.

What brought me back was the common consent was that our off-season was a disaster.

I said to myself, "Self, you know common consent is generally wrong. Go in the other direction, we have a real bottom 6 and experienced NHL dmen".

If we lose out in the 1st rd and folks call it failure, I'm leaving for good.lol

It will be the same folks that had nothing but negative expectations for us, yet have been enthralled since October beyond their wildest of expectations.

This season has already been a huge win. The rest is gravy.

[robrob74]

26 minutes ago, conundrumed said:

That was a really fun 3rd period. Sutter beginning to get into playoff mode himself.

Everybody, play with everybody. lol

I was confused, then laughed. Marky pulled, didn't understand, then, "oh, what team is this"?

Speaks volumes about having depth.

Holy renewed optimism. I was so negative with this entire mess last year that I had to leave the board for months out of frustration and spewing venom.

What brought me back was the common consent was that our off-season was a disaster.

I said to myself, "Self, you know common consent is generally wrong. Go in the other direction, we have a real bottom 6 and experienced NHL dmen".

If we lose out in the 1st rd and folks call it failure, I'm leaving for good.lol

It will be the same folks that had nothing but negative expectations for us, yet have been enthralled since October beyond their wildest of expectations.

This season has already been a huge win. The rest is gravy.

the only way I think going out in the first round is a failure depends on how they play. I think some of us are intelligent enough to know the difference between good and poor efforts. If they fight to the end and get ousted, that’s one thing. Playing hard one period per game is another. 

[travel_dude]

7 minutes ago, conundrumed said:

That was a really fun 3rd period. Sutter beginning to get into playoff mode himself.

Everybody, play with everybody. lol

I was confused, then laughed. Marky pulled, didn't understand, then, "oh, what team is this"?

Speaks volumes about having depth.

Holy renewed optimism. I was so negative with this entire mess last year that I had to leave the board for months out of frustration and spewing venom.

What brought me back was the common consent was that our off-season was a disaster.

I said to myself, "Self, you know common consent is generally wrong. Go in the other direction, we have a real bottom 6 and experienced NHL dmen".

If we lose out in the 1st rd and folks call it failure, I'm leaving for good.lol

It will be the same folks that had nothing but negative expectations for us, yet have been enthralled since October beyond their wildest of expectations.

This season has already a huge win. The rest is gravy.

 

You can't turn a pretender into a contender overnight.

Well, Sutter certainly looks to have rid the team of that culture.

Good enough is not good enough.

Whether Kylington is as good as his first half suggest may remain to be seen.

But that's taking a guy formerly on waivers and turning him into a top 4 player.

Now, not just a good skater.

I was excited about Zaddy, and was hoping he would become a bit more stable.

Like Coleman add, since he's more of a winner than Hyman.

I like Hyman, but he plays a style that leads to injuries.

Coleman just knows how to give enough and frustrate teams.

Considering the drop off of Monahan, we have actually not needed him.

That's not 100% true, but we didn't need him on the 4th line.

 

The farm is almost untouched except for some depth skating with us.

Even the trades didn't strip the depth we have there.

I like this group and hope we can keep most of it together next season.

 

Last night was one of those games where the top 6 wasn't working as a group.

Mangiapane was looking good, but Tkachuk was killing the top line.

Backlund had one of his worst games, where he generate little and led to too many chances against.

Tkachuk didn't make it better offense wise really, but stopped the bleeding.

4th line was a real drag, with Lucic and Ritchie being benched most of the third.

Moved Jarnkrok up, and while Lewis wasn't the issue, Jarny on the 4th line wasn't a match.

 

Sutter may have said he changed goalies to get a spark, but he was seen talking to Sutter after the 3rd goal.

Sutter was giving it to him, a bit.  

Can't be sure what he was saying, but something wasn't working.

This was almost a replica of the Dallas game, except that one came really late.

Same goalie change and similar line changes.

Sutter - win the third period.

[travel_dude]

Just now, robrob74 said:

the only way I think going out in the first round is a failure depends on how they play. I think some of us are intelligent enough to know the difference between good and poor efforts. If the fight to the end and get ousted, that’s one thing. Playing hard one period per game is another. 

 

I think what he is saying is that some people look for the mistakes.