FLAMES @ Golden Knights Sun 5 Dec 2021

[flames-fan-in-jets-land]

1 hour ago, travel_dude said:

The 4th line was a mess.

I can think of at least one pass that went off his skates, while he was streaking up the right side.

He's a C, not a RW or LW.  

 

It's best to use a top 6 type player in at least the middle 6.

4th line with Richardson wasn't a great idea.

It seems Ruzi was used for his faceoffs, so I don't even know if he was C or just took draws.

The fact Vegas was playing a tight checking game and the rest of the roster were having issues with it as well makes me not want to read too much into his performance last night.

[robrob74]

1 hour ago, flames-fan-in-jets-land said:

The fact Vegas was playing a tight checking game and the rest of the roster were having issues with it as well makes me not want to read too much into his performance last night.

i think it’s easy to point players out, especially if they’re being watched under a microscope. I was cooking and cleaning during the game so I only listened. 
 

it sounded like it didn’t matter who was on the ice, Vegas had the puck in the flames’ end most of the night. 
 

the whole team needs finger pointing on this one. 

[pikey7883]

Thanks everyone for the feedback, hopefully last night was a bit of the jitters and he can settle into a good role on the team.

[travel_dude]

5 hours ago, robrob74 said:

i think it’s easy to point players out, especially if they’re being watched under a microscope. I was cooking and cleaning during the game so I only listened. 
 

it sounded like it didn’t matter who was on the ice, Vegas had the puck in the flames’ end most of the night. 
 

the whole team needs finger pointing on this one. 

 

I don't think it's overly a cause for concern.

They were a little flat at times.

I pointed out some obvious things, but it was more or less just a lack of pace.

Sutter wasn't too concerned.

Neither am I.

 

[conundrumed]

11 hours ago, The_People1 said:

 

 

Yes exactly, Ruzicka fumbled the puck a lot.  Several times failed to receive a clean pass.  Puck just bounced off his stick and away.  Unforced errors/turnovers.  Generally, just a waste of time.  

In fairness, it takes more than 1 game. I'm sure he was more than a little nervous worrying about missing an assignment. He did well being back to help the D as a C needs to. Let's not forget that he's playing the most important position. A few more games he'd settle in a little better, but he likely won't get the chance. He did nothing to lose the game, to be sure. I'd give him a couple more games, but I'm not seeing him at practice either. He's likely a good prospect for 3C in a yr or 2, or he'll have a good career overseas, nothing wrong with that either. I'd love to get paid to see the world.lol

Loved the pick as he was a Sting player at the time. He can be great offensively, can stickhandle in a phone booth and has a wicked shot, but his fight is consistency. He'll have games where he looks entirely disengaged. I believe it's because he gets too worried about his D zone. He'll play almost like a 3rd dman and his O play will disappear entirely.

Sutter's a great coach and Ruzicka needs one to find his balance. He's stuck as a tweener right now, I think he's done all that he can at the A level. If anyone can show him the next steps, it's Sutter. Would be great to see. Get him an NHL goal and he'd likely settle in better.

[travel_dude]

6 hours ago, conundrumed said:

In fairness, it takes more than 1 game. I'm sure he was more than a little nervous worrying about missing an assignment. He did well being back to help the D as a C needs to. Let's not forget that he's playing the most important position. A few more games he'd settle in a little better, but he likely won't get the chance. He did nothing to lose the game, to be sure. I'd give him a couple more games, but I'm not seeing him at practice either. He's likely a good prospect for 3C in a yr or 2, or he'll have a good career overseas, nothing wrong with that either. I'd love to get paid to see the world.lol

Loved the pick as he was a Sting player at the time. He can be great offensively, can stickhandle in a phone booth and has a wicked shot, but his fight is consistency. He'll have games where he looks entirely disengaged. I believe it's because he gets too worried about his D zone. He'll play almost like a 3rd dman and his O play will disappear entirely.

Sutter's a great coach and Ruzicka needs one to find his balance. He's stuck as a tweener right now, I think he's done all that he can at the A level. If anyone can show him the next steps, it's Sutter. Would be great to see. Get him an NHL goal and he'd likely settle in better.

 

Good perspective.  They had Ruzicka taking the majority of the draw for the 4th line, and he won 5 of 7.

I know he's not a mucker as such, but Sutter loves to win draws.

It was a strange mix with Ruzicka either playing LW or C and Dube playing LW or RW.

I was never sure who was where.

 

If he stays until we play at home, Sutter may be able to use him better.

TBH, I thought Richardson was a little better, but he's getting killed out there with Dube.

The experience is great, but maybe we need a slightly different type of player. 

[robrob74]

1 hour ago, travel_dude said:

 

Good perspective.  They had Ruzicka taking the majority of the draw for the 4th line, and he won 5 of 7.

I know he's not a mucker as such, but Sutter loves to win draws.

It was a strange mix with Ruzicka either playing LW or C and Dube playing LW or RW.

I was never sure who was where.

 

If he stays until we play at home, Sutter may be able to use him better.

TBH, I thought Richardson was a little better, but he's getting killed out there with Dube.

The experience is great, but maybe we need a slightly different type of player. 

i feel Dube is still fighting his size. Every time I see him he’s on the ice or getting bumped off the puck. Maybe that’s usage? I mean, if he’s not with players who can help make space, when things get tighter he’s going to have a harder time.

[travel_dude]

1 minute ago, robrob74 said:

i feel Dube is still fighting his size. Every time I see him he’s on the ice or getting bumped off the puck. Maybe that’s usage? I mean, if he’s not with players who can help make space, when things get tighter he’s going to have a harder time.

The effective way to stop him is to force him to come up the boards with the puck.

That's not using the linemates.

He gets plastered there, so it's no wonder he's on the ice.

 

The best two situations I have seen is with Mangiapane (think he was C), and with Lucic and Bennett.

As long as he isn't the one raging the puck, he can get space.

That's Mangiapane in a nutshell.

Drive the play, pass it and get open.

Dube's best chances have come from the middle or just right of middle.

He doesn't have the creativity to do what Gaudreau does on LW.

At least I haven't seen it.

 

I think he was somewhat effective with Lindholm and Tkachuk last season, but faded.

That was Wardo, though.  And we had Bennett at the time too.

[robrob74]

2 minutes ago, travel_dude said:

The effective way to stop him is to force him to come up the boards with the puck.

That's not using the linemates.

He gets plastered there, so it's no wonder he's on the ice.

 

The best two situations I have seen is with Mangiapane (think he was C), and with Lucic and Bennett.

As long as he isn't the one raging the puck, he can get space.

That's Mangiapane in a nutshell.

Drive the play, pass it and get open.

Dube's best chances have come from the middle or just right of middle.

He doesn't have the creativity to do what Gaudreau does on LW.

At least I haven't seen it.

 

I think he was somewhat effective with Lindholm and Tkachuk last season, but faded.

That was Wardo, though.  And we had Bennett at the time too.

 

it all makes sense. So it’s coaching and Dube. Coach is probably telling him to distribute but he’s not and not finding more room with the puck.

[pikey7883]

1 hour ago, robrob74 said:

i feel Dube is still fighting his size. Every time I see him he’s on the ice or getting bumped off the puck. Maybe that’s usage? I mean, if he’s not with players who can help make space, when things get tighter he’s going to have a harder time.

I agree, he has always been an aggressive forechecker, but that’s not going to work for him in the NHL. Although, if he could figure out how to be effective on the LW, joining him with Ruzicka and Duehr/Pospisil on the Right Side. That’s two big bodies to play with and they could see success (a different option 4th line) rather than Lewis/Richardson? 

[robrob74]

1 hour ago, pikey7883 said:

I agree, he has always been an aggressive forechecker, but that’s not going to work for him in the NHL. Although, if he could figure out how to be effective on the LW, joining him with Ruzicka and Duehr/Pospisil on the Right Side. That’s two big bodies to play with and they could see success (a different option 4th line) rather than Lewis/Richardson? 

i think it could work, but it’ll exert a lot of energy. But i think he needs a bit of size and speed to even it out. There needs to be options where guys can accept a pass and hold on when needed and pass when needed. That’s what was wrong with Bennett. It needs to be a good mix.

 

im ok with the 4th line. They’ve been counted on to close games much like a closer on baseball. They’re relied on to do the heavy lifting when it’s crucial. I think that could be the difference between now and previous seasons. We didn’t have enough bodies to defend that part of the game. We kept the closers on for minutes and then running out of gas and then losing leads and games. Now there is a balance.

[travel_dude]

2 hours ago, robrob74 said:

i think it could work, but it’ll exert a lot of energy. But i think he needs a bit of size and speed to even it out. There needs to be options where guys can accept a pass and hold on when needed and pass when needed. That’s what was wrong with Bennett. It needs to be a good mix.

 

im ok with the 4th line. They’ve been counted on to close games much like a closer on baseball. They’re relied on to do the heavy lifting when it’s crucial. I think that could be the difference between now and previous seasons. We didn’t have enough bodies to defend that part of the game. We kept the closers on for minutes and then running out of gas and then losing leads and games. Now there is a balance.

 

I'm not really sure what the lines are.

Lucic on Backlund's line, yet he's perfect for the 4th line heavy lifting.

Dube on a 4th line that featured very little skating and little offense.

 

I liked the look of Coleman-Monahan-Lewis.

Perhaps it didn't work in 2 games, but it started well.