Tyson Barrie and Cale Makar have been on the ice together for a grand total of 10 minutes 5v5.
In those 10 minutes they have
- 3 goals. 0 against.
- 16 shot attempts for and 9 against.
- 12 shots on goal for and 6 against.
- 9 scoring chances for and 5 against.
- 6 high danger shot attempts and 2 against.
I don’t care if they’re 6’5 or 5’6. Until this pairing stops working I’m putting them together every shift other than those that begin with a faceoff in our own end. In fact, I’d like to see them start a few in our end. They may even surprise a few people by transitioning the puck from the D zone to the O zone.
For all intents and purposes it's really two goals for. The third, Makar was on the ice for literally 1 second on Mikko's OT winner.
They can definitely contribute good things offensively though, they're good offensive players. My argument is that they can do this without each other. For instance, the other two goals for didn't involve them together.
Barrie's shot that led to Landy's goal is a good example. This is a goal that would have happened without Makar, just like it has for multiple seasons now. MacKinnon grabbed a puck in the neutral zone, gained the O zone, pulled up and dished to Barrie at the point who let a wrister go for Landy to tip.
The other goal was all MacKinnon and Makar for his first goal. This would have happened if he had Nemeth with him. Of course, that's not to say Barrie and Makar can't make great individual plays together to setup goals. I'm sure that will happen at some point.
They could very easily have three goals against too, if not for some luck, and that's just from last game. Big goals against too. If they score on that centering feed, or Backlund takes a better shot after they both exit the zone early, or if there's a dangeous rebound, the Flames go up 1-0. If Gaudreau scores on his breakaway or penalty shot instead of fumbling it, that makes it 1-1. If Grubauer doesn't come up huge at the end of the 2nd period after that dangerous scramble, it's 4-2 going into the third, instead of 4-1.
My question is do you really gain that much offensively if you pair them together that you wouldn't have with them on their own, and is it worth the risk of increasing the chances against? Is it worth reducing the puck mobility on the other pairings to pair the two together? Leaving at least one pair of EJ, Cole, Zadorov, and Nemeth, where they might get in trouble skating or passing the puck out?
Personally I don't think it is. I think they make great plays on their own, give up less dangerous chances with more reliable defensive partners, and with them and G on separate pairs, you can roll three combos with outstanding puck movers. Only pairing them together when you need a big goal, or when you see a good matchup opportunity.
