Flames Fwd line combinations, D pairings, PP units, PK units, and goalie discussion

[Mazatt]

Revisiting the pairs, Andersson was demoted to the third pairing with Valimaki last night for a bit. He's had a rough season, took two undisciplined penalties yesterday, and just isn't playing well regardless of his spot. Stone moved up in his spot. In the past, Sutter has demoted guys only to put them right back in the same spot for the next game. The real question is; when is enough enough for Sutter as far as Andersson goes? It feels like he has the forward lines where he likes them, the top pairing is good, Stone and the left side of the D look good. The only sore spot recenty has been Andersson. If we weren't in a fight-for-your life playoff push would Sutter be benching Andersson for a game soon? Or will the most we see be in-game demotions for poor play.

 

[User1996]

I would say he’s still one of your best 6 defencemen. Probably even 4. Scratching him would be to send a message, and I don’t think you can afford to do that when every point is a must get.

I haven’t even really had a problem with him since he and Hanifin were reunited other than the two penalties last night.

 

[Ace Rimmer]

Revisiting the pairs, Andersson was demoted to the third pairing with Valimaki last night for a bit. He's had a rough season, took two undisciplined penalties yesterday, and just isn't playing well regardless of his spot. Stone moved up in his spot. In the past, Sutter has demoted guys only to put them right back in the same spot for the next game. The real question is; when is enough enough for Sutter as far as Andersson goes? It feels like he has the forward lines where he likes them, the top pairing is good, Stone and the left side of the D look good. The only sore spot recenty has been Andersson. If we weren't in a fight-for-your life playoff push would Sutter be benching Andersson for a game soon? Or will the most we see be in-game demotions for poor play.

He was back in his spot beside Hanifin by the start of the next period. I think he gets a bit of rope; those penalties (particularly the 2nd one) were fairly borderline, but the first was because of a bad decision on Rasmus' part.

 

[DFF]

Revisiting the pairs, Andersson was demoted to the third pairing with Valimaki last night for a bit. He's had a rough season, took two undisciplined penalties yesterday, and just isn't playing well regardless of his spot. Stone moved up in his spot. In the past, Sutter has demoted guys only to put them right back in the same spot for the next game. The real question is; when is enough enough for Sutter as far as Andersson goes? It feels like he has the forward lines where he likes them, the top pairing is good, Stone and the left side of the D look good. The only sore spot recenty has been Andersson. If we weren't in a fight-for-your life playoff push would Sutter be benching Andersson for a game soon? Or will the most we see be in-game demotions for poor play.

it’s obvious he is lazy, after the big contract he got too comfortable. The problem with the pairing was not the 38 yrs old guy. Pathetic.

He is not fat Andy for nothing. Sutter will fix that.

 

[InfinityIggy]

Andersson is definitely very vexing. When he is on and motivated he can be our most effective D man. Something is definitely off with him this year. A lot of mental lapses that remind me of Brodie, but without the well rounded game to make up for it. Part of it is an experience thing, but I would agree with the idea that he needs a coach to motivate him. Thankfully I think Sutter can get him to where he needs to be.

 

[Mazatt]

it’s obvious he is lazy, after the big contract he got too comfortable. The problem with the pairing was not the 38 yrs old guy. Pathetic.

He is not fat Andy for nothing. Sutter will fix that.

Hopefully a full offseason and a non-broken foot is what he needs to have average - above average conditioning under Sutter. As well, if he comes in with lesser expectations a bad game won't snowball on him and he can stay calm and collected with the puck like in his 1st two years

 

[Mazatt]

It's a crime that Mangiapane has been removed from Backlund tbh. I'd pay anything to get those two beauts back together

 

[RasmusAndersson]

It's a crime that Mangiapane has been removed from Backlund tbh. I'd pay anything to get those two beauts back together

And put Monahan w Nordstrom/Lucic? Recipe for disaster. Maybe if Monahan could play w weaker linemates but that line would get destroyed

 

[DFF]

Need to do the same thing to Monahan as the did with Bennett. Pump him up like a balloon and hopefully get a windfall for him. Sutter needs to start talking like Monahan is his favorite player ever.

 

[Mazatt]

And put Monahan w Nordstrom/Lucic? Recipe for disaster. Maybe if Monahan could play w weaker linemates but that line would get destroyed

Not necessarily. Dube doesn't necessarily fit in with Backlund imo, and the dynamic between he and Monahan could be something to look for if he could be a better puckhandler down the stretch. That entire bottom 9 can be altered slightly to get good results. I like how Nordstrom plays with Backlund in an odd kind of way, so mangiapane - Backlund - Nordstrom wouldn't be the worst thing. Conversely, Lucic - Monahan - Dube could very well be something, and it changes the complexion of how the Monahan line plays.

Right now Monahan isn't producing offensively for himself or others around him, putting him with a guy like Mangiapane who, for as good as he is, can't create something out of nothing just neuters a guy unnecessarily. Could even see Leivo get onto a line with Monahan as we saw for a shift yesterday since Dube isn't being spectacular. Rn the only sure thing with the lineup should be Gaudreau - Lindholm - Tkachuk. Everything beyond that shouldn't be set in stone.

Need to do the same thing to Monahan as the did with Bennett. Pump him up like a balloon and hopefully get a windfall for him. Sutter needs to start talking like Monahan is his favorite player ever.

Seems like Sutter is already pumping his tires
Might be some idea to give other teams the impression his lack of offence is due to better defence and they can pick up a solid haul

 

[User1996]

Hahah Brett Ritchie back in the top 6 at practice

Tank is back on

 

[RasmusAndersson]

Hahah Brett Ritchie back in the top 6 at practice

Tank is back on

In his defense Dube has been non-impactful w Mang and Monahan. But ya no excuse for Ritchie getting another shot there wtf

 

[super6646]

Hahah Brett Ritchie back in the top 6 at practice

Tank is back on

Monahan line not getting it done with inferior line mates (that should be good enough for him still)... What a surprise.

Daryl is just... ugh

 

[Mazatt]

On the one hand; I like seeing different look guys with Monahan, and putting Dube with Ryan (where Mangiapane started and grew alongside) and Leivo seems like a good thing.

Now on the other hand, top 6 Ritchie is atrocious and Sutter should feel bad.

 

[Mobiandi]

Honestly Mangiapane-Monahan-Ritchie is closer to a 4th line than Dube-Ryan-Leivo

 

[TheHudlinator]

I'd run Mangiapane- Monahan - Ryan

 

[DFF]

In his defense Dube has been non-impactful w Mang and Monahan. But ya no excuse for Ritchie getting another shot there wtf

Getting to play with Monahan is not a shot

it’s a demotion

 

[Mazatt]

Just dead ass looking at it, other than four games in the playoffs has Dube ever really looked like a top 6 scoring threat? He has speed and alright hands but has been inconsistent, is pacing for similar totals to last year, and is being typecasted as a top 6 RW? I was hoping he'd end up centering a bottom 6 line but instead he's being played well above his head. Hopefully he, much like everyone else on the team, is able to use another long offseason to work things out. Hopefully he can either fill the hole Ryan leaves or play somewhere around there on the left side or down the middle.

 

[Siignal]

Just dead ass looking at it, other than four games in the playoffs has Dube ever really looked like a top 6 scoring threat? He has speed and alright hands but has been inconsistent, is pacing for similar totals to last year, and is being typecasted as a top 6 RW? I was hoping he'd end up centering a bottom 6 line but instead he's being played well above his head. Hopefully he, much like everyone else on the team, is able to use another long offseason to work things out. Hopefully he can either fill the hole Ryan leaves or play somewhere around there on the left side or down the middle.

I thought he projected as a 2-3C initially

 

[RasmusAndersson]

Just dead ass looking at it, other than four games in the playoffs has Dube ever really looked like a top 6 scoring threat? He has speed and alright hands but has been inconsistent, is pacing for similar totals to last year, and is being typecasted as a top 6 RW? I was hoping he'd end up centering a bottom 6 line but instead he's being played well above his head. Hopefully he, much like everyone else on the team, is able to use another long offseason to work things out. Hopefully he can either fill the hole Ryan leaves or play somewhere around there on the left side or down the middle.

It literally all comes down to our terrible RW depth. With Lindholm at C we genuinely have 0 natural top-9 RW’s. It’s unbelievable how ppl were so opposed to moving Monahan for a top-6 RW and sliding Bennett to a permanent middle-6 C spot, and now Bennett is off in Florida as a solid 2C option while Monahan is being demoted to a 6.35 mil 3C that is on pace for ~45 pts. That should have been our solution had we had halfway decent asset management. Almost all of our issues stem from not having a 1C or a single top-6 RW. Lindholm can fill either a RW spot or low-end 1C, leaving us with 2 other gaping holes. That combined with some terrible FA decisions that leave us with very little flexibility, and an aging captain and other veterans who don’t fit with the age of our core, leave us in a bleak spot. Lets hope we can figure this out and address at least 1 of the RW spots while finding a cheaper replacement for Monahan and push Dube back into the bottom-6 where he belongs

 

[WhiskeyYerTheDevils]

The Gaudreau - Lindholm pairing has proven to bear fruit. They've both put up 6 points +3 in the 5 games since being paired.

Not sold on Tkachuk there though, he should be put with Backlund.

And I think they need to move Monahan down the lineup or over to wing.

In 5 games since being separated from Gaudreau, his stat line is 2g 0a -1 with only 4 shots. And one of those goals is an empty netter. And half of those 4 shots and his only non-empty net goal came in that first game.

Gaudreau - Lindholm - Mangiapane
Tkachuk - Backlund - Leivo
Lucic - Ryan - Dube
Nordstrom - Monahan - Ritchie

I think if Sutter is intent on playing Ritchie so much, this makes more sense. You're wasting Mangiapane with Monahan - I'd drop him further down the lineup until be proves he's a better 3C option than Ryan. We've seen Lucic - Ryan - Dube work in the past, I think it's a much better 3rd line option than anything with Monahan.

 

[RasmusAndersson]

The Gaudreau - Lindholm pairing has proven to bear fruit. They've both put up 6 points +3 in the 5 games since being paired.

Not sold on Tkachuk there though, he should be put with Backlund.

And I think they need to move Monahan down the lineup or over to wing.

In 5 games since being separated from Gaudreau, his stat line is 2g 0a -1 with only 4 shots. And one of those goals is an empty netter. And half of those 4 shots and his only non-empty net goal came in that first game.

Gaudreau - Lindholm - Mangiapane
Tkachuk - Backlund - Leivo
Lucic - Ryan - Dube
Nordstrom - Monahan - Ritchie

I think if Sutter is intent on playing Ritchie so much, this makes more sense. You're wasting Mangiapane with Monahan - I'd drop him further down the lineup until be proves he's a better 3C option than Ryan. We've seen Lucic - Ryan - Dube work in the past, I think it's a much better 3rd line option than anything with Monahan.

Great except our bottom-6 is one of the most expensive in the league despite being near the bottom of the pack (almost $18 million). But sadly I agree for right now that gives us the best chance to win (with Leivo in the top-6 lol) just a testament to our poor roster management

 

[User1996]

Ohh now we’re on to Sean Monahan 4C?

Yup, might be time to take a break from HF for awhile

 

[WhiskeyYerTheDevils]

Ohh now we’re on to Sean Monahan 4C?

Yup, might be time to take a break from HF for awhile

I mean has he done anything to prove he should play higher in the lineup?

Sutter roles 4 lines anyways. I think it's more about getting the most out of assets and Monahan has been an anchor this year. You waste Mangiapane and Dube with him at this point.

 

[User1996]

I mean has he done anything to prove he should play higher in the lineup?

Sutter roles 4 lines anyways. I think it's more about getting the most out of assets and Monahan has been an anchor this year. You waste Mangiapane and Dube with him at this point.

Besides put up 203 goals and 436 points in 584 career games? Besides actually looking pretty solid between two speedy wingers as part of a heavier forecheck/cycle/zone possession line? They’re lacking results right now, but the process is absolutely there.

But to roll with your logic, what have Tkachuk, Leivo, Dube, Ryan, or Lucic done to prove they should play higher than Monahan?