GDT: Its after 3:00 PM and there's no Flames vs Isles GDT... so here it is.

[Bounces R Way]

Honestly props to that old school Gudbranson tilt. That was a f***in old time scrap. Not the most fists to the nose but it was long and vicious intent was there.

Couple big big dudes beating each other up. I hope they never ban fighting in hockey. How gentleman should settle every disagreement.

Great home performance from the Flames. Could have been cleaner defensively, but liked the energy to break through NY's tight checking neutral zone.

Great : Andersson, Ruzicka, Lindholm, Tanev, Gudbranson. All 3 RD for the Flames were monsters tonight. Tkachuk was also very very good, created a chance most of his shifts.

Good : Starting to board the Hanifin train. Do not trade. Markstrom there's a 6 million dollar goalie right there. Mangiapane, Backlund, Coleman this line f***s. Kylington

Not bad : Dube, Lucic, Lewis

Meh : I know Gaudreau had two points but he was very passive tonight. Shows how good he really is. Monahan reeeeeeely needs to score a goal.

Bad : Zadorov not his best work. Ritchie go away.

 

[TheHudlinator]

Flames need to find a way to acquire Toffoli to replace Ritchie on that 3rd line. I feel like Dube-Monahan-Toffoli would help Monahan (and Dube) pop out of their offensive funk. Ritchie is useless, literally; 20+ games and no points and a - player, like why is he still playing?

Is there a Kristian Huselius type player out there? I feel like he would be excellent for Monahan.

It's painful to watch Ritchie, he actively makes anyone worse he plays with. Call up Phillips and let's be done with it

 

[Mazatt]

I think it's very safe to say that Ruzicka is the 3C. Just as a comparison to comfirm what we've already seen (think these stats are from before tonight. With comparable ice time, Lucic and Lewis have been centred by Monahan, Richardson, and Ruzicka. Respectively, the lines CF% are 47.7, 40.0, and 50.9. With similar linemates, before Ruzicka's arguable best game, they are at least slightly controlling play with him. He is a strong puck carrier, he makes strong offensive plays--the only downside right now is his defence which as always is a work in process.

With that in mind: Ruzicka being a solid bottom 6 centre for this team is something people could have guessed if he got a chance--and to an extent there is a point where for a late round pick working someone like Ruzicka in slow is useful--and it's time to extend that time out. For one holding onto promising prospects just ruins the whole value prop of good prospects wherein you get cheap production comparable to more expensive vets or even higher in the lineup so fast-tracking great prospects/players performing is important. Then, there are also the odds you play on someone like Ritchie's replacability and call someone up to replace him that could provice above 0 PPG. So, for example, Phillips could be a scorer. But alright, he's not a Ritchie. Grit matters. Why not have a Duehr/Pospisil given a shot? Duehr especially does just about everything Ritchie does beyond fighting ability but has some offensive ability no matter how slight. Idk, there are just so many non-Ritchie options that the Flames can and should explore on that 3rd line to try and get some kind of groove going.

 

[Khrox]

My favourite part of Ruzicka's post game was him saying "Honestly, I don't care about points. I care about wins, and we're at 6 in a row". Dude knows what's up.

 

[DFF]

As long as the other 5 Dmen are playing well, Zadorov is alright. He is not a bad 6th dman. He makes lots of mistakes but he also has his moments and size matters.

Ruzicka is now a full time NHLer. He is as good a player we can find on the 4th line. His offensive skills are hard to find on the bottom line . Work hard and you will never find the minor again. I thought he was going to be the little Monahan, now he is better than Monahan.

unless Ritchie fights 3 times a night, I can’t find the reason for him to be in the NHL. Right now he is killing 3 careers, every time he steps on the ice.

 

[TheHudlinator]

As long as the other 5 Dmen are playing well, Zadorov is alright. He is not a bad 6th dman. He makes lots of mistakes but he also has his moments and size matters.

Ruzicka is now a full time NHLer. He is as good a player we can find on the 4th line. His offensive skills are hard to find on the bottom line . Work hard and you will never find the minor again. I thought he was going to be the little Monahan, now he is better than Monahan.

unless Ritchie fights 3 times a night, I can’t find the reason for him to be in the NHL. Right now he is killing 3 careers, every time he steps on the ice.

Zadorov might be one of our better offensive D men but his mistakes are too plentiful I'm still nervous playing him against top teams in the playoffs, but he has been better this past month or so.

Gaudreau might be the best Flame ever and Ritchie might be the worst, I can't believe with how good a coach Sutter is he won't sit Ritchie.

Ruzicka is probably the reason Dube won't ever be a center on this team he has just been so solid

Richardson, Pitlick, Ritchie combined have as many points as Ruzicka

 

[Rubi]

My favourite part of Ruzicka's post game was him saying "Honestly, I don't care about points. I care about wins, and we're at 6 in a row". Dude knows what's up.

Well that's one thing that Ruzi is better at than Connor McDud. He would never utter those words.

 

[Johnny Hoxville]

I have to say Ruzicka has been really impressive. I think he’s a guy who can be really similar to Faska. He’s not physically imposing, but his size is great, he’s skilled, he works hard, I could see him getting 30-35pts in our bottom 6. I’m a definite fan.