GDT: Leaf burning today! Yard work to commence at 7:00PM @ Saddledome

[Flames Fanatic]

I have two slight complaints about Ward, 1) stop scratching Kylington and put Hanifin with Andersson and 2) the bottom 6 are getting too much ice-time IMO. Yes they are playing well, but Gaudreau should not be getting 13 minutes of ice-time a night.

Agree on #1, but #2 is hard to argue results.

Also when you look at it, it's largely dependent on what sort of special teams deployments there have been:

Johnny Gaudreau Stats and News

 

[SKRusty]

Who is the top line right now though, because IMO it's Monahan with Backs and whoever else they have, it ain't the Lindholm line that is posted on most depth charts pre-game.

I have two slight complaints about Ward, 1) stop scratching Kylington and put Hanifin with Andersson and 2) the bottom 6 are getting too much ice-time IMO. Yes they are playing well, but Gaudreau should not be getting 13 minutes of ice-time a night.

Lindy and Chucky are the #1 line and for the most part dominate play and are playing the most minutes. This line has taken up the line-matching responsibilities and have done a pretty good job.

The defense pairings are up for debate but that is only going to get worse with Valimaki due to return in the new year.

I am great with the line usage right now. Everybody is scoring and the team is winning. JG like Fro needs to earn his time. To be honest in the last 8 games I don't think there has been a better player than Frolik.

 

[Khrox]

Toby... if for some reason the Flames don't make the playoffs, nobody here is going to say it's your fault for not scoring 10 goals. Carry on Toby and enjoy your season with the Flames this year.

That's because he's going to score 10 goals.

 

[crackdown44]

Agree on #1, but #2 is hard to argue results.

Also when you look at it, it's largely dependent on what sort of special teams deployments there have been:

Johnny Gaudreau Stats and News

Yeah I have to agree. Last year the first line had pretty intense 5v5 minutes. It’ll definitely help to have them fresher down the stretch. Nothing wrong with rolling 4 lines when you jump out to a 2-3 goal lead against a team like ‘zona

 

[Flames Fanatic]

Lindy and Chucky are the #1 line and for the most part dominate play and are playing the most minutes. This line has taken up the line-matching responsibilities and have done a pretty good job.

The defense pairings are up for debate but that is only going to get worse with Valimaki due to return in the new year.

I am great with the line usage right now. Everybody is scoring and the team is winning. JG like Fro needs to earn his time. To be honest in the last 8 games I don't think there has been a better player than Frolik.

Depends on the night though.

Last night was something like this:

• Johnny Gaudreau (14:37), Sean Monahan (14:13) and Mikael Backlund (13:39)
• Andrew Mangiapane (14:16), Elias Lindholm (14:03) and Matthew Tkachuk (13:25)
• Derek Ryan (12:21), Milan Lucic (12:19) and Dillon Dube (11:01)
• Mark Jankowski (9:28), Michael Frolik (9:13) and Tobias Rieder (9:07)

I suspect but have no confirmed that Johnny's shifts went down after we went up 4-2.

 

[Anglesmith]

The Rieder/Byron comparisons are on point. I love that speedy winger in the bottom six. There are situations where speed makes a huge difference, and that Frolik goal last night is an example. If Rieder doesn't have wheels, then he steals that puck and immediately gets engaged. Instead, he creates separation and sets up a dangerous situation.

 

[Fig]

Depends on the night though.

Last night was something like this:

• Johnny Gaudreau (14:37), Sean Monahan (14:13) and Mikael Backlund (13:39)
• Andrew Mangiapane (14:16), Elias Lindholm (14:03) and Matthew Tkachuk (13:25)
• Derek Ryan (12:21), Milan Lucic (12:19) and Dillon Dube (11:01)
• Mark Jankowski (9:28), Michael Frolik (9:13) and Tobias Rieder (9:07)

I suspect but have no confirmed that Johnny's shifts went down after we went up 4-2.

That's an insanely "equal" distribution of ice time. I think if Ward can figure out how to successfully pull off this type of strategy, we'd be friggen scary once Ward begins to set up permanent lines with excellent chemistry that begin to play closer to 20 minutes a night.