Stayed out to watch the game last night - thankfully a slow morning at work today!
Bennett looked amazing. Noticed him right away. Not as visible in 2nd period, but I think part of that was the long change meaning Hartley couldn't set his matchups as well.
Colborne played the best game I have seen from him in a long time. I wasn't sold on that line on paper - I wanted a faster guy like Jooris there - but Colborne fit perfectly with Bennett and Backlund.
The Stajan line was also great. Everyone is talking about Ferland, and for good reason too - he was a monster out there - but Stajan and Jones played well, letting Ferland impose himself on the Canucks.
The Canucks seemed reluctant to engage physically, if that doesn't change for game 2, this could be a short series.
Monahan and Hudler were well checked by the Canucks, Gaudreau would occassionaly break free with some magic, but that top line was stifled. With how well the Backlund and Stajan lines played though, that could force Desjardins to change his matchups, which might give the Monahan line a chance to spark.
The longer the game went on, the more the Flames surged - it was "rope a dope" hockey.
I wonder if Vrbata gets reunited with the Sedins, to try to get some scoring from that line. They did well to shut down Monahan, but neutralized their own effectiveness in doing so.
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