I, for one, am thrilled to have an Engelland on the team. Why?
I thought when Lucic ran Miller over in Buffalo, it was the catalyst that just led to that team completely falling apart. Nobody did a damn thing.
When Hartley started the game in Vancouver with all of the Flames muscle at the time, I thought that was the catalyst for Vancouver's downfall.
Both teams had a lot of warts - those two events weren't the reason, just merely what I thought of as a catalyst that just got that ball rolling faster.
Engelland puts a stop to that right away. Flames know that they can continue with the game plan of touching McDavid every chance they get.
I imagine the Oilers are going to come into the Dome all prepared for a hoedown, but once Lucic gets fed with a few punches (seriously, he really isn't that tough, especially after getting rocked a few times already) things will settle down. If not, I just expect a parade to the penalty box.
Engelland is a dependable defensive defencemen out there. Provides the team a tonne of leadership apparently, and provides them with loads of protection. I remember before Calgary signed Engelland, McGrattan spoke about other tough guys around in the league at the time - Engelland was his pick as the most technical and 'best' fighter, though there were tougher guys around.
I actually prefer a forward doing this than a defencemen - it is much easier for a team to absorb those minutes spent in the penalty box than on D - but at least he does his job exceedingly well. Lucic is a lose cannon that can hurt your team as much as help it. Engelland is that controlled deterrent that can play and has the respect of other players on his team, as well as around the league.
I am not sure I would expect fireworks tonight. It is interesting that the Flames haven't recalled Bollig (there are still guys like Maroon, Nurse, Kassian on that side). Not recalling him for this one game to me may be a statement that the Flames are not going to have him back.
Kissass ran around trying to intimidate, but he is likely to just take a bad penalty ala Lucic. I just think he is kind of a dirty player. Daniel the Nurse isn't very tough - Ferland or even Brouwer should be fine. Maroon is really the second coming of Zach "Huggy Bear" Stortini. Only guys to really worry about out there are Lucic and Kassian - just because they have that goon mentality.
Should be an interesting game. I just find it funny how an 18 year old kid has completely focused an entire team on him. Might throw their game plan out the window. I expect lots of practice time tonight for the Flames power-play units. I also anticipate that Ferland will be making a bit of a statement game if things get physical.
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