Quote:
Originally Posted by Cali Panthers Fan
It actually does make sense when you consider how bad the Sedins have been this year. That was Henrik Sedin's first goal of the season and just his 5th point. They're basically the 3rd line for Vancouver now. If the 4th line can't handle those guys at this point in their career, then they all need to be benched.
They simply did not perform to a reasonable expectation for the 4th line. You don't have to create offense, but you have to take care of your own zone. They failed miserably because nobody covered on Kulak's pinch, which I'm sure he was given the green light to do in order to get back in the game.
Context, understanding, reasonability. If you have those you can see that Gulutzan didn't want to waste his best players on covering the Sedins. Backlund's line shut down the Horvat line most of the night quite well. Perhaps he could have utilized the 3rd line, but I would think that the veterans on the 4th line know what their job is at that point in the game and they've defended against offensive players before last night.
Second guess it if you must, find fault if you must, criticize if you must, but at least put some thought into it other than just "Gulutzan = bad".
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Yes, the Sedins have been bad this year.
But the bolded comments perfectly illustrate my frustration with Gulutzan on that sequence...
The game was in Calgary. Gulutzan had the last change. It's
his choice how to dictate the matchups and the game strategy. So what is his mindset?
With the Sedins standing at centre, and the Canucks having just scored a go-ahead goal in the middle of the third period in a game that the Flames have dominated, Gulutzan has a choice: he can throw out the 1st line and try to recapture the momentum, or he can take the defensive approach, and send out the fourth line, (assumingly) thinking that they can handle the Sedins.
It's all about mindset. And I am increasingly finding that Gulutzan's mindset is defensive and reactionary.