I thought the Flames were fairly dominant tonight. Gaudreau had too many turnovers - that first line was just not going tonight, though it wasn't for a lack of effort. Canucks just played that line really tight.
They had no answer for the next 3 lines, however. As impressive of a game that Tkachuk had, as well as the entire 3rd line, I thought the 4th line deserves a shout-out. They were all playing well, and gave the Canucks some fits tonight by hemming them in their zone. They actually allowed the Flames to get a breather and provided energy and depth scoring - Brouwer's best game in a while I thought. Hopefully that line just continues providing that kind of play.
The Jankowski line was, again, incredibly dominant it seemed. They are starting to be the most consistent line out there, and that is really scary for other teams, as the first two lines always play well this season.
I did think that Vancouver sucked the life out of the Flames in this one, but it was Tkachuk that breathed life back into them. He was just 'on' tonight, and I think if he wasn't suspended, the refs would have called a couple of penalties on the Canucks as I thought Tkachuk did a good job of drawing a few. Maybe they didn't see it... hopefully it wasn't the start of 'reputation calls' against him. At any rate, he provided the Flames with energy, and when the sails were sagging a bit, he just took matters into his own hands and scored. Twice.
Anyone thinking Bennett is a bust now? I think he is quickly shutting up the critics who seemed so eager to spout-off about how terrible he was, how he was a bust, and even said he has no hockey IQ. Laughable. What people don't realize is when you lose confidence, you start second-guessing yourself too much, you start taking an extra second or two because of it, and you end up making poor choices. Now that Bennett is rolling, anyone think his IQ is questionable? If so, just don't admit it because you are simply wrong.
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