Quote:
Originally Posted by The Boy Wonder
The system is rigid and doesn't allow defensmen to pinch down and get involved for extended periods of time. I think if you look at number of times a flames dman is below the hashmarks with the puck you would find we are in the bottom third of the league. Which is a shame considering our d core can skate and shoot (for the most part)
Just because the top line thrives under gulutzan and no other line does doesn't mean it's on the other 9 guys. The top line thrived under ANY coach with the way Johnny has been going this year. A different coach could likely get more out of the rest of this forward group and utilize the skill on the back end a little better.
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I've already made my points and shown my examples on defensemen pinching and etc. No one is going to convince me that the system they're currently playing is too rigid especially when considering pinching is mostly reading and reacting from individual to individual and varies based on the time and score of the game.
For your last point, Gulutzan hasn't pulled any reigns on the 1st line and not only are they thriving, but they're on pace to obliterate their career highs. Saying that the 1st line transcends the coaching and everyone else is stunted is just flat out fabrication.
It doesn't make sense at all since Bennett and Jankowski looked fantastic in December and was carrying the team at the time when the 1st line struggled. What happened since? Did the coach tell them to stop playing well? Backlund and his line were probably our best over line last season and under the same coach and systems, they're underperforming. Ditto for the 4th line, major underperformance.