Quote:
Originally Posted by Flash Walken
Here's the thing about comparing Monahan to all these elite centres:
All those elite centres have the offense run through them. There aren't many teams in the league where the offense runs through the winger.
What is so pronounced about how bad the Flames have been is how bad Gaudreau has been. There really is only so much a centre playing with Gaudreau can do because that Centre never has the puck and is never in charge of where it goes.
The entire team offense is geared through Gaudreau. If he is having an off night the entire team will look bad. Look at what just happened to Tampa. Kucherov goes quiet after getting frustrated and that entire team goes cold. The same thing happens in Chicago with Pat Kane. All of a sudden Kane starts feeling it and the entire team goes on a streak.
Monahan lacks qualities you want in your #1 centre to be sure, and he has physical limitations on what he can do on the ice in terms of his speed. However, when Gaudreau is routinely giving away pucks in transition and within 10 feet of the blueline, that is going to make a guy lacking in speed look MUCH MUCH worse than he is.
IMO the problem right now is that Gaudreau's negative energy is a black cloud over the whole team and his linemates could be Francis and Iginla and he'd be making them look bad with his ####ty passes and horrific turnovers, because those other guys are never allowed to handle the puck.
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I can't disagree with any of this. Gaudreau has been awful. However, you can't run the offense through Monahan because, as you say,
Monahan lacks qualities you want in your #1 centre to be sure, and he has physical limitations on what he can do on the ice in terms of his speed
There lies the problem. Who do we have who can drive the bus for the first line? They haven't created any clean entries, no odd man rushes, no forecheck to speak of except from Lindholm, and the puck is just given up cheaply resulting in the Avs coming back in odd man rushes as they are far faster than our top line.
Hate to say it but Flames can't play pretty and just dangle their way through the Avs d. Maybe plan B for game 5 should be to bring in eg Lazar and Czarnik to give more speed and grit and then dump, chase and forecheck the crap out of the Avs to at least give us some time in their zone. Not pretty but I don't want to see us go out with a whine and whimper, I want to see us play with desperation and to fight for every puck.