They are using Bennett on Jankowski’s wing most likely because Janko is a worse winger than Bennett is a good centre.
They tried Backlund at wing because it made sense on paper and to get Lindholm a crack at centre.
They had a long time to go with a goal left after Monahan scored the first and with an empty net. So they were going to end up using two lines anyway. Might as well give a rest right away and save the timeout until the very end after a puck freeze, if it happened.
They tried Buddy on the top line because of Johnny and because it worked pretty well for a game.
The Flames play dump and chase because the forwards are not moving the puck up ice quick enough, and are getting stopped at the blue line, leaving them no choice. It’s not being coached that way.
Bottom line, yeah Bennett would be better at centre. The answer isn’t to break up a line that has worked very well. It’s to get rid of Jankowski and use Bennett at centre between two decent young wingers.
|