Quote:
Originally Posted by ricardodw
Backlund lost the series last year to Mackinnon and this year he has Scheifele. I guess he figures the quiet respectful approach didn't work so let's see how Scheifele reacts
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Backlund and Tkachuk were actually really unlucky last year when it came to their head to head match up with the Mackinnon line actually.
Flames were dominated when those two weren't on the ice, but with those two on the ice the match up was a lot closer than it seemed. Just a bit unlucky at even strength.
Backlund + Tkachuk vs Mackinnon:
TOI: 46:46
CF%: 52.4%
HDCF%: 66.7% (14 For, 7 Against)
xGF%: 57.9%
GF: 1
GA: 4
Sh %: 3.45%
Sv %: .833
Without Backlund & Tkachuk vs Mackinnon:
TOI: 36:58
CF%: 31.2%
HDCF%: 9.52% (2 For, 19 (!) Against)
xGF%: 18.2%
GF: 2
GA: 0
Sh %: 16.7%
Sv %: 1.000
So Backlund and Tkachuk controlled play and had the advantage in High Danger chances and expected goals. But had a horrible on ice shooting percentage, and didn't get many saves either. Without those two on the ice Mackinnon absolutely ran over the Flames, but Smith stood on his head and the Flames were able to score two goals. In the end it kind of balanced out at 5 on 5 but Mackinnon's domination really wasn't Backlund's fault.
Similar story on the PK. Only 1 of the 5 PP goals the Avs scored with Mackinnon on the ice were scored with Backlund on the ice, while 4 of the PP goals they scored were with the Janko PK on the ice.
The Backlund-Tkachuk pairing is the least of the Flames worries IMO.