Calgarypuck Forums - The Unofficial Calgary Flames Fan Community - View Single Post - [PGT] Flames 4

Calgary4LIfe · 08-14-2020, 10:03 AM

I think the top line is having a tough time scoring because that line is not a 'dump and chase' line. When was Gaudreau and Monahan really effective? When they are scoring off the rush, IMO. I don't think either one of them - or even the top line in general - are very effective playing along the boards. They are better at it then before, but they don't generate anything at all. Ward needs to adjust that line's utilization, IMO. The rest of the team is playing fine along the boards, but not the top line. You can make an argument that Gaudreau no longer fits on the team because of it, but he is on the team right now in the playoffs, and Ward needs to get him off the boards and get the puck into his hands sooner, and have defencemen joining the rush to give him options. That's when Johnny is most effective, IMO.

Something has to change. This team is not going to go very far with a top line that is completely neutered offensively. You can win games without your best players, but it is tough to win a series - especially against good teams.

I don't know... you put up 4 goals and that should be enough, especially considering one goal got called back on top of it. Talbot hasn't looked very good, and neither did Bishop. The defence looked terrible - both defencemen and forwards turning the puck over or not picking up the right guys. It was just a disjointed looking team for the most part, and Dallas was as well.

Refs were bad - I usually expect bad calls now and then, but it seemed there was a lot of stuff that wasn't called (sometimes by either team, but I thought Dallas got away with more), and then Bennett got called for that? Even worse, the penalty on Giordano when battling Benn? There was a tonne of egregious penalties not called, but those are? I was surprised when they called the Radulov penalty on Giordano - I actually thought that Giordano was going to get called, and I think Giordano thought he was going to be called as well.

I really think that Calgary should open up the ice more for the top line and do their best to get them off their boards, and see if that helps. They haven't been digging many pucks out of the corners. When you see numbers like that from the top line - both raw scoring stats and the advanced metrics - but your players aren't hurt, obviously care enough to be playing hockey in the playoffs and are at least obviously putting the effort in defensively (aside from the game winning goal, but that's more of a mental mistake than an effort - and in all fairness, almost every player on the prior shift and almost every player on that particular shift were atrocious defensively) - you have to figure that it is something else. Unless they are playing through injuries (which it doesn't look like to me - Bennett does, but not anyone on the top line that I noticed), then I think it is the deployment/system.

The talent is obviously there on the top line. The effort is there (you have to really have a hate on to think that the top line hasn't been giving it a good effort). There are no apparent injuries. They were already having a down year in the regular season. I just think if I am Ward, I am going to look at how that top line scored often in the past - starting from whenever the Flames gained the puck in their own zone.

That's a line that is built to score off the rush, and they are not rushing, and so they are not scoring. That's what makes sense to me, anyway. It looks like none of them are playing with any confidence either, but even if players don't play with confidence, they at least can have decent underlying offensive metrics, not practically non-existent ones. My best is the system that the top line is playing under - I think you can tweak how the top line operates to better play to their strengths - Gaudreau along the boards is not a strength.

08-14-2020, 10:03 AM	#370
Calgary4LIfe Franchise Player Join Date: Jun 2010 Exp:	I think the top line is having a tough time scoring because that line is not a 'dump and chase' line. When was Gaudreau and Monahan really effective? When they are scoring off the rush, IMO. I don't think either one of them - or even the top line in general - are very effective playing along the boards. They are better at it then before, but they don't generate anything at all. Ward needs to adjust that line's utilization, IMO. The rest of the team is playing fine along the boards, but not the top line. You can make an argument that Gaudreau no longer fits on the team because of it, but he is on the team right now in the playoffs, and Ward needs to get him off the boards and get the puck into his hands sooner, and have defencemen joining the rush to give him options. That's when Johnny is most effective, IMO. Something has to change. This team is not going to go very far with a top line that is completely neutered offensively. You can win games without your best players, but it is tough to win a series - especially against good teams. I don't know... you put up 4 goals and that should be enough, especially considering one goal got called back on top of it. Talbot hasn't looked very good, and neither did Bishop. The defence looked terrible - both defencemen and forwards turning the puck over or not picking up the right guys. It was just a disjointed looking team for the most part, and Dallas was as well. Refs were bad - I usually expect bad calls now and then, but it seemed there was a lot of stuff that wasn't called (sometimes by either team, but I thought Dallas got away with more), and then Bennett got called for that? Even worse, the penalty on Giordano when battling Benn? There was a tonne of egregious penalties not called, but those are? I was surprised when they called the Radulov penalty on Giordano - I actually thought that Giordano was going to get called, and I think Giordano thought he was going to be called as well. I really think that Calgary should open up the ice more for the top line and do their best to get them off their boards, and see if that helps. They haven't been digging many pucks out of the corners. When you see numbers like that from the top line - both raw scoring stats and the advanced metrics - but your players aren't hurt, obviously care enough to be playing hockey in the playoffs and are at least obviously putting the effort in defensively (aside from the game winning goal, but that's more of a mental mistake than an effort - and in all fairness, almost every player on the prior shift and almost every player on that particular shift were atrocious defensively) - you have to figure that it is something else. Unless they are playing through injuries (which it doesn't look like to me - Bennett does, but not anyone on the top line that I noticed), then I think it is the deployment/system. The talent is obviously there on the top line. The effort is there (you have to really have a hate on to think that the top line hasn't been giving it a good effort). There are no apparent injuries. They were already having a down year in the regular season. I just think if I am Ward, I am going to look at how that top line scored often in the past - starting from whenever the Flames gained the puck in their own zone. That's a line that is built to score off the rush, and they are not rushing, and so they are not scoring. That's what makes sense to me, anyway. It looks like none of them are playing with any confidence either, but even if players don't play with confidence, they at least can have decent underlying offensive metrics, not practically non-existent ones. My best is the system that the top line is playing under - I think you can tweak how the top line operates to better play to their strengths - Gaudreau along the boards is not a strength.