When the Flames are down by a couple of goals in the third period, I would love Ward to shorten his bench and run these 3 lines exclusively:
Gaudreau - Monahan - Lindholm
Tkachuk - Backlund - Mangiapane
Lucic - Bennett - Dube
I 100% see the "Lindholm Experiment" as something to continue with. I have no qualms about it at all, and there could be some significant long-term benefits both from a secondary scoring perspective, as well as making it easier to make roster changes through trades. I think it is a smart thing to do, and Lindholm has been both excellent at times, and a disappointment at times, but this is well-worth continuing.
However, when the Flames are trailing and actually need a goal, please roll your top 9 best players. Having your fourth line doing reps out there when they can't really score, or having them them neuter the other lines when you are behind makes such little sense to me.
Ritchie was good last night. I stand behind that, and he should for sure be playing the next game. He just shouldn't be on the top line. That top RW spot has seen more bargain-bin UFA players than any other player in terms of minutes, and there is something wrong with that in my opinion.
Shorten your bench and go back to 2 solid lines that are proven to work, and hope that the Gaudreau-Monahan-Lindholm line can find a spark when you are down. Other teams do this. You will see Kane and Toews back in the day playing on the same line when they were down in the third at times.
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