Quote:
Originally Posted by CGY12
A) It is not an overused term. Dangle is not what I mean at all. When I say drive play I mean control pace, he has the skill set to handle the puck and know when to use speed, slow it down or use body position, to get to certain areas of the ice. All of the best centres excel at this.
B) Monahan may do it on occasion (although not very well) but it needs to at least be a viable threat, thus not only creating space for himself but his line mates. With JG being the only one who has the IQ and skillset to do it, it really hinders that line in tight checking playoff style hockey and the middle of the ice is easily neutralized.
C) Which is why they are so easy to shut down at even strength in the playoffs, teams exclusively focus on shutting down JG and his zone entries which leads to him taking a lot of abuse and the line generating next to nothing.
D) When I talk about the high hockey IQ I should have clarified. Monahan is good at finding soft spots and positioning himself in front of the net (although he struggles to do this in the playoffs). See point A, that is the hockey IQ aspect of the game I'm talking about, for a #1 C.
I'm not even sure how any open and honest Flames fan can say Monahan is the answer at #1 C, given the playoff failures and the repeated struggles not only to generate points but even any sustained pressure at even strength. I'm not concerned about him being one of the best Flames players when the bar is so low as is, come playoff time. I give my opinion based assembling a team capable of winning the ultimate prize.
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It's baffling to me. 4 even strength goals, 13 even strength points in 30 playoff games. And not with a nothing cast, either.