Under Peters/GG, this team had 2 effective forward lines in Gaudreau-Monahan-Lindholm and Tkachuk-Backlund-Frolik/Mangiapane. The criticism was that there was no depth score in the bottom-6.
At the moment, we only have one effective line Gaudreau-Lindholm-Tkachuk. Monahan and Backlund have disappeared for various reasons. Mangiapane has gone cold, so in recently, we don't have a 2nd line that is scoring at 2nd line rates.
Backlund and Mangiapane have had chemistry in the past, and Backlund has a history of boosting the scoring stats of his wingers (see the "Backlund effect"). Might be worthwhile to give Mangipane-Backlund-Coleman a sustained look to see if they can build chemistry.
That said, about a year before being hired, I remember Sutter saying that Backlund should be slotted as a highly effective third-line centre. We lack a 2C who can fill that void.
|