Quote:
Originally Posted by CSharp
I was thinking exactly that when Backlund was out in the ice before that OT goal. He's OK as a 5-on-5 guy. But in OT, when he loses the puck, you know it's game over. We saw something similar in another OT loss where he loses puck control and the opposition gets a break and scores. There's just too much ice in OT and he's not a puck possession guy.
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I suppose the issue is personnel. Monahan is the OT goals leader and second in points after Gaudreau (Backlund is 3rd among current Flames). But he's no longer a prime option. Sutter basically goes with footspeed in OT. So, in order, who do you go with, assuming you want a D with 2 forwards?
Gaudreau/Lindholm; Tkachuk and who? Mangiapane? There's no centre there. Toffoli? Same problem. I think Backlund gets put out because there's a faceoff and Lindholm isn't available. It's either Backlund or Monahan. Monahan has a better shot at winning the draw but if not, Backlund is better at defending and skating. Richardson is not an option. Dube would be but he wasn't on the bench.
I do agree- Backlund doesn't make the best offensive decisions in OT. He tends to shoot from outside and get trapped deep. But Sutter's choices are limited.