My opinion is that, generally speaking, forward lines 2-4 are fine and each have a identity and role.
Line 1 is fundamentally flawed due to personnel. There's no one on the top l I NE (huberdaeu, Lindholm, toffolli) who are good at being the puck carrier up the ice and to gain the offensive zone. They are also not strong dump and chase players. Essentially, thd flames don't have anyone there to replace gaudreau's ability to carry the puck into the offensive zone with speed.
Now, we have 2 centers that can play this role in kadri and backlund. However, though kadri can do this, his effectiveness seems higher with guys like mangiapane, that are able to get grimey and muck things up in the offensive zone (not huberdaeu's fort). Backlund is good at carrying the puck up the ice with speed, but he's not a first line player I suppose.
I would be willing to try a huberdaeu/backlund pair at this point though. Lindholm is not working there at all. I also think this has been a eye opener in just how much of Lindholm's offensive output as a flame was thanks to elite wingers, that are no longer here.
Maybe something like:
Huberdaeu - backlund - Lindholm
Mangiapane - kadri - tofolli
Coleman - Ruzicka/Rooney - Lewis
Ritchie - Ruzicka/Rooney - lucic
Unfortunately, everyone was so concerned about getting the top line going, they messed up the good vibes the other lines were feeling early on.
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