[Cali Panthers Fan]

Originally Posted by gvitaly

These kind of statements really irk me. Who's effort was much more consistent over the entire season? Mangiapane? Dube? Kadri? Huberdeau? Lucic? Even Lindholm disappears for multiple games at a time. In my eyes only 3 forwards have been consistent throughout the season: Lewis, Backlund, and Toffoli.

Ruzicka wasn't given "every opportunity". Sutter didn't try him higher in the lineup since the reunion of Mangiapane - Backlund - Coleman, which I agree is better with Mangiapane on it.

It seems like there's just a double standard because he is a prospect. Either that or him and Zohorna were out partying before the game against CHI where Sutter said: Shortly after Zohorna has been sent down, and now Ruzicka sits. That said, that's purely speculation on my part.

In my eyes, Ruzicka has been creating offense and is one of the positives of this entire season. Moreover, after he was demoted to the 4th line, the 4th line started to look like less of a liability, and even provided more energy. Not to mention that the 4th line with Lewis as the center didn't look great this year. I would take out Lucic, Dube, or Duehr out of the lineup before Ruzicka.

That happened simultaneously with Lucic's removal from the line. I don't think it's a coincidence. Lucic is really hanging on to his NHL career by his fingernails at this point.