Quote:
Originally Posted by YyjFlames
Sutter actually did staple their best shutdown/offensive centre to that line... Lindholm was fantastic that year both offensively and defensively. He finished second in Selke votes, and it seemed to me that he had developed into the next Patrice Bergeron. That line made a lot of sense matching up with McDavid that year.
To me, the team just played into the Oilers run and gun system too much, after winning that opening 9-6 barn burner (which followed a 9-5 win in their last regular season meeting). I think the players ended up thinking they could simply outscore the Oilers... and didn't need to stick to the defensive system that had them beat Dallas.
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Lindholm may have been a great two way guy, but he was lining up with Gaudreau and Tkachuk, who are not (and Tkachuk was injured as well). Plus they were trying to score goals. Backlund as a shadow would have been a much better choice. Like a Steve Kasper.