Quote:
Originally Posted by CliffFletcher
Florida is in the enviable position of having an elite 2-way guy as their #1C. That means they can slot Bennett as their #2C without worrying about matchups.
It’s easy to say the Flames should have given Bennett more opportunity at his natural position. But how to do you slot these guys in ice time, top to bottom?
Monahan
Lindholm
Backlund
Bennett
|
Easy.
First of all, Lindholm was on the wing with Johnny and Monny up until Monahan's injury issues prevented him from playing the 1C spot.
Second of all, Backlund has never had the offensive prowess needed for being a #2 C on a SUCCESSFUL playoff team. When you think of top-six two-way centers on Cup winning teams over the years, you think of players like Forsberg, Fedorov, Bergeron, Barkov... even Kadri in Colorado. Backlund isn't one of them, he's a Jordan Staal. Outstanding defensivley, but nowhere near enough offence to be in the top six.
You need two solid offensive lines (at minimum) to win in the playoffs. Teams lucky enough to have a Barkov/Forsberg/etc are able to have three offensive lines because their top shutdown guy could just as easily put up 100pts if they sacrificed their D.
The teams that don't have one of those guys (Pittsburgh) need clearer separation of responsibilities. They have to run two O lines and a separate D line. (Crosby's line / Malkin's line / Staal's line).
Gaudreau Monahan Lindholm
Tkachuk Bennett Someone
Someone Backlund Frolik
("Someones" because I can't remember everyone on the team back then.)
That's a lineup that would have done some damage in the playoffs. The caveat, though, is that it only works if we're willing to let Tkachuk and Bennett play instead of trying to rein them in and take away what makes them successful.