Quote:
Originally Posted by FanIn80
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.
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Except there is no example of a successful team where the shutdown centre is buried on the third line. That's why having Barkov was so important to being able to use Bennett on the second line. It was a perfect spot for him.
I do think Bennett has gotten better defensively which helps a lot too. His forecheck is way less headstrong.