Quote:
Originally Posted by AltaGuy
Monahan has been absolute ass for months now. Gaudreau looked 1000x better with Ryan as his center during that one game, because Ryan actually possesses the puck once in awhile. If Ryan is an upgrade, Monahan is nowhere near the standard needed for a first line.
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This is sad and sobering, but it's true. Ryan fulfills the roles of a centre much better than Monahan.
I think the Flames can win with Gaudreau, maybe even with him as their best forward, but he needs support in specific ways that bolster his weaknesses, like recovering the puck deep in his own zone, leading breakouts and transitions when gaudreau's being triple teamed, and recovering pucks in the offensive zone and maintaining possession with strong body positioning, hard work, and good passes.
Having a #1C whose only notable skill is getting open in the slot (and he hasn't even been doing this well in the playoffs) is not that kind of support