One thing you didn't mention was the benching of Bennett, Tkachuk and Versteeg. All guys who took penalties in the offensive zone, and two of them leading directly to goals. I like the many things this showed us.
1. Gulutzan is not afraid to crack the whip. $5M defensemen, Second line center, Team's top rookie; it doesn't matter who you are, you play don't play well or take dumb penalties you sit. He isn't afraid to make the call that improves the team, and helps the players develop.
2. The team's ability to hold their own and really take the game over with only three lines. You could almost call Bennett-Tkachuk-Versteeg a second line and they were not only able to keep the 1 goal lead but put the game away without them. They only got icetime after the game was all but sealed, that's some decent depth on a team. (even if it was against a backup)
3. Bennett and Tkachuk are just going to be awesome to have on this team once they can get the discpline down. The penalties are due to drive and passion, going hard for pucks and not being afraid to throw themselves into it. As young players they don't get the benefit of the doubt and they make dumb penalties but the passion is there and these guys are going to piss off a lot of opposition for years to come.
__________________
@PR_NHL
The @NHLFlames are the first team to feature four players each with 50+ points within their first 45 games of a season since the Penguins in 1995-96 (Ron Francis, Mario Lemieux, Jaromir Jagr, Tomas Sandstrom).
Fuzz - "He didn't speak to the media before the election, either."
|
