Interim D-Pairings - Calgarypuck Forums - The Unofficial Calgary Flames Fan Community

killer_carlson · 03-09-2017, 10:38 PM

Who gets called up, what are the pairings?

My guess:

Gio - Wideman (let's Gio cover Wideman and let's wideman play big minutes to save his career)
Brodie Engellend (Engellend can handle the second pairing for short stretches. Plus Engellend looks great lately)
Bartkowski - Andersson (I call up the better skater)

TheScorpion · 03-09-2017, 10:40 PM

I think we could see Andersson up on an emergency recall. Who else do the Flames have, Kostka?

Kylington, Kulak, and Wotherspoon are all left-handed shots.

ComixZone · 03-09-2017, 10:41 PM

...Wideman would get destroyed on the top pairing and bring Gio down with him.

Giordano - Brodie
Bartkowski - Engelland
Kulak - Wideman

GoJetsGo · 03-09-2017, 10:42 PM

Too soon.

We have no idea the extent of the injuries, and as horrid as it was to read the handful of people leaping to conclusion in the other thread with next to no info available, seeing a thread pop up purporting Wideman on the top pairing takes the cake.

jg13 · 03-09-2017, 10:43 PM

I would try

Gio - Engelland
Bart - Brodie
Kulak - Wideman

calgaryblood · 03-09-2017, 10:46 PM

Hell no to Wideman.

I don't care, call up Wotherspoon if you have to. Whatever you do, you do not put Wideman back into the lineup.

We've just won 8 straight without that cancer on this team.

TheScorpion · 03-09-2017, 10:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jg13

I would try

Gio - Engelland
Bart - Brodie
Kulak - Wideman

Why would we put Brodie on the right and not play him with Gio?

Also, that third pairing is... interesting.

Giordano - Engelland
Brodie - Andersson
Kulak - Bartkowski

Makes the most sense to me. Bring in a new face.

jg13 · 03-09-2017, 10:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheScorpion

Why would we put Brodie on the right and not play him with Gio?

Also, that third pairing is... interesting.

Giordano - Engelland
Brodie - Andersson
Kulak - Bartkowski

Makes the most sense to me. Bring in a new face.

Why do we slot a rookie that has never played a NHL game into the top 4? That's.... interesting.

bigrangy · 03-09-2017, 10:49 PM

Gio-Brodie (proven top pairing)
Bartkowski-Engelland (rekindle the Russell-Wideman magic from two years ago)
Wotherspoon-Andersson (AHL top pair, Wotherspoon is going to fall out of the plans soon so I I'd expect his best)

either that or:

Brodie-Engelland
Giordano-Andersson
Bartkowski-Wideman (*pukes*)

Gaudfather · 03-09-2017, 10:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ComixZone

...Wideman would get destroyed on the top pairing and bring Gio down with him.

Giordano - Brodie
Bartkowski - Engelland
Kulak - Wideman

I agree - Bartkowski and Engelland seem to have found some chemistry so would keep them together.

Also Gio/Brodie as a top pair could log big minutes - say 30 mins a game, Bartkowski/Engelland could likely handle 18 mins a game, leaving 12 mins for the third pair. Hopefully Flames could manage this for 2-3 games if necessary.

TheScorpion · 03-09-2017, 10:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jg13

Why do we slot a rookie that has never played a NHL game into the top 4? That's.... interesting.

You shelter him by playing him with a good partner.

Alternatively, make it like this.

Giordano - Engelland
Brodie - Kulak
Bartkowski - Andersson

Still have him with a capable vet.

Anduril · 03-09-2017, 10:51 PM

We're all forgetting about Thor.

(I actually have no idea how suited he is to being an NHL caliber bottom pairing defenseman with only 85 career games despite being 31. He is a RH though. )

Jiggy_12 · 03-09-2017, 10:53 PM

Good teams shouldn't win or lose based off who their 7th d-man is if he has to jump in for a few games. Injuries happen, we'll be just fine.

We've built a great cushion that we can absorb a few (inevitable) losses.

This is a good team. Goaltending is on fire, lines are clicking - they'll overcome this.

Parallex · 03-09-2017, 10:53 PM

My guess would be one of these two...

Giordano-Wideman
Brodie-Engellend
Bartowski-Andersson

or

Giordano-Brodie
Bartowski-Engellend
Kulak-Wideman

__________________________________________________ _

Basically the question is this... how obsessed is Gulutzan with having L-R balance? If "very" then the top one is most likely if "not so much" then the bottom one. Either way the rookie call up isn't getting anything more then bottom pair minutes.

Cube Inmate · 03-09-2017, 10:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ComixZone

...Wideman would get destroyed on the top pairing and bring Gio down with him.

Giordano - Brodie
Bartkowski - Engelland
Kulak - Wideman

We've seen the effects of trying to pair stronger players with weaker ones. The result is less than the sum of their parts because the better one tries to cover for the weaker, and the weaker tries to keep up with the stronger. Neither one can do his job well.

Keep pairings compatible like this (quoted), and just ride the hell out of pairings 1 and 2 while giving the 3rd pair 10 minutes a game plus some PP time for Wides.

Kovaz · 03-09-2017, 11:04 PM

Gio Brodie
Bartkowski Engelland
Kulak Wideman

Double shift Gio with Engelland and Brodie with Bartkowski, give the top pair 15-18 minutes together and another 10-12 each with other partners. That way we get about 2/3 of the game with at least one of them. Similar to what Chicago did 2 years ago with Keith and Hjalmarsson.

Hammertime · 03-09-2017, 11:20 PM

Just go with 4 D.

Samonadreau · 03-09-2017, 11:26 PM

Gio-Brodie
Backlund-Frolik
Bart-Engelland

OR

Gio-Brodie
Bart-Brodie
Gio-Engelland

mrdonkey · 03-09-2017, 11:29 PM

I'm scared to death of what bringing back Wideman would do to the swagger this team has. Brodie goes back to sucking, the refs go back to punishing us, the goalies have to deal with at least one "Wideman goal" per game. Even Anders Eriksson drawing back in didn't make me so anxious, because at least his negative effect was limited to the ice. Wideman is a cancer.

Can we just double shift Brodie and Gio?

GioforPM · 03-09-2017, 11:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mrdonkey

I'm scared to death of what bringing back Wideman would do to the swagger this team has. Brodie goes back to sucking, the refs go back to punishing us, the goalies have to deal with at least one "Wideman goal" per game. Even Anders Eriksson drawing back in didn't make me so anxious, because at least his negative effect was limited to the ice. Wideman is a cancer.

Can we just double shift Brodie and Gio?

You need to suck it up. Wideman in for a while won't hurt if the team plays well overall. They were doing OK right before he got scratched, especially when he was on bottom pairing. Then you can either play Gio and Brodie together, since they have a history, or Brodie and Engelland, since they were paired before Stone was acquired. Bart gets either Brodie or Gio, depending on how they fit.