April 13 Practice - Bennett on LW. Raymond odd man out?

[Yorkshire Flame]

Originally Posted by polak

Any reason given for the Monahan absence?

I swear if he got some sort of non-hockey injury...

Toaster injury

[GioforPM]

Originally Posted by Bourque's Twin

Loving these lines

Gaudreau-Monahan-Hudler
Bennett-Backlund-Colborne
Ferland-Stajan-Jones
Bollig-Granlund-Jooris

I think all of these lines would match-up well against the Sedins. Even the 4th line.
Ferland has added a lot to this team's size and depth.

Each has a capable defensive centre and (except for the first) a winger with decent speed and size.

Of course, it's the defence who will be most tested by the Sedins' cycle. I think they will have Wideman and Russell out as much as possible.

[flamesfan55]

Sort of off topic. Can the Flames call up anyone after the AHL season is over for the baby Flames?

[sureLoss]

Originally Posted by flamesfan55

Sort of off topic. Can the Flames call up anyone after the AHL season is over for the baby Flames?

Yes they can call up as many players they want from Adirondack, once their AHL season is done.

[Bingo]

I would have hoped Wotherspoon would have been noticeable on Sunday but he just wasn't. Ramage and Kulak were his equals.

So I guess it's 5 Dman and a 90 second insert for the playoffs? What a shame. Love Hartley but they should have been working Wotherspoon in when Smid first went down. Hurting them now.

[MelBridgeman]

The times i have counted plays die on Mason's stick in the last few games - or him just losing the puck....he needs to sit

[GioforPM]

Originally Posted by Bingo

I would have hoped Wotherspoon would have been noticeable on Sunday but he just wasn't. Ramage and Kulak were his equals.

So I guess it's 5 Dman and a 90 second insert for the playoffs? What a shame. Love Hartley but they should have been working Wotherspoon in when Smid first went down. Hurting them now.

Wills thought Ramage and Kulak were better in fact. I was on a plane Sunday so I didn't get to see the game myself.

I don't mind Potter actually. I think he and Schlemko got so little time the last while simply because of the situation. In a game on, I imagine their time will be bumped, and I actually haven't minded Potter. Schlemko I think is just fine and has a pretty decent skill set. I'd like him to be kept next season.

[Otto-matic]

Originally Posted by Bingo

I would have hoped Wotherspoon would have been noticeable on Sunday but he just wasn't. Ramage and Kulak were his equals.

So I guess it's 5 Dman and a 90 second insert for the playoffs? What a shame. Love Hartley but they should have been working Wotherspoon in when Smid first went down. Hurting them now.

Would you say that was due to the emergence of Rafa Diaz as our #6? Hard to put Spoon in when Diaz stepped up his game.

[Dienasty]

Originally Posted by Bingo

I would have hoped Wotherspoon would have been noticeable on Sunday but he just wasn't. Ramage and Kulak were his equals.

So I guess it's 5 Dman and a 90 second insert for the playoffs? What a shame. Love Hartley but they should have been working Wotherspoon in when Smid first went down. Hurting them now.

I prefer Wotherspoon playing 20-25 minutes in the A rather then 5-10 minutes a game in the NHL. If the Flames were out of the playoffs or had a spot locked up earlier I am sure they would have brought him up to play 10-15 minutes. They just didn't have the luxury.

[Bingo]

Originally Posted by MelBridgeman

The times i have counted plays die on Mason's stick in the last few games - or him just losing the puck....he needs to sit

Die or just literally slide off his stick uncontested. Drives me nuts!

[Erick Estrada]

Originally Posted by GioforPM

Backlund must not be nursing a minor injury like some here thought. He'd be off with Monahan and Russell. What did the D look like?

Him playing Saturday killed any speculation that he was playing hurt. It appears health has nothing to do with him not playing well the last few weeks.

[GioforPM]

Originally Posted by MelBridgeman

The times i have counted plays die on Mason's stick in the last few games - or him just losing the puck....he needs to sit

Though he is probably my third or fourth least favorite guy all season, I've defended him a lot, mainly because I think he's been just as expected (a streaky +/- 20 goal guy who is fairly one dimensional) and has been used and paid accordingly, and while I'm sick of the "die on his stick" cliche, IMO against the Canucks you need wingers who can break a cycle, and that ain't Raymond. If Bennett is better at it, then he draws in. If Byron was available, I'd say he was the guy.

[tvp2003]

In the rare moment's I've seen Potter, I think he's been decent. Couple that with Wotherspoon apparently looking quite average on Saturday suggests no reason to make the switch come Wednesday.

The bigger question will be whether Hartley shortens the bench to 4 D-men like the Kings game, goes to a 5 man rotation (i.e. with Brodie doubleshifting with Schelmko), or perhaps spreads it out to a regular 6-man rotation.

[sureLoss]

Derek Wills @Fan960Wills
#Flames most-used lines today:
Gaudreau-Shore-Hudler
Bennett-Backlund-Colborne
Ferland-Stajan-Jones
Bollig-Granlund-Jooris #CGYvsVAN

[PeteMoss]

Originally Posted by jaginla

Is Wotherspoon really worse than Potter and his 3 minutes of ice?

Wotherspoon had a chance to prove himself last game and looked no good... its his own fault if he's scratched.

[Bingo]

With 48 hours to game time I think we can assume that Bennett is in for game one. Things will change, there will be injuries, he could come out for looking overwhelmed.

But at this point he has the chance/opportunity to write a very interesting story.

[sureLoss]

Cam Tucker @CamTucker_Metro
#Canucks forward lines:
Burrows-Sedin-Sedin;
Vrbata-Bonino-Higgins;
Dorsett-Richardson-Matthias;
Hansen-Horvat-Kenins

[BigFlameDog]

Originally Posted by Bingo

Die or just literally slide off his stick uncontested. Drives me nuts!

This.

Raymond can't handle the puck at speed and doesn't crash and bang while using the benefit of his speed (hitting dudes hard)....his speed is borderline useless.

[GranteedEV]

Originally Posted by GioforPM

Wills thought Ramage and Kulak were better in fact.

I wouldn't say Kulak was consistently better - he took an unnecessary penalty early on and his turnover in the 3rd period was Oiler-esque. However he also showed really good positioning for the most part - he showed a lot of upside and poise in his first NHL game. I'd say Wotherspoon was slightly better than Kulak overall, but he should have been as he's got 86 more AHL and 14 more NHL games under his belt. But once he fixes those rookie mistakes, and I can definitely see a #3 puck-moving two-way Dman in Kulak's future.

Ramage however, I thought was better than Wotherspoon surprisingly and played a quiet, effective game. Which makes sense, as he's into the experience level right where defensemen are truly NHL-ready. Was way better than Potter, too.

[burn_this_city]

Raymond is effective when he uses his speed on the rush. He isn't the greatest at cycling the puck. When he doesn't use his speed he isn't very good.