Dec 11 Practice Notes. All injured players are "not close" to returning.

[GoinAllTheWay]

What happened to Valimaki and Frolik? Don't recall any major hits on either.

[Toonage]

Saw Valimaki walk behind Treliving during After Hours on Saturday. Not so much as a limp.

Edit - 960 speculating its a broken ankle?? Must not have been Valimaki I saw.

[DoubleK]

Originally Posted by Hot_Flatus

Bennett couldn't create much or finish on that line and Neal is certainly a finisher despite some flaws in his game. Not sure what the team has to lose to try this when they've gone through Bennett, Czarnik, Frolik already this year with mixed/poor results in that slot.

Plays died on Bennett's stick far too often with him on the second line. Time to give someone else a shot, or second shot.

[Locke]

Ugh...our depth is about to be sorely tested.

[Johnny Makarov]

Quine and Hathaway has shown more finish this past week then Bennett has all season.

[TheIronMaiden]

Four players out with injuries in the middle of the season. Seems pretty normal to me.

[Phagoof]

Originally Posted by Johnny Makarov

Quine and Hathaway has shown more finish this past week then Bennett has all season.

Hello darkness, my old friend...

[Captaincanada80]

Likely unpopular move but with backlund out I’d like to see this given a whirl:

Gaudreau - Lindholm - Neal
Tkachuk - Monahan - Bennett

I think Lindholm fits better with Gaudreau and scoring off the rush. Also gives him another trigger guy in Neal. Hopefully turning Neal’s season around.

Monahan’s line having a down low presence with an ability to grind out goals.

Still allows for Jankowski and Ryan to C 3rd and 4th lines

[D as in David]

Originally Posted by bax

Man, who would have predicted this would be a lineup for us 12 months ago.

Or 12 days ago?

[sa226]

I sure hope when the injured return, that they can return to their former level of play.

Frolik, Valimaki and Backlund are all important players for this team.

I seem to remember Frolik, when he returned from injury last season, he really never was quite the same.

A concussion can leave you hesitant, upon returning. Ankle injuries can take a long time to recover from. Though maybe a break is better for Valimaki. The ankle sprains are usually the bad ones.

I seem to remember an article from last year that there was a trend among the most successful teams, that most cup winners or finalists had significant players miss time during the season due to injuries. I think they were trying to draw a narrative that with the grind of an 82 game season and the playoffs, every drop of gas in the tank is required, and that a bit of a rest during the season can perhaps give you a bit of an edge in the playoffs. If that carries any weight, you'd think Nashville is looking pretty good.

I'm not sure where I'm going with this. I just hope these guys return before too long and are able to return to their former level of play. Or better.

[oldschoolcalgary]

Consistency has long been Bennett's nemesis... when he's "on" his a force, but when he's not he lost pretty bad...

i am hoping this lights a fire under him... he got elevated to the 2nd line because he was playing hard and consistently... its a "what have you done lately" kind of coach

[Sutter_in_law]

Originally Posted by Bonded

Is Valimaki a broken foot?

I believe he's a Finn.

Originally Posted by Toonage

Saw Valimaki walk behind Treliving during After Hours on Saturday. Not so much as a limp.

Edit - 960 speculating its a broken ankle?? Must not have been Valimaki I saw.

it was Lindholm

Edit: I guess Valimaki did walk by as well

[Toonage]

Found it 23:43 of After Hours. Valimaki walks past. Looks fine.

[---Hatrick---]

I definitely recall seeing Valimaki walking by, behind the interview as well. This doesn’t mean it isn’t an ankle injury. He wasn’t on crutches which means he’s at least able to walk on it, but that really doesn’t mean much. Putting a skate on and playing in a game is a lot different than simply walking

[CliffFletcher]

Is it just me, or has the reporting of injuries in the NHL gotten even worse in recent years? It used to be quite vague, but it seems now there's almost no information at all provided. The NHL has to be the worst pro sport in terms of injury details.

[djsFlames]

Geez Frolik and Valimaki are slow ass healers.

[djsFlames]

Originally Posted by Captaincanada80

Likely unpopular move but with backlund out I’d like to see this given a whirl:

Gaudreau - Lindholm - Neal
Tkachuk - Monahan - Bennett

I think Lindholm fits better with Gaudreau and scoring off the rush. Also gives him another trigger guy in Neal. Hopefully turning Neal’s season around.

Monahan’s line having a down low presence with an ability to grind out goals.

Still allows for Jankowski and Ryan to C 3rd and 4th lines

That's also what I want to see.

Right now we're decimating our 2-4 lines unnecessarily by playing Ryan too high and keeping Neal away from playmakers. That's a no brainer IMO. Keeps the top two lines very dangerous and JUST maybe you get Neal going.

[The Boy Wonder]

Derek Ryan is a bit of a black hole up there on the second line. But I just don't know who the solution would be until Backs is back.

But more so than bennett, it has been Ryan who has been out of position in attack, and losing the puck.

pretty obvious that Bennett was gripping stick too tightly after generating some pretty decent chances his first 5 games on 2nd line. Hoping he just needs a kick in the pants because I doubt ryan czarnik is the best pair to play with thachuk.

I would also like to see the top line split up to see if that could get anyone else going, we are starting to be a little top heavy and it kills us in games where those guys aren't on. Luckily thats rare

[Bingo]

Originally Posted by djsFlames

Geez Frolik and Valimaki are slow ass healers.

Ass injuries are hard to predict

[psyang]

Originally Posted by Bingo

Ass injuries are hard to predict

I guess Valimaki really does have a bum ankle, then.