[GDT] The Flames are in Carolina today—1700 MT—SNF

[Robo]

I would switch lucic amd quine it's not like that 2nd line is a fast line

[868904]

I wish this team would give Jankowski, Bennett and Mangiapane extended looks in the top 6.

I know they haven't really earned it but they are the only players who have top 6 potential either through draft pedigree or AHL production.

You won't really know what you have in these guys unless you try it.

I'd keep the top line in place with Gaudreau-Mony-Lindy. I think this lines struggles are on Gaudreau's health as he's been sick and has looked lethargic.

I'd like to see Janko, Bennett, Mangiapane with extended time with Tkachuk. The best that Janko and Bennett have ever looked was when they were playing with Jagr. Tkachuk is as close to Jagr as the Flames have and the style of play is very similar, big power forward who can make plays in the offensive cycle.

Janko actually has a decent shot and could capitalize on all of Tkachuk's great setups. It's been frustrating as hell this year watching Backlund shoot the puck right into the goalie after a great set up by Tkachuk. Try someone else with Tkachuk, someone who has produced in the AHL and who we know can shoot the puck (Janko). Again, I know Janko hasn't really earned more ice time, but you really don't have any other options. Flames need to find out what they have with these 3 young players.

[genetic_phreek]

I actually like the lines. I think what was lacking when Mony and Johnny played together was both play such a soft game. I think Mony will fit in well with Benny and Q. On the offense Benny gets his nose dirty and Q is great on the forecheck.

Chucky with Johnny will also help as Johnny is buttery soft in the corners and so was Mony. This way they can get more puck possession in the O zone. I'm more optimistic about these lines than I was with the old same top 6 the last few months since all star break. I don't mind doing a "refresh" internally before we start looking externally (trades).

Hoping to having a dominant win tonight and more positives going forward.

[Textcritic]

Originally Posted by Harry Lime

I think that Comixzone's line certainly make more sense, but they may be hedging their bets for a few games to make sure that Lindholm is comfortable in the new position. Overload the first line through the week, and then even things out.

The danger is that Peters will backslide into Johnny-Mony pairing again like an addict, if the second line struggles too much.

This should not be construed as a "danger." I suspect that when things settle in Gaudreau and Monahan will spend most of the season together, and the reason for this is their proven chemistry developed over years of deployment.

I personally think that the better top pairs would be Gaudreau with Monahan and Lindholm with Tkachuk. Maybe Peters is working up to getting Tkachuk comfortable like you say, but with the ultimate goal of re-creating a second (1B?) line featuring Tkachuk and Lindholm. Ultimately, it's about getting four top-line players going on two lines.

[Toonage]

What was lacking is the creativity to adjust how they played when other teams figured them out. Now they are being placed with other players with the thinking that this will change how they play. Its always going to be on the player. Gaudreau & Monahan need to adjust. Doesn't matter who they play with.

[Textcritic]

Originally Posted by Toonage

What was lacking is the creativity to adjust how they played when other teams figured them out. Now they are being placed with other players with the thinking that this will change how they play. Its always going to be on the player. Gaudreau & Monahan need to adjust. Doesn't matter who they play with.

I don't think that's it. I think it is about regaining the confidence that made the top line so successful in the first place. The problems so far this season—and these stem back to the playoffs—are varied: Gaudreau has been holding the puck too long, Monahan has not been skating fast enough without it, and passes between all three are too often bobbled or missed. What made that line so great last year was it's quickness and precision. THAT is what is missing now.

[Toonage]

Originally Posted by Textcritic

I don't think that's it. I think it is about regaining the confidence that made the top line so successful in the first place. The problems so far this season—and these stem back to the playoffs—are varied: Gaudreau has been holding the puck too long, Monahan has not been skating fast enough without it, and passes between all three are too often bobbled or missed. What made that line so great last year was it's quickness and precision. THAT is what is missing now.

You don't think that play is a result of how teams defend them?

[SuperMatt18]

Originally Posted by ComixZone

I'm probably the biggest Bennett fan around, and that line is ugly. Bennett could potentially be that 3rd wheel on a line with a strong duo...but I can't see that line actually generating anything of worth.

I actually don't like how these lines have been formed. I'm all for splitting up Johnny and Sean, but to totally bone Sean on linemates does nothing but keep the 1st line top-heavy and expose our depth in lower lines. Why not:

Gaudreau - Lindholm - ?
Tkachuk - Monahan - ?
? - Backlund - Frolik
Lucic - Ryan - ?

Fill in the question marks however you see fit.

Agree. I feel like the lines we have here actually make us more top heavy since that is likely our three best overall forwards on one line.

We need three more balanced lines and if these are the 13 forwards we are rolling with then I want to see:

Gaudreau - Monahan - Bennett : Add a bit of grit and a guy who is good in the corners to this line.

Tkachuk - Lindholm - Mangiapane: This line to me has three really skilled guys that all play with a bit of an edge.

Janko - Backlund - Frolik: Janko needs to be re-built, let's try and see if he can get some mojo on the wing with Backlund who tends to help build guys.

Lucic - Ryan - Quine/Rieder: Just don't get scored on.

Keep the bolded pairs together and you can rotate the other guys in and out.

[NewFan]

I think Flames were very easy and predictable to play against. Now they mixed the lines and other team needs to figure out how to play and what will be their line matches. But one weakness is Peters also don't know what to expect from this lines.
Anyway for me, it looks like "don't let many goals in" lines. I wish they could ice "doesn't matter, we'll win anyway" lines.

[GreenLantern2814]

Originally Posted by ComixZone

I'm probably the biggest Bennett fan around, and that line is ugly. Bennett could potentially be that 3rd wheel on a line with a strong duo...but I can't see that line actually generating anything of worth.

I actually don't like how these lines have been formed. I'm all for splitting up Johnny and Sean, but to totally bone Sean on linemates does nothing but keep the 1st line top-heavy and expose our depth in lower lines. Why not:

Gaudreau - Lindholm - ?
Tkachuk - Monahan - ?
? - Backlund - Frolik
Lucic - Ryan - ?

Fill in the question marks however you see fit.

I want to see Monahan and Tkachuk together for at least
a full month. I want to see Tkachuk play with another elite player and I want to see Monahan get his hands dirty.

I'm about ready to wash my hands of Bennett - he's a bottom six forward who's -50 for his career and scoring at the same place as Lucic. Trade him.

I'm almost there with Jankowski, but I want to see him get a shot on the wing in a top 6 role. See if there's at least a little blood to be drawn from this stone.

[TheIronMaiden]

Originally Posted by NewFan

I think Flames were very easy and predictable to play against. Now they mixed the lines and other team needs to figure out how to play and what will be their line matches. But one weakness is Peters also don't know what to expect from this lines.
Anyway for me, it looks like "don't let many goals in" lines. I wish they could ice "doesn't matter, we'll win anyway" lines.

I think that the bolded is a good point. Sean and John have been a pair for so long that the book is probably out in terms of their habits and strategies.

[getbak]

Peters pre-game comments.




Quine getting time with Monahan and Bennett because they wanted to put Mangiapane back with Ryan because of their proven chemistry.

The way he talks about Jankowski being out makes it sound like he's nursing an injury rather than being a healthy scratch.

[the2bears]

Originally Posted by bubbsy

Leads me to believe that there is going to be a lot of cause for concern at the 20 game make for this team. At best, I think the team continues this pattern of win one, lose one during this stretch of games, given that the flames have only won 2 consecutive games once so far this season.

Seems you're judging them prior to the 20 game mark.

[Hot_Flatus]

Originally Posted by ComixZone

I'm probably the biggest Bennett fan around, and that line is ugly. Bennett could potentially be that 3rd wheel on a line with a strong duo...but I can't see that line actually generating anything of worth.

I actually don't like how these lines have been formed. I'm all for splitting up Johnny and Sean, but to totally bone Sean on linemates does nothing but keep the 1st line top-heavy and expose our depth in lower lines. Why not:

Gaudreau - Lindholm - ?
Tkachuk - Monahan - ?
? - Backlund - Frolik
Lucic - Ryan - ?

Fill in the question marks however you see fit.

I agree with the lines not feeling like a good fit as Peters has them set now. I would actually change it entirely:

Tkachuk-Monahan-Lindhom
Gaudreau-Backlund-Bennett
Mangiapane-Ryan-Frolik
Lucic - Quine - Reider

[FanIn80]

Bennett most nights looks more like he's playing for the other team than ours, and Quine is a career AHLer dressed up to look like something more.

Once again, the talent gap between our top forwards and the rest of the team is astronomically huge. Five top-six players and 8 4th-liners/AHLers. No middle-six depth is going to be what kills us.

[GranteedEV]

Originally Posted by Makarov

Quine-Monahan-Bennett

On paper, that is a pretty terrible second line.

I don't agree.

First of all you have an elite goal scorer and by most numeric standards first line player in Sean Monahan. Not all second lines can boast having a 1st liner.

Second you have a guy who was pretty decently productive in a 2nd line role the only time he played that role (2015-16 - and remember Bennett had a huge slump on the 3rd line centered by Granlund that year) and who also showed chemistry on the first line with Monahan in 2016-17 when Gaudreau was injured, albeit on the left wing rather than the right. Bennett's probably at his best feeding a sniper like Monahan anyways, as he is a strong shot generator for his teammates who have generally lacked the finish to capitalize.

Third you've got a guy who, as a winger has always posted strong underlying metrics in the NHL to go with respectable offensive production given his limited role. Don't forget Quine played on the second PP unit for the 2016 Islanders, who beat the division-winning panthers in the playoffs. Teams have been fond of his skillset as far back as then, and outside of a major blip due to injury two seasons ago, he's been prolific at the AHL level for us. He struggled as a center last year, typically saddled with the likes of Lomberg and such, but that was a small sample size where he was misutilized.

Despite sharing icetime on the bottom six last season, Quine and Bennett didn't play together much. When they did play together though? Instant chemistry -

15:24
75.01% xGF
2 GF
0 GA

it was crazy that Petera didn't want to see this duo together more.

In terms of versatility, it's a line with not one, or even two, but three natural centers. If Monahan gets fatigued late into a shift he can ask either linemate for defensive support down low and take a breather.

In terms of size, no one is under 6'0" on the line and all can win a board battle and disrupt the breakout.

In terms of speed, none are burners but all three can more than keep up, especially with the step Monahan has taken this year in terms of skating. You have lots of options for controlled zone exits and entries as that's a skill all three guys possess.

Shooting? Quine can shoot, Monahan is our best shooter, and despite his reputation on these boards, Bennett's typically been pretty league-average as a finisher outside of the 2017-18 Gulutzan nightmare.

Do I prefer Mangiapane over Quine on this line? Yeah, but I don't think this is a "pretty terrible" second line on Paper. On paper it could really work. We'll see.

[activeStick]

This will be a good opportunity for Monahan to prove that he doesn't need Johnny to produce offense and also that he can make others better.

[Scroopy Noopers]

Originally Posted by yourbestfriend

Why is the 2nd line terrible? We need Monahan to step up and carry the play and make Quine and Bennett better.

Exactly. It’s a good test if anything. And he’s flanked by two guys who have no issue doing dirty work in the corners.

[Samonadreau]

I would run with

Tkachuk-Lindholm-X
Gaudreau-Monahan-X
X-Backlund-Frolik
X-Ryan-X

And fill in the X's and go from there and see who fits.

[Flash Walken]

Carolina is a very exciting team to watch so this should be a fun game.

Hopefully Lindholm gives us a nice post game celebration again.