Practice notes April 8

[Nammer403]

Originally Posted by Flames0910

Intriguing. With the Canucks still dealing with covid, when do we even play next?

Saturday VS EDM is swapped with the game in May

[Muffins]

Originally Posted by alan21

Chucky plays on the PP with Johnny like all the time. It's not quite as unchartered as he makes it seem.

Or as Sutter just put it "They've been playing together on the PP since Christ was a child"

[transplant99]

https://twitter.com/user/status/1380222880638664704

[Hanna Sniper]

Originally Posted by Macho0978

I suggested these lines almost exactly in the "Is it time to split up Monahan and Gaudreau" thread about a month ago. This will prove a lot to Treliving on both Monahan and Johnny's value moving forward. If that first line can take off then you need to look at rebuilding the depth and 2nd line. I actually believe that 2nd line won't be too bad either but Monahan gets to prove himself away from Johnny. Both Mangiapane and Dube have skill to carry the puck and speed but both play with more grit than Johnny does.

Johnny gets the best 2 players we can possibly play with him. If Monahan has been an anchor for him well we our about to find out if that theory is correct.

Just hope we don't play way out of a top pick. But a lot of great teams stack 1 line. Boston and Colorado do it. If Monahan and Backlund's line play good 5 on 5 hockey and chip in that first line should be able to score.

That makes zero sense

If the lines were Tkachuk - Monahan - Lindholm and Monahan obviously does well does that mean we find that Gaudreau was the anchor. Of course it doesn't. Playing with the two best players on the team will do that regardless of which team and what players

[mile]

https://twitter.com/user/status/1380238480089882625

[Macho0978]

Originally Posted by Hanna Sniper

That makes zero sense

If the lines were Tkachuk - Monahan - Lindholm and Monahan obviously does well does that mean we find that Gaudreau was the anchor. Of course it doesn't. Playing with the two best players on the team will do that regardless of which team and what players

Gaudreau monahan and Lindholm have got some looks this year and struggled. It’s possible that the new first line plays well and the new 2nd line does too and nobody is considered the anchor. I’m just not overly optimistic that this line shuffle fixes this team and we are racing with teams like New Jersey and Ottawa and Detroit strictly due to chemistry of the lines issues

But there are a ton of people who seem to think Johnny is still a star and monahan is a 4th line plug. I believe the fall of these 2 is 50/50 and it’s an issue with both. But maybe I’m wrong and maybe Johnny will take off with a stacked line. We will see now but I love that we are going to get a look at both monahan and Gaudreau apart

[GioforPM]

Originally Posted by Hanna Sniper

That makes zero sense

If the lines were Tkachuk - Monahan - Lindholm and Monahan obviously does well does that mean we find that Gaudreau was the anchor. Of course it doesn't. Playing with the two best players on the team will do that regardless of which team and what players

Yeah, Gaudreau isn't just shedding Monahan, he's also shedding Ritchie/Simon/Leivo/Bennett. Lindholm is obviously better than Monahan, at least at this point in time (though I think Lindholm has been pretty meh in the last month) but the gulf between them is nowhere near the gulf between Ritchie and Tkachuk.

[Monahammer]

Monahan bout to put up a 4 point night lol

[GreenLantern2814]

Putting Monahan with two fast players who will go onto the corners to retrieve pucks seems like it could be a good idea.

[SeanCharles]

Originally Posted by GioforPM

I don't think Monahan is in the top 3. Maybe if Dube was the centre and they added Lucic.

????

[Macho0978]

Originally Posted by GioforPM

Yeah, Gaudreau isn't just shedding Monahan, he's also shedding Ritchie/Simon/Leivo/Bennett. Lindholm is obviously better than Monahan, at least at this point in time (though I think Lindholm has been pretty meh in the last month) but the gulf between them is nowhere near the gulf between Ritchie and Tkachuk.

I guess the difference in how I'm looking at it vs you is I'm looking at their careers not just this season. Monahan and Gaudreau have played with a wide range of players with different skill sets and different levels of talent. This years group is about as bad as most years but this isn't the first time they have been saddled with a 4th line plug. Until recent years Monahan was basically a lock for 30+ goal pace and Johnny was a lock for near or over a PPG. That is not happening this year and it's not even close

Some think Johnny is still a star but Monahan is a plug now. Whether it is injuries or defenses figuring them out there seems to be a few theories out there that points at Monahan being the issue. Some are saying putting Johnny on a good team and you will see 90 point Johnny again

Some believe both have slipped and Johnny is just as much to blame as Monahan. Monahan has played almost his whole career with Johnny and most have said that he was never a #1 center and has always been carried by Johnny. I would love to see him away from Johnny for an extended stretch . I think he could do well with Dube and Mangiapane and if not then maybe it's time to move on from him. At the same time if 90 point Johnny returns plaing with 2 good players and Monahan struggles then maybe some of theories about Johnny carrying Monahan were correct.

You could try Johnny Monahan and Tkachuk but IMO that is a slow line and leaves doubt that Johnny still has to do all the heavy lifting in transition. Lindholm isn't Mackinnon but he is better in transition than Monahan

[FlamesAddiction]

Originally Posted by Erick Estrada

I keep hearing about the wrist issued but if this is really a thing then why wouldn't the team shut him down so he can properly heal and be ready for next season? Makes no sense to play him now with the season over unless the wrists aren't really that bad and he's just a player in a massive slump or career decline.

I know. I was saying the same thing. If it is true, shut him down, move Backlund up, and call up Ruzicka.

Something is up with Monahan though. He seems hesitant to shoot hard, and when he does shoot, they haven't been very strong. Maybe a confidence thing, I don't know. Whatever it is, it will be good to see him play the set-up guy with those two.

[GioforPM]

Originally Posted by FlamesAddiction

I know. I was saying the same thing. If it is true, shut him down, move Backlund up, and call up Ruzicka.

Something is up with Monahan though. He seems hesitant to shoot hard, and when he does shoot, they haven't been very strong. Maybe a confidence thing, I don't know. Whatever it is, it will be good to see him play the set-up guy with those two.

It's hard to pin down. He wins faceoffs, which surely involves wrists (though maybe not fine motor skills). His passing is not better or worse than before. At least one of the two goals he scored against Montreal was a good shot. But his shot just isn't there. That said, his high and wide miss the other night seemed to have some velocity so maybe not a wrist strength issue. Maybe it's hand, not wrist.

Whatever it is, it's obviously not something they eel needs immediate attention, and Sutter seems to think he does enough to stay in - to the point he's on the both special teams.

[Bourque's Twin]

Originally Posted by Monahammer

Monahan bout to put up a 4 point night lol

That would be nice because it’s taken him 13 games to put up his last 4.

[soulchoice]

I am not so sure if Monny has a wrist issue, being he is still taking the same amount of draws. You would think that if it was an injury, they would limit the amount of times he is in the dot.

[Hanna Sniper]

Originally Posted by Macho0978

Gaudreau monahan and Lindholm have got some looks this year and struggled. It’s possible that the new first line plays well and the new 2nd line does too and nobody is considered the anchor. I’m just not overly optimistic that this line shuffle fixes this team and we are racing with teams like New Jersey and Ottawa and Detroit strictly due to chemistry of the lines issues

But there are a ton of people who seem to think Johnny is still a star and monahan is a 4th line plug. I believe the fall of these 2 is 50/50 and it’s an issue with both. But maybe I’m wrong and maybe Johnny will take off with a stacked line. We will see now but I love that we are going to get a look at both monahan and Gaudreau apart

I'm more in the group that thinks players should be held accountable for their own play. We shouldn't have to stack a line to "prove" that x player is a "star". It's that mindset as fans that will not hold this team to be accountable as well. As fans you have to make a choice do we want to look good or win, because sometimes winning is ugly.

[Bonded]

Watch them play the same lines as always next game lol

[delayedreflex]

I wonder who's playing RW between Gaudreau and Tkachuk? A lot of times a winger playing his opposite side is someone who has a killer shot (eg. Ovie, Tarasenko), which I don't think either of them really have. For some reason I think Gaudreau might be better suited on the RW since I think he is less likely to need to use his body to protect the puck, which is one of the advantages of being a winger on your strong side. He also has played a bit of RW on the power play though not all the time.

[Macho0978]

Originally Posted by Hanna Sniper

I'm more in the group that thinks players should be held accountable for their own play. We shouldn't have to stack a line to "prove" that x player is a "star". It's that mindset as fans that will not hold this team to be accountable as well. As fans you have to make a choice do we want to look good or win, because sometimes winning is ugly.

Normally I would agree and winning is all that matters, whatever gets the job done at the end of the night is all that matters.

But with 16 games left and being 5 games under .500 and way out of the playoffs right now player evaluation is more important than wins. Maximizing trade value is important as well.

Treliving has big decisions to make and he may need some different looks to get a sense at who needs to stay and who goes. I'm sure just like CP there could be a wide range of opinions within Flames management on what this teams issues are and how to fix them.

So for me right now making the right decisions is more important than winning our next game

[Redrum]

Originally Posted by soulchoice

I am not so sure if Monny has a wrist issue, being he is still taking the same amount of draws. You would think that if it was an injury, they would limit the amount of times he is in the dot.

Not necessarily injured right now, but for a guy who made a living being a very accurate finisher, and was one of the best in the business until recently... Wrist surgery doesn't necessarily reset things perfectly.

I dunno, but that glove snag the other night when he picked the corner, wouldn't have been close to a save a couple years ago. Pretty obvious issues, especially with shot power.