[Game Takes] Game Takes: Flames 5 Devils 3

[GranteedEV]

Originally Posted by GioforPM

Monahan has no real chance of producing with Lucic and Lewis.

I agree.

And yet Bennett was expected to produce with Jankowski and Rieder.

Really goes to show how much of success in the NHL is a chicken-and-egg scenario unless you're a McDavid tier talent or just a rare exception like Andrew Mangiapane.

[GioforPM]

Originally Posted by GranteedEV

I agree.

And yet Bennett was expected to produce with Jankowski and Rieder.

Really goes to show how much of success in the NHL is a chicken-and-egg scenario unless you're a McDavid tier talent or just a rare exception like Andrew Mangiapane.

Jankowski was projected to be the best player out of his draft year.

[GranteedEV]

Originally Posted by GioforPM

Jankowski was projected to be the best player out of his draft year.

Lucic was the best Power Forward in the NHL

[CsInMyBlood]

Originally Posted by GranteedEV

I agree.

And yet Bennett was expected to produce with Jankowski and Rieder.

Really goes to show how much of success in the NHL is a chicken-and-egg scenario unless you're a McDavid tier talent or just a rare exception like Andrew Mangiapane.

Yet Backlund produces with "scrubs" on his line every single year and makes those scrubs better. See Colborne, Bouma, Lucic, Bennett, Nordstrom, Czarnik, Raymond, Jones, Brouwer, etc.

[D as in David]

A Tkachuk - Monahan combo might best be supported by putting Coleman with them but you'd have to consider how it impacts the makeup of the other lines.

[GranteedEV]

Originally Posted by CsInMyBlood

Yet Backlund produces with "scrubs" on his line every single year and makes those scrubs better. See Colborne, Bouma, Lucic, Bennett, Nordstrom, Czarnik, Raymond, Jones, Brouwer, etc.

Produces? Seems to be a blurry goalpost here. The knock on Backlund yearly is that he's "not productive enough for a top six forward".

That said I have always said that I think Backlund is superior to Monahan in a lot of key areas pertaining to the position.

However since Backlund broke out under Hartley, he's typically had a solid pair of wingers and never asked to do it all.

Cammalleri - Backlund - Stempniak? Cammy was the best offensive player on the line

Either way - Bennett wasn't ever a scrub, and the only other time Backlund didn't have a legit winger was the year he centered Bouma and Jones, which was half a season. Even then, Bouma was the guy with the Midas Touch that year.

In the playoffs Backlund was centering Bennett, who, again, wasn't a scrub. He was a confident rookie who was an immediate injection of skill into the lineup. Colborne also gave that playoff line the best shift of his career (Kris Russell game winner, game 1)

Bennett - Backlund - Frolik was perfectly good as a line. All three contributed pretty equally in different ways.

Colborne? He played as much with Bennett as he did Backlund, and probably produced more with Bennett.

Tkachuk - Backlund - Frolik was friggin 3M 1.0 and Tkachuk was the best player on the line.

Tkachuk - Backlund - Mangiapane was 3M 2.0 and in retrospect Backlund is probably the third best player on the line considering it was in 2020 that they were formed.

Lucic - Backlund - Mangiapane - Again Mangiapane was on the line.

Lucic - Backlund - Nordstrom was only together for a few weeks last year. I can't remember if they produced much more than a typical 3rd lind, but if they did good on them.. Bennett-Jankowski-Hathaway produced for a while too. Glencross-Monahan-Jones even produced for a while.

This year Backlund gets to play with Coleman, who has been stellar.

Would Backlund be expected to produce with Lucic and Lewis?

No.

[DeluxeMoustache]

Backlund made the 3M lines

Old dog Keith even acknowledged that Matthew was fortunate to play with such a good C

[GranteedEV]

Originally Posted by DeluxeMoustache

Backlund made the 3M lines

Old dog Keith even acknowledged that Matthew was fortunate to play with such a good C

Good lines are a product of all three guys on the line doing good things together and supporting their defensemen.

Tkachuk brought strength along the boards (both offensive and defensive), elite passing, intelligence on the forecheck, and netfront presence with slick hands in tight.

Frolik brought speed on the forecheck, defensive ability without the puck, and volume shooting.

Backlund brought defensive ability wihout the puck, elusiveness with the puck in transition, speed through the middle, and volume shooting.

Hockey is a team sport.

Hockey production is largely a team stat.

[DeluxeMoustache]

^ Of course it is, just think your representation undervalued Backlund

He gives players like Tkachuk the opportunity to be as effective as he was

[GioforPM]

Gotta say there’s no way you can compare the wingers on 3M with the current 4th line. Lucic still has offensive instincts and IQ and he can still make a pass now and then, but he’s obviously not a big threat and Lewis isn’t either.

The benefit for Monahan is that they play at the same pace - he is not chasing or trailing. All 3 are decent along the boards and play a similar “dig the puck and try for a shot” game. But Lucic and Lewis just aren’t shooters or great playmakers.

Lucic-Monahan-Tkachuk would produce more. I had originally wondered about Coleman but I think he plays too fast for those guys.

[Torture]

Originally Posted by GioforPM

Jankowski was projected to be the best player out of his draft year.

By Jay Feaster

[Erick Estrada]

As long as the team is winning there's no reason to change things up just to get a player going. If the team hits a rough patch I would prefer to see Monahan centering a skilled player or two as that's the only way the team will get the best out of him. He's a guy that's going to play to the level of his linemates.

[GranteedEV]

Originally Posted by GioforPM

Gotta say there’s no way you can compare the wingers on 3M with the current 4th line. Lucic still has offensive instincts and IQ and he can still make a pass now and then, but he’s obviously not a big threat and Lewis isn’t either.

The benefit for Monahan is that they play at the same pace - he is not chasing or trailing. All 3 are decent along the boards and play a similar “dig the puck and try for a shot” game. But Lucic and Lewis just aren’t shooters or great playmakers.

Lucic-Monahan-Tkachuk would produce more. I had originally wondered about Coleman but I think he plays too fast for those guys.

I think you could benefit by adding a speedy skilled winger to the RW. Doesn't even need to be somrone who excels at boardwork since the other two can handle that.

Lucic - Monahan - Kessel maybe at the deadline?

Otherwise I'd honestly like to see Matthew Phillips tried with those two. The chemidtry of that Lucic - Ruzicka - Phillips line from last year's final game really had me hoping we'd see it again, and Monahan's an upgrade on Ruzicka.

[GioforPM]

Originally Posted by Torture

By Jay Feaster

Dat’s de joke.