It will be Ryan Huska’s most difficult lineup decision so far this season.
The Calgary Flames head coach has promised that Matt Coronato’s healthy-scratching would only be a one-night benching.
But after the Flames rolled Sunday to a 5-1 victory over the New York Rangers, there’s not an obvious candidate to be benched.
So, who comes out?
Let’s start by focusing on Coronato, who hasn’t necessarily been at his best, but was still a surprise sitter against the Rangers. Huska insisted this wasn’t intended to be a punishment, rather “a chance to just kind of reset and catch his breath.”
So what is he hoping to see from the 22-year-old right winger as the Flames open a four-game trip Tuesday in Toronto?
“Just for Matt to be Matt,” Huska replied. “Just go out there and play his game. Because when Matt does that … For me, his work ethic is never in question. He’s a try-too-hard guy sometimes. He wants to help the team in whatever way he can. But sometimes if you try too hard, it just doesn’t work. You just complicate it.
“So for him, it’s just come back in the lineup, feel good about the quality of player that he is, know he is a good player and just go play the game. That’s it.
“His work ethic is always going to be there. For him, it’s just go play the game.”
The question is, who doesn’t play the game against the Maple Leafs, with puck-drop slated for a little earlier than usual to avoid overlap with the World Series? (Go Blue Jays!)
Typically a centre, Morgan Frost was flipped Sunday to right wing, skating alongside Nazem Kadri and Jonathan Huberdeau on the Flames’ top line. After Frost assisted on Kevin Bahl’s game-winner and after he won 72.7% of his offensive-zone draws while helping Kadri with faceoff duties, that experiment deserves an extended look.
On the second unit, Yegor Sharangovich just scored his first goal of the season and Joel Farabee undoubtedly is due for an icebreaker of his own, since he is tied for the team lead in scoring chances. Sharangovich recently was scratched for two in a row, but after Huska praised that he has responded with “more urgency in his game” and “is around the puck a little bit more right now.”
It wouldn’t send the right message to sit him again. Remember, ‘Sharky’ is just starting a five-year contract extension that carries an annual cap-hit of US$5.75 million, so they should be heavily invested in rebuilding his confidence.
Rookie Sam Honzek continues to build momentum alongside Mikael Backlund and Blake Coleman on the third line and quickly has become one of Calgary’s most trusted penalty-killers. Huska wouldn’t mess with this combo — would he? — after commenting that “the best we’ve seen Mikael and Blake play is when (Honzek) has been on their wing.”
That would leave one of the checkers — Justin Kirkland, Adam Klapka or Ryan Lomberg, who currently leads the team in hits. The trouble is that could require further shuffling so that Coronato could be slotted higher in the lineup.
How will Huska solve this conundrum? We will find out Tuesday when the Flames hit the ice for their morning skate at Scotiabank Arena.
If Coronato, who has totalled two goals and three points in nine appearances this fall, looks more like his usual self on this trip, Sunday’s scratching might seem like a stroke of genius.
If not, there will be plenty of second-guessing.
“We know how good Matty is, right? He’s an elite goal-scorer,” second-line centre Connor Zary said of his close pal Coronato, who was signed this summer to a seven-year, US$45.5-million extension that cements his status as a key piece of the Flames’ long-term core. “You take a step back. You take a deep breath. He has such a good attitude and he’s such a good person, so you never really want to see a guy kind of get knocked down. But I think he’s going to take it in stride.
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“And you know what? You get a little pissed off. We won (Sunday), and obviously he’s going to be happy for us. But personally, I think you get a little pissed off, you come with a little bit of extra juice and he goes and plays his game.
“But I don’t think it’s a knock on him at all. He’s a good player, they gave him the contract they did for reason, and he’ll be just fine.”
ICE CHIPS
Kadri, who started his NHL career in Toronto, has buried in back-to-back games as he returns to his old stomping grounds. He’ll undoubtedly be a hot topic Tuesday, since there seems to be a never-ending rumour in Maple Leafs Land that the team should be trying to reacquire him … The Leafs are currently without Chris Tanev, another guy who has worn both of these jerseys. The fearless shot-blocker and Kevin Gausman lookalike is on injured reserve.