The Daily Faceoff Show: Pat Steinberg talks about the Battle of Alberta

"I think it goes beyond those three players. It also translates to Jacob Markstrom, who’s been the second-best goaltender in this series, and I think even Edmonton’s blueline has outplayed Calgary’s. Chris Tanev returned in Game 4 and he was their best defenseman but the top pairing of Rasmus Andersson and Noah Hanifin, which was one of the most used pairings during the regular season, it hasn’t been up to the standard they need to be.

"The top line absolutely needs to take a step forward but so do some players at other positions if they’re going to give themselves a chance to win this series.”

McKenna: “Calgary pushed pretty hard in Game 4. I thought that was a fairly even game. I’m starting to have concerns about the team speed about Calgary against Edmonton, especially when you’re trying to contain McDavid. Looking at the centers for the Flames, we have Lindholm, Mikael Backlund, and Calle Jarnkrok, which of those three is best suited to shut down McDavid? Because it hasn’t happened so far in this series.”

Steinberg: “The easy answer is Backlund. In prior times when the Flames have had success against McDavid, it’s been Backlund and whoever he’s playing with who have gotten the job done. Before it was Backlund with Tkachuk and Michael Frolik, or Backlund and Andrew Mangiapane and Blake Coleman on the wing.

"The interesting thing about this series is that whether it’s in Calgary or Edmonton, Darryl Sutter hasn’t changed matchups. He’s been comfortable putting out whoever against the McDavid line. We’ve seen a lot of the Lindholm line against McDavid, which hasn’t turned out to be a good matchup for Calgary, and we’ve seen a little bit of the Backlund and Jarnkrok line, and even the Trerov Lewis line at times.

"I’m putting that Backlund line out primarily against McDavid. He’s had success containing McDavid before and the wingers Mangiapane and Coleman have good skillsets to be able to do that. There’s good speed on that line and a good two-way presence on that line. That’s who I would be looking at.

Seravalli: “We asked you about the idea of the Flames’ best players being their best players but one of the other things about this series that’s been odd has been the depth that hasn’t been there for Calgary. One of the things that’s also really surprised me is just how quiet that third line has been.

"I thought Dillon Dube was a guy made for the playoffs and I’m also really surprised at Tyler Toffoli. What are you seeing from that line?

Steinberg: “Toffoli is the one who’s been the most surprising to me. Part of it, as Mike pointed out, is the speed Edmonton plays with isn’t Toffoli’s strength and I think that’s shown at different times in this series. But you’re right, it hasn’t just been that, there have been uncharacteristic mistakes and he isn’t converting from spots that he usually converts from and that line hasn’t been much of a driver.

"I think Jarnkrok’s game has been fine, he’s been responsible defensively and a good penalty killer, but there’s not a lot of offense there. Dillon Dube’s speed has translated well in the playoffs, and I think he’s been noticeable in this series at times, but he has one assist in 11 playoff games to this point.

"It’s interesting because the Backlund line has been the best line for Calgary in this series. The Lindholm line, as we talked about, needs to step it up, and those bottom lines, the Jarnkrok and Lewis lines, haven’t been as good as they were in round one against Dallas either.

"The Oilers are beating the Flames when it comes to the top players but they’ve also gotten better performances up and down the lineup from their depth players, other than the Backlund line. We talked about the depth advantage the Flames had coming into the series. Well, it hasn’t shown yet, and with no margin for error left, it’s time for it to show through.”

You can watch the full episode here…