I recall that Bourque had a slow start to his first AHL season, coming out of the QMJHL. Could he be experiencing something similar as he acclimates to another jump up in competition? I do agree that a shot of self-confidence in the AHL could give him a boost in coming back up again. It worked for Hintz. It worked for Harley.
I think Bourque & Stankoven could both benefit from a quick trip too the farm, while maybe even catching a spark out of one of the UFA's in Cedar Park in the wake of Back getting a new deal.
We could try sneaking them in for a back to back against the Road Runner tonight & tomorrow, if we don't mind them missing the Utah game.
Ritz-Hyry-Smith should be able to eat 6-8 minutes on a slapped together 4th line, while Tank & Mavs get their groove back and maybe even drag another guy up with them for the road trip.
I also think it must be very hard to get any consistency when playing up and down the lineup all the time. I thought Bourque looked pretty good on the top line and was building some chemistry, but then Marchment got hurt and the lines were juggled again
There's an excellent late season slot in the schedules to get Stankoven & Bourque a pair of confidence boost/ tune up games in Texas.
March 29 - Texas & Dallas on the road
March 30 & 31 - both teams off
April 1 - Iowa @ Texas
April 2 - Iowa @ Texas
April 3 - Nashville @ Dallas
Not only would it be a perfect spot too tinker with depth call ups pre-playoffs, but it's also a top notch April Fools Day prank, with a purpose.
I recall that Bourque had a slow start to his first AHL season, coming out of the QMJHL. Could he be experiencing something similar as he acclimates to another jump up in competition? I do agree that a shot of self-confidence in the AHL could give him a boost in coming back up again. It worked for Hintz. It worked for Harley.
I think Bourque & Stankoven could both benefit from a quick trip too the farm, while maybe even catching a spark out of one of the UFA's in Cedar Park in the wake of Back getting a new deal.
You beat me to it. I was also going to say that Stank could benefit in some confidence building as well. Remember Roope going up and down quite a bit.
We could try sneaking them in for a back to back against the Road Runner tonight & tomorrow, if we don't mind them missing the Utah game.
Ritz-Hyry-Smith should be able to eat 6-8 minutes on a slapped together 4th line, while Tank & Mavs get their groove back and maybe even drag another guy up with them for the road trip.
Strange-s-r things have happened.
I also think it must be very hard to get any consistency when playing up and down the lineup all the time. I thought Bourque looked pretty good on the top line and was building some chemistry, but then Marchment got hurt and the lines were juggled again