Flames go searching for defensive harmony
MONTREAL TJ Brodie was back with his buddy.
Travis Hamonic was back in black.
One of the blue-liners has been struggling, while the other has been spectating as he recovers from a facial fracture.
The Calgary Flames split their top defence pair during the early stages of Sunday’s 4-1 victory over the New York Rangers, with rookie Rasmus Andersson promoted to partner with captain Mark Giordano while Brodie was bumped to the second tandem.
The separation didn’t last long. Giordano and Brodie will be reunited for Tuesday’s date with the Montreal Canadiens at Bell Centre.
Andersson will once again skate alongside Noah Hanifin, while fellow freshman Juuso Valimaki has developed some chemistry with Michael Stone on the other combo.
All eyes will be on the 28-yearold Brodie, guilty of a few ugly give- aways in his recent outings.
“He’s a great player, always making plays and solid defensively,” Giordano said after Monday’s practice.
“We had a couple of tough shifts together there (Sunday), both of us making mistakes, and you have to respect the coach’s decision to try to switch things up when things aren’t going well.
“We’ll get back together, and we’ll be good.”
Hamonic, meanwhile, is just trying to get back, period.
The 28-year-old ditched his nocontact jersey for Monday’s session at Bell Centre — instead of yellow, he was wearing black like the rest of the rearguards — and certainly didn’t shy away from contact during one-on-one battle drills.
Head coach Bill Peters told reporters that later next week is the best-case scenario for Hamonic to return to the lineup. He has already missed seven straight games after being injured in a fight on opening night.