It was exactly what he was put on that line to do when he swapped in for Aydar Suniev: add some physicality and mayhem to provide opportunities for the new trio.
“I don’t really know if I’ve ever really played with him in my time here, so definitely something a little different,” said Frost after the game. “I think Sharky and I were a little excited about it. Obviously Suniev is a great skater, very offensive, makes a lot of plays, but I feel like us three as a line together, we just weren’t getting the puck back enough. All three of us aren’t the most physical guys, so I feel like it was a perfect switch at this time just to kind of get us going.
“I mean, he’s obviously six-eight, I don’t even know what he weighs,” smiled Frost, “but he’ll get the puck back for you and I feel like that was the perfect example of it on the goal, he just creates a little chaos and gets the puck to us and then Sharky made a great pass. So, yeah, excited to play with him and I thought he played great tonight.”
Klapka finished the night plus-2 with 14:50 of ice time and, not surprisingly, had six hits which was tied for tops in the tilt for his side along with Martin Pospisil.
“It was a good for the first game,” said Klapka at the team hotel after Sunday’s morning meetings. “It was a little bit different, but I think I’ll get used to it quick and I think we did a good job.”
That’s the key for Klapka. He said it doesn’t matter where he slots in or who he plays with, he’s comfortable and confident in his game and knows he can adjust quickly.
“You know, I think I figured it out for me,” he explained. “It’s like it doesn’t matter which line I’m on. I don’t change my identity and my role. So, I feel like I can play with anybody if you stay with your role. There’s maybe more little plays you have to make sometimes, but I feel like I handled it pretty well.”
Klapka has continued to develop and polish his skill set, combining his physicality with a great set of hands and the ability to create offence and put the puck in the net when the opportunity presents. He has four goals and seven points in 20 skates this campaign, trending up from the six goals and 18 points he posted in 79 games last season.
That versatility of play, similar to Pospisil, allows a great deal of flexibility for head coach Ryan Huska when icing his lineup.
“I feel the guys playing with us, they know to put the puck deep for us, we're just gonna go there and get that back for them,” said Klapka. “Me and Posp, it’s kind of like our game and we love to go and bang, bang, bang people up sometimes. And if they make a nice play for us, we can score some goals. So, I feel it works for both sides. The coaches know they can use us on different lines and we can help the other guys.”
