Who are the Calgary Flames?

[Enoch Root]

Originally Posted by Street Pharmacist

I really would love to know stylistically what is different. My guess is, when we're down we see Gio, Brodie, Hudler and Gaudreau more and Smid/Engelland less. That means more carrying the puck and less hot potato. Outside of that, I haven't a clue

Edit: They're shot attempts +/- doesn't change in the third. It's almost the same regardless of circumstantial

That's true and probably a big contributing factor

[N-E-B]

Really good write-up, just one issue...

Can we all agree to stop using the term "Brodano"? I don't know why, but it just sounds so cheesy to me...

[Street Pharmacist]

Originally Posted by N-E-B

Really good write-up, just one issue...

Can we all agree to stop using the term "Brodano"? I don't know why, but it just sounds so cheesy to me...

I'll change it to "Giordie". Is that better?

[mikephoen]

Originally Posted by Finger Cookin

I'm glad...not glad, that's not the right word...comforted that the discrepancy between the first and second period in terms of GF/GA has calmed down a bit. It seemed that for much of the early season the Flames were good to great in the first, third, and OT, but awful in the second. And I couldn't figure out or even come up with a rationalization why it was happening so consistently. Maybe someone smarter than me, or with better understanding of the game, or with better access to game film, could explain it. All I could come up with is that there is something fundamental about the style of game and system we play that just does not work with the line changes to the far bench. But that doesn't seem to fly when the OT record is examined. Anyone?

In the second period, our third pairing and to a lesser extent Wideman, get stuck out too long on shifts because they can't change and we give up goals. These guys play a lot less in OT (only Wideman plays at all of those guys). And Wideman is good in OT, because he is paired with 3 guys that can outskate the other team in most situations, so he can play to his strengths, which is mostly a huge and accurate point shot and good offensive instincts.

That's my theory.

[FBI]

Originally Posted by N-E-B

Really good write-up, just one issue...

Can we all agree to stop using the term "Brodano"? I don't know why, but it just sounds so cheesy to me...

Agreed but much rather GlenX be eradicated first

[GioforPM]

Originally Posted by Street Pharmacist

I'll change it to "Giordie". Is that better?

No.

[Resolute 14]

Another angle to look at things is our situational record. For intradivisional play, our .806 points percentage is the best in the league. Nashville, Pittsburgh and Tampa are closest in the high .700s. But we are also mediocre on home ice and are the worst team in the conference against the East.

This is a team that seems to struggle against the weight of expectations. We suck when we are supposed to win, and we succeed when we are supposed to lose.

[Street Pharmacist]

Originally Posted by Resolute 14

Another angle to look at things is our situational record. For intradivisional play, our .806 points percentage is the best in the league. Nashville, Pittsburgh and Tampa are closest in the high .700s. But we are also mediocre on home ice and are the worst team in the conference against the East.

This is a team that seems to struggle against the weight of expectations. We suck when we are supposed to win, and we succeed when we are supposed to lose.

Worse yet, the Flames have a .421 points percentage when outshooting opponents and a .625 points percentage when being outshot

[DoubleF]

Originally Posted by Street Pharmacist

I'll change it to "Giordie". Is that better?

Bro G?

I think Hartley works best with nicknames ending in "ee" sounds.

Brodano sounds like an Italian food or something.

[Resolute 14]

Originally Posted by Street Pharmacist

Worse yet, the Flames have a .421 points percentage when outshooting opponents and a .625 points percentage when being outshot

Yup. Too many red flags. Barring a quantum leap somewhere, this is a team that is shaping up to get better next year but without a positive reflection in the standings.

[FlamesAddiction]

A little OT, but somewhat related is that the 8th place Flames and 1st place Ducks have played the same number of games and have exact the same number of goals for and the Flames have 2 goals against less. In fact, we are tied for 4th in the conference going by goal differential.

I realize wins/losses are the only thing that matters, but in general, teams with better goal differentials do tend to make the playoffs and have success in the post season. There are always some exceptions, but just in general.

[GranteedEV]

Basically this team is an "average" bottom D-pairing short of being a legit title contender.

[Enoch Root]

Originally Posted by Resolute 14

Another angle to look at things is our situational record. For intradivisional play, our .806 points percentage is the best in the league. Nashville, Pittsburgh and Tampa are closest in the high .700s. But we are also mediocre on home ice and are the worst team in the conference against the East.

This is a team that seems to struggle against the weight of expectations. We suck when we are supposed to win, and we succeed when we are supposed to lose.

But in fairness, 7-0 against ARI and EDM

[Enoch Root]

Originally Posted by Street Pharmacist

Worse yet, the Flames have a .421 points percentage when outshooting opponents and a .625 points percentage when being outshot

Originally Posted by Resolute 14

Yup. Too many red flags. Barring a quantum leap somewhere, this is a team that is shaping up to get better next year but without a positive reflection in the standings.

Please explain how that's a red flag.

More of an indictment of possession stats, IMO.

[slybomb]

I think it helps that we have about 4 "game breakers" in Gio, Monahan, Gaudreau and Wideman. When the game is on the line, they just find a way to make a goal happen. We haven't seen these types of clutch performances since Iggy's first decade with the team. Makes it so fun to watch.

[Street Pharmacist]

Originally Posted by Enoch Root

Please explain how that's a red flag.

More of an indictment of possession stats, IMO.

The exception doesn't prove the validity of possession.

There will always be exceptions.

Here are some facts:

-Elite teams are ALWAYS in the top for corsi%.
-Teams in the top 5 in corsi% almost always make the playoffs and teams in the bottom 5 rarely do

There's a very strong correlation. That doesn't mean that poor corsi teams can't make the playoffs not does it mean that good corsi teams will. We're speaking about probabilities here, not absolutes.

Is a 90 year old smoker an indictment of the belief that smoking can kill you?

[saillias]

Originally Posted by GranteedEV

Basically this team is an "average" bottom D-pairing short of being a legit title contender.

You really believe that?

Every year Flames fans want to blame the bottom pairing guys. If only we had a good bottom pairing, we'd be better! All the whining I've seen over the years about Ference, Zyuzin, Vandermeer, Staios, Sarich, Babchuk, Pardy, Butler, Engelland. It's the guy at the bottom of the totem pole's fault! It's a bit defenseman conspiracy to destroy the Flames!

[The_Future]

Originally Posted by GranteedEV

Basically this team is an "average" bottom D-pairing short of being a legit title contender.

I think we are missing a few more points than that.

Our goaltending was struggling and right now we are riding a kid on a 4 game hot streak. I like Ortio and I hope he can keep this pace up, maybe he is the answer, but I wouldn't make that assumption after 4 games.

I would love to add a pure goal scorer, a reliable finisher, to the line up. Eberle, Neal, someone like that. Hudler is tied for like 47th overall in the league for goals scored. It would be nice to have a reliable, constant pure goal scorer. Don't give me flack about Eberle either, his lack of production is tied to his crappy team. He would thrive on a different team.

I also would like to erase a guy like Bollig and add an enforcer/energy player who does the job. Remember Ville Nieminen? Prust, Neil, Downie, Lucic, etc. Someone to keep the other team accountable and protect the young guys.They can play the game, and keep everyone honest. Seems like Bollig isn't doing this.

[DoubleF]

I'd love to toss in the idea of us being good fans as part of the Calgary identity.

Well filled stadium
Respectful of the game
Supportive (ie: Standing ovations even for losses)
Does not feel the need to incessantly boo the other team or our own team (like the annoying sound of a vuvuzela)
Non-crazy media

A deep connection with the team really.

Style wise though, I feel like our best games are when we bide time slowly and get quality chances.

[Murph]

Great post SP, here’s my take...

The Flames are a counter-attacking team by design. I think management and the coaching staff took a look at the players they had, and rather than try to play the "Western Conference style" of rough and tumble, wear-‘em-down hockey, they decided to go another way. Rather than try to be something they weren’t and inevitably fail, they decided to play to the teams biggest strengths:

- team speed and,
- fast, offensive defensemen.

A counter-attacking style is one that plays to these strengths. Pressure the puck with one man while everyone else clogs the middle of the defensive zone with bodies and sticks. Then let the other team try to get a puck through and when you get the bounce you’re looking for, be it a blocked shot, a turnover, or a save with possession of the rebound, haul ass up ice as a single unit, defensemen included.

Aside from it being obvious when you watch the games, there are four stat lines that I think emphasize this:

- Blocked shots – as SP points out, we lead the league in blocked shots
- Turnovers – The Flames are 4th in the league in takeaways
- Shot selection – As SP points out, we have higher than average number of shots from the high slot – shots that are likely to come off the rush.
- Points by defensemen – Giordano, Brodie and Wideman are all in the top 20.

In deciding to play this way, management and coaching have accepted that the teams Corsi stats will be poor (not that they care about Corsi) – but the results also point to the inherent flaw in the way Corsi stats are calculated. Corsi gives equal weight to a shot that hits the net as it does to a shot that doesn’t (i.e. one that is blocked). It is this flaw in the way Corsi is calculated that leads to the poor comparisons that are made between the Flames and the Leafs/Avalanche that SP mentions.

The reason why I think it was a managment/coaching decision to play this style is the emphasis that Treliving placed in the offseason about improving the goaltending. I know it's not revolutionary, but he is on the record as saying that it all starts with the goaltending and he also said that improving the goaltending was his number one priority of the past offseason. You can't play the style described above if you don't have solid goaltending. And imagine that - when this year's Flames get good goaltending they win, and when they don't, they lose.

The long and short of it is – barring an injury to one of the top 4 defensemen, I think the Flames have the horses to play the style of game that they have chosen to play. And so long as they get good goaltending, I think the results so far have shown they’ll make the playoffs doing so.

My two cents…