Flames: 31-37-6, 68 points, 5th in Pacific, 12th in West, 26th in NHL.
Blackhawks: 42-25-7, 91 points, 3rd in Central, 4th in West, 6th in NHL.
More end of year reviews. Here's the ratings so far:
Gaudreau: A
Giodano: A-
Backlund: A-
Ramo: B+
Engelland: B+
Hudler: B-
Russell: C+
Jooris: C+
Granlund: C
Smid: C
Stajan: C-
Bollig: C-
Jones: D
Raymond: D-
Wideman: F
Hiller: F---
T.J. Brodie (A): G-4, A-38, P-42, +11, TOI-25:35. Brodie's absence at the beginning of the year became extremely noticeable, to the point of crippling the chances at playoffs this year. That's how important Brodie has become to this team. He leads the team in TOI per game at 25:35. He's put himself into the upper echelon with back to back exceptional years both offensively and defensively. We know that Giordano is having a great offensive season, but Brodie has the exact same points-per-game at 0.68. Sure, he occasionally makes turnovers because of his high risk style, but you live with that considering how much of a positive difference he makes at every other time. Nobody has a better backhand pass in the game IMO. He's an effortless skater with exceptional vision, and great anticipation with an active stick. He's not highly physical, but he's nonetheless become an exceptional defenseman in the NHL...all on a bargain contract.
Sean Monahan (A-): G-26, A-30, P-56, -4, PPG-6, PPP-15, GWG-4. A slight regression is how this season should be categorized for Monahan. Even though his offensive numbers are pretty much on track with last year, more of that has come after the Flames were well out of the playoff race. Not that I knock it, because scoring goals is still very hard in the NHL, but it would have been more helpful had he done it earlier in the year. He had multi-game pointless skids at the end of December and January, arguably when the team most needed him to step up. He also was pretty bad defensively in the first 4 weeks of the season, which directly led to the team having trouble getting wins out of the gate. Like it or not, Monahan is now a team leader after 3 full years in the NHL, and he has to play like it from day one. This is why I gave him a slight knock on his final grade, but overall, he's had another very good season.
Joe Colborne (C+): G-16, A-17, P-33, -10, Hits-117. Colborne has become a bit of a lightning rod for fans. We see his size, we see that the has skills, and we expect him to be a better player. For what it's worth, I think we've seen Colborne steadily progress at the NHL level over the last few years, it's just not as fast as we all hoped it would be. My biggest issue is his hockey IQ, where he doesn't read the play well or fast enough for the NHL level. He has the basics of positioning down most nights, but he lacks the IQ to be truly creative when he gets the puck. He has a lot of tools, and he obviously cares about winning, but he just doesn't have the vision to put it all together. Most of his points this year has come in what I call "garbage time", when the team is well out of it and playing loose. Also, his shooting percentage is a staggering 17.6% right now, so don't expect him to repeat his goal totals without improving his game. I would be fine with Colborne as a 3rd line forward going ahead, but how many of those do we need?
Lance Bouma (C-): Hits-89 (hits/game-2.34), Bks/Game-1.0. I will be fair to Bouma considering how badly injuries derailed his season, but he's only played like the Bouma I saw last year after the trade deadline, when it was all pretty much moot. He still blocks shots with more bravery than the light brigade, and hustles hard while playing a physical style, but there's very little to show for it. Partly due to his abysmal 4.7% shooting percentage, which took a massive hit compared to last year, but I think he's just hasn't performed as well in the offensive zone. I don't expect anything more than 10 goals a year from him, but I think there's more to offer as his career shooting percentage is around 9%. Something has been off with Bouma all year long. Perhaps it's complacency with his contract and becoming a permanent roster member, but he needs to play as though his job were on the line again to be effective on a regular basis. Also, staying somewhat healthy would be a good idea.
As for the game tonight, it looks like all those trades to load up at the deadline haven't helped the Blackhawks much. They have just one win in their last 7 games, and have really struggled to score outside of their lone 4-0 win against Winnipeg. Mind you, they've faced some tough competition, with games against the Blues, StarsX2, Kings, and the playoff hungry Flyers and Wild. They even held a team meeting on Tuesday to try and get everyone back on the same page. It's likely they'll come into the game tonight desperate for a win, which is bad news for a Flames team that's given up 11 goals over it's last 2 games. Expect us to be a slump buster tonight.
Oh, and just for those of you who love Blackhawks comparisons:
Jonathan Toews: Games-73, G-25, A-25, P-50, +15.
Sean Monahan: Games-73, G-26, A-30, P-56, -4.
Duncan Keith: Games-64, G-9, A-34, P-43, +14
T.J. Brodie: Games-63, G-4, A-38, P-42, +11.
Gaudreau is very comparable to Kane, but is still 20 points off his pace this year.
Roster Notes: Marcus Kruger will return to the lineup for the 'Hawks, adding key minutes to the penalty kill. Viktor Svedberg has been recalled from Rockford and will possibly play on the blueline tonight. Scott Darling is the confirmed starter for the 'Hawks. For the Flames, Ortio is likely to get the start tonight in front of the home crowd, especially after 2 straight bomb games from Hiller and Backstrom. Josh Jooris and Matt Stajan are day to day with a lower body and face injury respectively, but are not out of the question for the game tonight. Engelland may return after the birth of his child, so expect lots of lineup updates throughout the day.
Flames
Gaudreau-Monahan-Ferland
Bouma-Backlund-Frolik
Colborne-Bennett-Hathaway
Bollig-Stajan?-Jooris?
Giordano-Hamilton
Jokipakka-Brodie
Wotherspoon/Engelland?-Nakladal
Ortio
Blackhawks
Ladd-Toews-Hossa
Panarin-Anisimov-Kane
Fleischmann-Teravainen-Panik
Desjardins-Kruger-Shaw
Keith-Hjalmarsson
Svedberg-Seabrook
Gustafsson-van Riemsdyk
Darling
Go Flames Go!!!!!!