What has struck me is the sluggishness in puck battles. Everyone's oddly dull out there in general. I don't know what deeper problem that indicates but it certainly contributes to bad PP and lack of sustained possession.
Maybe they just weren't ready to play and are now struggling to get themselves sharp enough for the season. That's the simplest explanation I can come up with.
I think all NHL teams have a pretty similar idea about how they want to play. Coaching is getting the team to execute it, not so much coming up with new ideas. For some reason the Flames appear to need more time than they should have.
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