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Originally Posted by Roof-Daddy
Missed the game tonight, saw it was tied 1-1 almost half way through the third, see the final score is 5-1 Hawks.
So how we all doing? Full on panic mode?
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This was by far the best game the Flames have played all year. If the refs didn't ignore some blatant interferences/trips, while making up penalties at the other end, the Hawks don't score second goal / game winner. They don't score that, and Engelland doesn't make a terrible pinch to cost the third goal (yes Brodie screwed up the coverage but it happens, Elliott could have made a save there too, it was just a bad sequence of events)._, and the Flames don't have to pull the goalie on the fourth goal. Dunno about the fifth goal, I wasn't watching at that point.
Overall my biggest frustration is our PK though. It's the same old crap no matter what D is there, they just always led the puck get to the single most dangeorus area (tips in front of the net) while being too focused on the half circle area like everyone is Steven Stamkos or Alex Ovechkin. I am not sure why but they just don't seem to trust their goalie to make a pedestrian save and it ends up backfiring on them.
That said, the Flames playing well does not excuse Gulutzan's player usage. There are some serious issues that are starting to drive me nuts:
- Giordano/Engelland on PK1. Neither guy is getting the job done when they need to. Put anybody else there any see what they can do. Brodie has been our best PKing D this season IMO, put him on the left. i am not sure what to do with the right of that PK1, all our RD seem to suck at D coverage, it's terrible when Wideman is probably your best defensive right D because he is not very good at it.
- Gaudreau/Monahan. They not only don't have chemistry and total inability at generating sustained pressure, but it's impossible to find a winger for them. So let's break them up.
- Trailing by a goal(+) and not shortening the rotations. Engelland might be able to help a team turtle with a lead, but he nor Jokipakka are great options to spark a comeback. Watch the Kings, when they are behind Darryl Sutter reunites Muzzin and Doughty, who are normally separated. Playing as the score dictates does not mean you are abandoning the game plan. It means you are maximizing your chance of scoring a goal with time winding down. Same goes for the fourth line. I love what they have done this season but when you are behind you have to bench the players who are least likely to create dangerous plays and that is absolutely true of Stajan, Bouma, and Chiasson in particular. You need to shorten the bench. And when you have not scored a 5v5 goal across 50+ minutes you need to get out the blender because the players need to feel a sense of "something is different right now".
- General love affair with Chiasson. The guy is awful and has no business on a top line.
- Monahan on PP1. He's just not doing anything, and he's taking Brouwer out of his favourite area which means three left shots all playing the primary areas. Brouwer was signed to be a right shot on the PP, then put him somewhere where that is actually useful. Use Tkachuk as the screen man and demote Monahan to PP2