Calgarypuck Forums - The Unofficial Calgary Flames Fan Community - View Single Post - What are your thoughts on Glen Gulutzan's system?

Calgary4LIfe · 03-17-2017, 11:35 AM

No team in the NHL goes on a 10 game winning streak simply out of luck.

Yeah, Philly imploded after their win streak, but that doesn't mean that they weren't playing really good hockey. It just means whatever it was went off the rails.

I look back at the streaks under Hartley - Flames were playing solid games in all areas of the ice under that system, but then went off the rails when goaltending became shaky again (coinciding when Ramo went down).

I am of the opinion that as long as a coach implements a decent system that fits a team, and that a team is capable of playing (unlike Mike "no system" Keenan, and Brent "completely wrong system" Sutter), as long as the team sticks to the system they should experience success - as long as there is enough talent on the team.

The Flames are talented and, dare I say, fairly 'deep'. They have been executing the system (as to the best of my knowledge) fairly well, and earned those 10 straight wins. They earned that loss against the Bruins since they experienced shaky goaltending and appeared to deviate from the system (either from not enough effort, or the Bruins simply being able to break down the system making the Flames look like they weren't putting in a full effort - tough to gauge sometimes, especially when it is only one game).

I have been more than critical about Gulutzan, but he definitely has his finger on this team and they are playing well. If they let their foot off the gas, then it becomes guesswork as to why they did so. Rattled? Tired? Gulutzan not making the proper adjustments?

I am really not worried about how the Flames are playing. Maybe not generating enough scoring chances at times, but they are playing sound defensive hockey for the most part. I like how they are playing every other night, I like how they are playing (for the most part) good teams to finish off the season, and I like how they are playing fairly defensive as a whole - that is how teams experience success in the playoffs.

Another loss and I won't be rattled yet in my belief - Dallas got embarrassed last outing, and I am sure they will be playing hard tonight. I believe that Gulutzan's system (whether it is the 'full system' or the simpler version of it) has been working very well, and when it has experienced a breakdown, Elliott has made a timely save (all systems break down every game during moments).

The most important thing to me is that a team is competing hard and sticking to the game plan, deviating only when needed if they are losing and need to trade-off some defence to try and mount a comeback - but then even with some caution. I don't think they will lose 3 or 4 in a row - that is not how they have been playing for the majority of the season, and they seem in the middle of a very well-executed run where the entire team from top to bottom has been playing rather well.

03-17-2017, 11:35 AM	#775
Calgary4LIfe Franchise Player Join Date: Jun 2010 Exp:	No team in the NHL goes on a 10 game winning streak simply out of luck. Yeah, Philly imploded after their win streak, but that doesn't mean that they weren't playing really good hockey. It just means whatever it was went off the rails. I look back at the streaks under Hartley - Flames were playing solid games in all areas of the ice under that system, but then went off the rails when goaltending became shaky again (coinciding when Ramo went down). I am of the opinion that as long as a coach implements a decent system that fits a team, and that a team is capable of playing (unlike Mike "no system" Keenan, and Brent "completely wrong system" Sutter), as long as the team sticks to the system they should experience success - as long as there is enough talent on the team. The Flames are talented and, dare I say, fairly 'deep'. They have been executing the system (as to the best of my knowledge) fairly well, and earned those 10 straight wins. They earned that loss against the Bruins since they experienced shaky goaltending and appeared to deviate from the system (either from not enough effort, or the Bruins simply being able to break down the system making the Flames look like they weren't putting in a full effort - tough to gauge sometimes, especially when it is only one game). I have been more than critical about Gulutzan, but he definitely has his finger on this team and they are playing well. If they let their foot off the gas, then it becomes guesswork as to why they did so. Rattled? Tired? Gulutzan not making the proper adjustments? I am really not worried about how the Flames are playing. Maybe not generating enough scoring chances at times, but they are playing sound defensive hockey for the most part. I like how they are playing every other night, I like how they are playing (for the most part) good teams to finish off the season, and I like how they are playing fairly defensive as a whole - that is how teams experience success in the playoffs. Another loss and I won't be rattled yet in my belief - Dallas got embarrassed last outing, and I am sure they will be playing hard tonight. I believe that Gulutzan's system (whether it is the 'full system' or the simpler version of it) has been working very well, and when it has experienced a breakdown, Elliott has made a timely save (all systems break down every game during moments). The most important thing to me is that a team is competing hard and sticking to the game plan, deviating only when needed if they are losing and need to trade-off some defence to try and mount a comeback - but then even with some caution. I don't think they will lose 3 or 4 in a row - that is not how they have been playing for the majority of the season, and they seem in the middle of a very well-executed run where the entire team from top to bottom has been playing rather well.