Calgarypuck Forums - The Unofficial Calgary Flames Fan Community - View Single Post - The trials and tribulations of Glen Gulutzan

bubbsy · 11-09-2017, 10:39 AM

To be honest, the first half or more of that canuck game, i saw a flames Defense that played the way i think we all assumed they would going into the season. Tight gaps at their blue line, limiting any real time and space for the puck carrier, and immediately moving the puck FORWARD once it was won back.

Too many times this season, i feel that they give up the zone and then spend most of the time circling around in their own zone trying to get the puck back. When they finally do, forget fast breakouts, it's a d to d pass behind the net, and a break out starting at no speed, with the opposition in a fully controlled setup waiting for them.

I hated the hartley defensive structure also, however, i did enjoy the team's ability to transition when they did win the puck. We have a lot of skill players who can do damage on the rush, especially when you look at the d core. The flames look slow because they play such a controlled game once they win the puck back, it doesn't allow high speed transition and chances off the rush.

Fundamentally, i think Gulutzan has a game plan he wishes to play, and when executed it's proven it can be successful. My issue is that there isn't much of a tolerance level, in that, if the team isn't able to play the strategy to a T, either due to the opposition's play or the flames not being as sharp as required, they look pretty average to awful.

Other than that, my only complaints would be the brodie/versteeg pairing on the top PP unit, and perhaps the use of lines/pairings (ie. overplaying the 4th line and 3rd pairing).

The next big question mark in my mind for this coaching staff will be how long they go with this lack of depth scoring and how they try to rectify it. If they are too rigid in their line combos, and feel that solving the 3rd/4th lines by simply juggling the 3rd/4th line players i will be greatly disappointed. If the depth scoring doesn't kick in by game 20, i firmly believe it is time to break up the 3M line in an attempt to better distribute skill/confidence across the 2nd & 3rd lines.

11-09-2017, 10:39 AM	#802
bubbsy Franchise Player Join Date: Aug 2008 Exp:	To be honest, the first half or more of that canuck game, i saw a flames Defense that played the way i think we all assumed they would going into the season. Tight gaps at their blue line, limiting any real time and space for the puck carrier, and immediately moving the puck FORWARD once it was won back. Too many times this season, i feel that they give up the zone and then spend most of the time circling around in their own zone trying to get the puck back. When they finally do, forget fast breakouts, it's a d to d pass behind the net, and a break out starting at no speed, with the opposition in a fully controlled setup waiting for them. I hated the hartley defensive structure also, however, i did enjoy the team's ability to transition when they did win the puck. We have a lot of skill players who can do damage on the rush, especially when you look at the d core. The flames look slow because they play such a controlled game once they win the puck back, it doesn't allow high speed transition and chances off the rush. Fundamentally, i think Gulutzan has a game plan he wishes to play, and when executed it's proven it can be successful. My issue is that there isn't much of a tolerance level, in that, if the team isn't able to play the strategy to a T, either due to the opposition's play or the flames not being as sharp as required, they look pretty average to awful. Other than that, my only complaints would be the brodie/versteeg pairing on the top PP unit, and perhaps the use of lines/pairings (ie. overplaying the 4th line and 3rd pairing). The next big question mark in my mind for this coaching staff will be how long they go with this lack of depth scoring and how they try to rectify it. If they are too rigid in their line combos, and feel that solving the 3rd/4th lines by simply juggling the 3rd/4th line players i will be greatly disappointed. If the depth scoring doesn't kick in by game 20, i firmly believe it is time to break up the 3M line in an attempt to better distribute skill/confidence across the 2nd & 3rd lines.