So i fell asleep for the 3rd, so can't comment there, but here's my take on the game.
I hate the way this team starts. It's always moderate, conservative, 'feeling it out', soft. They say they had a good 1st period, i still thought it was tentative outside of a few shifts here and there. Flames get gifted a goal where elliott in elliott fashion gives up a rebound, and nudges it forward towards brouwer. Lucky bounce goal for the flames (for all that talk of puck luck).
Then it happens, under 2 mins in the period and Dummy Hamilton let's one of the INFINITE d to d passes (the only kind of passes this team can actually complete tape to tape) slowly go off his skate right to the opposition.
Right then the game was over. I had zero confidence that this weak group could put it behind them.
Second was actually ok, but again, in typical flames fashion, 1 thing goes bad and before you know it, 3 things go bad within a 2 minute period, and the team is down by 3.
Anyways, what a terrible home stand. No Show vs the leafs, No Show vs the oilers (still don't understand how that happens), and beat by an equally mentally weak team in the flyers. It's actually funny that the only game they can hang their hat on is the team that has broken the record for worst start to the NHL in the league's history.
anyways. This team is not good. What's laughable is that we are 27 games in, the team at NO point has actually shown that they are a good team over more than 1 game at a time. That's actually not the laughable part, it's the fact that the coaching staff are so sure of themselves and their on paper team, that the only changes they have made ALL season are kulak/bartkowski and the lazar/stajan/f.hamilton musical chairs.
That's despite our top 2 pairings underperforming (ya, i don't care what the advanced stats say about our top pair, they are no where close to what they were last year and are not dominant in any fashion).
I'm going to get slammed here i'm sure, but i'm also not that big a fan of Jagr's at this stage. Yes, there's some flashes of cycle plays that create chances, but i think there's more chemistry between jankowksi/bennett at this point. I also am getting frustrated that he's not able to score on his chances. Don't get me wrong, the other 2 (janko/bennett) muck up a lot of chances themselves, but their young and that is to be expected.
The last week's worth of games show us what this team looks like when the top line comes back down to earth in my opinion. A team that can't score, a defense that can't defend, and special teams that are terrible.
I think the team has yet to hit rock bottom.. I'm guessing the team gets 1 point somewhere in the next 3 games (@tor, @mtl, vs van).
I'm not even mad anymore. I have been all season, but at this stage acceptance has started to creep in that this team is not very good. Our coach sucks, our gm does his thing like it's an EA be a GM mode. One or both better be feeling the heat and not be here if the lottery draft is upon us and the Islanders are eagerly awaiting where that flames ball lands.
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