Late to the party here
Simply the best regular season game I have watched in maybe a couple of years. Yeah, we beat Anaheim in Anaheim, which was absolutely huge, but this was a healthy Anaheim team.
Flames took it to them and completely destroyed them. They didn't have much of an answer for the Flames. Can anyone still say with a straight face that the Flames are a slow team? Flames are a fast team (and I have criticized the system for slowing things down too much). Gulutzan actually had a very good plan of attack for this game, and it worked flawlessly. Good job by him for setting such a good game plan, and good job by the players for executing it.
I saw the Ducks trying to push back, but not really. It wasn't until the refs gave them the confidence to do so that the Flames got a bit flustered. Flames don't quite have that swagger that Anaheim has yet where they can respond. They started crumbling with the pressure from Anaheim AND the refs (seriously, I am not one to complain about reffing, but that was an atrociously reffed game), but they managed to hold on.
Then they got their swagger back.
If anyone feels that Ferland isn't a top-line RW'er now, I don't know if I can trust anything else you write. There are a handful of players right now that are better than Ferland at that position. I can count them on one hand. He is doing great. Not only does he score, but he is defensively sound, has these wonderful hands to make subtle high-skill plays, and can also carry the puck over the blue line and get the attack set-up. He has boatloads of hockey sense. Plus, when given the opportunity, he will crush a guy along the boards, and he generally wins a heck of a lot more puck battles than he loses. He IS a first line player.
Good on Gulutzan for freaking out on those refs. He never does that. Good to see that when the refs were that bad, that he will do it. Also nice to see the Willis tweet about those officials.
Bennett is a monster. So good at everything, and getting better. He will be Calgary's most complete player who is capable of leading this team on the scoreboard or emotionally. Yeah, Doug Gilmour comparisons are apt, but he is going to be much like Iginla was for this team.
Jankowski is quickly gaining confidence and patience out there. That is going to be a deadly line for years to come.
I thought Gulutzan did a better job tonight at managing the bench. I got a bit of a chuckle when the entire 3rd line was in the penalty box, however.
You have to hate the Ducks. They always get the breaks it seems with the officiating (and video reviews - remember Getzlaf's goal where he slid the puck in the net with his hand, and it was called a goal?).
Last night reminded me of this beauty:
Great game all around. Nothing to criticize. Lots to really enjoy. Total playoff atmosphere. Loved seeing the Flames not only win, but stand-up against the Ducks physically, and get through the horrible officiating. It would have been easy - even excusable - to roll over and lose the game there. They didn't. They persevered, and got that beautiful goal with only 16 seconds left.
Hopefully this win propels them for the rest of the season. I really do think that this team has enough talent and size to be one of the elite teams in the league, but they have to mature as a team. A game like last night goes a long way in getting there.
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