Originally Posted by drewtastic
Just home from the game. I'm sure the freak 90 seconds has been played to death. And all of it was as horribad live (my seats are in the Flames defensive end) as you imagine.
Nevertheless, there are so many other problems with this team right now that the Frolik error and subsequent faceoff are, in my view, merely symptoms of a tremendous lack of focus and grit that permeates this lineup.
Frolik's failure to clear the zone was only the last of about a dozen similar instances where the Flames got the puck to the defensive blueline, only to nonchalantly attempt to skate the puck out, resulting in turnovers and more defensive time in our zone. Needless errors like these make games far more difficult than necessary.
Conversely, the Flames simply refuse to cycle the puck and grind in the offensive zone. As a result, many rushes are "one and done", if that. Rarely do the point-men decide simply to keep the puck in deep in order to maintain possession, instead preferring wrist shot after wrist shot from the point. I understand that the coaches have instructed the defencemen to get pucks on net, but how many times does a puck have to hit an onrushing forward's shin/skate before these guys realize that it's really difficult to get a solid object through another solid object?
And, of course, the powerplay was atrocious. Again. In the Saddledome, it's coming to the point where fans know that a Flames powerplay is a two minute bathroom break. It's bad enough that the PP hasn't been effective in months, but that it gives up quality chances against is unforgivable at this point in the season. Stop me if you've heard this one before: if the Flames scored at least ONCE on the powerplay (as the Knights did), we aren't even talking about Frolik's blunder.
Perhaps the most infuriating thing I saw tonight, after all was said and done, was that, with the game 3-2 and the Flames needing to pull the goalie, Mike Smith skated to the bench, waving his arms, trying to get the coaching staff's attention. He was less than fifteen feet from the bench before they gave him the sign to leave the ice. For me, this is representative of the whole team's lack of mental sharpness or focus. And for this, who else can be responsible except the coaches? (God bless Mike Smith--I shudder to think where the Flames would be without him.)
It is now five straight losses, no matter how you want to justify the OTL points gained. And it's not even THAT they lose, it's HOW they lose.
The next game against Tampa will speak volumes about this team's character. Sadly, outside of a few players like Smith and Tkachuk, I am uncertain as to their collective ability and desire to commit to the work ethic and focus required to be a consistently good NHL team. Hoping to be proven wrong in two days' time.
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