Calgarypuck Forums - The Unofficial Calgary Flames Fan Community - View Single Post - [PGT] Flames' New Year's Eve Offering: Burned Sharks for Family Dinner. 8-5 W!

drewtastic · 01-01-2019, 02:39 AM

Back from the game and then a post-game New Year's ringing-in house party. A few thoughts:

-Hanifin really struggled tonight. He's been quite good all season, but every so often, his age shows and reminds me that he's a work in progress. With both Hamonic as his partner and this coaching staff, I'm completely encouraged that he will develop into a cornerstone D for us.

-Speaking of D-Men, if Kylington, Andersson and Valimaki can continue their progress, our D is in amazing shape for the foreseeable future. IMO, Andersson is ahead of the curve right now, but it's amazing to think that these three have all played meaningful minutes so far this year and that our bottom pairing is a rookie pairing. Remarkable.

-Having said that, our youth still shows with respect to size differential we give up (particularly in that bottom pairing D). Like the Nashville game I attended earlier this year, it was clear to see SJ's size advantage at times, especially in front of our own net. I think we are still a couple of pieces away from making a deep playoff run. I'd like to see one more mobile yet punishing defenceman and kind of a Nieminen/Nilsson/Donovan circa 2004 non-stop-motor type of player.

-The lineup tonight was, IMO, proper slotting of depth. It is clear that Tkachuk/Backlund/Frolik work really well together, so having Bennett/Janko/Neal experience some success is a step toward guaranteeing that second line stays together. It also put Ryan in a good fourth line role with the youngsters Dube and Hathaway.

-Speaking of Ryan, I don't get all the hate he gets on here. Sure, you may dislike his contract for what he is, but I never fault players for signing contracts that they've been offered. Tonight, Ryan won a number of important draws, created a number of chances offensively, proved to be a possession-driver on the second PP and, in one specific instance, came over the bench on a poor change from the on-ice guys to make a key defensive play, interrupting a shorthanded SJ rush. I understand completely why Peters is big on this guy.

-I am also a big Frolik fan and was happy to see him get two big points right away. Guys like Frolik are super important for playoff runs and this team would be silly to think of parting ways with him.

-Like others have posted, the crowd reaction to Neal's goal was superb. Flames fans get criticized for making the Dome seem like a mausoleum at times, but I've always thought that we will cheer when the team gives us reason to cheer. The Neal thing tonight provided further evidence to support the notion that our fan base is a very knowledgeable one that understands nuances in the game. After all, people could've "Bronx-Cheered" Neal, but they didn't, because they know he's been playing pretty well of late, and that he deserved that goal. The Jumobtron showed him grinning ear to ear on the bench for an elongated period afterward, while the crowd roared. That was awesome. (Incidentally, he deserved a goal in the second period when he hit that post...snakebit or what?)

-Did not see the Dell spear on Bennett until reading this thread--it happened at the opposite end of the rink from where we sit. We did, however, see Bennett on the ice and the angered reaction from the crowd in that corner. I now fully understand Bennett's anger. He will likely pay with a suspension, but if the NHL had any shred of dignity, it would retroactively punish Dell as well.

-With that in mind, this game has officially marked the end of me defending NHL referees this season. The Bennett disallowed goal was an unbelievable joke, not because it didn't necessarily fall under the purview of "goaltender interference", but because what constitutes interference seems to change game to game, officiating crew to officiating crew. Rittich getting taken out of the net against Dallas is fair contact, but Bennett breathing on Dell is not. Horrible. And like others have said here tonight, this crew allowed things to get out of hand by virtue of their non-calls (and phantom calls on other plays). What's most infuriating is knowing that so many of these soft-calls will not be made once playoffs start--the inconsistency abounds. The NHL has an officiating problem and I don't know how they'll be able to fix it.

-Finally, as we ring in 2019 together, I must say that it is so much fun watching Flames hockey again and then reading this site. Win or lose, the Flames are playing a style of hockey that makes an old guy like me take time at 2:30 in the AM to ramble on about his favourite team and stay up to read all the posts in the PGT.

-Oh, and the Oilers went 0 for 5 on their latest homestand.

Happy New Year, CP, and here's to the Flames getting even better in 2019!

01-01-2019, 02:39 AM	#306
drewtastic First Line Centre Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: So Long, Bannatyne Exp:	Back from the game and then a post-game New Year's ringing-in house party. A few thoughts: -Hanifin really struggled tonight. He's been quite good all season, but every so often, his age shows and reminds me that he's a work in progress. With both Hamonic as his partner and this coaching staff, I'm completely encouraged that he will develop into a cornerstone D for us. -Speaking of D-Men, if Kylington, Andersson and Valimaki can continue their progress, our D is in amazing shape for the foreseeable future. IMO, Andersson is ahead of the curve right now, but it's amazing to think that these three have all played meaningful minutes so far this year and that our bottom pairing is a rookie pairing. Remarkable. -Having said that, our youth still shows with respect to size differential we give up (particularly in that bottom pairing D). Like the Nashville game I attended earlier this year, it was clear to see SJ's size advantage at times, especially in front of our own net. I think we are still a couple of pieces away from making a deep playoff run. I'd like to see one more mobile yet punishing defenceman and kind of a Nieminen/Nilsson/Donovan circa 2004 non-stop-motor type of player. -The lineup tonight was, IMO, proper slotting of depth. It is clear that Tkachuk/Backlund/Frolik work really well together, so having Bennett/Janko/Neal experience some success is a step toward guaranteeing that second line stays together. It also put Ryan in a good fourth line role with the youngsters Dube and Hathaway. -Speaking of Ryan, I don't get all the hate he gets on here. Sure, you may dislike his contract for what he is, but I never fault players for signing contracts that they've been offered. Tonight, Ryan won a number of important draws, created a number of chances offensively, proved to be a possession-driver on the second PP and, in one specific instance, came over the bench on a poor change from the on-ice guys to make a key defensive play, interrupting a shorthanded SJ rush. I understand completely why Peters is big on this guy. -I am also a big Frolik fan and was happy to see him get two big points right away. Guys like Frolik are super important for playoff runs and this team would be silly to think of parting ways with him. -Like others have posted, the crowd reaction to Neal's goal was superb. Flames fans get criticized for making the Dome seem like a mausoleum at times, but I've always thought that we will cheer when the team gives us reason to cheer. The Neal thing tonight provided further evidence to support the notion that our fan base is a very knowledgeable one that understands nuances in the game. After all, people could've "Bronx-Cheered" Neal, but they didn't, because they know he's been playing pretty well of late, and that he deserved that goal. The Jumobtron showed him grinning ear to ear on the bench for an elongated period afterward, while the crowd roared. That was awesome. (Incidentally, he deserved a goal in the second period when he hit that post...snakebit or what?) -Did not see the Dell spear on Bennett until reading this thread--it happened at the opposite end of the rink from where we sit. We did, however, see Bennett on the ice and the angered reaction from the crowd in that corner. I now fully understand Bennett's anger. He will likely pay with a suspension, but if the NHL had any shred of dignity, it would retroactively punish Dell as well. -With that in mind, this game has officially marked the end of me defending NHL referees this season. The Bennett disallowed goal was an unbelievable joke, not because it didn't necessarily fall under the purview of "goaltender interference", but because what constitutes interference seems to change game to game, officiating crew to officiating crew. Rittich getting taken out of the net against Dallas is fair contact, but Bennett breathing on Dell is not. Horrible. And like others have said here tonight, this crew allowed things to get out of hand by virtue of their non-calls (and phantom calls on other plays). What's most infuriating is knowing that so many of these soft-calls will not be made once playoffs start--the inconsistency abounds. The NHL has an officiating problem and I don't know how they'll be able to fix it. -Finally, as we ring in 2019 together, I must say that it is so much fun watching Flames hockey again and then reading this site. Win or lose, the Flames are playing a style of hockey that makes an old guy like me take time at 2:30 in the AM to ramble on about his favourite team and stay up to read all the posts in the PGT. -Oh, and the Oilers went 0 for 5 on their latest homestand. Happy New Year, CP, and here's to the Flames getting even better in 2019!