Calgarypuck Forums - The Unofficial Calgary Flames Fan Community - View Single Post - [PGT] Flames Lose 2-0 to Leafs

Calgary4LIfe · 03-20-2021, 08:59 PM

It looks like to me that the Flames have taken their foot off the pedal a bit in both their forechecking and in their transition game. Pucks are moving out slower with more hesitation creeping-up into their game again. They aren't being as aggressive on the forecheck as they were in the first few games under Darryl.

I think - FOR THE MOMENT - that this is still very much a work in progress. I didn't think it would turn around so quickly under Darryl. There is a lot of details to work out, and a lot of bad habits to eradicate. Another 5 or 10 games should start showing who this team really is. I hope they manage to continue winning at their current pace until then.

At the end of the day, I am at least satisfied that Calgary brought in a good coach, and if the Flames continue to flounder, then we can more accurately ascertain that the core needs a serious change. Let's see what the next few weeks' worth of games shows us about this team.

Pros and cons so far:

This team does not cough-up pucks even close to as often for grade-A opportunities the other way.
Team is finally actually sticking up for one another

That's about it from this cheerleader for now. This team is starting to look 'boring' again in the way they generate offence. They simply aren't transitioning fast enough, and they are not testing the goalies often enough. This team looked really good for a bit with the new coach bump in their metrics, but those are starting to revert to what we were seeing under Ward again. However, I do think they have done a much better job at not allowing turnovers to end up as odd-man rushes very often, and they have done a good job at contesting shots from dangerous areas - the goaltenders have had to be much less amazing acrobats than just solid positionally, which does bode well for when they fix themselves at the other end of the ice.

This is concerning - and right now definitely points at this team being poorly constructed - but instant change was not the realistic expectation. Hopefully they figure this mess out sooner rather than later, and also manage to continue winning enough games until they do have it figured out.

If it doesn't get figured-out, well... I at least feel a bit more assured in making major moves after a proper coach was brought in to see what he could do. Still hopeful things get turned around, but if they don't, at least I will not wonder if it was the coach or the players that were the issue.

03-20-2021, 08:59 PM	#104
Calgary4LIfe Franchise Player Join Date: Jun 2010 Exp:	It looks like to me that the Flames have taken their foot off the pedal a bit in both their forechecking and in their transition game. Pucks are moving out slower with more hesitation creeping-up into their game again. They aren't being as aggressive on the forecheck as they were in the first few games under Darryl. I think - FOR THE MOMENT - that this is still very much a work in progress. I didn't think it would turn around so quickly under Darryl. There is a lot of details to work out, and a lot of bad habits to eradicate. Another 5 or 10 games should start showing who this team really is. I hope they manage to continue winning at their current pace until then. At the end of the day, I am at least satisfied that Calgary brought in a good coach, and if the Flames continue to flounder, then we can more accurately ascertain that the core needs a serious change. Let's see what the next few weeks' worth of games shows us about this team. Pros and cons so far: This team does not cough-up pucks even close to as often for grade-A opportunities the other way. Team is finally actually sticking up for one another That's about it from this cheerleader for now. This team is starting to look 'boring' again in the way they generate offence. They simply aren't transitioning fast enough, and they are not testing the goalies often enough. This team looked really good for a bit with the new coach bump in their metrics, but those are starting to revert to what we were seeing under Ward again. However, I do think they have done a much better job at not allowing turnovers to end up as odd-man rushes very often, and they have done a good job at contesting shots from dangerous areas - the goaltenders have had to be much less amazing acrobats than just solid positionally, which does bode well for when they fix themselves at the other end of the ice. This is concerning - and right now definitely points at this team being poorly constructed - but instant change was not the realistic expectation. Hopefully they figure this mess out sooner rather than later, and also manage to continue winning enough games until they do have it figured out. If it doesn't get figured-out, well... I at least feel a bit more assured in making major moves after a proper coach was brought in to see what he could do. Still hopeful things get turned around, but if they don't, at least I will not wonder if it was the coach or the players that were the issue.