The one thing that I'm not too worried about is how many goals the Flames will give up. My worry with the defense is that I don't think it can contribute enough offensively to help the team score enough and win enough games to make the playoffs. But I do think collectively as a group the team will be far more focused on playing strong in their own end. I would not be surprised to see the Flames allow less than 200 goals. This is a team who will be going out there trying to win 2-1 and 3-2 games.
I'll go so far as this, if this team can score 220 goals this season, They will make the playoffs. Even 210 I think will be enough. I don't think there's 20 goals to be had in this defence core, so that's 190-200 goals from this forward group. So if you think Gaudreau, Tkachuck, and Lindholm can combine for 90, let's say Mangiapane can add 25. That's 85 or more from the rest of the group. So can Monahan, Backlund, and Coleman give you say 55, than you need 30 out of Dube, Lucic, Pitlick, Richardson, Lewis, Gawdin, Ritchie, and call ups. It will need those top 7 guys to be pretty healthy and contribute quite a bit.
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Patriots QB Tom Brady
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