Quote:
Originally Posted by Manhattanboy
Trying to be objective here the Flames looked awesome in the first period of Game 1. Sutter had the guys totally prepared, things started off great and it looked like things would be different this year. Then you had all the garbage at the end of the period and the second became a slog fest with a parade of penalties. It’s like Bowness figured it all out between periods. From that time we’ve been totally owned.
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Yes. This exactly. Flames started deviating from the game plan starting with the end of the first period in game one. It was nearly a perfect period up until that point: disciplined hockey. The second period was a mess. The Flames pulled things back together about mid-way into the third. But you could see guys starting to unravel.
Past two games I see guys playing scared. I think it is mostly a fear of making a mistake, but I also think the Stars are getting in their heads with all the dirty crap they're largely getting away with. Hanifin and Andersson are kind of the barometer, when they're on their game the rest of the team follows, when they're treating the puck like a hand grenade it's chaos. Sutter needs to settle those two down.
Flames are making it hard on themselves, no doubt. They need to get back to what works. Watch that first period of game one over and over (up until the last minute, that is).