Quote:
Originally Posted by GioforPM
Yeah, the Flames beat themselves.
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Absolutely they did. If they had stuck to their usual defensive/high-pressure forecheck stystem that won them the division and made them one of the top teams in the league, that series against the Oilers likely goes 7 games. Instead they tried to adjust their game to a loosey goosey, run & gun river hockey style to try and match the Oilers' stupid brand of hockey, and it lost them the series. The Flames aren't used to playing that way, whereas the Oilers thrive on it.
That series was eerily similar to the Avs series in 2019. Flames lost their composure and ended up trying to trade chances with a faster, more offensive-minded team, and it cost them. Sutter has said it all along. Calgary doesn't have the horses to play that style. Instead they have to win by committee with everybody chipping in and sticking to a structured system, and they obviously didn't do that in either of those series. An injury-riddled Kings team took the Oilers to 7 games doing exactly what Sutter preaches, but in the end just didn't have the offence needed to win.
We know this team can beat the Oilers. They won 3 in a row against them near the end of the regular season as well as game 1 of the playoffs. But only one of those games could be called a typical Flames-style suffocating defensive win (the 3-1 win on March 7th). When they maintain their composure and stick to their system, guys like McLotteryball and MacKinnon aren't as effective and kinda disappear throughout the game. We saw the Flames do this against both of these teams this past season. They just need to figure out a way to translate that to the post season.
Flames took a big step with their series win over Dallas. Next step is to learn how to stick to their game plan against every team and treat every game the same, whether their opponent has a generational superstar or not. If they can get more consistent in that area and get tougher mentally, I think they have what it takes to go on a deeper run next season. As mentioned earlier in this thread, it took a few seasons for Colorado's core to get over that mental hump and get to where they are. Hopefully the Flames are on a similar path.