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SuperMatt18 · 01-12-2023, 01:51 PM

Really it's tough to gauge a team when the goaltending has been as poor as it has been.

The team has it's warts for sure - but goaltending has forever been able to make bad teams look good, and good teams look bad.

At 5v5 the team has been fine for the most part their xGF of 53.9% is 5th in the NHL, this is in line with last season.

This Season vs Last Season
XGF%: 53.9% vs 54.9%
xGF per 60: 2.8 vs 2.8
xGA per 60: 2.4 vs 2.3
S% : 7.9% vs 8.52%
SV%: .907 vs .925%

So really they were a bit better defensively last year but at 5v5 the biggest difference has been the save percentage with a substantial difference YoY, and finishing.

The finishing isn't that surprising losing Gaudreau and Tkachuk, but that goaltending dip is substantial.

The other two problems lie with special teams. The PP has been abysmal, and our penalty differential has been terrible.

We have averaged 5:55 a game short handed, up from 5:16 last year. That is a big difference over the course of a season and especially starts to hurt if you're having issues scoring. Thankfully the PK has been strong, 6.76 GA per 60 is the tenth lowest in the league, 7.15 xGA per 60 is 5th lowest, but if you spend more time on the PK than other teams it catches up to you. Save percentage shorthanded is .862 which ranks 14th, so dead average there.

And then on the other side you have the PP. Where we aren't getting enough power plays, and aren't taking advantage when we do get one.

Flames are averaging 4:48 per game on the Power play - or a full minute less than we PK per game. Reffing has been atrocious IMO, Flames don't seem to get the borderline calls I see other teams get. But really the PP hasn't taken advantage anyways - 6.96 GF/60 ranks 25th, and 7.99 xGF/60 ranks 20th. So not generating enough, and still underperforming from a shooting percentage perspective which is a bad combo.

Overall though if the team can get better goaltending, and can fix the powerplay they are still in pretty good shape. However without those two things working what should be 3-2 or 4-2 wins have turned into 3-2 losses so far this year.

01-12-2023, 01:51 PM	#153
SuperMatt18 Franchise Player Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Calgary, AB Exp:	Really it's tough to gauge a team when the goaltending has been as poor as it has been. The team has it's warts for sure - but goaltending has forever been able to make bad teams look good, and good teams look bad. At 5v5 the team has been fine for the most part their xGF of 53.9% is 5th in the NHL, this is in line with last season. This Season vs Last Season XGF%: 53.9% vs 54.9% xGF per 60: 2.8 vs 2.8 xGA per 60: 2.4 vs 2.3 S% : 7.9% vs 8.52% SV%: .907 vs .925% So really they were a bit better defensively last year but at 5v5 the biggest difference has been the save percentage with a substantial difference YoY, and finishing. The finishing isn't that surprising losing Gaudreau and Tkachuk, but that goaltending dip is substantial. The other two problems lie with special teams. The PP has been abysmal, and our penalty differential has been terrible. We have averaged 5:55 a game short handed, up from 5:16 last year. That is a big difference over the course of a season and especially starts to hurt if you're having issues scoring. Thankfully the PK has been strong, 6.76 GA per 60 is the tenth lowest in the league, 7.15 xGA per 60 is 5th lowest, but if you spend more time on the PK than other teams it catches up to you. Save percentage shorthanded is .862 which ranks 14th, so dead average there. And then on the other side you have the PP. Where we aren't getting enough power plays, and aren't taking advantage when we do get one. Flames are averaging 4:48 per game on the Power play - or a full minute less than we PK per game. Reffing has been atrocious IMO, Flames don't seem to get the borderline calls I see other teams get. But really the PP hasn't taken advantage anyways - 6.96 GF/60 ranks 25th, and 7.99 xGF/60 ranks 20th. So not generating enough, and still underperforming from a shooting percentage perspective which is a bad combo. Overall though if the team can get better goaltending, and can fix the powerplay they are still in pretty good shape. However without those two things working what should be 3-2 or 4-2 wins have turned into 3-2 losses so far this year.