Quote:
Originally Posted by Burning Beard
I've been saying this all season, but Pachal and Bahl have been great adds by Conroy.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Goriders
Found money.
Hit from Pachal was awesome
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The obvious - and over-stated - reason for the Flames' success this year is goaltending, and of course, their work ethic, but another big reason is that the defense has been MUCH better than expected.
We all knew the forwards were deep, if under-gunned. And we hoped (but didn't expect) that the goaltending would hold. But no one thought the D was going to be anything but porous.
Bahl was expected to be a 5-6 guy that could passibly log minutes, and hopefully continue to grow. Pachal had a decent showing last year in a limited role, but the hope was that he could be a decent #6. So we were dressing 2 top-4 guys, two third pairing guys, plus whatever Miromanov was going to be, plus another plug.
But both Bahl and Pachal have been revelations. Bahl has solidified himself as a #4, and a pretty good one. He is trending to be a #2 one day (hopefully paired with Parekh). And Pachal hasn't just been steady, he's been down right good, playing solidly in his own end, and throwing huge hits - he looks like Cory Sarich out there.
So, along with really good goaltending, we have also gotten a pretty decent collective defense - so much better than anyone expected. And the two keep supporting each other. And growing together.