QOTD: What does a 3 game skid mean?

[Bingo]

Everyone probably contemplating failure this morning, nothing like a good poll to bring reason back to the discussion!

[flylock shox]

Can't argue with option d.

[CaptainCrunch]

At this stage of the game do the Flames look at it as 6 points lost? Absolutely, concerning for the playoffs well yeah. But remember that this is a young team in a developmental stage. The Flames are more about building the culture and laying the underwork for years to come. So they'll look at these last three games, San Jose, Toronto and Buffalo and these were all games where the Flames clearly deserved a better fate. and address the errors.

On top of that this pulls into focus that the third pairing defense is just really being exposed and maybe its time to look at farm options for that.

Am I worried? Nah, the hot start was awesome, we knew that there were going to be struggles, this is the first adversity that the team has faced all year and adversity either builds character or exposes a lack of character.

[SofaProfessor]

Any team has to go through some sort of adversity. I'm happy some of the regulars are coming back but they certainly look a step behind, which won't last. Raymond especially looks like he's fighting the puck and struggling to find his wheels. I think these guys will get up to speed soon and this 3 game skid won't even be a matter for discussion in a couple weeks. Frankly, every team will lose a few games in a row throughout the season. As long as they don't let it turn into an extended streak then there's nothing to worry about.

[DoubleF]

I see it as a little bit of last year. The ones where we played a close game and lost the coin flip. Bound to happen, unfortunate it was 3 in a row. Not worried as it could have gone either way which is what I interpreted #3 as. "Could" might sound a little better...

[Stay Golden]

6 valuable lost 6 pts. They have to get back to what was working.
The last 2 games they have gotten away from Hartley's game plan of carrying the puck up ice with speed and have instead regressed to the old dumping and chasing.
That does not play into the strength of this roster.
Hiller and Ramo have not been as sharp recently either.

[Yanda]

Its only fitting that we play our way out of the playoffs and into a lottery pick only to turn it on late in the season and just miss the playoffs by a few points. Thats the kind of adversity I expect to see.

[GreenLantern2814]

It means it's a long season. Three game slides happen. Over the course of a season, there will be times we win a game or two extra that we probably shouldn't. That goes for losses as well.

Did they deserve better against Toronto? Yes. Buffalo? Maybe. It evens out.

[Cflames_12.5]

If they keep playing that way they will win more then they lose.

[freakinsaprikin]

I think you have to put it all in perspective. If you would have told me we would be in a playoff spot by mid December at the beginning of the year, I would have been shocked (but happy).

I think we are seeing a bit of things balancing out now. Those three games are all examples of ones we were winning early on, just didn't get the bounces this time.

The real question is, what happens over the next month? That will tell us what this team really is? Not convinced yet that it's a playoff team, but will hold out hope I'm wrong.

[Huntingwhale]

Even good teams go through rough stretches. This is one of ours. By the last 1/4 of the season, everyone will forget about it.

[ForeverFlameFan]

I think we'd all be delusional if we thought we'd never have a 3 game losing streak this year. It happens. Still 52 games to go, still in the playoff race.

[Erick Estrada]

The Flames are just in that stage where they are starting to settle into what they are going back to last year. A scrappy team that can take two points against any opposition that takes them lightly or has an off night but a lot of things have to go right for them to beat teams that are on their game. Over time it's going to likely put them around the .500 mark which is considerable improvement over last season and a good first step in the rebuild.

[Northendzone]

pool needs more options, such as:

* the sky is falling
* post guards to prevent folks from jumping off of various high structures around town
* fire coach
* fire GM
* fire athletic therapist
* it is ok, we are still superior in many ways to edmonton

[ah123]

At this point, I see it as 6 lost points. The next two games will give us a good idea who this team is. It was around this time last year that the Flames had a stretch where they couldn't win a game if their life depended on it and I am wondering if we are going see a similar stretch.

[ah123]

Originally Posted by Northendzone

pool needs more options, such as:

* the sky is falling
* post guards to prevent folks from jumping off of various high structures around town
* fire coach
* fire GM
* fire athletic therapist
* fire goalie coach
* it is ok, we are still superior in many ways to edmonton

fyp

[Vinny01]

The fact the team played well in the 3 losses is encouraging this is not a complete meltdown we are witnessing. The fact the next 2 games are tough puts more pressure if this turns into a 5 game slide.

I am an impatient fan and am kind of itching for a trade. Nothing that sacrifices the future but I want Ferland and Granlund to be on the big club. I am hopeful there is a quantity for quality trade the flames can pull off that will help now and for years to come.

If the team stands pat that is not the worst thing in the world because I am expecting the big moves to happen this summer

[JonDuke]

What does it mean? We're human.
The early run was amazing, and unexpected, but maybe this grounding will wake the team up again. Not even worried about it.

[smiggy77]

6 points lost which sucks. Those are valuable points that may haunt us at the crunch time, but last season, the 8th place needed 91 points to get into the playoffs and we're on pace for 98 with these three losses, so I think if we can shake the few bad games, go on another good 4 game winning streak to make it up, and continue our play through the season, we'll be fine.

I will constantly bring up the fact that, yes while we've been hot this season, our turning point to this new mentality started in January. Jan our record was 14-20-6, and from Jan-Apr, we had a record of 21-20-1. Adding that to our current record, through 72 games, we have a record of 38-31-3 which would give us 79 points. Last season, that would have been good for 5th place in the west going into the last 10 game stretch.

We're a good team that is severely underrated that is showing great improvements. If they keep up the intensity and the way we have played since the start we'll be fine. Sometimes they need a kick in the ass to get them a bit more calm.

Also to put it into perspective, last season Pittsburgh had four 3 game losing streaks. It happens to the best and all we need is that resiliency to bounce back.

[Erick Estrada]

What happens when it's 8 or very possibly 10 points lost at the end of the weekend? They just lost to the Sabres for crying out loud. I would have waited until Monday for this thread as it's going to have a much different tone.