[Game Takes] Flames 4 Penguins 1

[Bingo]

Flames 4 Penguins 1

- Flames hot start continues
- Markstrom solid AF
- Kadri with two more goals and continues to streak
- Huberdeau first as a Flames

[Jay Random]

Not to pick nits, but it's Jonathan Huberdeau – not Johnathan. Only one H in each name.

That aside, great writeup, Bingo!

[Reggie Dunlop]

Hhuberdeau hhad a great game.

[bigrangy]

The Markstrom save on Poulin was huge, he was fantastic tonight.

[Reggie Dunlop]

Andersson has really taken big steps so far this season.

[Savvy27]

Originally Posted by Reggie Dunlop

Andersson has really taken big steps so far this season.

Definitely. As good as he was last year, I think anyone suggesting he'd be leading the team in ice time and above a point per game would raise a lot of eyebrows.

[Erick Estrada]

Good to see Markstrom in midseason form. Things are rolling well to start the season and maybe the on curious thing that sticks out to me is Lindholm has been pretty pedestrian.

[Tabaracci_31]

Great game! For most of the first, I was thinking “gee, where are the Pens big guns?”. We did an excellent job of shutting them down, although I didn’t catch the second half of the third. It’s so refreshing to watch this team flat out dominate and play a whole team game. Not that we didn’t see that last year, but this year just has a whole different vibe so far. Fun start to the season!!

[Cheese]

This is what stands out and helps the team get some success

Face Offs: Flames 64% / Penguins 36%

[Bingo]

Flames now 52.% on faceoffs good for 11th

Backlund 60.4%
Lindholm 55.4%
Rooney 45.7%
Kadri 44.4%

Kadri was 49.7% last year, but 53.5% average the three years previous.

[Erick Estrada]

Maybe it’s just an early season great start but when’s the last time a center nearing his mid-30’s so drastically improved his face off prowess like Backlund has this October?

[Bingo]

Originally Posted by Erick Estrada

Maybe it’s just an early season great start but when’s the last time a center nearing his mid-30’s so drastically improved his face off prowess like Backlund has this October?

Notorious slow starter that hasn't started slow too.

Wonder if he feels like the dressing room is more his with all the departures and has some swagger.

The anti-Backlund crew has been pretty silent for some time.

[sa226]

One thing I've noticed early in the season is the lack of up ice pressure from the forwards while the other team is in transition. I know it's early and I could have a weird memory bias.

The top line last year would feast on teams' transition at their own blue line or on the neutral zone. Gaudreau and Lindholm were excellent at it and Tkachuk was no slouch either. I think that prowess greatly helped their posession metrics as well. I seem to remember that they weren't as elite as we would like to believe at their D zone starts.

I haven't seen much of that at all this year. That up ice pressure to cause turnovers. Could be a personnel thing or a speed thing or maybe even a system adjustment.

Anyway that's just my eye test, I'm sure they're ate some stats out there to clarify or refute my memory.

[D as in David]

Originally Posted by Bingo

Notorious slow starter that hasn't started slow too.

Wonder if he feels like the dressing room is more his with all the departures and has some swagger.

The anti-Backlund crew has been pretty silent for some time.

Maybe one of them, ironically, ended up in Russia?

[Bingo]

Originally Posted by sa226

One thing I've noticed early in the season is the lack of up ice pressure from the forwards while the other team is in transition. I know it's early and I could have a weird memory bias.

The top line last year would feast on teams' transition at their own blue line or on the neutral zone. Gaudreau and Lindholm were excellent at it and Tkachuk was no slouch either. I think that prowess greatly helped their posession metrics as well. I seem to remember that they weren't as elite as we would like to believe at their D zone starts.

I haven't seen much of that at all this year. That up ice pressure to cause turnovers. Could be a personnel thing or a speed thing or maybe even a system adjustment.

Anyway that's just my eye test, I'm sure they're ate some stats out there to clarify or refute my memory.

That first period last night was the closest I've seen them play to last year's team. So I think it's more of an adjustment thing, and not a change in structure.

But I'm sure structure has to change somewhat with changes to the roster. Have to have the right key for the right lock.

But Calgary was very fast in that first period, moving the puck, moving their feet, and much more connected as five man units.

[Torture]

Originally Posted by Reggie Dunlop

Hhuberdeau hhad a great game.

Hhughberdeaugh

[Steve Bozek]

Originally Posted by Torture

Hhughberdeaugh

You left out the silent “p” aftr the “r”

[SuperMatt18]

Originally Posted by Bingo

Notorious slow starter that hasn't started slow too.

Wonder if he feels like the dressing room is more his with all the departures and has some swagger.

The anti-Backlund crew has been pretty silent for some time.

Think there is probably a lot of confidence and trust in his role with the team. That is one thing people always say Sutter is great at defining.

And for Backlund less pressure on him too. In past years (especially last year) he's really be asked to anchor and drive offense on the second line.

That pressure is off now, he's clearly slotted as the third line center. So more freedom to just go play your game.

[Roof-Daddy]

I'm not very knowledgeable about possession stats and all that, but one thing I've noticed so far is that despite winning the Flames are not fairing very well on moneypucks deserve to winometer.

Last year they dominated on that thing, win or lose.

Is that something to be concerned about? Does it indicate strongly that the Flames winning isn't sustainable the way they are currently playing?

Or does it mean F all?

[Bingo]

Originally Posted by Roof-Daddy

I'm not very knowledgeable about possession stats and all that, but one thing I've noticed so far is that despite winning the Flames are not fairing very well on moneypucks deserve to winometer.

Last year they dominated on that thing, win or lose.

Is that something to be concerned about? Does it indicate strongly that the Flames winning isn't sustainable the way they are currently playing?

Or does it mean F all?

They're pretty sloppy.

They were money in the first two games of the season (maybe three if you ignore the first period against Vegas).

But the next three games have seen their brand slip somewhat.

Fugly against Buffalo
Outplayed by Carolina

Last night they had a great first, and a shut down third, but a brutal second.

As a result they aren't where they were for most of last season.

11th in CF%
12th in xGF%
14th in HD splits

Defensively they're not there yet. 15th in xGA60 isn't what Sutter is looking for.