[Game Takes] Flames 5 Sharks 2

[Bingo]

Flames 5 Sharks 2

- Wolf solid early and picks up the win
- Flames with three third period goals
- Backlund a beast
- Sharangovich with two more goals

[GioforPM]

The top line had an amazing night IMO. Dangerous all the time. It helps that SJ has a substandard defensive game.

The last two games the Flames have been more dominant along the boards than all season.

[Enoch Root]

Originally Posted by GioforPM

The top line had an amazing night IMO. Dangerous all the time. It helps that SJ has a substandard defensive game.

The last two games the Flames have been more dominant along the boards than all season.

Klapka is a revelation on the top line. If he can gain consistency, and earn a permanent spot there next year, it allows other guys, who are better served as middle sixers, to slide down to where they should be, and fills out the roster so well.

Get a middle six C in the offseason, then:

Huberdeau - Kadri - Klapka
Zary - Frost - Coronato
Sharangovich - ????? - Pospisil
Farabee - Backlund - Coleman
Lomberg

with Honzek, Suniev and Stromgren knocking on the door

[FBI]

A bit harsh on Klapka I would say for this game. He showed a ton of poise and patience on the Weegar goal when he got the puck.. Sometimes he holds the puck too long but I like that he is trusting his reach and protection of the puck to make a good play.. I'm getting really excited about him for next year..

[midniteowl]

I also like how he scored his goal too, just park himself top of the crease, there is not a lot of people can move him. That's why I kinda want to see them use him on PP.

[nieuwy-89]

Weegar said the slow start may have been because the boys were still thinking about Rory’s win at the Masters. Love the personality, and I wouldn’t be surprised if there’s some truth to that. These are young men. Lots of distractions out there in the world.

[Dion]

Originally Posted by nieuwy-89

Weegar said the slow start may have been because the boys were still thinking about Rory’s win at the Masters. Love the personality, and I wouldn’t be surprised if there’s some truth to that. These are young men. Lots of distractions out there in the world.

One of the biggest games of the year and that's the excuse? Not good if that's the truth.

[DeluxeMoustache]

Originally Posted by midniteowl

I also like how he scored his goal too, just park himself top of the crease, there is not a lot of people can move him. That's why I kinda want to see them use him on PP.

First they have to notice him

Hilarious that a 6’8” guy sneaks in to a prime scoring location and parks there uncovered

I guess SJ is at the bottom for a reason

[Bingo]

Originally Posted by FBI

A bit harsh on Klapka I would say for this game. He showed a ton of poise and patience on the Weegar goal when he got the puck.. Sometimes he holds the puck too long but I like that he is trusting his reach and protection of the puck to make a good play.. I'm getting really excited about him for next year..

I'm happy to be wrong!

I just see slow processing and slow hands.

I think he's bumped up to NHL status for me, but not top six.

As I said though, would love an old school 2nd unit powerplay with him in front of the net.

[Kipper_3434]

Originally Posted by Bingo

I'm happy to be wrong!

I just see slow processing and slow hands.

I think he's bumped up to NHL status for me, but not top six.

As I said though, would love an old school 2nd unit powerplay with him in front of the net.

His hands are quick, he looks slow cause he's huge.

[Leeman4Gilmour]

Originally Posted by Kipper_3434

His hands are quick, he looks slow cause he's huge.

Reminds of me giant planes when they are coming in to land. Look like they are going half the speed of regular ones, but you know they're not

[Shazam]

Originally Posted by DeluxeMoustache

First they have to notice him

Hilarious that a 6’8” guy sneaks in to a prime scoring location and parks there uncovered

I guess SJ is at the bottom for a reason

SJ defender didn't even try to take him out of the play. Probably saw him and said "forget it".

[Calgary4LIfe]

I think Klapka does things well at speed - I think he processes the game quickly enough to be a top 6 player. I just think that he doesn't do it ALL the time. Whether that's him getting tired, or issues with focus, or simply still being a bit like 'Bambi' as some really tall people sometimes are for a little longer, is anyone's guess.


Hopefully he takes a page or two out of Chara's training book (which is a little lazy of a comparison). Chara had a reputation - even greather than Jagr's - for his off-season training. When he first arrived in the NHL at age 20, he was slow both on the ice and seemingly upstairs - he didn't appear to process the game quickly enough. It wasn't until he was 25 or so that things really started clicking for him. Suddenly he went from a decent defence-only defencemen into someone who was making better and higher-skilled plays more regularly. Most of us on this board remember him as the effective 'monster' of a player in every way, but there are probably lots of us that don't remember how he first looked like in the NHL.


I doubt Klapka will train like Chara did (and that's no sleight at Klapka, but just that almost nobody trains like Chara), but hopefully the training he does will continue to help his progression towards being a monster for Calgary. He could become a heck of an important piece for Calgary over the years, especially since it is so rare to get a player with size and a bit of snarl to play in the top 6. Rumour has it that Klapka is a hard-worker in the off-season.



I lament Treliving's trades regarding Ferland and Bennett (ignoring value on the trades, as value isn;t the point here), simply because they were very tough players to play against but both had decent skill. Come playoff time, players like that really shine, especially in a 7 game 'war of attrition' that a playoff series can be. Yes, the NHL isn't as physical as it used to be, but come playoffs, physical players often become the heroes (even guys like Coleman). I think Klapka is close in becoming an impact player - he has had a handful of incredibly impactful games this season. Can he string some together and become even more? I think he will. At any rate, Klapka is a really fun player to play and follow his development. He is unquestionably improving - how far it goes and how consistent he becomes is the million dollar question, but he is definitely trending to become an important piece.

[GioforPM]

I get and see what Bingo is saying. Klapka makes the wrong, or slow decision from time to time, especially when playing with a guy like Huberdeau, where a better anticipation of what Huberdeau is about to do with the puck would get him a lot more points. And he does look off balance in his skating quite a bit.

But he is technically a rookie after all, so processing takes a while to develop.

I guess maybe we should rein in the expectations a tad. People were predicting 20 goals out of Pospisil this year.

[Paulie Walnuts]

Klapka has good hands around the net. If he can develop into something more than a 4th liner great, but if he is a 4th liner with the size and ability to screen the goalie and his hands around the net, he could be a good option for the PP and parking himself in front of the net.

Especially with a player like Parekh who can get pucks through and on net.

[shutout]

The animated game was fun to watch and switch back and forth.
Would imagine watching with younger kids would have been really cool.
Love the idea and thought that the Flames creativity with the story was excellent.

[Shazam]

Klapka did say in a recent interview that the game was starting to slow down for him on the ice.

I took my nephew to a Flames game recently, he couldn't believe how fast the game was even up in the stands. Actually made him a little nervous.

[FunkMasterFlame]

Thanks for the write-up Bingo.

If you could please include some paragraph breaks in the Odds and Sods section it would make it a lot easier to read.

[D as in David]

Originally Posted by Calgary4LIfe

I think Klapka does things well at speed - I think he processes the game quickly enough to be a top 6 player. I just think that he doesn't do it ALL the time. Whether that's him getting tired, or issues with focus, or simply still being a bit like 'Bambi' as some really tall people sometimes are for a little longer, is anyone's guess.


Hopefully he takes a page or two out of Chara's training book (which is a little lazy of a comparison). Chara had a reputation - even greather than Jagr's - for his off-season training. When he first arrived in the NHL at age 20, he was slow both on the ice and seemingly upstairs - he didn't appear to process the game quickly enough. It wasn't until he was 25 or so that things really started clicking for him. Suddenly he went from a decent defence-only defencemen into someone who was making better and higher-skilled plays more regularly. Most of us on this board remember him as the effective 'monster' of a player in every way, but there are probably lots of us that don't remember how he first looked like in the NHL.


I doubt Klapka will train like Chara did (and that's no sleight at Klapka, but just that almost nobody trains like Chara), but hopefully the training he does will continue to help his progression towards being a monster for Calgary. He could become a heck of an important piece for Calgary over the years, especially since it is so rare to get a player with size and a bit of snarl to play in the top 6. Rumour has it that Klapka is a hard-worker in the off-season.



I lament Treliving's trades regarding Ferland and Bennett (ignoring value on the trades, as value isn;t the point here), simply because they were very tough players to play against but both had decent skill. Come playoff time, players like that really shine, especially in a 7 game 'war of attrition' that a playoff series can be. Yes, the NHL isn't as physical as it used to be, but come playoffs, physical players often become the heroes (even guys like Coleman). I think Klapka is close in becoming an impact player - he has had a handful of incredibly impactful games this season. Can he string some together and become even more? I think he will. At any rate, Klapka is a really fun player to play and follow his development. He is unquestionably improving - how far it goes and how consistent he becomes is the million dollar question, but he is definitely trending to become an important piece.

Yes, he needs to continue building his stamina, those muscles use up a lot of oxygen and very little of it is getting to his brain late in shifts. Spend the summer training with Pospisil.

[Bingo]

Originally Posted by FunkMasterFlame

Thanks for the write-up Bingo.

If you could please include some paragraph breaks in the Odds and Sods section it would make it a lot easier to read.

It isn't really a paragraph thing though.

Just a bunch of random thoughts separated by "..." for clarity.