[News Roundup] Game 1 - April 13, 2017

[MissTeeks]

Calgary Flames coach Glen Gulutzan all eyes when it comes to getting every player on board
http://calgaryherald.com/sports/hock...layer-on-board

Glen Gulutzan does the majority of his reading and research on his iPad but he has a few go-to books and, occasionally, reads articles that are forwarded to him, depending on the topic.
The head coach of the Calgary Flames has an education degree after all, and comes by his thirst for knowledge and preparation honestly – and tries to apply it to his daily sermons.
“Honestly, I trust my gut a lot,” Gulutzan said. “I trust my gut a ton. If I feel like I’m on the right track, I really trust my gut. I read. I stumble across things that I think, ‘Hey, that pertains to the situation we’re in right now.’ Then I try to use that. If it fits through the pieces we’ve tried to put together through the start of the year, then I bring it in.
“If you’re eyes are open, you can see things you can use. That’s how I go about it.”
And it explains the root of the Flames’ recent mantra they used en route to a berth in the 2017 NHL post-season: “What stands in the way, becomes the way.”
It’s straight out of one of his daily stoicism readings; a Greek school of philosophy that helps overcome destructive emotions and act on what can be acted upon.
“It was something I read,” Gulutzan said. “I thought it was applicable to us getting into the playoffs. Maybe it doesn’t resonate with everybody but you’re trying to get everyone on board in different ways.”
The saying was engraved on a small plaque inside the Flames dressing room at the Scotiabank Saddledome for the last few months of the season.
Below it are four branches: Mental belief, 4 Point Games, Discipline, and Playing the Right Way.

Truth be told, those dark days in October and November – which, at one point, saw the Flames post an 8-12-1 record – lasted longer than Gulutzan had originally planned when he was hired last summer.
And it’s far from over.
“I’d thought we’d grab hold of it pretty quickly and thought we’d have a great start,” said Gulutzan, who amassed a 45-33-4 record in his first season at the helm of the Flames. “But obviously we didn’t. That’s probably the only thing that was a little bit surprising to me.
“It just took a little longer than I thought.”

Calgary Flames' Johnny Gaudreau looking to ride momentum into NHL playoffs

http://calgaryherald.com/sports/hock...o-nhl-playoffs

There was nothing smooth about the first few months of Johnny Gaudreau’s 2016-17 NHL season.
First, it was the World Cup commitments with Team North America and contract negotiations that both kept him out of the Calgary Flames training camp.
Then, when the sides finally reached a new agreement, there was the pressure of a brand-new six-year deal worth $6.75-million per season weighing on the 23-year-old’s shoulders.
Getting used to new systems, new teammates and a new coaching staff, Gaudreau struggled with only two goals and six assists in the first 14 games of the regular season. During that span, he was minus-11.
When things finally seemed to be getting on track, he suffered a slash and broke his finger on Nov. 15 against the Minnesota Wild and missed 10 games.
“It was difficult to start,” Gaudreau said. “Coming in, I missed training camp and there was a new coaching staff. So there were some little adjustments. I got hurt and it was frustrating as well.
“It wasn’t challenging, I wouldn’t say that, but at times it’s frustrating. You’re getting the chances and they aren’t going in. But it happens to lots of players.”

He was inked long-term by the Flames with the hope he’d be the difference-maker he was in the previous two seasons.

And, until the final months of the 2016-17 regular season, Gaudreau had been a shadow of his former self.

“I think it’s been an evolution with him,” said Flames head coach Glen Gulutzan. “When you have players that care, and Johnny really deeply cares about wins and losses and his teammates, and he’s smart – a highly intelligent player – he’s going to figure it out. He’ll evolve.

“I don’t think there was a specific day (things changed). He just kept getting better in small increments all the time.”

The trio was put together in Calgary’s 6-5 overtime win in Nashville on Feb. 21.

“They really connected,” Gulutzan said. “They went on a little run there. Ferly can finish. And he’s got a great shot and creates room on the forecheck.

“When you’ve got a good guy, talented, tough, physical, goes to the net and can score on your line, it’s going to help you.”

Prior to the last three games of the season, Gaudreau had been on an eight-game point streak (three goals and nine assists) and displaying the swagger that Gulutzan has been waiting for all year.

“His dynamic play has always been there,” the coach said. “But he’s more confident, right now. He’s not squeezing as much. He’s kind of got all that sorted out. His decision-making, when he’s going to take risks with the puck, his recognition of a Grade A opportunity and a B opportunity and how he manages the risk between the two, he’s done a fantastic job of that.”

But with 18 goals and 43 assists in 72 regular-season games, and the majority of them coming during Calgary’s stellar second half of the year, he hopes to keep the momentum rolling into playoffs.

“It’s hard to pin-point what changed, a lucky goal or an assist or something like that,” Gaudreau said. “Out of nowhere, something just started clicking. There’s been some good times and tough times this season. But we’re in a good spot right now as a team, which is awesome.

“I wouldn’t trade it for the world.”

Gaudreau expects to be a marked man against Anaheim

http://www.calgarysun.com/2017/04/12...gainst-anaheim

The Anaheim Ducks will deliver hacks and whacks, bumps and thumps and all sorts of other special treatment.
This is not news to Calgary Flames superstar Johnny Gaudreau.
It’s not new to him, either.
“It’s always a battle playing against these guys,” Gaudreau said after Wednesday’s practice at Honda Center. “We’ve learned that over the years here, especially in the playoffs a couple years ago. We know what we’re in for, and we’re excited for the challenge.”

The buzz is that this best-of-seven brouhaha between the Flames and Ducks could be the most scrappy and spirited of eight first-round showdowns.
As Calgary’s marquee man, Gaudreau is an obvious piñata.
It comes with the territory.
“I just play my game,” Gaudreau shrugged. “I don’t think it’s the first time I’ve been targeted or been looked at a little bit more on the ice.”

After Wednesday’s prep work, Ducks defenceman Josh Manson admitted they don’t want any part of a “track meet” with the Flames.
“They have some offensive talent,” Manson warned. “I mean, look at Gaudreau. He’s one of those guys that can get behind you and all of a sudden, the game swings in a hurry. For us, its just limiting their speed, not trading chances with them as much as we can.”

What’s scary is that Ducks meanie Ryan Kesler, usually deployed in a shutdown role against Nos. 13 and 23, out-scored them both.
In fact, Kesler had more points against the Flames this winter, with nine, than any other attacker.
If the Selke Trophy candidate continues to win that battle, Calgary’s playoff party could be short-lived.
Gaudreau and Monahan, of course, are shooting to flip the script.
“This is a time when guys have to step up,” Monahan said. “Obviously, me and Johnny talk a lot and we want to step up here, get our game to the top level and do whatever we can to help the team win.
“As a hockey player, if you want to be the best, I think you put a lot of pressure on yourself. It weighs in all the time. I think that kind of stuff actually makes you better. Me and Johnny lean on one another. When you want to win as bad as this group does here, you want to be a big part of it.”

Flames rookie Matthew Tkachuk could be must-see TV in first playoff run

http://www.calgarysun.com/2017/04/12...st-playoff-run

Randy Carlyle figures it might be time to call in a favour.
Not that the Anaheim Ducks bench boss expected this particular gameplan would work.
“Matthew Tkachuk … I played with his dad, coached his dad,” Carlyle said on the eve of Game 1 of a best-of-seven showdown between the Ducks and Calgary Flames. “So I’ll ask his dad to discipline him. Maybe I’ll make a phone call to his dad.”
Worth a try, right?
“Well, if he’s as thick-headed as his dad, then I don’t think the phone call is going to do me any good,” Carlyle chuckled.
Keith Tkachuk, en route to Slovakia to cheer on his youngest son, Brady, at the 2017 IIHF Under-18 World Hockey Championship, might have multiple voicemails.

And one from the Flames, wondering if he could get to Anaheim for Thursday’s Game 1 at Honda Center (8:30 p.m., CBC/Sportsnet 960 The Fan). And, on a related note, whether he’d be willing to bring his skates.
“I wish we had Keith right now, too,” quipped Calgary’s head coach, Glen Gulutzan, after a slip-of-the-tongue by a scribe. “That wouldn’t be a bad guy to have.”

With spades of skill and hockey sense and a nose for the net, kids might want to watch and learn.
With his nasty streak, their parents might be tempted to switch the channel if the score starts to look a wee bit lopsided in either direction.
Nice plays? No problem.
Play nice? Doesn’t seem to be his style.
“I just try to go out there and do what I can do,” Tkachuk said after Wednesday’s practice at Honda Center, where the Flames are aiming to snap a 27-game losing skid that dates back to when he was eight years old. “I know that the way I’ve played my whole life is the way I’m going to play this series and, moving forward, for the rest of my career.”

The Flames’ fearless freshman didn’t think his father would be relaying any messages from the Ducks coaching staff, but Keith did have some advice for his boy.
“He just says you have to play hard and you have to just play the way you’ve played so far this season and continue to play the same way in playoffs,” Matthew said. “Because at this point, there’s no waiting around and there’s no waiting for that next game and that next series. You have to go out and do it every game.”
A lot of folks have been waiting for this — to see what sort of magic and mayhem the mouthguard-chomping left-winger will provide during his first playoff run.
This kid, it seems, is tailor-made for this time of year.
He hopes so.
“I haven’t done anything in the playoffs, so I don’t listen to anything like that,” Matthew said. “I mean, I have to go out and prove it.”

“Watching the Stanley Cup playoffs every year, watching the finals, watching Game 7s, Game 7 overtimes. It’s something that you just dream about when you’re younger,” he said, recalling the Carolina Hurricanes’ championship run in 2006 – the same year that the Flames last celebrated a W in Anaheim – as his first vivid memory of watching the spring slugfests.
“So now that it’s here and I’m playing Game 1 of the Stanley Cup playoffs, it’s pretty crazy and it’s exciting.”

Engelland recalls fighting two Canucks at one time in previous playoff appearance

http://www.calgarysun.com/2017/04/12...off-appearance

Hanging proudly in Deryk Engelland’s garage are a few mementos depicting his his contributions to the Calgary Flames' playoff run two years back.
It includes a photo of him in a particular predicament that draws the attention of guests every time.
“I’ve got some of the news articles up in my garage and people come over and say, ‘What the hell’s going on there?’” chuckled the Flames defenceman of a snapshot showing him fighting two Vancouncer Canucks at once.
Yes, two.
Talk about going above and beyond the call of duty.
“It was kind of fun,” smiled the 35-year-old, who vividly remembers the chaotic scene that punctuated a 4-1 Game 2 loss in Vancouver.
“There was a scrum in front of the net and (Derek) Dorsett is on the line and he’s willing to fight. I was just going in to grab him and get him out of the scrum and he was trying to knock me down. He drops his gloves so we start fighting and next thing I know (Dan) Hamhuis is skating over and I guess I’m trying to protect myself and trying to swing for both of them.”

I don’t think Hamhuis was trying to do too much, so that probably saved me,” said the six-foot-two, 214-pound Edmonton native.
“Looking back at it, it’s a good moment in my career. Usually refs or linesmen or someone else is jumping in, but I think two of our guys were already off the ice by then so there weren’t many guys to do anything about it.”
So they kept fighting, much to the delight of a raucous Vancouver crowd fuelled by the emotion of seeing the visitors clearly trying to send messages for Game 3.
The best message of all came as Engelland skated by the Canucks bench and looked at Dorsett.
“I said, ‘Three next time,’” revealed Engelland for the first time.
Gold.

“Obviously every guy in here wants to play a bigger role and when Gio went down, there was an opportunity for someone to step up and I guess I got that and tried to roll with it as best I could,” said Engelland, who was once again a chief utility player on the back end this season.
“I had played bigger minutes before in Pittsburgh so it wasn’t new, but to play the last 20 games of the season an 12 playoff games like that was a new thing. It’s easier because you don’t have the time to sit and think about it, you just play the game.”

Since making his NHL debut at age 27, Engelland’s progression has been a steady one that now sees him as one of the team’s chief penalty killers and leaders.
“To see him come from where he came from is impressive and it couldn’t happen to a better guy,” said coach Glen Gulutzan, who coached Engelland in Las Vegas 13 years earlier and watched him handle the two-on-one fighting assignment admirably as assistant coach of the Canucks.
“I remember him having those two guys. He’s a tough guy – I remember I had him young and he was tough then. I remember shaking his hand after that series and telling him how happy I was for him.”
As the team’s toughest player, you can bet he’ll be counted on heavily to set the tone, send messages and respond to rough stuff against a sizeable Anaheim Ducks squad starting Thursday.
Clearly, no assignment is too tough, and he has the pictures to prove it.

[MissTeeks]

STONE READY TO ROCK
https://www.nhl.com/flames/news/ston...ck/c-288746704

Michael Stone's gaze swept across the familiar visiting accommodations on event level at the Honda Center, taking in the activity, the increased media traffic.
He's been in this room before, of course. On any number of occasions.
Structurally everything is pretty much the same.
And yet …
"This time,'' he tells you with conviction, "it's different. This time it's playoffs.
"Anybody that tries to tell you playoffs aren't different …"
This why Stone came just short of executing a few cartwheels across the lawn upon receiving the call from GM Brad Treliving welcoming him into the Flames' fold on Feb. 20.

"I'm having a blast,'' he says. "And it hasn't even started yet."
Over six pro seasons, Stone's timeline shows 324 regular-season starts as a Coyote, and only two in the post-season.
"Yeah, I played a couple games in 2012. But this is almost like starting. It's going to be a different experience, being a part of it, moreso than back then.
"This is what you grew up watching. This time of the year. I've been missing out on that. It's going to be a ton of fun."

Stone recalls that his dad worked as a sportswriter (of all things) in Sault Ste. Marie before deciding to pack up and move to Winnipeg, where Micheal joined the family.
"He had a lot of stuff. He followed the Greyhounds when Gretzky was there, which is pretty cool.
"I hate to say it now, but watching the Oilers do what they did in '05-06 sticks out for me. Mostly, though, I was a Red Wings fan in my younger days. I went to a Stanley Cup final game at The Joe, with my dad, the year before I was drafted.
"And I remember my brother and I used to watch an old VHS of the 1988 playoffs. That, 1988, would've been two years before I was born and four years before he was.
"Why '88? It was in our house. It was hockey. I don't remember how many times we slipped that thing in and watched it.
"We probably still have it. Somewhere."

"This is an emotional time,'' says Stone. "But you've got to try and stay even-keel. Not do too much because that's when you can hurt your team.
"Everybody needs to be at their best. That's what makes right now so special.
"You can't take any games off, any periods off, any shifts off.
"Everything is so magnified.
"It's different.
"It's one of a kind.
"It's great."

FLAMES EAGER TO GET PLAYOFFS UNDERWAY

https://www.nhl.com/flames/news/flam...ay/c-288721652

Not a moment too soon.
"Kinda been the same questions the last three days, for everybody,'' Matt Stajan is saying, following a 2 p.m. practice at the Honda Center, on the eve of hostilities. "You guys asking and us answering.
"So I'd say we're all just happy to get this going.
"I know we are. We're ready.
"This is what we play for. This is what we've been waiting for.
"It's here. And it'd be an understatement to say we're excited to get going."

"I guess we'll see what happens,'' shrugged centreman Mikael Backlund, fulcrum of the 3M Line. "At first, it might be a little heated. But both teams want to be smart about that stuff. I can't see it being too much of a gong show, like last game.
"You never know what's going to happen.
"We've got to keep it simple, for sure. Pucks in, pucks out. As boring as it sounds, that's what we've got to do. If we can play fast in the neutral zone and create some O-zone pressure, we will for sure have a good advantage."

In opting to fly into Orange County a day early, the Flames went slightly against usual protocol.
"I think it was important,'' admitted boss Glen Gulutzan in his turn on stage in front of the official NHL Playoff backdrop. "At first I wanted to keep things the same but (GM) Brad Treliving said he wanted to get here a day early. After the travel day (Tuesday) it was certainly the right call by Tre.
"It was good to get here, get settled and get a practice at the Honda Center."

One more sleep.
The wait is over.
Not a moment too soon.
"We're the underdog,'' agreed Stajan, sounding utterly indifferent to the label. "And that's fine.
"Everybody talks about it'll play out before it even starts. The series will take on a shape of its own as it evolves.
"If everybody does his own job here, it'll all come together for us. To win this series, we understand we have to take at least one in this building. I mean, we can do the math.
"We believe we have the group in here to make that happen. Whatever anybody else says or thinks or predicts … is irrelevant.
"What we believe: That's all that really matters. And we'll finally get to put that belief to the test starting tomorrow night."

PUBLIC ENEMY NO. 1

https://www.nhl.com/flames/news/publ...-1/c-288716308

From the theme-park dreamland that gave you Captain Hook, Scar, Shere Khan and Cruella de Vil …
Ladies and gentlemen, if you please, a big Calgary white-hat welcome for Mr. … Ryan … Kesler (loud booing, prolonged hissing).
"Kes,'' laughs Glen Gulutzan, "doesn't mind being the villain.
"He embraces the role.
"He's an effective player. Look at (Jonathan) Toews. How many times have those guys gone toe-to-toe? It's always a battle.
"Personally, I think the world of Kes. We had a great relationship when we were together in Vancouver.
"When he's on your team you think of him as a highly competitive player."

In Anaheim, they adore the guy. Everywhere else, not so much.
"When people start booing, it means I'm doing something right,'' said Kesler, with a wolf's grin, following the Ducks' Wednesday skate. "That's the way I take it. They booed me in in Winnipeg. They booed me in Calgary. I think they booed me in Vancouver" - where he spent 10 years before moving on to SoCal- "too.
"Just the way I play. I'm not going to let anyone have free ice out there. I'm going to make everywhere earn what they get.
"We play our game if people want to call that intimidation … we're going to continue with a heavy game and grind people out.
"The way we play, I don't think we're welcome at all."

Monahan's take: Bring it on. Bring him on.
"It's not something I'm not used to,'' parries the centre of the Flames' top attacking unit. "I've been going against guys like that for the last two or three years here.
"Every time I seem to step on the ice, he's hopping over the boards. We know it's coming. You like to play against guys like that, he makes you want to be better, have to be better.
"This is playoffs, you do whatever you can to be better than the guy opposite you.
"He's going to be opposite me.
"That's my job.
"Me and Johnny, whenever we're out there, he's there, too … that's just how it works."

"We're not worried about the antics,'' says Flames' winger Kris Versteeg. "For me, you worry about him as a player.
"We've competed in a lot of big series against each other over the years, engaged in our share of battles. I've enjoyed them, actually.
"I don't play him as a character, I play him as a guy that can hurt you on the sheet."

"When I think of villains, I think of (Esa) Tikkanen,'' says Gulutzan. "I remember my dad being mad - really mad - at (Ken) Linseman, The Rat, when he was in Philly, too.
"You need those guys. They spice up the league. But what people forget is how.
"(Brad) Marchand? Good player. Great player. Kes, same thing.
"He's not going to give an inch, no matter how you play him. He's going to be hard on you, close to you all the time, not giving you an inch. You can't let that drive you crazy. You have to embrace that, take it on.
"He makes you fight for your territory.
"We have to fight."
Puck-drop nears.

[btimbit]

I don’t think Hamhuis was trying to do too much, so that probably saved me,” said the six-foot-two, 214-pound Edmonton native.
“Looking back at it, it’s a good moment in my career. Usually refs or linesmen or someone else is jumping in, but I think two of our guys were already off the ice by then so there weren’t many guys to do anything about it.”
So they kept fighting, much to the delight of a raucous Vancouver crowd fuelled by the emotion of seeing the visitors clearly trying to send messages for Game 3.
The best message of all came as Engelland skated by the Canucks bench and looked at Dorsett.
“I said, ‘Three next time,’” revealed Engelland for the first time.
Gold.

God I love this guy

[MissTeeks]

Sorry for the links to the Sun. I know they have a free article limit. The Herald website keeps freezing on me.

[MrMastodonFarm]

Thanks MissTeeks!

[kobasew19]

If things don't go our way in the first two games (that's a big if...hopefully), does Gulutzan try and get the Monahan line away from the Kesler line? I would.

[EldrickOnIce]

Best quote ever

"I said, ‘Three next time,’” revealed Engelland for the first time.

[GioforPM]

The best message of all came as Engelland skated by the Canucks bench and looked at Dorsett.
“I said, ‘Three next time,’” revealed Engelland for the first time.
Gold.

[EVERLAST]

Is it just me or the older you get the more you want to see your team win?

I've seen us lose in 1986
Win in 1989
Win in 2004 without all the hardware ....We got some but not all.

1989 was special as we had 3 really young players with potential that tuned out to come to fruition in

Gary Roberts
Joe Neiwendyk
Theo Fleury

And a great cast of vets.

It feels the same with Sean, Johnny, Matthew, Sam, Michael and our vets who have waited so long and know the importance.

I hope Versteeg, Brouwer,Engelland, Gio, Elliott can inspire these guys.

Back in 1989 as well we were so tough as a team you just knew no one was going to mess with
Tim Hunter, Joel Otto, Gary Roberts, Gary Suter, Jamie Macoun, Brad McCrimmon, on and on ....

This series against the ducks makes me nervous sick wishing we were as tough but I know we have the skill.

Anyway....It's all I can think about these days. Just so damn excited for playoffs..... Actually really happy Glen worked so hard to get into this teams heads and help them realize the potential.

Go Flames.

[EldrickOnIce]

[Gaskal]

Originally Posted by EldrickOnIce