[Game Takes] Caps 6 Flames 2

[Bingo]

http://www.calgarypuck.com/2015/10/capitals-6-flames-2/

[Brick]

I think that the mantra "always earned, never given" should be applied more specifically to the defense pairings. If the defensive part of the game improves, the goaltending will probably follow. It also wouldn't hurt to start Ortio next game.

[Bingo]

they are a better team than they are showing, I have little doubt of that. There are too many good pieces in place to be this bad.

however at some point that will no longer matter this season.

as I said in the story they now need to play the rest of the season at a 104 point pace in order to get in. That's the macro tale.

Sure they could rifle off 5 in a row next week and then I could update those numbers with "now the rest of the season they'll only need to go at a 101 point pace" and that would be 100% true.

But at some point a bad start becomes a tough season and there isn't enough time left to fix it

Will sure make the Hudler and Russell decisions easier though.

[Super-Rye]

This team makes me feel like we aren't allowed to have nice things. :-(

The boys have some serious work to do to get out of this. As a whole they are completely opposite from what we saw last season. They aren't winning puck battles, they are making quick reads and good passes. This team is currently a turnover machine.

Dougie Hamilton is showing he isn't a top 2 guy yet. Which is fine. He is young and adjusting to being on a new team, and playing in a new system. It would be nice to have Brodie healthy so that Hamilton can be sheltered a little bit but injuries are a part of the game and the team has to get through this.

The defense as a whole has to stop looking to stretch the neutral zone every chance they get. Take it if the other team gives it to you but no one is giving it to the Flames right now because the Flames aren't showing they can beat you any other way. They have to find other ways to break out of their zone or teams will cheat like this all year.

The forwards need to find other ways to break into the other teams zone. Right now teams are clogging the neutral zone and disrupting the long passes. Someone other than Gaudreau should try carrying the puck up the ice. The other thing they can do is, and I know people hate this, dump and chase the puck sometimes. If teams are trying to stand you up in the neutral zone you have to catch them flat footed, dump and chase is one of the ways they can accomplish that.

Goaltending... You know what? I'm not even going to touch that with a 10 foot pole.

The team as a whole needs to make better adjustments between periods. I liked their first period last night but that second period was brutal. They can't rely on playing a quick stretch pass game for 60 minutes. They need to mix in different elements to their game and show they can beat teams other ways. It will keep defenses honest and open up some space for guys to do their thing.

[Split98]

How many players can we scratch? We keep talking waivers, but I would love putting a batch of guys in the press box and watch some guys playing well in the AHL be given a chance to show their stuff.

Can't hurt right? The biggest problem this team has is effort. Nakladal, Agostino, Granlund, Kylington, Poirier, and even Elson and Grant all look to be having good starts to the season. Fill the press box with a new player each night and fill their spot with someone who fits it.

[Erick Estrada]

Originally Posted by Bingo

they are a better team than they are showing, I have little doubt of that. There are too many good pieces in place to be this bad.

however at some point that will no longer matter this season.

as I said in the story they now need to play the rest of the season at a 104 point pace in order to get in. That's the macro tale.

Sure they could rifle off 5 in a row next week and then I could update those numbers with "now the rest of the season they'll only need to go at a 101 point pace" and that would be 100% true.

But at some point a bad start becomes a tough season and there isn't enough time left to fix it

Will sure make the Hudler and Russell decisions easier though.

There's not a lot of positives you can draw from a failed season but certainly when it comes to pending UFA's it does make decisions much easier. IMO they probably would have been better off not signing Giordano as well as twofold he may have been playing better right now without a deal and if his slip in play is a permanent thing this season there's no way he's getting that deal. Hudler and Russell may fetch decent returns at the trade deadline and if things don't improve quickly we may as well talk the asset management game. If you take a look at the Avalanche's season last year you will see a poor start that mirrors the Flames this season. They never recovered.

This isn't bad luck, this is a team that has fully deserved their position as 2nd worst team in the league to open the season.

[heep223]

I for one am not worried about Gio. He's getting back into it and as soon as they removed Hamilton from his line, he immediately looked like his old self again.

[Toonage]

That was one of the crazy parts of the game last night. To me also. Giordano looked faster and more driven with Wideman as his partner. Could have been the score, the urgency, who knows. Could have also been the obvious. Not having Hamilton with him. Not a knock on Hamilton, he'll be fine, but maybe Gio was changing too much of his game in playing with him.

[Displaced Flames fan]

Sam Bennett....it's coming....he looked great last night.