[Game Takes] Penguins 6 Flames 2

[Bingo]

Penguins 6 Flames 2

- Flames never really close
- Vladar with a less than stellar night to match the skaters
- Flames go 0-3-1 on this trip

This is what I was expecting this season. Hopeless game stories. Glad they gave us two months of fun to start the season.

[Calgary4LIfe]

I enjoy the wins, and I soothe myself with the losses by knowing that it will result in drafting a good piece.



Pospisil has returned to being a very noticeable player again, and that's great to see. Tonight wasn't what I really expected to see this season - losses, yes, but a bit more energy and a closer game overall. With that being said, I can't expect this team to continually out-work the opposition, or even put up a fight night-in and night-out when the poor results start to add up.


It is amazing how Backlund continues to be such a strong presence for the Flames on the ice given his age. I am glad that at least a few members of this future core get a chance to be around him and learn from him, both on and off the ice.


On to the next one. I don't expect wins, I don't expect losses, I am just finding whatever enjoyment there is in the actual game play, even if it is moments here and there (and there have been many more than expected thus far this season overall).

[Roof-Daddy]

IMO this team will be like this most of the year.

It looked hopeless during their last skid when they were pummeled by Vegas and Utah. Then they found their mojo again. They have just enough going for them to not be completely useless and finish bottom 5.

[Royle9]

[The Cobra]

Originally Posted by Calgary4LIfe

I enjoy the wins, and I soothe myself with the losses by knowing that it will result in drafting a good piece.


.

Even if Calgary keeps its draft pick this year, there is no guarantee they will draft a good piece. That’s the odds in any draft.

[Calgary4LIfe]

Can't quote you Cobra:


The odds are higher the further up the draft you pick. Also, the Flames have been a strong drafting team. There are always misses, but the higher up the draft you select, the greater your odds of selecting a franchise-level player. There are no guarantees in life of course, but I don't see why I would focus on the chance that the Flames draft a dud.

[The Cobra]

Originally Posted by Calgary4LIfe

Can't quote you Cobra:


The odds are higher the further up the draft you pick. Also, the Flames have been a strong drafting team. There are always misses, but the higher up the draft you select, the greater your odds of selecting a franchise-level player. There are no guarantees in life of course, but I don't see why I would focus on the chance that the Flames draft a dud.

Definitely.

But if you look at the past 5 years for example, even top 5 picks who are relatively successful often take time to develop.

It’s why you need multiple high draft picks.

[Samonadreau]

You guys have already forgotten how this season goes..... lose a bunch then win a bunch. Foggy middle.

[Bingo]

Originally Posted by The Cobra

Even if Calgary keeps its draft pick this year, there is no guarantee they will draft a good piece. That’s the odds in any draft.

Pretty sure he understands this.

Why the need to make sure any bright side isn't all that bright?

[The Cobra]

Originally Posted by Bingo

Pretty sure he understands this.

Why the need to make sure any bright side isn't all that bright?

My point is that we need to be bottom 5 for a number of years to obtain the pieces we need.

This might be the first year, or might not be.

Our greatest piece, Wolf, is also our greatest problem with finishing bottom 5, as an elite goalie is just that valuable. Although having an elite goalie going forward is a big piece of the puzzle.

Where would Calgary be without Wolf?

A true case could be made that you'd be hard pressed to find a more valuable player to his team so far this year.

[Bingo]

Originally Posted by The Cobra

My point is that we need to be bottom 5 for a number of years to obtain the pieces we need.

This might be the first year, or might not be.

Our greatest piece, Wolf, is also our greatest problem with finishing bottom 5, as an elite goalie is just that valuable. Although having an elite goalie going forward is a big piece of the puzzle.

Where would Calgary be without Wolf?

A true case could be made that you'd be hard pressed to find a more valuable player to his team so far this year.

Sure but when a guy says he find s silver lining in a stretch of losses, do we really need to make sure he understands there's a chance they don't draft well?

[Strange Brew]

This team really needs another NHL center. Even if the plan is to tank and focus on development, it would be nice to have guys play and develop at their proper position.

[GioforPM]

Originally Posted by Strange Brew

This team really needs another NHL center. Even if the plan is to tank and focus on development, it would be nice to have guys play and develop at their proper position.

I think Zary still deserves a longer look. He's not bad defensively, has a high IQ and can cary the puck fairly well.

[Flamesfan05]

It’s obvious the Flames need to draft at the top not just this year but the next 3 years

There is a major lack of talent on the team except maybe in goaltending with Wolf

Anything from doing that is not a good thing

[Strange Brew]

Originally Posted by GioforPM

I think Zary still deserves a longer look. He's not bad defensively, has a high IQ and can cary the puck fairly well.

He has not looked good at Center to me, and the NHL is a tough place to learn to play that position.

[GioforPM]

Originally Posted by Strange Brew

He has not looked good at Center to me, and the NHL is a tough place to learn to play that position.

But it’s only been a handful of games. I’m not expecting him to be a 1C but I think he needs a while to figure it out.

[ComixZone]

Originally Posted by GioforPM

But it’s only been a handful of games. I’m not expecting him to be a 1C but I think he needs a while to figure it out.

I think he has largely continued to look like one of our best players, and you're bang on - he needs consistency and opportunity, and he's earned as much.

He should be at the position the rest of this season. Don't toss kids around the line-up, we have very real experience with what that does to confidence/player development.

Zary and Coronato are two of the only players in this forward group that actually matter going forward, let them take their developmental bumps and focus on their development. Yes, it's hard to be a centre in this league and Zary was drafted as a centre to be a centre. Play him there, let him develop there. No need to focus on short term results, especially when those results aren't going to be meaningful better if you play someone else in that spot, like Kadri for example. Kadri is no better.

Zary: 51.30 CF%, 49.08 SF%, 38.10 GF%, 46.22 xGF%, 47.37 SCF%, 48.36 HDCF%

5G, 7A, 12P, -7, 10.0 S%

Kadri: 47.82 CF%, 45.95 SF%, 36.84 GF%, 43.96 xGF%, 43.92 SCF%, 42.97 HDCF%

8G, 7A, 15P, -12, 10.0 S%

After Backlund, it's pretty easy to argue that Zary is actually our 2nd best centre this season.

[GioforPM]

Are those Zary’s numbers as a centre or overall of the season?

[Bingo]

Zary splits ...

17 games on the wing

50.6% CF
46.3% xGF
45.8% HDCF
2.30 xGF60
2.66 xGA60

8 games on the wing

53.0% CF
46.0% xGF
53.8% HDCF
2.54 xGF60
2.96 xGA60

So ...

- small sample size
- better offensively at center
- his on ice numbers are worse defensively at center (to be expected).

If he can figure it out defensively they may have something here.

[Strange Brew]

Those might be season to date (not Bingo's numbers). In his last 10 games, he is 4th worst among forwards (Huberdeau, Pospisil and Kadri are below him) in xgoals differential.

Kadri has been bad, every player on this team has better metrics than him so it's not a great comparison IMO.

The team doesn't really have other options so little choice but to play guys out of position. They didn't see Zary as a C in the AHL and now he is playing catch up.

I think he will be an NHL winger when all is said and done.