Do you prefer Anaheim or Chicago in Round 1?

[united]

Anaheim.

In a 7 (or less)-game series, you need defensive depth and they are either going to be thin or playing partially injured, and they are poorly-coached to begin with. Plus I would love nothing more than seeing the smug grins wiped off the faces of Bieksa and Kesler when they are shaking hands in the 'Dome. Beating the Ducks probably give the Flames a big confidence boost, too.

The hate is strong.

[polak]

Anaheim had no problem beating us and finishing strong with their depleted blue line, what makes everyone think that it'll be a factor in the playoffs? Their blue line is obviously pretty deep.

Anaheim owns us. Their style is our kryptonite. Doubt the team will all of the sudden be able to beat them 4 times in 7 meetings.

[Da_Chief]

Chicago will be entertaining, but I can't see the Flames beating them, games will be closed till Hawks win in the end. Hope I'm wrong.

[Cleveland Steam Whistle]

Anaheim. Curse or not, they aren't better than the Hawks, and I hate them so much. Playing a division rival with tones of anamosity is what the divisional playoff format is about, and I want the Ducks matchup badly.

[stone hands]

I honestly think in a 7 game series vs the ducks, the flames come out on top

Horrible puck luck can't continue forever. The flames by far looked like the better team in recent memory, just horrible bounces

[Azhouse]

Ducks. And I don't need to even offer an explanation.

[polak]

Originally Posted by stone hands

I honestly think in a 7 game series vs the ducks, the flames come out on top

Horrible puck luck can't continue forever. The flames by far looked like the better team in recent memory, just horrible bounces

Yup. A 10-28 record against them since 2010 (all games) is totally all puck luck. Last time the Flames won the season series against the Ducks was also 2004.

[Erick Estrada]

Originally Posted by polak

Yup. A 10-28 record against them since 2010 (all games) is totally all puck luck. Last time the Flames won the season series against the Ducks was also 2004.

The Flames have been the victims of some bad luck but as the record indicates the Ducks have been the superior team going back to 2006. A lot of that has to do with Getzlaf, Perry, and Kesler in particular having their way with the Flames for their entire careers. Even Bieksa has been a thorn in the side of the Flames and when your best players are always successful against a certain team you are always going to have team success against that team.

[dino7c]

Originally Posted by polak

Yup. A 10-28 record against them since 2010 (all games) is totally all puck luck. Last time the Flames won the season series against the Ducks was also 2004.

what does something that happened 7 years ago have to do with this season?

Calgary could of won either game this week, they probably should have one last night goal tending was really the difference

They have beat the Ducks this season, quite convincingly I might add


Its not like people are picking the Ducks over facing the Avs here...

[Huntingwhale]

Originally Posted by Vinny01

Can the Ducks survive a 7 game series without Fowler, Lindholm, and Vatanen? Notmsurenthose 3 will be out that long but they could be?

IMO it's not the Duck's D that gives the Flames issues. It's always the forwards. It could be an entire AHL lineup of defencemen and the Flames would still lose. Look at every PGT. The common themes are:

-Kesler
-Getlzaf
-Perry
-Silferberg
-Thompson

Every scum, every whistle, every dirty goal, it's those guys making those plays. And credit is where credit is due; Kesler is a great player. God damn. Good at nearly every aspect of the game and probably the best agitator in the NHL alongside Marchand.

Those are the guys causing us grief. Not to mention every time John Gibson played in net, he ends up looking like the second coming of Ken Dryden.

Yes the Ducks have a great D corps. But IMO they are the least of the Flames problems. Even Bieksa, other then his pooey goal last night, is mostly irrelevant.

[Flash Walken]

Originally Posted by Huntingwhale

IMO it's not the Duck's D that gives the Flames issues. It's always the forwards. It could be an entire AHL lineup of defencemen and the Flames would still lose. Look at every PGT. The common themes are:

-Kesler
-Getlzaf
-Perry
-Silferberg
-Thompson

Every scum, every whistle, every dirty goal, it's those guys making those plays. And credit is where credit is due; Kesler is a great player. God damn. Good at nearly every aspect of the game and probably the best agitator in the NHL alongside Marchand.

Those are the guys causing us grief. Not to mention every time John Gigson played in net, he ends up looking like the second coming of Ken Dryden.

Yes the Ducks have a great D corps. But IMO they are the least of the Flames problems. Even Bieksa, other then his pooey goal last night, is mostly irrelevant.

yup, anaheim's 200 ft players give calgary's 100ft players fits.

[stone hands]

Originally Posted by dino7c

what does something that happened 7 years ago have to do with this season?

Calgary could of won either game this week, they probably should have one last night goal tending was really the difference

They have beat the Ducks this season, quite convincingly I might add


Its not like people are picking the Ducks over facing the Avs here...

What this guy said

Last night was the most lopsided 3-1 win I've seen in quite some time

[azzarish]

It's hard to say.

Chicago are a very good team in the playoffs. They usually step up quite a few gears in the post-season. I feel like they've been kind of cruising the last few weeks and just saving it for the playoffs. Overall, they have more dangerous and clinical players than the Ducks. They can quickly run up a score before you even blink. Honestly, the thought of Panarin and Kane scares me.

I don't think there is a big difference between the Ducks and us. We're not a few levels below them. We were 2 years ago when we met them in the second round. That was a battering if I'm being honest. But not now. I know we've just lost to them twice but both games were close and they weren't really that much better than us. The gap between the 2 teams is not as big as it was 2 years ago in my opinion.

If we played the Hawks right now I just have a feeling they might overwhelm us. At least in the first couple of games until we figure them out. With the Ducks we know exactly what we're going to get. It will be a tough and bruising series but I am going to go for the Ducks simply because I think we have a lot of points to prove and are determined to prove them. Chicago aren't really a physical team and that series would be low on hits, cheap shots and dirty plays. Whereas the Ducks would be completely the opposite. At this stage, you are going to get a good team anyway. I really believe we can beat the Ducks. A lot of bounces haven't gone our way against them, but they won't last forever. They are a very clever team in the sense that they walk a fine line with what they can get away with and wind you up in the process. The key is not to get flustered or react, because that is exactly what they want.

[Bear]

IMO the best matchup for the Flames long term is to get the Ducks.

Our young core needs to learn how to continue playing their game even when things get physical and chippy. A 6/7 game war with the Ducks is probably the litmus test as far as surviving the western conference playoffs go and its an experience I want the core to benefit from as early and often in their careers as possible. We will learn more about this group in that series than any other.

[ThisIsAnOutrage]

Anaheim. Flames just have to get these guys.

[FlamingHomer]

Purely selfish but Chicago is in a better Time Zone for me to watch the games.

[EldrickOnIce]

The Ducks are junk

[Stormchaser]

Anaheim. The next step for this rebuild is to beat them in the playoffs. Totally serious.

[codynw]

Originally Posted by SportsJunky

I want the Ducks. Watching the highlights from the game last night I can only imagine the emotions and physicality of a 7 game series. Bring it on Anaheim.

Too bad the series would only be 4 games.

[Cleveland Steam Whistle]

Originally Posted by Stormchaser

Anaheim. The next step for this rebuild is to beat them in the playoffs. Totally serious.

Agreed!