[PGT] Abottsford Flames Crush the Wild 4-1!

[Enoch Root]

Originally Posted by $ven27

I thought that same thing about tonights game, and Anaheim, and Detroit. I wouldn't be surprised to see us win the STL game.

Well, at least that win would help the standings with respect to their pick

[ignite09]

Originally Posted by JiriHrdina

I think the lesson learned this season is just how bad you have to be to get the first overall pick. You really have to just be atrocious. And consistently horrible.

It says that it isn't just a lack of talent needed to be that bad, you really need a dysfunctional dressing room and a fair share of floaters to hit the lottery.

[PlayfulGenius]

Originally Posted by Ashasx

Eh... the latest we'll pick is 7th. One of, if not two of Lindholm, Monahan, and Nichushkin will still be there.

They are good players. Top 5 in any other draft.

Just this past draft Jacob Truba went 9th overall, and he could end up being the best player taken... Or even Grigorenko at 12th... Lets just hope the Flames get lucky

[Icon]

Originally Posted by The Swedish Flame

Absolutely love this picture. Future Flames core (minus this years pick) in one shot.

edit: damn autocorrect

[opendoor]

Originally Posted by Ashasx

Eh... the latest we'll pick is 7th. One of, if not two of Lindholm, Monahan, and Nichushkin will still be there.

They are good players. Top 5 in any other draft.

Not necessarily. The Flames are already in the 7th spot, within 2 points of picking 10th, and they hold the first tiebreaker on all of the teams above them in the standings.

If the Flames go 2-1-0 and any of New Jersey (play MTL, PIT, and NYR), Buffalo (play WPG, PIT, and NYI), or PHI (play BOS, OTT, and NYU) go 1-2-0 the Flames will pass them.

[trublmaker]

I thought these pg threads were to celebrate winning? Isn't there already a thread for those who cheer for losses? Quit polluting this thread with your "oh why can't we just lose" crap.

[PIMking]

Crap I don't know if I want to go to the game tuesday in Nashvegas or not.

[kyuss275]

Originally Posted by Ashasx

Eh... the latest we'll pick is 7th. One of, if not two of Lindholm, Monahan, and Nichushkin will still be there.

They are good players. Top 5 in any other draft.

That's what i was thinking at the start of the day. I now think we might be as high as 10th.

I see the flames going 2-1 to end the season. No reason they should not beat Nashville , and Chicago will be icing a "b" team that will just try and avoid getting hurt.

If so Nikita Zadorov would be my pick.

[PlayfulGenius]

The team could pick as low as 8th, that's absolute worst case scenario, I think.

[Enoch Root]

SO... good hockey game. I (and maybe I am alone here) enjoy having the Flames damage the hopes and dreams of divisional opponents. They caused some serious damage to the hopes of the Wings as well.

Brodie: simply outstanding

Cundari: can't imagine a better debut. Goal, assist and 24+ minutes... are you fricking kidding me?

Butler: I am hard on him sometimes, but he showed some grit and effort on a few shifts in the second and third -I thought he had a good game

Baertschi: his confidence is growing with each game. That spin pass late in the game was very reminiscent of last year. He and Backlund are building chemistry and I look for them to continue to grow next year.

Street: easily the best NHL game he's played (though I don't see him having any chance of being a regular NHLer)

Cammalleri, Stempniak and Hudler all put in solid efforts.

Love Sarich

[Displaced Flames fan]

Originally Posted by 3 Justin 3

I find it laughable that we finally get a 3 game win streak it is at the most meaningless time of the year.

Good to see our young guys playing well, but this is getting pathetic (not the winning, our luck).

Meaningless is relative. Minnesota really needed that game badly.

[Flames Fan, Ph.D.]

Was at the game so a couple of impressions:

1) Byron: the kid has skills but there is something very passive about his game. He watches pucks go around the boards and doesn't really make a push to go get it, nor does he try to position himself well to pick the puck up. When he gets on the rush he makes the right decision, and has a nose for the net. But I fear his weak play in the defensive zone is a significant liability.

2) Street. Nothing too exciting. Chips pucks in, but isn't very assertive.

3) Hanowski. Needs a season or two in Abby. His game looks like Reinhart's, but much slower. Part of it is a lack of speed, and the other part is a reluctance to handle the puck. The play clearly moves too fast for him when he has the puck, so he needs to get acclimatized to thinking a faster game.

4) Sven. Disappeared at times. But then he pops up and drills a goalmouth pass to Backlund. He definitely has a nose for the net, as he was around a couple of rebounds that he just missed. Makes great passes when he has time, and very good when he can ping pong it back and forth with another skill player deep in the opposition zone.

5) Brodie was a total stud tonight. Such great mobility. He skated circles around the Wild all night. I was really, really impressed.

6) Cundari. Again I was very impressed. He looks like he's Brodie's size but he drives for contact instead of away from it. When he has the puck he's comfortable and makes steady passes (except for one up-the-middle-gaffe midway through the third). Not as mobile as Brodie, but positionally sound and hits to get the opponent away from the puck rather than using deft positioning like Brodie. Didn't seem like he was getting pushed around physically. I think we could certainly use a dman like him that is looking to take the body as much as possible.

Good win though. They bent but did not break. Macdonald played well and deserved first star.

[Sylvanfan]

MacDonald missed the memo, when you start after signing a contract extension you are supposed to give the other team two free goals.

Maybe the lesson here is that teams who work hard and stay with their systems can survive in spite of talent defieciencies. We saw last year when the Flames could only ice 5-6 veteran forwards that the team played more to a system and were ableto hang around. These young guys are doing it, hopefully the Flames win the draft lottery to make these wins of late become a non issue. Although, if this organization is ever going to be more than a fringe playoff team they figure out a way to extract 2 very good players with the threetickets they have early on regardless of where the picks slot.

[Dagger]

Originally Posted by krynski

Sometimes, it's nice to live in the moment. You ever do that?

I'm thinking about the draft moment when there is now a real chance guys like Lindholm, Monahan and Nichuskin won't be on the board. We need players like that, especially with how awful this season has been.

[undercoverbrother]

Originally Posted by Dagger

We're getting fooled again here. This is no different than the usual frantic push at the end where it seems "hey, we aren't that bad, one or two more pieces and we'll be in for sure." Only to have a rinse and repeat year after year. This team basically as is is brutal and needs to lose games now. We are not going to be a winning club next year.

How do you suggest they accomplish this?

[Captain_Obvious]

Originally Posted by Phanuthier

Yay another win. Get on a hot streak after we are eliminated from the playoffs - isn´t that the story as a Flames fan for the most part of the last 15 years? Have to laugh at the condecending posters who look down on people who want a higher pick - they are fans like how Darryl Sutter GMed, just win the next game. Not that Im going to say to lose on purpose, .

Just brutal.

[Geeoff]

Originally Posted by FanIn80

Since our arrival to Calgary from Atlanta in 1980, we are the ONLY team in the NHL to not have a single, solitary top-five pick. In other words, we are the only team in NHL history to not draft in the top five in the first round. In fact, we've only drafted in the top-ten SIX times in thirty-two seasons.

Let's take a look at some numbers, since our Cup win in 1989:

Number of seasons: 22
Number of times in the playoffs: 10
Number of times past Round One in the playoffs: 1
Number of times not qualifying for the playoffs: 12

Number of drafts: 22
Number of times drafting in the top-five: 0
Number of times drafting in the top-ten: 6

So, essentially, I guess what I'm saying is that all you "let's keep winning all these meaningless games down the stretch" people need to keep on preaching. Clearly, you folks are more in-the-know than everyone else. In fact, you guys are so dialed-in on what's right for this organization, that this organization has followed your advice to a tee. This advice-following has, as evidenced by the numbers listed above, not only been a demonstration in absolute sports-management brilliance, but has even lead us to such heights of mediocrity that I'm willing to bet every single organization out there uses us as a franchise to learn from.

Mind you, "franchise to learn from," in this case, means "franchise to look at when wondering what a franchise should never do"... but hey, who cares about semantics when you can close out the season on a six-game winning streak, and go all the way from a decent shot at a top-three pick, to having to rely on other teams losing in order to even draft inside the top ten?

I guess there are two choices: enjoy the games and be happy that the team is winning or be miserable and confrontational towards those that are. Whether we are hoping for the team to win or not, it will not change the result on the ice. The Flames are icing an AHL line-up with a waiver-wire goaltender. Our roster cannot get any worse than it is.

To think positively, beating Minnesota gives St. Louis a better chance of making the playoffs and us a better chance of having a 3rd 1st round pick this year, which will be nice.

[Matty81]

Originally Posted by trublmaker

I thought these pg threads were to celebrate winning? Isn't there already a thread for those who cheer for losses? Quit polluting this thread with your "oh why can't we just lose" crap.

Nobody who is cheering for a better draft pick is criticizing people for cheering for late season wins - should think about extending the same courtesy back. The board would be better off without the 4 or 5 people who are trying to bully people out of the game thread lately.

You want to argue the point that the team is better off winning games - fire away, happy to debate it with you, but you don't have a monopoly on how to cheer for the team, and you certainly don't have any right to tell people what they should type and where they should type it.

[stignasty]

Originally Posted by Matty81

The board would be better off without the 4 or 5 people who are trying to bully people out of the game thread lately.

...wait for it... wait for it...

Originally Posted by Matty81

...you certainly don't have any right to tell people what they should type and where they should type it.

[stignasty]

Calgary Flames ‏@NHLFlames "I was actually wide open, he just looked me off and put it top right." - Sven Baertschi on Cundari's goal (VIDEO) ~ http://cflam.es/17cKraY