The 'Room for Improvement' Thread

[Jay Random]

Originally Posted by Kipper_3434

....and I guess Lack is technically on this team...what does he do exactly?

I think he collects the empties?

[SeanCharles]

I would like to consistently see:

Gaudreau-Monahan-Ferland
Tkachuk-Backlund-Frolik
Bennett-Jankowski-Jagr
Versteeg-Lazar-Brouwer

Gio-Hamilton
Brodie-Hamonic
Kulak-Stone

PP1:
Gaudreau-Monahan-Jagr
Stone-Brodie

PP2:
Bennett-Backlund-Tkachuk
Hamilton-Gio

[pepper24]

Be nice to see Bennett and Jankowski get a point.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Itse]

PP is definitely a problem and I agree it's more a coaching issue than players executing. We have better options than Brouwer and Versteeg for the PP, why not use them. I believe a dangerous PP also helps a team create offense on 5-on-5, due to the opposition being more worried about taking penalties.

Yeah, bottom 6 needs to put up points, doubt much more needs to be said about that.

But when it comes to our record, you can also put it this way: Our best forward pairing and our starting goaltender have been red hot, in general our top 6 has been very good, our top defensive pairing has been solid (if unspectacular) and we have a guy in the second pairing on pace for a 50 point year. To me that does not sound like a team that's in any way "lucky" to have an 8-6 record.

In other words; I feel that some people in their worry over the bottom half of the roster not producing are kind of forgetting that even in the current age of parity, the top half of the roster is way more important.

What's more, most of the time the bottom half of the roster isn't really hurting the team while they're on the ice. It's not like they're getting consistently horribly buried in chances or goals.

[Murph]

Lambert with a great Flames article on yahoo sports. Reading this, it seems we should put Jagr with Bennett and Jankowski, then stay the course.

https://sports.yahoo.com/learned-fla...174252777.html

[Itse]

Originally Posted by Murph

Lambert with a great Flames article on yahoo sports. Reading this, it seems we should put Jagr with Bennett and Jankowski, then stay the course.

https://sports.yahoo.com/learned-fla...174252777.html

Since lack of speed has been really hurting the the veteran line in some games, having Lazar as an option there wouldn't probably hurt.

[Rick M.]

The Flames are badly outplayed in the first period of most games. Fortunately, Smith has held them in games until they get their feet moving. I’d like to see the Flames take it to the opposition in the first period for a change.

[edslunch]

Originally Posted by Murph

Lambert with a great Flames article on yahoo sports. Reading this, it seems we should put Jagr with Bennett and Jankowski, then stay the course.

https://sports.yahoo.com/learned-fla...174252777.html

Pretty fair write up by someone who has historically been pretty hard on the Flames. I still don’t care for his aggressive analytics terminology - players getting beaten to death or their heads caved in - but that’s just style.

[Textcritic]

Originally Posted by Rick M.

The Flames are badly outplayed in the first period of most games. Fortunately, Smith has held them in games until they get their feet moving. I’d like to see the Flames take it to the opposition in the first period for a change.

This is simply not true. In their past five games prior to the Pittsburgh game the Flames recorded more shots and chances in the first period than the other team. Yes, they were outplayed in the first by both the Penguins and the Devils, but this is not a trend. Rather, the long break between games is most likely the reason for their slow start in the past two.

[Insane_Flame]

Originally Posted by Textcritic

This is simply not true. In their past five games prior to the Pittsburgh game the Flames recorded more shots and chances in the first period than the other team. Yes, they were outplayed in the first by both the Penguins and the Devils, but this is not a trend. Rather, the long break between games is most likely the reason for their slow start in the past two.

Perhaps the long break between games makes it feel like its been happening longer than it has.

[Textcritic]

Originally Posted by Insane_Flame

Perhaps the long break between games makes it feel like its been happening longer than it has.

I expect that is exactly what has happened. The Flames played the Washington Capitals on Sunday, 29 Oct, and since then played only two games in eight days.

[jayswin]

Originally Posted by FlamesFanTrev

Im not sure I get this. Mike Smith IS part of the team, right? And trading for him over the summer was part of the plan. Good goal tending is vital to every winning record.

Everyone is making a big racket over the first line and second line specifically doing all of the scoring. Thats alot better then the first 15-20 games last year when we only had the 2nd line scoring..... this seems like a marked improvement?

Originally Posted by zukes

and why should we apologize for that? You need that to win the Cup. A good goalie is often the difference between a contender and a bubble team. Good teams are only as good as their goalie for the most part.

Originally Posted by Kipper_3434

Never apologize for good goaltending.

God damn, guys. Here's the post I was responding to. Textcritic was saying they are most often the best team on the ice and not getting buried by opposition by scoring chances. I was only slightly contesting that by reminding him that Mike Smith has clearly won us some games this season, which he respectfully acknowledged while providing a rebuttal.

It had nothing to do with suggesting that a goalie isn't part of the team or that we need to excuse good goaltending, nothing. I'm one of the biggest advocates you'll find for shooting down fans who think good goaltending shouldn't count towards a team's success.

It was a response to a specific point made about team play, nothing more.

Originally Posted by Textcritic

“Unusual,” yes. “Fortunate,” not really since the Flames are absolutely winning the games they should be winning most of the time. By that, I mean that they are most often the best team on the ice, and not getting buried by their opposition in scoring chances.

Originally Posted by jayswin

Elite goaltending has been directly responsible for some of those wins.

[Tinordi]

The tale of Calgary's seasons so far is great goaltending mostly covering for mediocre to bad finishing ability.

The big question is, is this a result of bad luck or lack of talent? A bit of both obviously.If the goaltending can hold and the Flames can learn to hit the net then they'd move into the upper half of the league in goal differential. If special teams start to kick in then they can move into the upper third.

Spoiler!

[Jiri Hrdina]

Originally Posted by Duffalufagus

We are a bubble team with vezina level goaltending. Unsustainable IMO without the bottom six doing something. Anything!

Basically you are citing two unusual trends but assuming one (goaltending) doesn't sustain while the other (lack of scoring depth) does.
That seems unlikely.

[djsFlames]

A general pattern I've seen in the Flames for some time:

1st period:
First half - behind the ball, sluggish, not quite skating and passes off. Frequent giveaways in the defensive zone. Once in a blue moon they'll be really skating off the hop but this is quite infrequent.
Second half - push back and start to pick up speed and roll their lines, usually enough to pull even or close in the game if their mistakes cost them in the first half, or at least they'll even out the play a bit
End of first - every odd game something hairy happens in the dying minute/s, usually a penalty, sometimes a goal.

2nd period:
First half - Take a step back towards sluggish again, or have penalty trouble early that they have to battle through before taking it to the other team again and getting their legs back
Second half - Usually quite strong, can be their best stretch of games. Last 5 minutes of the second in particular for whatever reason is the Flames bread and butter for generating high quality chances and zone time. This is on many occasions where they appear to really 'wake up' and display their best hockey.

3rd period:
Usually generally at minimum will be evenly played with the opposition, but often the Flames will have the better of the play. If they are down on the scoreboard, are usually taking it to the opponent but frequently will come up short due to lack of finishing ability on their offensive zone time and possession and seemingly a lack of confidence to make that clutch play to draw even (hence our excess of regulation losses under GG). If they are ahead they are usually good at maintaining it and don't look back. They're also good at carrying tied games into OT where they can finish the opponent.

OT/Shootout:
Flames are elite here. Arguably best team in the league with the extra ice. Gaudreau and Monahan are simply 3 on 3 phenoms at this level.

The Flames play a very rollercoaster game within games, and luckily for them have the right goaltender to hold the fort this season during the lapses.

I'd very much like to see those peaks and valleys even out a bit to a more steady 60 minutes or just to see a change in that pattern, because it dates back even into much of last year. They're able to rattle off more wins than losses when all is said and done even with these idiosyncrasies within their 60 minute game, but the sluggish beginnings to the 1st and 2nd periods and risky plays made in final minutes (for who knows what reason) aren't a great recipe for sustained success in the post season. Important to be able to come at opponents in waves for the majority of the game and limit those 10 bell scoring chances against when the opponent is pushing, especially to start games!

I hope the Flames can break out of these habits this year and settle into a less up and down 60 minutes.

[jlh2640]

Has been unreal Good for the most part in my eyes

Smith
Johnny
Monahan
Tkachuk
Brodie

Been good
Frolik
Stone
Backlund
Gio
Hamonic
Kulak

Needs to be better and has been average so far
Hamilton
Jagr
Jankowski
Lazar
Ferland

Has been bad or below average overall
Bennett
Brouwer
Versteeg
Stajan
Bartkowski
Lack


Who cares
Glass
Freddie

[Textcritic]

Originally Posted by djsFlames

A general pattern I've seen in the Flames for some time:

1st period:
First half - behind the ball, sluggish, not quite skating and passes off. Frequent giveaways in the defensive zone. Once in a blue moon they'll be really skating off the hop but this is quite infrequent.
Second half - push back and start to pick up speed and roll their lines, usually enough to pull even or close in the game if their mistakes cost them in the first half, or at least they'll even out the play a bit...

This is NOT a "general pattern" beyond the last two games, and I really wish people would stop insisting that the Flames are characteristically slow starters in games this season. Yes, this has been the case in their last two games, but not so on the balance of the whole season where the Flames have had lots of instances of strong play in first periods.

Certainly, there needs to be a correction from what transpired against Pittsburgh and NJ in the first period, but two poorly played first periods is not a "trend" or a "general pattern."