People love Tkachuk, they find the way he talks about hating to lose and having had enough of it as a good indication of leadership. That is all well and good. He says the right things. Now is time to show his leadership on the ice. I look forward to that.
I take some small solace in that Tkachuk has managed to improve with each repeated experience. He was completely invisible in the 2017 playoffs, then more impactful in last year's series. My hope is that he takes another step this year.
The same would go for Lindholm: He got his feet wet last year; now he has a chance to build on that.
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Dealing with Everything from Dead Sea Scrolls to Red C Trolls
Quote:
Originally Posted by woob
"...harem warfare? like all your wives dressup and go paintballing?"
I am intrigued by what Lucic brings to this team, on the ice and in the room. He has been a pretty ok playoff performer in the past and hopefully he can lead the way for the "kids". Also, if he gets physical the Jets' defence will be filling their diapers when the puck is dumped in. An aggressive forecheck will be the key in my opinion. Just from watching the one exhibition game they are a circus in their own end. If their big guns can get the puck and leave the zone with speed we are in trouble. However, in our end I trust our D to nullify the zone time. It is the rush that scares me.
I think we have a team that can do well, but the hardhats and workboots need to be there. If I was Ward I would have the iso-cam feed of Ferland against Vancouver on 24/7 loop.
"If we play our best, I think we’re the better team," Backlund matter-of-factly told reporters during a Zoom conference call in Edmonton. "I think we have a really good chance to move on if we do our job and play the way we can."
I don't think that a series ever shifts with bulletin board trash talk but Backlund is writing a cheque, that he needs to cash.
You are not going say anything that will motivate guys at this level to play any harder.
Backlund lost the series last year to Mackinnon and this year he has Scheifele. I guess he figures the quiet respectful approach didn't work so let's see how Scheifele reacts
Who is going to step up and guarantee a Flames win?
Is CP going to have threads for each of the series, with polls on who's winning?
Threads are typically started by users without any direction from the admin. If you would like individual threads for each series, then feel free to start them.
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Dealing with Everything from Dead Sea Scrolls to Red C Trolls
Quote:
Originally Posted by woob
"...harem warfare? like all your wives dressup and go paintballing?"
The Flames have a lot of good players and can control the game for long stretches of time, but they don't have a forward who can dominate by force of will or being on another level of talent than the other team's best. That's fine when they're facing off against another similar team, but not when they play against a team with one of those talents that can generate goals individually, like McDavid or MacKinnon. The Flames haven't shown they have an answer to guys who in an otherwise even game have that high end talent to tilt the balance by individually doing something way outside the norm in terms of putting the puck in the net.
I love Johnny as a player, and I thought he really came to play against the Oilers, but he's not going to be putting the puck in the net all by himself. Neither is Monahan or anyone else, so for the Flames to win they need all the parts of their machine to be fully coordinated.
It's just more difficult to win by keeping many parts all firing and fully coordinated with little space for lapses without any player or goalie that can individually tilt the balance in goals scored, so my expectations for the Flames in the playoffs are pretty limited.
I could see them winning a round or two, but I think the best that can possibly be expected of them is a run to the finals where they end up losing to a complete team that also has some higher end star power.
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"If stupidity got us into this mess, then why can't it get us out?"
The Flames have a lot of good players and can control the game for long stretches of time, but they don't have a forward who can dominate by force of will or being on another level of talent than the other team's best. That's fine when they're facing off against another similar team, but not when they play against a team with one of those talents that can generate goals individually, like McDavid or MacKinnon. The Flames haven't shown they have an answer to guys who in an otherwise even game have that high end talent to tilt the balance by individually doing something way outside the norm in terms of putting the puck in the net.
I love Johnny as a player, and I thought he really came to play against the Oilers, but he's not going to be putting the puck in the net all by himself. Neither is Monahan or anyone else, so for the Flames to win they need all the parts of their machine to be fully coordinated.
It's just more difficult to win by keeping many parts all firing and fully coordinated with little space for lapses without any player or goalie that can individually tilt the balance in goals scored, so my expectations for the Flames in the playoffs are pretty limited.
I could see them winning a round or two, but I think the best that can possibly be expected of them is a run to the finals where they end up losing to a complete team that also has some higher end star power.
A run to the finals would be something we would be talking about for the next decade if not longer. They would have to beat the Jets, then the Blues, Avs, Knights (pick 2) ...before losing to Bruins/Lightning/Caps That is a lot of winning against teams that have high end star power
The Flames have a lot of good players and can control the game for long stretches of time, but they don't have a forward who can dominate by force of will or being on another level of talent than the other team's best. That's fine when they're facing off against another similar team, but not when they play against a team with one of those talents that can generate goals individually, like McDavid or MacKinnon. The Flames haven't shown they have an answer to guys who in an otherwise even game have that high end talent to tilt the balance by individually doing something way outside the norm in terms of putting the puck in the net.
Thats the thing about players like Mcdavid and Mackinnon they are simply too fast and skilled for even the best checking forward to match up with. If you don't have a flawless system, with good pressure and gap control through the neutral zone, and solid systems in the d zone they make every team look bad.
On that note, I don't think Scheiffle has that game breaking speed, he is a big strong smart player, but Backlund will have a much easier time matching up with him then say a Mcdavid, or Mackinnon. My real concern in this series (beside Hellebuyk) is going to be Laine. If he goes on a heater, he scares the $#!^ out of me on the Power Play.
A run to the finals would be something we would be talking about for the next decade if not longer. They would have to beat the Jets, then the Blues, Avs, Knights (pick 2) ...before losing to Bruins/Lightning/Caps That is a lot of winning against teams that have high end star power
MacKinnon is one of the best players on the planet. Apart from him, none of these WC teams boast such "high end star power" that eclipses the Flames.
I think Geoff Ward said it best last week: the problem with the Flames is not a lack of talent or skill, it is a lack of "will." I'm not sure he meant that to suggest that the Flames don't want to win, but rather that they struggle internally with the pressure to win.
If they play the game to their strengths, and when they are not in their own heads, they can beat every single one of these teams.
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Dealing with Everything from Dead Sea Scrolls to Red C Trolls
Quote:
Originally Posted by woob
"...harem warfare? like all your wives dressup and go paintballing?"
I'm just gonna wait and see. Nothing else to say until the real chips are down. Can't definitively judge this current team based off play months ago or exhibitions. Am I encouraged so far? Not really, but that all could change depending on how the team shows up. The ability is in the room, just don't know if they're going to exercise it or not.
I do believe between Matthew tkachuk and johnny gaudreau there is game breaking ability. We've seen them channel it over their flames careers. Question is are they going to in this tournament. That is all yet TBD. Until then going on rants writing off the core before a single meaningful game is objectively premature, just as putting the oilers as a cup favorite (most certainly) is.
I don't want to nitpick but when you said "GO JETS" I noticed it was all in caps. Are you indicating that the "GO" is just as important as the "JETS" because it's not really polite to the team you've pledged your allegiance to.
Then I noticed that you didn't capitalize the first letter of your next two sentences and became concerned...but you're a jets fan so I guess we shouldn't expect too much from you.
Go Flames!!!!!
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Fan of the Flames, where being OK has become OK.
So not only is Boylen predicting that the Jets will take out Calgary in the qualifying round, but he predicts that Winnipeg will be Canada’s last team standing.
If I was Ward, I would be thinking about breaking up Gaudreau and Monahan to create some different match ups for the Jets D.
Nervous doesn’t cut it, as I was at Game 3 in Denver last Spring and it was an absolute nightmare, not just that game, but the entire series.
Not to mention I am concerned about our goaltending...
Man, the flames have conditioned me to have ZERO expectations here. I’m just going to watch the games and have a happy covid distraction. It sure would be nice to have them pull a 2004 and change all our minds.
I'll be ecstatic if they win the play in and the first round. Advancing to round 2 would be a nice step for this group of players.
I have to say, I feel like the animosity between the Jets fans and everyone else here will have a much more fun-loving vibe than if it were the Oilers. I'm glad we'll be exchanging pleasantries with the likes of WhiteOut403 et al than all those other stinkers. A little humility goes a long way.
I don't think that a series ever shifts with bulletin board trash talk but Backlund is writing a cheque, that he needs to cash.
You are not going say anything that will motivate guys at this level to play any harder.
Backlund lost the series last year to Mackinnon and this year he has Scheifele. I guess he figures the quiet respectful approach didn't work so let's see how Scheifele reacts
Who is going to step up and guarantee a Flames win?
I'm not really seeing the bulletin board trash talk that you are here. He says "If we play our best, I think we’re the better team." That's pretty standard hockey talk (gotta play our game, etc) and I just can't see how that generates any kind of reaction.
I'm not really seeing the bulletin board trash talk that you are here. He says "If we play our best, I think we’re the better team." That's pretty standard hockey talk (gotta play our game, etc) and I just can't see how that generates any kind of reaction.
Lol "EXTRA EXTRA Read all about it! Sports player thinks his team can beat the other sports team!"
The win "guarantee" has always been nonsense IMO. Player: "We're going to win." Everyone: "Woahhhh pretty confident there player, guaranteeing victory." A guy has confidence in his team, what else do you want? "Well I dunno, they're pretty tough, we may not win." That person would never become a professional athlete.
