[PGT] Season’s over 3-2 grease

[dino7c]

Smith gets saved by a stick and a crossbar and he is the greatest goalie of all time. That's hockey, things are just going his way lately.

Smith is playing well now but honestly how long is that going to last. Guy is having one last hurrah...what are the Oilers gonna do give him a 6x6. Long term they still need to find a goalie.

[DeluxeMoustache]

Originally Posted by dino7c

I never said Markstrom has been great...explain to me how Rittich wins this game for sure though

First two goals go in still...maybe saves the 3rd, its McDavid through a screen its not like Rittich has never allowed one like that

First period? who knows...Could have lost worse

Markstrom was okay...I would have said good to very good before the 3rd goal.

If your goalie has to hold the team to 1 or under to win a team is gonna struggle

I didn’t say anything about any imaginary scenario where Rittich plays a game he didn’t play, and have no interest in that

But I hate Markstrom’s rebound placement and puck handling and he was very lucky not to get burned tonight

We totally agree, the Flames need to score and this is not a good blend of strategy and personnel

[Strange Brew]

Originally Posted by Jiri Hrdina

Tanev has been a bright spot
Arguably the brightest

This can not be argued.

[Cali Panthers Fan]

Originally Posted by jayswin

But...Markstrom was waaaaaaaay better early in the season compared to now.

The only way the Flames win tonight is if they held Edmonton to 1 goal. I don't think that is a reasonable expectation night in and night out. Maybe they win in a shootout if Markstrom doesn't let in the 3rd goal, but fact remains that the team just isn't scoring enough to win. Period. Full stop.

[Red]

Originally Posted by Strange Brew

Can we please put the coaching debate to rest. It’s not the ####ing coach.

They need a top line. Otherwise they can compete with anyone.

But when your top line is this bad, the matchups get messed up and the whole team looks like crap.

[DeluxeMoustache]

Originally Posted by dino7c

Smith gets saved by a stick and a crossbar and he is the greatest goalie of all time. That's hockey, things are just going his way lately.

Smith is playing well now but honestly how long is that going to last. Guy is having one last hurrah.

Hey, the puck hit the crossbar? That’s all I gave you

How many shots wide was Smith saved by too?

[N-E-B]

Originally Posted by Jiri Hrdina

Tanev has been a bright spot
Arguably the brightest

I absolutely loved that he had the A tonight. He’s been great. Agreed.

[Philly06Cup]

Originally Posted by Roof-Daddy

Must be nice to win McDavid's, Matthews, Crosby's, Mackinnon's, etc

All we get are Monahan's, Tkachuk's and Bennett's.

Just enough to be decidedly average....at best.

I didn't realize McDavid, Matthews, and Mackinnon were swimming in playoff success and Stanley Cups

[3rd liner]

Three games left against these clowns? Out of the playoffs? Dress rinaldo, Robinson, ritchie. Send one hell of a message for next season. You want to call penalties on us ref? Let’s earn those penalties. Just drill mcdingus when you get the chance. Let’s see caveman enforce the code with his boo-boo. Only thing left to look forward to. Other than the epic collapse of the oilers

[Red]

Originally Posted by DeluxeMoustache

Hey, the puck hit the crossbar? That’s all I gave you

How many shots wide was Smith saved by too?

How wide? A crossbar is pretty thin. Goalie got beat.

[DeluxeMoustache]

Originally Posted by Red

How wide? A crossbar is pretty thin. Goalie got beat.

Not by a shot going in

[dino7c]

Originally Posted by DeluxeMoustache

Hey, the puck hit the crossbar? That’s all I gave you

How many shots wide was Smith saved by too?

It was an obvious break considering he tried to head butt it and missed it...then the Oilers get a PP 20 seconds later.

Puck hitting a stick on a wide open net that he wasn't in is also a big break

[Mathgod]

I shook it. I still come to the same conclusion. His plan isn't getting the job done. Sure, a few guys are playing with a bit more effort, but nothing notable has changed, they're scoring less, and they're losing more.

I try not to let nostalgia color my viewpoints.

The Flames xGF% over their last 7 games is 49.80. For context, the Washington Capitals are 49.81 over that same stretch. So the team isn't playing nearly as bad as you're suggesting they are.

[shadowlord]

I noticed on multiple occasions tonight that the Flames held onto the puck for about a second too long, and that resulted in the Oilers players catching up to them and either taking the puck away or forcing the Flame player to make a bad/panic play.

Seems like things are not coming to them naturally, and they're thinking about what is the next play they should make. I don't know if that's a more practice-thing or a new systems-thing, but it's not lack of talent/hockey IQ. When it got down to the dying minutes of the 3rd period, the decisions with the puck were much quicker; and it kept the Oilers hemmed in.

I saw glimpses of this quicker style earlier in the game from the 4th line, but they lack the talent to finish off their chances with a good scoring chance.

[GioforPM]

Originally Posted by Red

They need a top line. Otherwise they can compete with anyone.

But when your top line is this bad, the matchups get messed up and the whole team looks like crap.

The top line was never meant to be one, is the problem. I’m sure when they drafted Gaudreau in the 4th they were hoping for a nice complementary player. And even Monahan, among that group that included Lindholm just ahead, was not projected to be an elite C. Those two guys should be part of an effective secondary scoring line that enjoys weaker opposition because the best defenders are up against your elite guys.

They have no true top players - the seasons where they looked like it were mid-season soft D opposition that made them look good. The trouble is that there was never any really clear way to get a top player. If Bennett could have worked out this team looks a lot different.

[GioforPM]

Originally Posted by Mathgod

The Flames xGF% over their last 7 games is 49.80. For context, the Washington Capitals are 49.81 over that same stretch. So the team isn't playing nearly as bad as you're suggesting they are.

The Caps have elite finishers. So expected goals turn into goals more often.

[DeluxeMoustache]

Originally Posted by dino7c

It was an obvious break considering he tried to head butt it and missed it...then the Oilers get a PP 20 seconds later.

Puck hitting a stick on a wide open net that he wasn't in is also a big break

A shot that hits the bar and doesn’t go in wasn’t a shot that was going in. It’s as good as a shot wide, but maybe more exciting? I don’t get the fixation on shots that weren’t going in one way or another

Yes, puck hitting a stick is a good defensive play

As was the early season save by Forbort

And many others

So what? Only the shots that go in count

[Azhouse]

Originally Posted by dammage79

Really sick and tired of all the Blames falling on Monahan. Or most of the blame. It's pure horsecrap.

Calgary Blames?

[timbit]

Originally Posted by Classic_Sniper

Never has been. I said so way back during the Glen Gulutzan era and was railed for it. CP exploded in excitement when Sutter was hired, but I was skeptical as he doesn't even skate on the ice. I was hoping that the coaching bump would last a little longer, but effort is not the problem right now, it's their inability to finish that's the problem which has been an ongoing issue for years.

That is a complete crock of ####.

In 2018/19 the Flames scored TWO HUNDRED EIGHTY NINE (289) goals, SECOND in the NHL, behind only TB!

[Jig]

You can say it is mental or luck. But it is simple, no high end talent no depth. No one to take over games and help.

In terms of forward depth I do not get where is it. Really lack of offensive talent.