[Game Takes] Stars 5 Flames 4 (series tied 2-2)

[ricardodw]

Bennett's great play is simply replacing what was expected by Tkachuk.

[Erick Estrada]

Originally Posted by Bingo

I'm starting to wonder if Lindholm isn't right.

He had those two "early" days during the scrimmages before the team went to Edmonton.

I was thinking the same thing yesterday watching the game. I like Lindholm but it's hard to ignore how bad he was yesterday which is out of character for him as he's usually the more consistent player on the top line.

[Enoch Root]

Originally Posted by Bingo

I'm starting to wonder if Lindholm isn't right.

He had those two "early" days during the scrimmages before the team went to Edmonton.

I have been thinking the same thing for the same reason.

[DeluxeMoustache]

Originally Posted by SuperMatt18

One thing that I think was a roster mistake for this game was putting Rinaldo in over Jankowski.

Means you have one less PKer in the rotation and you could tell our defensive forwards were exhausted after having to kill off 6 straight penalties to end the game.

I do wonder if those last 12 seconds go differently if Reider, Backlund, and Lindholm aren't as exhausted from having to kill so many penalties in the third.

Rinaldo brings some jam, but really doesn’t contribute much regularly beyond risk of taking an undisciplined penalty

And I saw Jankowski hitting when he was in the lineup.

With the full benefit of hindsight, I think you are right, and expect to see Janko draw back in

[GranteedEV]

Originally Posted by SuperMatt18

I agree to some extent.

But even more reason that he shouldn't be killing as many penalties then, and they should have Janko in lineup to help alleviate that.

We really should have more penalty killers, and have more players practice PKing too. It's probably too late for that this season (though Janko's been practicing PK all year) but next year in the regular season I hope to see guys like Bennett, Dube, Mangiapane, Phillips, Kylington, Valimaki, get some opportunities on the PK. I feel all these guys have value added on the penalty kill, and more depth to bring when the playoffs hits.

[SuperMatt18]

Originally Posted by GranteedEV

We really should have more penalty killers, and have more players practice PKing too. It's probably too late for that this season (though Janko's been practicing PK all year) but next year in the regular season I hope to see guys like Bennett, Dube, Mangiapane, Phillips, Kylington, Valimaki, get some opportunities on the PK. I feel all these guys have value added on the penalty kill, and more depth to bring when the playoffs hits.

They've thrown Mangiapane out this playoffs when we've ran into penalty trouble or if one the regular PKers is in the box.

But yeah we need to have at least 6 regular PK forwards in the lineup and I feel like yesterday we had 4 (Backlund, Lindholm, Ryan, Reider).

Keeping Jankowski in the lineup, and getting guys like Bennett, Mangiapane, or Dube in the rotation more frequently would help a lot with keeping Backlund and Lindholm healthy and fresh.

[MikeMc]

Originally Posted by DeluxeMoustache

Rinaldo brings some jam, but really doesn’t contribute much regularly beyond risk of taking an undisciplined penalty



And I saw Jankowski hitting when he was in the lineup.



With the full benefit of hindsight, I think you are right, and expect to see Janko draw back in

The core issue is both players are a problem, just for different reasons. You don't want to go to war with either one. Ryan typically does his job but that forth line is a problem, full stop.

You can't trust the 4th line and tbh you can't trust the top line defensively either. So end of games your trying to push out the 2nd and 3rd line as much as possible which bags them.

The story feels similar on the dside too. With Gio struggling I don't know who you lean on. Brodie is still Brodie and not a defensive wonder. Rasmus and Hanifin are young and mistakes are going to come. Forbert tries I guess but he is what he is and Gustafsson isn't there to play D.

End of game situations, who can you trust on this team to close out a game?





Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using Tapatalk

[nieuwy-89]

I was driving home from camping yesterday and listened to the Stars home feed on Sirius XM. The Stars announcers repeatedly said it seemed as if the Flames wanted the Stars to tie it up in the third. No offensive zone time, just collapsing in front of their net, and constant giveaways instead of bearing down and clearing the puck. It was frustrating to listen to.

I can't understand why any NHL team would play like that. A 3-1 series lead in your back pocket and you play like that? Being tired is no excuse. Have some pride, play with some purpose. All you have to do is chip pucks out of the zone. We teach novice kids to do it - its literally the easiest play in hockey. I can say that because its the only thing I do well in beer league! haha

[robbie111]

The Flames have done well 5v5 in these playoffs. Rasmus is +7 and they only have 3 minus players all at -1 (Backlund, Mangiapane and Jankowski). They just need to stay out of the box.

[IrishSpring2013]

There is no reason a big body player, with good positioning and situation awareness isn't on the powerplay. Its failure in development that this guy hasn't been used on the PK. Penalty kill time would round out his defensive play and make him a more important player for us.

[Calgary4LIfe]

Guys like Rinaldo should be killing penalties - he is a decent skater and is physical. I used to say this about Hathaway before he became a regular PK'er. You need your bottom 6 guys to be the PK'ers on the team as much as possible, anyway. I am all for the Flames re-signing Rinaldo, but they have to work with him on finding a bigger part on the team than just the 'occasionally plays' player that you just can't have as a regular with any sort of substantial minutes.


Jankowski is the guy you re-sign over him. I don't know how the cap will do, or if would negotiate a contract lower than his QO, but Jankowski IS a good PK'er, and up until this season, was very much a player on the rise. Go back and look at his goals from the first season - most of them were 'goal scorer' type of goals, not typical 4th liner goals. Did his skill evaporate? Or is it a confidence thing? I don't know, but you have to really hate him to look back at how he was generating offence and saying that he doesn't have the skill.


Those are going to be relatively tough decisions to make for Treliving. You need more guys with jam like Rinaldo, and how he handles Jankowski and his two really strong seasons followed up by 'this'.



I think that Dallas has been the better team most nights, quite honestly. The game SHOULD have been over yesterday, especially after one goal was called-off in the last couple of minutes. To see them score another one - a legitimate one - there is simply no excuse.



Flames seem like they are getting their heads caved-in every game 5on5, and it is seemingly getting worse as the series moves on. I hope that Ward can make some adjustments and stop the bleeding. This series is still very much up for grabs, but the Flames must get better at 5on5. At least Giordano is looking WAY better now, and so is the top line.



I don't see why the Flames are playing the bad version of Hartley's system right now, however. I am assuming it is just Dallas' adjustments that have forced the Flames to collapse this way. However, Hartley's system was fairly effective when considering the talent level of the team because they transitioned quickly to create odd-man rushes and corresponding higher scoring chances. Flames are collapsing and keeping (or trying to keep) the shots to the outside, but then are transitioning slowly. It is like the worst aspects of that system, IMO. I am thinking it is just a consequence of Dallas' pressure - they are dictating the play for the most part, and it just SEEMS like this is the Flames' system. I can't imagine that Ward would be wanting the Flames to play this way - and if he did - that he would insist on a slow transition while doing so.


Talbot has made some really big saves - but he has also been extremely lucky as well. How many empty-net looks has Dallas received this season, only to completely miss the net. I am not even talking about the posts after beating Talbot - you always have the argument that they those shots didn't beat Talbot anyway, as there wasn't any net available but just the post. I am talking about those clear wide-open net chances that they flubbed on.



With that being said, Talbot has also made outstanding saves at times as well. I don't think he is the hero of any one game, but I also don't think the Flames have lost because of him either. I blame the defence - not just the defencemen, but the entire team looking a bit like chickens with their heads cut off in their own zone, as well as costly turnovers time and time again.


With the above, the Flames are still in this series, and kept every game close. If they just make a few adjustments, they can win the next two consecutive games. However, if Dallas spends an entire practice time on how to hit the net.....