It would be so Flames for Kylington's first chance this year to be beside Stone
I think I pencilled Mackey in ahead of Stone, but the actual brass probably do exactly what you said.
Quote:
Originally Posted by SuperMatt18
The outcome of this game was predictable after the First.
Flames actually had a good start and played with a fair bit of energy. Game was a decent pace and was even at 5v5.
Then the refs decided to get involved. There was a 50/50 call they didn’t call against Gaudreau, made a call that never should have been called against Valimaki, and then made the 50/50 call on Lindholm.
All three of those decisions go against the Flames and it’s a 2-0 game. From that point on you could just tell the Flames confidence was shot. They played 5/6 periods strong against the Leafs and lost both, then played a good period here and were down 2-0.
On top of that Claude Julien showed you the benefit of a true top end NHL coach. Montreal played their system to perfection in the 2nd and 3rd. Clogged up the middle of the ice, kept everything to the outside in the defensive zone, and gave the Flames nothing on the counter.
Good coaching can make it look like the opposition team has stopped trying because they won’t give the team a CM, and that’s what happened tonight .
League minimum forwards are not the reason we can’t afford Toffoli.
That would be San Bennett, Milan Lucic, and Derek Ryan. Or Markstrom and Tanev if you prefer the direct compatibles from this offseason.
Pretty easy to clog up the middle when you’re up 3-0. I wouldn’t say Julien did anything better tonight than any other coach with a 3-0 lead.
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This team has some major issues and in my opinion will be lucky to make the playoffs in the 4th slot. Valimaki has been poor all season in my opinion and needs to watch a couple games in the pressbox. His partner Nesterov hasnt been great either. Brutal pinch today and seems to always be drifting up suicide passes to the forwards. Gio is becoming Brent Seabrook faster then i thought. I was never a believer that he was an elite talent but more a crazy hard worker who gave 110% all the time but never had any extra gear to go in the playoffs when things ramped up. I would get in Kylington for a few games and maybe even give Mackey a game or two.
Up front i think alot of our best forwards have been fine but not spectacular- Johnny, Monahan. Tkachuk, Mang, and Lindholm but the team really misses Dube and the way he plays with pace and is hard on the forecheck. It allows everyone to slot in better and keeps one of the 4th liners in the pressbox where they belong and balances the lines a bit better.
Agree with what alot of people are saying though. this team is hard to watch. Similar to the Gulutzan versions. As much as the Hartley teams played with very little structure and were far less talented at least every game was entertaining to watch. this team simply isnt. They are not dynamic and skilled and fun to watch, not physical, just boring, uninspired hockey. I would love to see some younger guys that are hungry get in some games and push the pace win or lose to maybe get some the rest of the team playing with some passion.
Last edited by Gord_Wappel; 01-28-2021 at 08:28 PM.
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I had to stop watching because I hate seeing them lose big. I want them to succeed and play well. It's good to have adversity, it's good to overcome challenges.
Regroup, let it go, dig deep individually, stick together and show your mettle.
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This team has some major issues and in my opinion will be lucky to make the playoffs in the 4th slot. Valimaki has been poor all season in my opinion and needs to watch a couple games in the pressbox. His partner Nesterov hasnt been great either. Brutal pinch today and seems to always be drifting up suicide passes to the forwards. Gio is becoming Brent Seabrook faster then i thought. I was never a believer that he was an elite talent but more a crazy hard worker who gave 110% all the time but never had any extra gear to go in the playoffs when things ramped up. I would get in Kylington for a few games and maybe even give Mackey a game or two.
Up front i think alot of our best forwards have been fine but not spectacular- Johnny, Monahan. Tkachuk, Mang, and Lindholm but the team really misses Dube and the way he plays with pace and is hard on the forecheck. It allows everyone to slot in better and keeps one of the 4th liners in the pressbox where they belong and balances the lines a bit better.
Agree with what alot of people are saying though. this team is hard to watch. Similar to the Gulutzan versions. As much as the Hartley teams played with very little structure and were far less talented at least every game was entertaining to watch. this team simply isnt. They are not dynamic and skilled and fun to watch, not physical, just boring, uninspired hockey. I would love to see some younger guys that are hungry get in some games and push the pace win or lose to maybe get some the rest of the team playing with some passion.
Players often look like crap when they are deployed improperly. Every person on CP has seen Valimaki have a rough start. So what does Ward do? After he takes a penalty and causes a goal Ward puts him out there with Nesterov to kill the next penalty. That's not "trusting your guys" , that's sending someone to the wolves.
Lucic was brutal in games 2 and 3. And despite his goal was not good in Toronto. Still Ward kept pushing him out there and forcing it.
Starting Rittich tonight was downright stupid, and not fair to give him the hot Habs as his first game.
Ward has no clue how to use his players. He has one system and can't adjust - see stupid PP with one entry.
Good coaches are prepared to play the Flames and know exactly what to expect.
Anyone who's had a bad boss knows how demotivating it is. That is exactly what I see with this team. Not a single good coach brought in. What does that say to the players.
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This is a pretty good team. Started off strong and got unlucky. As much as I'd like them to find a way to battle back in the face of adversity, I'll bet they learn from this.
I find a lot of hockey is about momentum. Momentum really carried the Blues to their win in 2019, TB you could say had it all along but getting over that CBJ hump really propelled them. Its clear the Flames lost it during the break and it was almost like starting the season all over again.
Excited to see if we can get a first period like the one we had today without penalties in the next game. Use it, and start building that momentum as a team again. They have a good goalie behind them now, lots to be confident about.
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I defended the Lucic/Neal trade a lot last year because Lucic wasn’t as bad as the stat line showed, Neal is trash, and then Lucic looked genuinely good in playoffs
But it’s funny that now he is scoring some goals I think it’s been his absolute worst stretch of games as a Flame. Ward keeps not only refusing to cut his time for poor play but seems to be rewarding him with more ice and tougher matchups?
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I believe this is the first game of the season that Monahan and Gaudreau did not get on the score sheet. They are leading the way offensively.
Coming in to this season I saw the team's top three strengths as goaltending, depth at forward, and depth at defense (in that order). After six games the goaltending has been average at best, and the depth has yet to translate into any sustained momentum for any period of time. The defense has been okay, I'm loving that Tanev-Hanifin pairing.
Here we sit in the basement along with Ottawa, having burned 3 games in hand on everyone else. Not a good start.
Biggest concern - the team looks disinterested. There is no passion, no "buzz" on the bench. The team is getting pushed around physically, and doesn't seem to care. This is not new - it has been an ongoing issue with this core.
The Flames organization has been through a lot in the past year. Peters, Snow, Ken King, the new Arena. There has been a lot going on off the ice and in the front office. I also think getting routed by the Avs after dominating the west for a full season had a huge psychological impact. Not making excuses for the coaches and players, but from an organizational perspective I wonder if there is a malaise that has set in as they wait for the next bad news.
I believe this is the first game of the season that Monahan and Gaudreau did not get on the score sheet. They are leading the way offensively.
Coming in to this season I saw the team's top three strengths as goaltending, depth at forward, and depth at defense (in that order). After six games the goaltending has been average at best, and the depth has yet to translate into any sustained momentum for any period of time. The defense has been okay, I'm loving that Tanev-Hanifin pairing.
Here we sit in the basement along with Ottawa, having burned 3 games in hand on everyone else. Not a good start.
Biggest concern - the team looks disinterested. There is no passion, no "buzz" on the bench. The team is getting pushed around physically, and doesn't seem to care. This is not new - it has been an ongoing issue with this core.
The Flames organization has been through a lot in the past year. Peters, Snow, Ken King, the new Arena. There has been a lot going on off the ice and in the front office. I also think getting routed by the Avs after dominating the west for a full season had a huge psychological impact. Not making excuses for the coaches and players, but I from an organizational perspective I wonder if there is a malaise that has set in as they wait for the next bad news.
Gaudreau got an assist on the last goal.
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I believe this is the first game of the season that Monahan and Gaudreau did not get on the score sheet. They are leading the way offensively.
Coming in to this season I saw the team's top three strengths as goaltending, depth at forward, and depth at defense (in that order). After six games the goaltending has been average at best, and the depth has yet to translate into any sustained momentum for any period of time. The defense has been okay, I'm loving that Tanev-Hanifin pairing.
Here we sit in the basement along with Ottawa, having burned 3 games in hand on everyone else. Not a good start.
Biggest concern - the team looks disinterested. There is no passion, no "buzz" on the bench. The team is getting pushed around physically, and doesn't seem to care. This is not new - it has been an ongoing issue with this core.
The Flames organization has been through a lot in the past year. Peters, Snow, Ken King, the new Arena. There has been a lot going on off the ice and in the front office. I also think getting routed by the Avs after dominating the west for a full season had a huge psychological impact. Not making excuses for the coaches and players, but I from an organizational perspective I wonder if there is a malaise that has set in as they wait for the next bad news.
Flames still have games in hand on everyone...you don't burn games in hand when the other team is also playing. Four on Vancouver and 3 on Edmonton
