[PGT] Flames beat Habs 3-2

[868904]

Originally Posted by Flash Walken

The old flames tried long, ill-advised passes all the time. Sometimes they were glorious but usually they failed miserably.

I'd say the biggest difference to the team this year is supporting the puck through the neutral zone with short crisp passes.

Yup this is the key, puck support is everything. It's weird though, lots of time it still seems like there's a big gap between the forwards and the defence when breaking out but I think that's mostly when the opposition is backed up in a defensive mode. When the play is in the Flames zone, all the forwards are back supporting the breakout. Great to see.

[GreenLantern]

Mikeal Backlund - 3 points and a +2 after 4 games. Averaging just under 20 minutes a game Quietly contributing and doing the little things right. Only thing I would like to see is his face off percentage come up a bit.

[Jacks]

I just want to thank the Flames for my hangover today. Thanks guys.

[Bertuzzied]

Originally Posted by Tyler

You know what I'm NOT noticing anymore? 50 million OFFSIDES a game.

No more old and lazy Iginla or Tanguay floating up at the other blue line waiting for a rush into the offensive zone and being caught flatfooted and offside over and over again. So nice to see good passing and hard skating from all 3 forwards moving into the attacking zone for a change.

LESS of those stupid assed back drop passes in the offensive zone! Bertuzzi killed us(almost as bad as Moore) when he implemented this into the Flames game plan.

[MissTeeks]

http://m.espn.go.com/general/blogs/b...95&src=desktop

If this were the English Premier League, the Calgary Flames according to preseason predictions were slated for relegation after this season.

Luckily it’s the NHL, and no matter how many games you lose, you get to stay with the big boys.

But you better believe every single member of the Flames organization knows what has been said about them heading into this season.

"I told the players, 'If you read what they wrote about us, (1) we’re lucky to be in the league, and (2) if you read every single thing they wrote, you might want to retire,'" Flames head coach Bob Hartley told ESPN.com over the phone from Calgary on Thursday.

But as opposed to focusing on wanting to prove people wrong, Hartley told his players to prove some people right. The right people.

"Jay Feaster and Brian Burke believe in us," he said, referring to the team's GM and president of hockey operations, respectively. "Let’s prove them right. I said to the players, 'In life, I’ve always tried to prove people right those who believe in me. Your detractors, you can prove them wrong, but personally I want this group to be a positive group. I’d rather we go and prove our fans, our families, our sponsors right. We play for ourselves.'"

They’re not going to match up talent-wise with most teams on most nights this season. But what Hartley and his staff are trying to instill early on is the fact they won’t be outhustled. And so far it shows. They’re like a pack of wild dogs who haven’t eaten in two days. And all this without their top offensive threat in the lineup as Mike Cammalleri remains on the shelf.

"Right now, the boys are playing with passion and playing hard," said Hartley. "There aren’t too many secrets to our game."

"The biggest thing going for us is our conditioning," said Hartley. "I told the players at their exit meetings last season that since we were going to have a normal training camp and we were in a rebuilding process, I really believed that our No. 1 priority was our conditioning. There’s no way that we can raise the Baertschis, the Brodies, the Monahans and those young kids in an atmosphere of a country club. We have to teach them the right way. We have to make them good pros. And while we teach them to be good pros, for the veterans, we would give ourselves a chance to bring another gear to our own careers. I have to give all the players credit. They really bought in. You should see our fitness scores at training camp. We had some unbelievable scores."

And it was a hard camp. The tone was set early, Hartley’s staff handing out T-shirts at camp that had a fire-fighter flavor to it -- to underline the blue-collar approach for this season -- with the slogan: "Earn, Never Given." Every player’s job was on the line this season. The players worked out one day at a firefighter academy, there was paintball with the Canadian army ... you get the picture.

And so far they’ve bought in.

"This is a very fun group to worth with. They’re just unbelievable," said Hartley. "They show up to work every day. Our practices are basically [at] game intensity. They’re always in the gym. It’s really fun."

And, yes, Hartley was made aware of his new standing on the betting line.

"I don’t pay any attention to that stuff," said Hartley. "We know in the NHL we’re all on an interim basis to start with. The day you start coaching a team, you know the clock has started. It’s just a matter of when.

"I don’t coach to save my job, I coach to win games. I’ve always been that way, and I will always remain the same. I feel as a coach if you’re not yourself, you have zero chance. I just want to give this team a chance to win. If my team has some success, I don’t have to worry about myself as a person. That’s how I’ve always looked at it. If I would have lived my life by every rumor, I would have coached 40 teams and been fired 60 times."

Then there’s a quick pause, before Hartley finishes his thought.

"My job is to prove Jay Feaster and Brian Burke right. Whatever Mad Dog or Bodog says, I don’t really give a s---."

Hard not to cheer for this guy, right?

[MissTeeks]

Pat Steinberg‏@Fan960Steinberg3m

Some wondered about status of Sven Baertschi after last night. He's on the ice this morning so all good on that front. #Flames

[MissTeeks]

Pat Steinberg‏@Fan960Steinberg47s
David Jones not on the ice this morning, however. @RogMillions wondered about an upper body injury after last night. #Flames

[djsFlames]

So... Who receives the first call up?

Hanowski would be my choice.

(unless we're just going to sub in Jackman..)

[bubbsy]

just wanted to chime in about Subban. Yes, bad penalty at the end.

However, the guy was a beast, and the best habs player on the ice last night. There were times when he completely dominated. When he decides he's skating the puck out of his zone and going to create something, he seems close to unstoppable. His shot on that goal was amazing also. It flat out beat macdonald, that's how hard/fast it was (ie. no tips, minimal screen variables involved).

[Bertuzzied]

Originally Posted by bubbsy

just wanted to chime in about Subban. Yes, bad penalty at the end.

However, the guy was a beast, and the best habs player on the ice last night. There were times when he completely dominated. When he decides he's skating the puck out of his zone and going to create something, he seems close to unstoppable. His shot on that goal was amazing also. It flat out beat macdonald, that's how hard/fast it was (ie. no tips, minimal screen variables involved).

I don't know. All i see from this guy is Phaneuf 2.0. Watch out habs fans when he gets his big contract!

[habernac]

He's got more skill than Phaneuf ever did. But his maturity level is hovering somewhere around a 14 year old.

[Bertuzzied]

Not sure where to put this but looking ahead Brodeur is starting against us on Friday!

Let the scoring continue!

[Enoch Root]

Originally Posted by You Need a Thneed

Remember:

Flames cap hit for dressed players tonight - $37 million

Salary Floor - $48 million.

By my calculations, last night's player cap was $40.4m

but your point remains

[strombad]

Originally Posted by MissTeeks

http://m.espn.go.com/general/blogs/b...95&src=desktop

Love that article! Everytime I hear Hartley speak, it makes me even more confident in what he's doing. He's acknowledged the country club atmosphere of before and really set out to make this a NEW team, which is what any Flames fan should want.
As well, I'm beginning to think that we should be able to nab a point from every team in the league in our first or second game against them, if not two. The way the Flames are playing is surprising teams, and I don't think it's a matter of watching game tape or anything like that, this is a team that you really have to see to get a feel for. Their systems need work, they are questionable defensively, but every single play they're like dogs on raw meat. How do you prepare for that?
I think in the latter part of the season we will see a drop-off when the really good teams (of which we have a few in our division) ratchet up the intensity and our mistakes start showing far more often.
Personally, I'm most excited for the game against the Sharks. They've been out shooting opponents like crazy, and it could get messy. I think Anaheim will be interesting seeing as they've dominated us for so many years at the Pond, but again, this is a team that could very easily surprise them.
After our 5 game road trip I think we'll know more of what we have. If we have a winning record, it might be ok to take a little reservation off those hopes, if we get trounced a few times, then at least we know where we stand and can still be excited about the way the guys are playing.

[GirlySports]

I think 4 points on the road trip would be a success.

[TSXCman]

TSN board is awesome sometimes:
"oilers
1 day ago

The Flames may get a couple lucky wins to start the season, but their rebuild has barely even started. It's going to be a long seven years in Calgary."

Because 7 years is mandatory right?

[nik-]

Originally Posted by TSXCman

TSN board is awesome sometimes:
"oilers
1 day ago

The Flames may get a couple lucky wins to start the season, but their rebuild has barely even started. It's going to be a long seven years in Calgary."

Because 7 years is mandatory right?

We're already at 4.

[codynw]

Originally Posted by nik-

We're already at 4.

Not really, the rebuild didn't actually start the first time they didn't make the playoffs. I would say it didn't really start until they traded Iginla and Bouwmeester.

[codynw]

And here is me adding on to the gif train.





I will be shocked in Monahan ends up back in Ottawa. I was expecting him to be good, but not this good.

[nik-]

Originally Posted by codynw

Not really, the rebuild didn't actually start the first time they didn't make the playoffs. I would say it didn't really start until they traded Iginla and Bouwmeester.

Right, but the Oilers 7 years is years out of the playoffs.