[PGT] Flames 2 - Oilers 1

[BigT112]

[Vinsta13]

Great game by the boys!

Go Flames Go!

[Frank MetaMusil]

[btimbit]

Originally Posted by expatflame

I take full responsibility for the non-shutout...I somehow uttered the s-word with less than 20 seconds watching the game live with my Oilers friend.

Better than saying it in the second intermission

[Galakanokis]

Stupid shaw stops the recording with 2 minutes left in the game? They must be managed by the oilers.

Like Smid. Love Blair Jones. Jones-Bouma-MaGrattan should be the 4th line. Or keep Byron there. The oilers are bad. Lots of flash but the smart plays are non existent. the tough plays are non existent. So many shifts where they had control but nothing happened, nothing. Peron was their best player, not saying much there. I do wish someone would punch him in the nose though. He has that punch me in the nose face. And attitude.

Loves me a Flames win. To drunk to comment anymore.

[Frank MetaMusil]

Originally Posted by killer_carlson

Went to the game and have the following comments:

1) the Oiler faithful is a pretty angry bunch at the Oiler organization. Lots of yelling about Lowe, Eakins and MacTavish.

2) Lance Bouma was solely responsible for making Yakupov disappear. He just missed creaming Yakupov in the second period along the boards in the Flames zone. He made a big noise hitting the glass. Yakupov jumped out of the way and wanted no part of the boards the rest of the game. Even the Oiler fans around us remarked how effective Bouma was tonight, and more than a couple of comments about how Bouma is exactly the player the Oilers need.

3) that Larson kid on the Oilers blueline was far and away the best skater on the ice. Have no idea where he came from, but that guy is a player. Only Oiler defenceman who can hit a forward tape to tape at pace. Watch for him long term.

4) gadzic wanted no part of McGratton tonight. Shane O Brien was also effective at chirping the Oilers and cleaning up in front.

5) Flames left the slot open all night. Had the Oilers had any player with jam trying to get to the front of the net, it would have been lights out for us.

6) backlund had a good game. Don't know if the TV caught it or not but on a few occasions he was battling up the ice behind the play with an Oiler, and pushing an Oiler around. Surprising it was him to be honest.

7) it became a running joke how fast Butler would give up the blueline on every rush. I told my little cousin to watch for it and every single time Butler would give it up.

8) took my little cousin to the game. Flames fan living in a town outside of Edmonton. First ever NHL game. Awesome we got a win.

Thanks for the notes. I'm going to pile on and say it. SOB offers more than Butler does.

[btimbit]

[CaptainCrunch]

I wouldn't be surprised if Justin Schultz earns a solid game in the pressbox after tonight. He does this thing in the defensive zone, where the puck starts moving and he gets this outright look of fear in his eyes and his feet staple themselves to the ice.

Frankly the guy is hopeless in his own end.

[Galaxy911]

Originally Posted by Roughneck

Why hasn't somebody put these guys in Flames jerseys yet?!

(I haven't because I do not have any such talent)

I shall try...tomorrow

[doctajones428]

Originally Posted by Bertuzzied

Hey if you want to be on TV you better be ready for criticism. She is hot but man is she a terrible commentator. Granted that was 2 years ago. Maybe she has gotten better....

Well good thing I'm talking about her insight on the game of hockey and her ability to not sound like an arrogant dick like 90% of the crew on HNIC. She's still probably a better commentator than Kerr.

Also, I wouldn't consider her hot. She's got the brains but... no...

[btimbit]

Edit: rant about Calgary's goaltending but moved it to the Ramo v Berra thread

[theg69]

So, I was at the game last night.... Here are my thoughts,

I agree with all the posters wanting Butler gone... I used to defend this guy, but tonight, I counted numerous bonehead plays including his last giveaway that led to the tying goal. He just doesn't think and panic when the puck is on his stick. I had great seats and noticed that he doesn't even look up the ice when he gets it.... He just throws it up the boards blindly where it is intercepted or down the ice for an icing. Every bloody time we were hemmed in, I could always see #44 on the ice. My wife had to calm me down after the tying goal as I was chanting the f bomb with Butlers name. His play REALLY was that bad this game and even worse live than it is on tv...

Smid is a warrior. I love the acquisition and I think he would complement Gio a lot better than Butler. He takes a puck to the neck and barely misses a shift. He plays well positionally and rarely makes any glaring errors.

Gio played decent given his circumstances. He took the puck away on several occasions especially on the pk and could actually clear the puck when it was on his stick.

Russell is just smart.. I think if he was even the same size as Butler, he would be a star defenseman. His head is always up in contrast to Butler and he typically makes a play that surprises you. We need to sign him beyond this season.

Brodie was hit and miss. He teases you with great vision 1 shift and can make a glaring mistake or giveaway the next. His ceiling seems to be a high risk/reward player but his good plays outnumbered the bad tonight.

Baertschi was benched in the third in favor of Jones with a 1 goal lead which I didn't have much of a problem with. I just hope it wasn't because of the 1 giveaway he made early in the third... Of note, he made an awesome defensive play early in the game where he smoked an Oiler into the boards and took the puck away...

Colborne should've stayed home and rested, he was slow and sluggish and took those two penalties although Hemsky definitely looked like he embellished that...

Berra was fine, nothing too spectacular but he was solid when he had to be. He has the toolset but just needs to settle himself down and not lose his net.

Love the earlier comment about the Oil being a KHL team... They outplayed us for the most part but they kept over passing the puck or tried to skate through multiple defenders at a time.

Lastly, I had no problems with the refs. They made good calls on Perron and Hemsky. We deserved our penalties and actually got away from hooking and grabbing a couple of times especially in the last couple of minutes.

Now if that was too much to read, my main point is I am enjoying the win but man, that Butler guy was just pissing me off most of the game and nearly pushed me over the edge when his crappy clear ended up in the back of our net!

[IGGYFORMVP]

1) For A Pair of tickets in the bleeds at Rectal = $195
2) A Bacon Cheeseburger that the average minor league arena would be ashamed to sell = $ 8.95
3) 8 beers ( 6 for 68 Uncle I brought to the game and 2 for me) = $71.60
4) Watching 15000 greasy mullet fans Hearts break on a goal that was as fluky as the tying goal = PRICELESS!


Now all I have to do is wash off the two beer spilt on me by the drunk ass oiler fans all around us and I will be able to laugh myself to sleep.

[UKflames]

Watching the game it sounded like it was being played at a boy band concert, all I could hear were screaming girls whenever they got close to scoring

Still great to beat the oilers and leave them in the basement. The fun now would be for them to come last, not if Buffalo have anything to do with it, and then we can win the lottery and pick before them, perfect.

[AC]

Off topic, but I'm uploading my Iginla Flames career tribute video now. Assuming its all good once I watch through it, I'll release it tomorrow or Monday at the latest. Either way, in time for his return on Tuesday.

PS, its almost 28 minutes long...

[BlueCharlton]

If any Butler lovers/supporters out there want to give me an example of Butler tonight making a play that someone in our press box or in abby couldn't make then I am all ears, because I am hearing people say he had a good game overall and I am not sold. Not going to say he is an AHL defenceman, but I feel like he has overstayed his time in Calgary.

Hartley/Feaster need to let this guy go in order to move forward as a team and an organization.

Glad to get two points.

[Textcritic]

Originally Posted by BlueCharlton

If any Butler lovers/supporters out there want to give me an example of Butler tonight making a play that someone in our press box or in abby couldn't make then I am all ears, because I am hearing people say he had a good game overall and I am not sold. Not going to say he is an AHL defenceman, but I feel like he has overstayed his time in Calgary...

Butler is not a top four defenseman. That is the problem, but it is compounded by the fact that on this team with a dearth of defensive depth he is being put in a position over his head too often. It is further compounded by the fact that while the Flames have a handful of defensive prospects who currently MAY be able to do Butler's job now, they are DEVELOPING, and are likely better served staying in Abbotsford.

Butler is a marginal NHL defenseman playing on a bad defensive team. I find it ridiculous that he absorbs as much criticism as he does for these circumstances that are really beyond anyone's control. The bottom line is that there MAY BE one or two players currently in the Flames system who can do Butler's job, but in the end it WILL NOT make any perceptible difference to the Flames in the standings this season, nor in the long run.

[Frank MetaMusil]

Originally Posted by Textcritic

Butler is a marginal NHL defenseman playing on a bad defensive team. I find it ridiculous that he absorbs as much criticism as he does for these circumstances that are really beyond anyone's control. The bottom line is that there MAY BE one or two players currently in the Flames system who can do Butler's job, but in the end it WILL NOT make any perceptible difference to the Flames in the standings this season, nor in the long run.

Brodie quickly passed Butler on the depth chart last season. Long term, Chris Butler cannot be here. Short term, he's taking up a roster spot for, like you said, a d-man who would probably make those same mistakes. The catch is, said young player might also quickly become better.

I don't think it's unfair to say Butler won't get any better than he is. He was just as bad if not worse under the "better coaching" of Brent Sutter.

[Hockey_Ninja]

Any win against Edmonton is a great one. Suck it Oilers.

[Textcritic]

Originally Posted by Frank MetaMusil

Brodie quickly passed Butler on the depth chart last season. Long term, Chris Butler cannot be here. Short term, he's taking up a roster spot for, like you said, a d-man who would probably make those same mistakes. The catch is, said young player might also quickly become better...

To be frank, most of the Flames defensive prospects are simply not yet ready for NHL time. Perhaps by the end of the season, but based on reports, it is almost certainly better for everyone to just continue to play and do well in Abbotsford. I just don't understand the rush to get Butler out and another player in to essentially do the same job, in light of the fact that the difference this will make in the long and short term is negligible.

In short, expending as much hatred towards Butler as CP's usual suspects love to do seems to me to be futile, since "fixing" this problem doesn't really fix anything.