Is this a playoff team?

[blankall]

Originally Posted by Cole436

As of right now, in my opinion they're not.

They've had great goaltending and support from the backend, but after our top 3 the defence drops like a rock. Outside of Gaudreau and Hudler our forwards are fortunate that they're scoring by committee because there's no consistent go to players in our top six besides the aforementioned ones.

We've been fortunate up until this point.

Now this can change as the season goes along. If Monahan grows more in his role as a top six centre, we are able to bring in a top six right winger and a number four defenceman via trade, I'd say that we have a legitimate shot at the playoffs this year when we're healthy.

Hudler-Backlund-Raymond
Gaudreau-Monahan-X
Glencross-Colborne-Jooris
Byron-Stajan-Bollig

Giordano-Brodie
Russell-X
Wideman-Smid

Hiller

I think this team can make the playoffs if we fill those holes and the stars align with Monahan.

Go Backlund! Bust to top centre on a playoff team in 2 seasons.

I also think there is nothing wrong with scoring by committee. Some of the best teams over the past few years have had a couple of go to guys and a committee of scorers through the rest of their lines. Not every team is built like Pittsburgh.

I also think Wideman is being underrated right now. He's playing like a solid top 4.

Also just took a look at our point totals. Our top two scorers are defencemen, and 3 of the top 4 are defencemen. WTF?

[combustiblefuel]

Too early to tell
The wild in 2011 had a great start that was similar. In the second half of the season they bombed to 8th in the conference and depended on CBJ to win their last game of the season to gain a playoff bid. CBJ would go on to win and would go on to bow out in the first playoff round.A real playoff team does not rely on another team to determine there fate.

Bottom line it is to early to tell . In January the picture will become clearer.

[GGG]

Our PDO (save% plus shooting %) is unsustainably high right now.

We are at 1.029 2nd in the league.

The top PDO in 2013 was 1.027, in 2012 the leafs had 1.032, 2011 1.021

That leafs team did make the playoffs though.

So while it is possible we make the playoffs if we continue to be the luckiest team in the league we will need to see improvement in our offense and defence as our luck regresses towards the mean.

[Hemi-Cuda]

Originally Posted by SebC

Maybe. 29th in shots per game is concerning.

38 shots against Montreal the first game, 30 shots against Nashville, 36 shots the 2nd time against Montreal, and 23 shots tonight. I'd say they're trending quite nicely as of late

[Gaskal]

We haven't played vs LA, Anaheim, or San Jose yet.

[combustiblefuel]

Originally Posted by GGG

Our PDO (save% plus shooting %) is unsustainably high right now.

We are at 1.029 2nd in the league.

The top PDO in 2013 was 1.027, in 2012 the leafs had 1.032, 2011 1.021

That leafs team did make the playoffs though.

So while it is possible we make the playoffs we will need to see improvement in our offense and defence as our luck regresses towards the mean.

They made the playoffs in 2012/13 with a HUGE asterisk. They played a half season andade it in. Then in the last game of the series showed why they made it in due to a half season on play.

[Cole436]

Originally Posted by Hemi-Cuda

Strongly disagree. Which of Russel or Wideman do you believe isn't up to snuff? One is a veteran who's working hard and providing a lot of offense, and the other is a young guy who's extremely smart with the puck and improving almost every game. After that you have Engelland and Smid, certainly nothing special but neither has hurt the team with the limited icetime they've gotten. In fact given their play as a whole I'd say the Flames D has been one of the best in the league 1 through 6

Playoff bound, who knows. But all this team has done is continue the progress they started last year, and that has managed to get them near the top of the standings. Even if the pace slows, if they continue the progression I don't see why they can't sneak in

I strongly disagree with Wideman. He's inconsistent and shouldn't be in our top 4. He's strong offensively, but I've seen him too many times look disinterested or lost in the defensive zone. If we had a stronger player than Russell paired up with him (not taking anything from Russell), I'd be ok with him being in our top 4.

In saying that, Russell has impressed the hell out of me, and I think he's a legit top 4 defenceman. I would rather see him paired with someone of equal strength and have Wideman be relegated to bottom six and powerplay minutes.

[Robbob]

I have to wait until American thanksgiving because it is way to early. If I had a gun to my head and had to choose I say no because we haven't gone against the big western teams. Don't get me wrong, I love that they are winning though.

[combustiblefuel]

Originally Posted by Gaskal

We haven't played vs LA, Anaheim, or San Jose yet.

I'd like to add in Dallas, NY Rangers , Philly, Aves and Pitts.

[stone hands]

lets see how they do vs divisional opponents first. half the games the flames have played this year are against eastern teams. they look great, but we aren't fighting for playoff spots with montreal and carolina, we're fighting with, specifically: the kings, the sharks, the ducks and vancouver

[#-3]

Hold your horses, at least until all of this inter-conference play settles down a bit.

[kevman]

It's hard to say this early but one things for certain and that's the fact that our neighbours to the north are definitely not a playoff team. They really are no good.

[AcGold]

Yes. Why? Hiller, Giordano, Hartley, Gaudreau, Jooris, Byron, Bouma, Brodie, Russell. Tons of people in the organization that have an infectious work habit, we have some talent and we have more than enough discipline. Our discipline and work ethic will take below average players and turn them into effective assets that exceed expectations. If we lose Giordano and Hiller simultaneously we'll miss, otherwise I think we make it. That being said I'm just being optimistic and want us to make the playoffs and will cheer for playoffs to a fault.

[stemit14]

While the flames may not drive possession play... Their defensive coverage seems top notch. How many times have we seen teams keep possession in the flames zone for extended periods of time without any quality scoring chance? Or, more importantly, how often have those scoring chances only been a single shot and the rebound is cleared quickly? It speaks to the coaching staff and to the players' commitment to playing the system. It stifles the other teams' offence and frustrates them as the games go on. It also may explain why the flames usually get stronger as the game goes on.

[JohnnyT]

Originally Posted by Gaskal

We haven't played vs LA, Anaheim, or San Jose yet.

And Anaheim has played 6 games against the East, and Tampa has played 3 of the worst teams in the West, and Vancouver hasn't played any of the Cali teams yet.

Its really to early to tell for the majority of teams at the top, expect maybe Pittsburgh, but that doesn't mean its too early to be optimistic

[Huntingwhale]

Not having played the big 3 Cali teams yet has been a huge reason for us collecting points like we have. I give props to the team, but the real test comes when we play more of our division games and other Western teams. I personally don't think they will make the playoffs, but I'm going to enjoy every sweet moment of it. This reminds me of the start of the '01-02 season. Started out incredibly hot then slowly faded out.

[DeluxeMoustache]

Aaron Ward said they were before the season started

[Dagger]

Aside from the PDO which obviously isn't in our favour, I do think we are helped by having a team that's extremely fit. We've got more jump than a fair amount right now due to Hartley's strenuous camp. As other teams start to play into game shape and our guys get fatigued, I think we'll find that we've peaked early.

[N-E-B]

I'm going to wait until we play teams like Anaheim and LA more to make my judgement on this team. If we were in the east, then absolutely.

[dino7c]

Originally Posted by combustiblefuel

I'd like to add in Dallas, NY Rangers , Philly, Aves and Pitts.

are we listing the teams they haven't played?

and whats so special about Philly?