[PGT] Flames beat Devils 3-2

[handgroen]

next day gif party post!

Spoiler!

boy been too too long.

also wanted to say that the russell-hamilton pairing is looking damned good, getting as many minutes as the gio-brodie pairing, and has pushed wideman down into the 5 spot.

[Fighting Banana Slug]

Flames actually played better as the game went on. (Notwithstanding the 2-0 lead, we were pretty lucky to be ahead at that stage). Very limited scoring chances against in the third, which is sure a nice change.

[dieHARDflameZ]

How is Wideman still getting power play time? That's what I'm wondering...

[CroFlames]

Originally Posted by dieHARDflameZ

How is Wideman still getting power play time? That's what I'm wondering...

I seem to be one of the lone wolves defending Wideman this season.

He still has some pretty high end offensive tools. It just hasn't come together yet. He has a humdinger of a shot, and is usually pretty good at getting it through (either on net, or intentionally wide from the point). I argue he's get better offensive talent than Brodie does when they come in on the rush, or even on the powerplay, and that's no slight on Brodie. Brodie is a tremendous all-round defender in my opinion and one of the best skating d-men in the NHL.

For whatever reason, it's just not clicking for Wideman right now, but I think it will soon enough. Gio started playing better in the 3rd. Hopefully that's the start of Gios turnaround and then that rubs off onto Wideman..

[MrMastodonFarm]

Originally Posted by Erick Estrada

The first 10 minutes looked every bit as bad as their worst efforts but after that they played much better and I like how they didn't sit back with the lead in the 3rd period and continued to generate offense.

Only downside really was the play of the captain again. Hartley needs to figure out what he can do to help Gio out and maybe a game where his ice time is reduced as I don't know if he's trying to do too much but more often than not he's hurting the team. Maybe in a reduced role he would simplify things and get back to playing smarter hockey.

Roger Millions and Eric Francis speculated between periods that maybe Gio's poor poor play is due to injury. Even if that's true though, his poor decision making is the main problem.

Last night he's carrying the puck out of the Flames end, skates to the red line and fires an outlet pass right at the Devils bench, right as they're changing lines. No surprise as they turn it over on him and rush back up the ice for a scoring chance.

His play is just baffling.

[PeteMoss]

Originally Posted by combustiblefuel

Karri Ramo stats last 6 starts has a .906 sv % only 2 of the last 6 were below .900

2 below .900
This game was .900
3 were 9.25 or higher

So he's gone from garbage to below average. Atta boy Ramo.

[PeteMoss]

Originally Posted by dieHARDflameZ

How is Wideman still getting power play time? That's what I'm wondering...

If you aren't giving Wideman PP time, you might as well not have him on the team. He's not scoring now, but that's his game.

[GioforPM]

Originally Posted by CroFlames

I seem to be one of the lone wolves defending Wideman this season.

He still has some pretty high end offensive tools. It just hasn't come together yet. He has a humdinger of a shot, and is usually pretty good at getting it through (either on net, or intentionally wide from the point). I argue he's get better offensive talent than Brodie does when they come in on the rush, or even on the powerplay, and that's no slight on Brodie. Brodie is a tremendous all-round defender in my opinion and one of the best skating d-men in the NHL.

For whatever reason, it's just not clicking for Wideman right now, but I think it will soon enough. Gio started playing better in the 3rd. Hopefully that's the start of Gios turnaround and then that rubs off onto Wideman..

Wideman is perfectly fine on the PP. Plus if you take Wideman off, who do you put on with Brodie, Hamilton and Gio? Russell, who consistently shoots wide and send the puck out of the zone? Engelland? A forward?

I actually think that, while Russell has better mobility and obviously is better at blocking shots, Wideman's decisions on defence are slightly better - he doesn't go to the boards and get caught quite as much. He has a higher hockey IQ than Russell IMO.

[heep223]

Originally Posted by dieHARDflameZ

How is Wideman still getting power play time? That's what I'm wondering...

He has a cannon of a shot, and he's finally starting to use it again. Dung one of the iron last night.

Actually they were all shooting more on the PP and it looks a lot better, looking for the garbage rebounds to get it going again.

[GioforPM]

Originally Posted by MrMastodonFarm

Roger Millions and Eric Francis speculated between periods that maybe Gio's poor poor play is due to injury. Even if that's true though, his poor decision making is the main problem.

Last night he's carrying the puck out of the Flames end, skates to the red line and fires an outlet pass right at the Devils bench, right as they're changing lines. No surprise as they turn it over on him and rush back up the ice for a scoring chance.

His play is just baffling.

Maybe he was trying to catch a too many men call. But the description of the play is baffling too? How does one make an outlet pass at the red line (unless you are talking about the goal line, in which case, how was he skating the puck out)? Did you mean blue line?

IMO Gio's either hurt or his arm didn't heal with 100% strength. He now rarely takes slap shots and he has not been physical at all.

[Poe969]

Gio clearly isn't at 100% and he needs to sit a few and get better. He's not doing the team any favors right now and I've always hated when players try to play through injuries during the regular season. If you're hurt and not playing well, let someone else get in there and play.

[handgroen]

Originally Posted by heep223

He has a cannon of a shot, and he's finally starting to use it again. Dung one of the iron last night.

Actually they were all shooting more on the PP and it looks a lot better, looking for the garbage rebounds to get it going again.

just terrific

[handgroen]

now forgive me because i was at the game, but was gio not the one who dove out from behind the net to stick check cammy on his late game wrap around?
taking a lot of flack but that was a game saver.

[Poe969]

He's still good, heck he's still a great player IMO but he's not playing as well as he should be and can be. He still makes some really good plays but if he was at 100% I'm sure he'd make a lot more of those plays.

[ComixZone]

Originally Posted by handgroen

now forgive me because i was at the game, but was gio not the one who dove out from behind the net to stick check cammy on his late game wrap around?
taking a lot of flack but that was a game saver.

Gio actually saved two goals against with blocks. That was one of them.

[MrMastodonFarm]

Originally Posted by GioforPM

IMO Gio's either hurt or his arm didn't heal with 100% strength. He now rarely takes slap shots and he has not been physical at all.

Apologize if I used the wrong terminology. If you watched the game you know the play I'm talking about. Pretty major gaff. Believe it was Bennett who skated back and made a good defensive play to save him.

If he isn't 100% and it's effecting his play this bad, rest and let whatever is bothering him heal.

[tvp2003]

New Jersey only had 20 shots on goal last night. We've really struggled in our own end this year but last night may have been a turning point. Gio had some nice defensive plays -- forwards are also doing a good job of coming back (I remember seeing Bennett race back a couple of times to break up potential chances).

I also remember Russell having to recover following a Flames turnover in the neutral zone. He literally dove sideways -- head first with his arms outstretched -- to try and block the shot. Not sure if he was hoping it would hit his arms or helmet but clearly the effort was there.

[mikephoen]

Originally Posted by BigRed

If hudlers hurt, why is he playing? He's not helping anyone, least of all himself

Because Hudler playing hurt is still better than Raymond. He still has 13 points on the season.

[CroFlames]

Originally Posted by handgroen

now forgive me because i was at the game, but was gio not the one who dove out from behind the net to stick check cammy on his late game wrap around?
taking a lot of flack but that was a game saver.

I the the Captain had a pretty good 3rd period actually. Very decent indeed.

Those blocks included.

[Bandwagon In Flames]

Originally Posted by GioforPM

Wideman is perfectly fine on the PP. Plus if you take Wideman off, who do you put on with Brodie, Hamilton and Gio? Russell, who consistently shoots wide and send the puck out of the zone? Engelland? A forward?

I actually think that, while Russell has better mobility and obviously is better at blocking shots, Wideman's decisions on defence are slightly better - he doesn't go to the boards and get caught quite as much. He has a higher hockey IQ than Russell IMO.

I couldn't disagree more. Wideman is guilty of at least 5 bone headed plays per game. If he's under the slightest bit of pressure he either ices the puck or passes to the opposition's defensemen at the point.

Russell is amazing at keeping both the puck and the players to the outside. He's not good at retrieving the puck, but he keeps quality scoring chances to a minimum. That is the system Hartley wants them to play and he is very good at it.