[PGT] Flames stomp the Wild 5-1

[tvp2003]

I thought Brodie was more physical last night than I've ever seen. The one sequence where the Wild player lost his stick in the Wild zone -- for some reason he kept going at Brodie and Brodie gave it right back. Also on the rush -- he seemed more assertive (physically) along the boards and battling for the puck. On the 2-1 goal he played it pretty poorly but otherwise I thought he was noticeable (in a good way).

Originally Posted by Karl

No one should be offering Wideman another NHL contract. Even giving him a PTO would likely turn out to be fruitless.

Wideman has nothing left to give at any NHL level. He's done.

I was thinking the same thing last night. He is below average in almost every facet of the game. He's not even effective on the PP anymore.

Sure, he can fill a role as a bottom pairing guy, but who going to be lining up to give him a contract next year? Even as a PTO guy -- do you really want the Wideman effect on your team?

It's unfortunate because he was an effective player in 14/15 but things noticeably dropped off last season, followed by the suspension. He's had a few okay games here and there but when he's bad, its real bad.

[Lil Pedro]

Originally Posted by Karl

No one should be offering Wideman another NHL contract. Even giving him a PTO would likely turn out to be fruitless.

Wideman has nothing left to give at any NHL level. He's done.

Can't wait until the start of next season when Brodie is playing with Karl Alzner instead of Dennis

[topfiverecords]

Get out of here you cheap shot, dirty Wild. Went from the worst trap team in the league to one of the dirtiest under Boudreau.

[taxbuster]

Originally Posted by calgaryblood

Haha wow SN is just awful. When I was at the game after the missed high stick on Tkachuk the crowd went nuts with deafening boos and in my head I'm like I wonder how that sounded on T.V and thankfully I recorded it and just listened to it and you barely heard boos. Why does SN always let us listen to players throwing out f-bombs on the ice but drown out the crowd noise?

Seriously such a sub par broadcast.

FWIW, it was pretty clear on my broadcast - IIRC Ball and Hrudey were talking as they showed the replay, but you could hear the crowd booing at the time as they were also seeing a replay. (SN / Bell Satellite)

[PepsiFree]

Tkachuk is my favourite Flame.

[GioforPM]

Originally Posted by Buff

I didn't notice Brodie struggling. Wideman's deficiencies wasn't as glaringly noticeable as normal, but it was still noticeable. He isn't just slow on his feet but his decision making and play execution is slow too. On one play the Wild dumped the puck in for a line change and Wideman was back in the corner to get it. It looked like his thought process was like: "Okay, I have the puck and my partner is in the opposite corner. Hmmm... Can I push it up along the boards on my side? Nope. Nobody there. I'll just pass it over to Brodie.. oh wait. Maybe I should look to see if he is ready. Yep. He is ready. Okay. I'll pass now. Here it goes. Oh geez! Somebody is on him! Crap, I just let the pass go! I hope he can clear it! Phew! He gets us out of so many predicaments."

I think on that play Brodie actually coughed it up. But, it was a poor decision on that play by Wideman that left Brodie in a fairly tough spot. That said, I actually think getting the puck out properly with a decent pass is Wideman's biggest strength, more than his shot.

I think Engelland and Bropdie can work, if Engelland plays within himself and lets Brodie do the passes out of the zone, which is Engelland's biggest weakness. I'm interested in what Engelland can do with more ice time and responsibility. However, that leaves Wideman and Jokipaaka. I thought that would be horrid, but mulling it over, I'm not so sure. Wideman has decent exit passes like I said and a hard shot. Those are Jokipaaka weaknesses. The only question I have is whether Kevin is fast enough.

[dash_pinched]

Two things:

1. Just a fantastic game from the home team last night, let's see more of that.
2. Jason Zucker has a very punchable face.

[calgaryblood]

Originally Posted by taxbuster

FWIW, it was pretty clear on my broadcast - IIRC Ball and Hrudey were talking as they showed the replay, but you could hear the crowd booing at the time as they were also seeing a replay. (SN / Bell Satellite)

Yes you could hear the boos but it didn't even come close to show how loud it actually was at the dome. SN definitely drowns out the crowd which is just stupid. I doubt it's a Shaw issue only either as I had Telus before and it was the same thing. Crowd is always muted for some reason and I've never understood the reason.

[MrMastodonFarm]

He's such a natural d-bag.

[calgaryblood]

Tkachuk is awesome. Love the way he plays the game. Nothing fancy, just dumps it in and goes to work but when the play is there to be fancy he has the skill to do it but doesn't force things and has a great ability to know when to make some moves, when to dump it in or when to cycle the puck which is amazing to see for such a young guy.

His hockey IQ is off the charts probably the best on the team all around.

[GioforPM]

Not enough about Elliott in the PGT. He was really good, and kept the Flames in during a brief lull in their play in the second. If he plays like that, the Flames win a bunch of games.

He's 7-3 in his last 10 starts. One of those losses was a good effort in the shootout loss to Edmonton. Two starts were stinkers (Toronto and Vancouver). And in fairness he wasn't outstanding in the blowout loss to Edmonton where he came in after Johnson was pulled. He was pretty good coming in relief against TB, with a .923% (but the game was already lost). So in his last 12 times playing he's played well 9 times I'd say. I think his game has turned around.

[ricosuave]

Originally Posted by calgaryblood

Tkachuk is awesome. Love the way he plays the game. Nothing fancy, just dumps it in and goes to work but when the play is there to be fancy he has the skill to do it but doesn't force things and has a great ability to know when to make some moves, when to dump it in or when to cycle the puck which is amazing to see for such a young guy.

His hockey IQ is off the charts probably the best on the team all around.

loved his hit on Stall

[Savvy27]

I thought Brodie had a pretty good game. He made a lot of good passes and was unusually physical. There was one sequence though that had me yelling at the TV. He was wide open in the high slot and he had a perfect lane to shoot and ended up trying an awkward slap pass to a guy who was covered to the side. He has no confidence in his shot this season.

Also, I liked Brouwer's game tonight. He showed some skill and won some puck battles. Also, he stood up for Tkachuk. This team needs more of that.

Solid win! It's time for Elliot to put a streak together.

[northcrunk]

Team played a way better game but Wideman.............................wtf.

[ThisIsAnOutrage]

Great game by the Flames last night against really good team....

And it drives me nuts that they don't put together that type of game with any sort of consistency. The entire Flames team is replaying Dion Phaneuf's second season here. They're great! They're awful! They suck! They're awesome!

For the love of cheese-beer dip, just stick with great and awesome the rest of the way.

[IamNotKenKing]

Originally Posted by Buff

At one point Gaudreau and Tkachuk swapped lines in the 3rd period. Was it an intentional change or result of Gaudreau taking a longer shift at one point?

My guess is simply for safety once the game was out of reach. I was actually surprised they put him out the last couple of minutes.

[foshizzle11]

does anyone have the hit on Staal?

[FBI]

Just watched the game, excellent!!
Loved all the scrums and the guys showing some emotion a bit (GG as well)

The power play was excellent, Mony is looking good, and all the lines looked great.

Only negative was Wideman and his usual pathetic blunders but God willing we will only have to endure that for one more month.

I liked seeing a little bit of Brodie and Engelland together too.

Good job boys.

[Toonage]

Originally Posted by FBI

Just watched the game, excellent!!
Loved all the scrums and the guys showing some emotion a bit (GG as well)

The power play was excellent, Mony is looking good, and all the lines looked great.

Only negative was Wideman and his usual pathetic blunders but God willing we will only have to endure that for one more month.

I liked seeing a little bit of Brodie and Engelland together too.

Good job boys.

I don't know why this didn't sink in yet with me, but you're right. There's (hopefully) only a month of it left. I feel....relieved.

[Karl]

Originally Posted by FBI

Just watched the game, excellent!!
Loved all the scrums and the guys showing some emotion a bit (GG as well)

The power play was excellent, Mony is looking good, and all the lines looked great.

Only negative was Wideman and his usual pathetic blunders but God willing we will only have to endure that for one more month.

I liked seeing a little bit of Brodie and Engelland together too.

Good job boys.

Originally Posted by Toonage

I don't know why this didn't sink in yet with me, but you're right. There's (hopefully) only a month of it left. I feel....relieved.

Doubt it. I don't think anybody would want Wideman given he's got nothing left to offer at an NHL level anymore, oh, and his god damned NMC.

Don't get your hopes up for that happening or you guys will likely end up being disappointed even if Wideman's play is disappointing in of itself.

Just ride him out and hope that we (or anybody else) don't offer him another NHL contract.