[PGT] Flames fall apart, lose 4-3 to Ducks

[Huntingwhale]

Ugly loss. I can't believe some people think we'll match up well against the Ducks in the playoffs. 14 years of them beating our ass almost every game, and some people still don't get that they are literally the worst match up in the entire league against the Flames. Starting on the road vs Anaheim is a recipe for a quick 4-5 game series loss. Give Chicago any day of the week instead of the Ducks. Some teams just have the other teams' number. Pitts has it vs the Caps. The Sens have it vs the Leafs. The Habs have it vs the Bruins. You know exactly who is going to win those series every time. Anaheim is no different against us.

When the Flames play the Ducks, the Ducks get us off our game more then anyone. You can see how the players lose their positioning. The passes are no longer crisp. And we often come out on the bottom in the physicality department. No team throws the Flames off their game more then the Ducks. The Flames try to play Anaheim's style, rather then imposing our will on them and forcing them to play ours. And that's always a recipe for a loss.

It will be nothing short of a miracle if we win at Honda Centre Tuesday. But that's wishful thinking.

[St. Pats]

Originally Posted by Monahan For Mayor

Well we are probably getting Chicago boys. Saddle up.

Road trip to California to end the season. Not good and especially with the Ducks being the first game. St. Louis has an easy schedule. Nashville with only one home game but ending the season against the Stars and the Jets.

It is looking very much like a battle against Chicago and frankly with the way they are owned by the Ducks I hope that is what happens.

[Split98]

Originally Posted by Karl

Odds are Nashville passes us, though only because of their soft schedule remaining and our much tougher schedule.

Ehhh, how much tougher is LA to DAL and WPG?

If Nashville goes 3-0 against NYI (fighting for their playoff lives) and DAL+WPG Flames still only need to beat LA (out) and 3 points from SJ (slipping) and ANA (rematch) to render Nashville's streak fruitless.

[dino7c]

That last goal is like 80% on Elliott...he played such a great game nobody wants to be honest about it

Wrist shot from the boards and he puts it back softly into the slot

10% JG 10% Bart 80% Elliott IMO

Still Bart isn't better than Wideman on the ice, rumors of off ice issues with the organization must be true

[djsFlames]

Tuesday is for me the most important game of this half of the regular season.

Play your hearts out, get in their faces, make them nurse some bumps and bruises, get under their skin. You've clinched. The next best thing you can do for yourself is prove that a building/streak has no effect on this team. The previous iterations let it sneak into their game and fell victim to it. Would be a huge statement to shake off that monkey heading into playoffs.

After that they can rest everybody, I don't care. Let the cards fall where they may in terms of positioning.

[HockeyPuck]

Originally Posted by Flash Walken

Gotta answer dirt with dirt.

Playoff spot clinched, against potential first round matchup? Take the supplemental discipline, soften them up.

I'm usually a stringently by the book guy, but it is obvious the league is not going to do a thing about the lopsided penalties. for 75 games the Flames haven't been able to push back against that because it would jeopardize a playoff spot. But now? Right now? Get some swagger back in your game and answer stick work with stick work, even if it means you lose the game.

Let Kesler play through a broken wrist in the first round, see how he likes the slashes then. If it costs Alex Chiasson a 2 game suspension and Freddy Hamilton or Hathaway get some warmup minutes before the playoffs, so be it. Let the NHL enforce the rules if they want to.

Truth.

[Saint Troy]

Way too many soft casual plays tonight to beat a solid Ducks team.

[Anduril]

Didn't watch most of the game but I don't know how you can blame him for that last goal. Fault goes to allowing the puck out of the zone and going the other way, absolutely.

It was basically a 2v3 while the puck holder was angled to the boards with his strong side away from the middle of the ice. Throws a desperation shot onto the net.

The 3 other Flames (Elliott, Engelland and Gaudreau) are all bigger (and THE) reasons for that specific goal.

[Erick Estrada]

Originally Posted by PepsiFree

The expectations from some people on a 6/7 D that couldn't even secure an NHL contract for most of the season is insane.

Bart was what he was. Wideman, Joki, whoever. People react the exact same no matter who sits at #6.

Great... even good NHL defencemen... do NOT play in a 6/7 role. Lower those expectations a notch.

Bottom line is that this team needs a better option for the 6th spot. I'm really, really hoping Andersson stays in shape in the offseason and has a good training camp. This team badly needs an infusion of young talent on the blue line over veteran junk lie Wideman, Bartkowski, etc.

[jayswin]

Originally Posted by TheScorpion

People are always saying this and I really don't get it at all. I'm emotionally invested in the play of all the players. Why should one player merit less of my attention simply because he's defined by others as a 'fringe player'?

Matt Bartkowski is in the NHL, playing on a playoff team. He's a perfectly valid target of criticism. But people keep calling me out for being "invested in fringe players", even though that isn't true... I'm also very invested in the play of Gaudreau and Monahan and Brodie and Hamilton and all of the stars of this team.

Why should you be able to tell me who I'm allowed to talk about on this forum?

Maybe poor choice of words on my part. My point was expectations. The warts you often describe on fringe players is what you get with fringe players. If Dougie Hamilton is making the same mistakes it's important because he's being paid top dollar to perform.

We could shore up our bottom pairing with two guys making $7 million combined and you wouldn't see the same mistakes you see now, but then you'd have to be around league minimum for your entire bottom two lines on forward.

[tsquared1967]

Originally Posted by jayswin

People will be quick to jump on Bartkowski, but he was not the problem tonight. It was clear to see by the second period that our forwards weren't committed to defense today, and that cost us the game.

Johnny Gaudreau specifically with a horrid night that cost us two goals. No awareness, no effort on defense. That's absolute bull**** as we head into the playoffs. Any contender will dispose of this team in four or five games in the first round if that's how we're playing.

As someone said in the gamethread, our stars can't half ass it, especially this time of year, you will not win games that way.

Johnny was a -3 due to his lack of finding the dangerous man standing next to him and sticking with the man as the man makes his way to the net. I can understand if you miss your check once in the game that ends up in your own net but three times!

[dino7c]

Originally Posted by tsquared1967

Johnny was a -3 due to his lack of finding the dangerous man standing next to him and sticking with the man as the man makes his way to the net. I can understand if you miss your check once in the game that ends up in your own net but three times!

all 3 of those goals had glaring errors by other players is well...but keep piling

[djsFlames]

Originally Posted by Huntingwhale

Ugly loss. I can't believe some people think we'll match up well against the Ducks in the playoffs. 14 years of them beating our ass almost every game, and some people still don't get that they are literally the worst match up in the entire league against the Flames. Starting on the road vs Anaheim is a recipe for a quick 4-5 game series loss. Give Chicago any day of the week instead of the Ducks. Some teams just have the other teams' number. Pitts has it vs the Caps. The Sens have it vs the Leafs. The Habs have it vs the Bruins. You know exactly who is going to win those series every time. Anaheim is no different against us.

When the Flames play the Ducks, the Ducks get us off our game more then anyone. You can see how the players lose their positioning. The passes are no longer crisp. And we often come out on the bottom in the physicality department. No team throws the Flames off their game more then the Ducks. The Flames try to play Anaheim's style, rather then imposing our will on them and forcing them to play ours. And that's always a recipe for a loss.

It will be nothing short of a miracle if we win at Honda Centre Tuesday. But that's wishful thinking.

It was 4-3 on an unfortunate late goal, not 12-1.

I look forward to Tuesday and the Flames' response.

[blender]

Originally Posted by jayswin

Maybe poor choice of words on my part. My point was expectations. The warts you often describe on fringe players is what you get with fringe players. If Dougie Hamilton is making the same mistakes it's important because he's being paid top dollar to perform.

We could shore up our bottom pairing with two guys making $7 million combined and you wouldn't see the same mistakes you see now, but then you'd have to be around league minimum for your entire bottom two lines on forward.

As has been said before, what a team really needs is up and comers on ELC's to fill those roles. I'm not advocating Rasmus in now, as a rookie could easily be exposed in a game like tonight's but next season hopefully someone steps up.

[Karl]

I'm at least glad I saw more good and less no good from Bouma this time. Need more games like tonight's game from him.

[colbym72]

Sometimes you play well and lose. It wasn't that bad. We will be okay

[kermitology]

Flames look tired lately. They're going to be eaten alive in the first round. Yikes.

[bigrangy]

Flames were garbage all night tonight. Elliott was the only reason that it wasn't 8-3 Ducks.

Even so, the 4th goal is almost entirely on him. Brutal rebound. But you can't even be mad since he was the only reason the Flames had a chance to begin with.

The 4th line was decent, and I thought Brodie was good. Bartkowski was better than usual but still bad. Hamilton had his worst game of 2017.

All I wanted out of this season was to be in a playoff race (check), to have decent fancies (check), and to win a game in Anaheim (???). Let's see what Tuesday brings.

[TheScorpion]

Originally Posted by jayswin

Maybe poor choice of words on my part. My point was expectations. The warts you often describe on fringe players is what you get with fringe players. If Dougie Hamilton is making the same mistakes it's important because he's being paid top dollar to perform.

We could shore up our bottom pairing with two guys making $7 million combined and you wouldn't see the same mistakes you see now, but then you'd have to be around league minimum for your entire bottom two lines on forward.

Right now, the Flames are paying well over $7 million for third-pairing defensemen.

Bartkowski ($612.5k) - Engelland ($2.9m)
Wideman ($5.25m)

By my count, they're paying $8.8 million.

Bring in two guys for $7 million and there's $1.8 million more to spend on forwards.

[meh]

That Perry is something though. I hate the Ducks as much as anyone, but Perry is a smart hockey player. No doubt about it.