[PGT] Bolts 7 Flames 4. Flames blow a third-period lead and lose for the 6th straight game

[The Cobra]

Originally Posted by Flash Walken

I'll let you read it again a few times so you can figure it out.

We can read it as many times as you want, but two things are clear:

(a) the Flames were never down 5-3; and
(b) the initial penally had nothing to do with Calgary losing.

The person who needs to read it again is likely you.

[Aarongavey]

Originally Posted by transplant99

Explain, how in the hell is that game on the coaches?

Easy big fella. I remember when Gulutzan stumbled into into few wins in a row there were folks saying things like "this whole fire Gulutzan thread is stupid". Those type of comments look uninformed now that we have really started our Fallin for Dahlen campaign, our pass us for Rasmus run.

Whether it is Gulutzan's coaching or Treliving's wizardry what we can say is this team is built to miss the playoffs. I personally think it is both. To give away 2 firsts and 4 seconds and not have a guarantee playoff team shows the dedication of the GM. But Gulutzan also shows potential as well, his efforts against Edmonton for example also show his focus and determination.

Either way, I wonder if there will be a "we want 10" chant on Saturday night.

[Lanny_McDonald]

Originally Posted by Bingo

Man I had this all wrong.

I thought the hardest thing about coaching was developing a team structure that had them consistently out playing the opposition.

I always thought structure and systems were the easiest things about coaching. It's x's and o's, and practice time. It's all about repetition and developing muscle memory for players so they don't think, they just do. It is why you drill, drill, drill in practice. Once you establish the talent level of your team you define a system that will be exploit the strengths of your talent base and shield the weaknesses. Then its teaching and practice.

Therein lies the problem with Gulutzan. He's come in with a system that is not about the talent level on the hockey team. He's come in with a system that is about the talent level of the coaching staff and is trying to force a bunch of players to play a system that exposes their weaknesses and prevents them from using their strengths. He doesn't recognize there is something wrong. He's taken your perspective of outplaying the opposition, in his terms, as the end goal rather than using the talents available to him to their greatest advantage. He doesn't recognize when things aren't working, or will never work.

See, this is what I think the hardest part of coaching is. Preparing your team for what the opposition is going to use against you is key. Making fine adjustments to your system that address what the other team does is the difficult part. Making adjustments during the game to take advantage of what the opposition is giving you is crucial. The game inside the game is where good coaches thrive and bad ones wilt. Gulutzan is just horrible at making adjustments. When things don't go according to plan, his teams fall apart, and quickly. That's what happens when you have such a rigid system.

Who knew it was just calling time outs and yanking warrior goaltenders from the cage when they had off nights!

This is grossly simplifying things, but I agree with you. The timeout thing is so stupid. The best coaches in the game don't have to rely on timeouts. They can coach on the fly. They can make adjustments on the bench. They don't need a chance to calm everyone down, because they command their bench and already have their players focused. Well coached teams rarely get flustered.

Another earmark of well coached teams is see the in-game adjustments. Good coaches know their players and recognize when they are on and when they are off. When they are on, you give them more time and opportunity. When they are off, you give them less time and shield them. This is another problem with Gulutzan. He doesn't know his players worth a damn. He just keeps rolling the lines and thinking that things will just come out in the wash. He doesn't recognize when a guy just doesn't have it on a given evening. The handling of Smith was like that.

Smith wasn't pissed that he was pulled last night. Smith was pissed when he was pulled. Smith let in that weak sister and was looking to the bench, almost begging to be pulled. Instead Gulutzan left a struggling netminder in to give up another and the game was pretty well done. At that point Gulutzan decides to pull him, but Smith knows the damage was done. The reaction was at the poor decision, not at the fact he was being pulled. Smith was looking to be pulled, for the good of the team, but Gulutzan missed the cue and the opportunity, just like he does with every other player personnel decision.

I see the call for a timeout as more of a shot at Gulutzan than anything. Gulutzan needs time to think things through. He needs time to ponder on what is going on. Gulutzan needs the timeout to gather his thoughts, not the players. Guktuzan needs the game to slow down so he can see the adjustments to make, and most importantly, when to make them. In a league where all the teams are so close, those small adjustments you make are the difference between winning and losing.

[wired]

One more loss, and then they turn it around,
Not even mad about this....expecting this from the team now.

[Hackey]

Originally Posted by Aarongavey

Easy big fella. I remember when Gulutzan stumbled into into few wins in a row there were folks saying things like "this whole fire Gulutzan thread is stupid". Those type of comments look uninformed now that we have really started our Fallin for Dahlen campaign, our pass us for Rasmus run.

Whether it is Gulutzan's coaching or Treliving's wizardry what we can say is this team is built to miss the playoffs. I personally think it is both. To give away 2 firsts and 4 seconds and not have a guarantee playoff team shows the dedication of the GM. But Gulutzan also shows potential as well, his efforts against Edmonton for example also show his focus and determination.

Either way, I wonder if there will be a "we want 10" chant on Saturday night.

Ya he just "gave away" a first and two seconds for a top pairing 22 year old damn. Terrible move. I suppose you can guarantee this team would be better with the picks?

[SuperMatt18]

Originally Posted by Flash Walken

Bennett was friggin terrible tonight guys.

Was the the worst flame on the ice? looked like it to me. Far and away the worst.

Why is no one talking about this? Friggin' terrible out there. Line killing, team momentum killing levels of suck from him in the last 5-15 games.

That crosscheck/high sticking penalty was one of the dumbest penalties I've ever seen.

You want a goat tonight, go ahead and blame smith I guess, but for me it was Bennett. -2, his terrible defensive zone turnover leads directly to the game tying goal. Finishes a -2 on the night, 1 shot, 2 pims.

1 shot, an absolutely idiotic penalty 26 seconds into the game that eventually lead to the flames going down 5-3...What a disaster. What an absolute disaster flames management has allowed this Bennett situation to become.

He’s such a fragile player.

Last game he had jump, looked great, probably our best forward.

Fast forward 48 hours and all it takes is a bad penalty 1 minute in and he is just lost for the rest of the game, all confidence gone.

[Erick Estrada]

Originally Posted by Flash Walken

Bennett was friggin terrible tonight guys.

Was the the worst flame on the ice? looked like it to me. Far and away the worst.

Why is no one talking about this? Friggin' terrible out there. Line killing, team momentum killing levels of suck from him in the last 5-15 games.

That crosscheck/high sticking penalty was one of the dumbest penalties I've ever seen.

You want a goat tonight, go ahead and blame smith I guess, but for me it was Bennett. -2, his terrible defensive zone turnover leads directly to the game tying goal. Finishes a -2 on the night, 1 shot, 2 pims.

1 shot, an absolutely idiotic penalty 26 seconds into the game that eventually lead to the flames going down 5-3...What a disaster. What an absolute disaster flames management has allowed this Bennett situation to become.

Are you and Tinordi related by chance? Drive by posters that only seem interested in contributing when it's in regards to the players on this team you really dislike. Blaming Bennett for this loss on a night where the goaltending was frighteningly bad (Hartley thinks Smith was terrible last night and he was conditioned for poor goaltending) is most ridiculous thing I've read in weeks. Maybe stick to the drive by posts as it seems that's your niche.

[BurningSteel]

Originally Posted by icarus

Well Eric Francis said in the second intermission he thought the game would be decided by who had the better goalie in the third, and he thought it would be the Flames. I guess he was right about one thing.

That the flames were playing?

[tkflames]

I expected a loss last night going in, I think the disappointing thing is how they lost. This time has been a mediocre team all season. We went almost a full month seemingly in a win one-lose one pattern. We all thought we broke that when we won 7, now we are on the verge of losing 7.

To me it comes down to this chicago home and home. Get 3-4 points out of that and we could get back on track having lost but played well against the top 2 teams. Lose those two outright with some unfavourable scores and we could be looking at a retool for next year, trying to follow the Tampa model from last year.

[memphusk]

Originally Posted by GranteedEV

Probably the first time since Brent Sutter or the lockout season I have skipped a Flames game and not really cared about the result. I had more fun sucking for Reinhart/Ekblad/Bennett/Draisaitl than I have most of this year and last.

I too have felt this way. I rarely miss a game. I go out of my way to watch every game against the Oilers. This last game against them I went to hockey instead of watching. My wife even questioned my choice.

[burnitdown]

Stone doesn't take much heat cause he's on our 3rd pairing...but a -5 night is pretty hard to do. Another 2 years left on the contract after this season, at $3.5M, for limited minutes and very limited offence. Many of us opposed that deal when it was signed, wishing that money was spent on a forward instead. Does anyone think there would have been a significant downgrade if we were playing Andersson or any other $1M fringe NHLer in his spot, and used that money on scoring?

[colbym72]

FWIW......Elliott Friedman thinks the players are mentally fragile and thinks Gulutzan the last two years has done a tremendous job keeping this group together

[Robbob]

Originally Posted by New Era

Smith wasn't pissed that he was pulled last night. Smith was pissed when he was pulled. Smith let in that weak sister and was looking to the bench, almost begging to be pulled.

Lets not make things up. Just knowing the type of competitor Smith is, over the short time he has been here, in no way would he ever pull himself from the game. IMO he has earned enough of a leash to try and work his out of the hole he admittedly created.

Like they said last night it took until game 51 to lose a game because of the goal-tending. It happens.

It is that old adage that in a losing streak before it ends you lose games that you should have won. I think they are on the verge of ending this slide.

Reading CP lately I think I must be in the minority, but I am enjoying this season. It will have its ups and downs but looking at the big picture they are 2 points back of a playoff spot with 31 games remaining. This is fun.

[colbym72]

Originally Posted by Robbob

Lets not make things up. Just knowing the type of competitor Smith is, over the short time he has been here, in no way would he ever pull himself from the game. IMO he has earned enough of a leash to try and work his out of the hole he admittedly created.

Like they said last night it took until game 51 to lose a game because of the goal-tending. It happens.

It is that old adage that in a losing streak before it ends you lose games that you should have won. I think they are on the verge of ending this slide.

Reading CP lately I think I must be in the minority, but I am enjoying this season. It will have its ups and downs but looking at the big picture they are 2 points back of a playoff spot with 31 games remaining. This is fun.

What? No way. They are 10 points out and basically eliminated. Its actually crazy that they lost 6 in a row and are still very in reach for a playoff spot. Maybe I am a fool for being positive and not saying "^&@#&*@^&* I am done with this &*&*)(& team.......until the next win streak"

[Robbob]

Originally Posted by colbym72

FWIW......Elliott Friedman thinks the players are mentally fragile and thinks Gulutzan the last two years has done a tremendous job keeping this group together

I don't think he is wrong. That is always the worry with a young team. Another reason why the right veteran leadership is needed and every player over 20 can't be jettisoned to the sun or minors.

[colbym72]

Originally Posted by Robbob

I don't think he is wrong. That is always the worry with a young team. Another reason why the right veteran leadership is needed and every player over 20 can't be jettisoned to the sun or minors.

Yup. and I think that is part of what GMBT hoped Brouwer could be. Veteran leadership who has won before.

[Toonage]

Originally Posted by colbym72

Yup. and I think that is part of what GMBT hoped Brouwer could be. Veteran leadership who has won before.

Also the reason they went hard after Sharp last summer and why they rolled the dice on Jagr.

[Lanny_McDonald]

@Robbob

If you can't see that Smith was looking for the hook, I don't know what to tell you. He knew he was ####ting the bed and was looking for his coach to do the right thing and pull him. The broadcast even mentioned it when he left that softy in. He knew he was off and putting in Rittich might give the team a lift. But Gulutzan hesitated and waited too long to do something that everyone knew needed to be done, and the team was left in a deeper hole. So by time he made the decision, one that Smith knew needed to be made, an extra goal had been scored and the team was buried. That's why Smith was pissed. That ain't making anything up, that's the way it played out.

[Hot_Flatus]

Originally Posted by transplant99

Explain, how in the hell is that game on the coaches?

Mike Smith was clearly rattled after both the 3rd and 4th goals of the game were just about as awful as you'll see. For Glen to ignore this fact and leave him in there when even fans can see it playing out, is just beyond comprehension. He could have brought Rittich in to start the 3rd or shortly after the 4th goal when there was still a game to be played. He could of, at the very least called a timeout, done something. Nearly every game now there seems to be more evidence building that points squarely to coaching incompetence.

[chummer]

^^Just because he was looking at the bench doesn't mean he wanted to be pulled, it's a natural reaction after having a bad game and letting in that terrible goal. You're assuming that's why Smith was pissed? That's quite a reach. Rittich let in an equally bad goal, so there goes that argument.

That's not the way it played out, except maybe in your mind.