Oct 2 Practice notes

[Scroopy Noopers]

Anyone who watched Neal in the preseason knows he needs favourable D match ups. Ideally whoever the slowest skaters are on the opposing team.

[Gaskal]

3M line together again?
Lindholm taking faceoffs on the top line?
Neal gets the high ground?

[McG]

I was wondering where Neal would play, but it is the obvious spot. Not sure why we consider 3M as the second line though... I see them as the more defensive of the 4 units.

I thought that the 4 lines show good balance as well.

On those 4 lines, unlike last season, I don’t think that we have a “just hang on” line. I would expect the jankowski line to draw a lot of penalties as they will be too fast for slower lines from other teams.

Now, let’s get points in the standings from the start!

[Macindoc]

Originally Posted by Murph

I’d swap Neal and Frolik, otherwise I love it.

That would give you two natural centres on each line, which would be great for draws. Everyone could be more aggressive in taking draws, and the face-off percentage and would go up considerably, as would the possession numbers.

[metroneck]

I have no strong opinions of Ryan, by Lindholm may be a better pivot.

If that is the case, I'd rather Lindholm center the '3rd' line, and shuffle around the R wingers to suit.


I think 13 and 23 will do their thing regardless of who is riding shotgun.

[dammage79]

Originally Posted by metroneck

I have no strong opinions of Ryan, by Lindholm may be a better pivot.

If that is the case, I'd rather Lindholm center the '3rd' line, and shuffle around the R wingers to suit.


I think 13 and 23 will do their thing regardless of who is riding shotgun.

Lindholm isn't riding shotgun on that line though. This isn't Ferland or Colborne we're talking about here. This is more like a much younger bigger more better version of Hudler.

[Bunk]

Originally Posted by EldrickOnIce

Backlund centers the shutdown line.
Toughest zone starts, toughest competition.
This is not a line for James Neal. It's not really a line for Czarnik either.
I like it.

They are clearly angling it as a true shut down line - and hoping a healthy Frolik finds better form than the second half of last year. It does make sense. Tkachuk will be able to have a lot of PP time as well, which will unleash his offensive potential a bit too.

[Flash Walken]

Bennett and Janko finally get some skill to play with.

[Geeoff]

Hard to not be excited about this lineup.

[ForeverFlameFan]

Also keep in mind that Peters likes shuffling up the lines. GG’s lineups were made early October and never changed barring injury.

[Drunk Uncle]

The optimist in me sees one 1st line, two 2nd lines and a 3rd/4th line.

The pessimist in me sees one 1st line, two 3rd lines and a 4th line.

Good thing is I'm optimistic about the Flames this year... well every year, but even more so this year.

[Textcritic]

Originally Posted by McG

I was wondering where Neal would play, but it is the obvious spot. Not sure why we consider 3M as the second line though... I see them as the more defensive of the 4 units...

Backlund's line is the "second line" because it features two of the team's top-five forwards, and they will as a group log the second-most ice-time. As much as they will be buried in their own zone, I still think Tkachuk is a good bet for 30g/60 pts, and for Backlund to flirt with 50 pts. That is STELLAR production from any second line, but this one comes with the bonus of murdering opposing teams's top offensive players.

[Textcritic]

Originally Posted by Locke

Wow. It sucks that Neal is on the 3rd line, but that 3rd line against poorer pairings could be dynamite...

Ryan's line is not the "third line." It's the second scoring line.

[Textcritic]

Originally Posted by Drunk Uncle

The optimist in me sees one 1st line, two 2nd lines and a 3rd/4th line.

The pessimist in me sees one 1st line, two 3rd lines and a 4th line.

Good thing is I'm optimistic about the Flames this year... well every year, but even more so this year.

If anyone looks at that roster and sees two thirds + a fourth line they are not seeing or thinking clearly.

[GioforPM]

Originally Posted by Flash Walken

Bennett and Janko finally get some skill to play with.

[Vinny01]

Very exciting lineup as Treliving overhauled the supporting cast of this team and added 3 core members over the summer and only moving out one. Having 2 exciting rookies crack the lineup is also something I am pumped for as I can see both Dube and Valimaki making an impact on this team. All 4 lines can put the puck in the net and all 6 D are solid skaters.

3 forwards over 30
8 forwards 25 or younger
1 Dman over 30

This team is ready now and built for the future.

[GioforPM]

Originally Posted by Vinny01

Very exciting lineup as Treliving overhauled the supporting cast of this team and added 3 core members over the summer and only moving out one. Having 2 exciting rookies crack the lineup is also something I am pumped for as I can see both Dube and Valimaki making an impact on this team. All 4 lines can put the puck in the net and all 6 D are solid skaters.

3 forwards over 30
8 forwards 25 or younger
1 Dman over 30

This team is ready now and built for the future.

They just need a young goalie to emerge. Smith can be great but he's held together with duct tape and spit.

[Split98]

I'm thinking the opposite of most here, and I'd like to see Tkachuk off the 3M line more than Frolik. I think Backlund and Frolik are a great pairing, and Tkachuk was a beneficiary of their smart responsible play... but I also think that responsibility ultimately hampers Tkachuk.

I do really like the dynamic Tkachuk brings to that duo though, and Bennett has to start bringing that type of dynamic to this team himself. I'd love to see the SMF (hopefully appropriate) line given a shot early so we find out if Sam is going to bring that game this year, and if Tkachuk can be elevated elsewhere.

Gaudreau - Monahan - Lindholm
Tkachuk - Jankowski - Neal
Bennett - Backlund - Frolik
Also Awesome - Also Awesome - Also Awesome

[Vinny01]

Originally Posted by GioforPM

They just need a young goalie to emerge. Smith can be great but he's held together with duct tape and spit.

Agreed. I really wish one of Gillies or Rittich had an unreal camp (preferably Gillies as he was supposed to be the next guy). Parsons is still a nice prospect but an emerging elite 23-25 year old goalie would be perfect for this group.

[ST20]

https://www.tsn.ca/the-numbers-say-s...line-1.1109162

I mentioned this in another chat but the 3M actually played pretty damn well last year. They had bad luck with shooting % but all other indicators show that they controlled the puck and scoring chances. I'm not sure why everyone is down on the 3M line but why not have some consistency while other pieces settle in?

From the link above:
"You can see that just about every Flames skater outshot and outchanced the opposition over the full season, but the goals didn’t fall as kindly. The 3M Line in particular was that to an extreme.

Over the course of the season, they ran roughly a 57 per cent Corsi%, 56 per cent scoring chance rate, and 55 per cent dangerous shot attempt rate, all per Natural Stat Trick. So whichever your preferred non-goal measure of performance, it’s clear they threatened more often than not.

But their goal rates were abysmal – around 42 per cent for the full year. That’s in large part because their “percentages” – the percentage of shots they scored on and the percentage of shots against that ended up being goals – were way askew from league norm. The group experienced a save percentage barely over 90 per cent, and scored on about 5.6 per cent of their shots. That’s crippling."

Also because people love graphs lol