[PGT] Canucks 5 Flames 2. Oh no! We suck again!

[saXon]

Originally Posted by Kybb79

Boston lost to the Cup champs. We lost to a lottery team.

The Flames lose every season opener. Irrelevant

[Kybb79]

Originally Posted by saXon

The Flames lose every season opener. Irrelevant

You ok with mediocre results?

[dieHARDflameZ]

Judging by some of the crying going on in here, you’d think the Flames were supposed to go 82-0. It’s game 1...

I get the importance of the team getting off to a good start this season and we’re all sick of the mediocrity but some of the reactions in here are down right embarrassing.

I fully expect a different team to come out on Saturday.

[Inferno]

Originally Posted by Flamenfame

Elliot after slow start was money down the stretch as Flames made playoffs with a much weaker team than last season that Season Flyers missed playoffs , last season with stronger team and better play by our top players we miss playoffs with the joker Smith but low and behold Flyers make playoffs with Elliot , the homerism in here is why this team is allowed to #### the bed ,and the homer fans lie in it.

Last year's bed ####ting was a team effort. Smith might have struggled after coming back from his injury but he was also a big reason the Flames weren't completely out of it before Christmas.

Elliott might have rebounded after a slow start but he fell apart again in the playoffs when it really mattered.

You talk about homerism yet you've had a hate on for Smith since the day he became a Flame. He could win the Vezina this season and get the Flames deep in the playoffs and you would still be bitching about him.

[Strange Brew]

Originally Posted by Buck Murdock

Who's kidding who...it was the China trip. Had they had a better training camp and preseason they would have been better prepared instead of playing so sleepy. Boston got destroyed as well.

Boston won the 2nd game of a back2back 4 to nothing. If the Flames rebound like that, all is forgiven.

[Classic_Sniper]

Originally Posted by nik-

The McDavid thing is a silly comparison. Do the Oilers need to find a player better than a top three player in the league, at center, because the Flames need someone other than Gaudreau to be the main guy up front? No, why would they? How is that relevant?

If you construct your team and your top forward is a flashy winger who can't really play physical, you're in trouble if you think you're going to be a legit contender.

I'm not blaming Gaudreau for this situation. He gives what he can, I don't disparage his skill or what he supplies. It's a team construction problem. We didn't get the level of talent that would have put us at the top of the league. Bad luck, bad picks, mediocre development, a combination of all of it, whatever. It's just where we are now.

Because the only other echelon of player that would be better than Gaudreau is that of a McDavid. You’re asking for a better forward than Gaudreau and he’s pretty much it. Kucherov, Marchand and Kane are all in a similar tier. Asking for a better forward than Gaudreau right now just isn’t possible with this cap situation nor are these franchise players just sitting around waiting to be traded.

The best thing Treliving could do is build around it and improve the depth. The 1st line produces at an above average rate so all that needs to be done is to improve the rest especially the bottom 6 who produced at a well below average rate. That’s where I think you should personally focus your criticism and energy on.

The 3rd and 4th lines were probably one of the worst in the league and outside of December, they didn’t really contribute much to any of our wins. Sam Bennett himself in a pregame interview even singled his line out by saying that they relied too much on Johnny Gaudreau to win games.

[Classic_Sniper]

It’s hard to believe that this thread is 500+ posts deep. We’ve lost 9 straight season openers so this is nothing new and we’ve made the playoffs 2 of the last 4 seasons despite losing the season opener. I think the “sky is falling” posts are a little premature and need to be reeled in a bit because we still have 162 of a potential 164 points still up for grabs.

[bax]

Originally Posted by Kybb79

You ok with mediocre results?

One game

[kukkudo]

CP is gonna blow up if a repeat loss happens tomorrow night haha.

[GordonBlue]

I try not to comment much in flames game threads or post game threads.
but I don't understand the people who are ripping on Smith.

he's a good, solid goalie with stretches of greatness. over the course of a season Smith will help earn your team way more points than he'll lose by bad play or a bad goal.
when in front of a goalie they can't trust, I believe teams play scared which causes poor play. I think the flames players trust smith's ability and it isn't an issue.

[EastCoastFlamesFan]

Originally Posted by kukkudo

CP is gonna blow up if a repeat loss happens tomorrow night haha.

This. If we loose I'm not touching CPuck with a ten foot pole. Love this site, but man it gets me depressed sometimes. haha!

[Phaneuf_Phan]

I don't care that they lost but it's the manner in which they lost. Pathetic on many different levels. Especially lack of physicality, power play, loose checking. You'd think if you could get up for one game It'd be the first game. It's one game but a very disappointing indicator for the future.

[PepsiFree]

Originally Posted by Kybb79

You ok with mediocre results?

I actually am, in context.

The season is 82 games. The best teams in the league have mediocre results against the worst teams, every year. The better your team is, the less of those you have, and vice versa.

It’s one game, and yeah, quite frankly I’m ok with the result, because in the grand scheme of things it doesn’t matter. Will I be ok with being out of the playoff picture by thanksgiving? No. Will I be ok missing the playoffs this year? No. But is one loss worth getting upset over? No, it isn’t.

As good as this team might be, it’s not a Stanley Cup contender yet. And if you’re hand wringing over one loss then a sport where 82 games are played and the very best teams lose 20-30 of them is not likely a sport that you’re going to consistently enjoy no matter who your favourite team is, and certainly not if your favourite team is one where just making the playoffs will be an improvement.

I honestly feel like I’m taking crazy pills sometimes. Do some of you even enjoy hockey? Or do you just enjoy winning? The first two periods of the game weren’t much fun, the powerplay was zero fun, and like a lot of people I’m sure, I considered shutting it down after Vancouver scores a quick two at the start of the third. But I’m glad I didn’t, because the rest of the third right up to the empty netter was FUN to watch.

It’s one game. So yeah, I’m okay with a mediocre result, because there were things to enjoy along the way and there are 81 games left to get the 100 points we need. My partner and I had a couple beers, laughed at losing to Vancouver, and slept like babies. On to Saturday!

[Bonded]

CP will explode if we lose tomorrow. I don't think I would really care if they lost if it wasn't for the fact that they looked like the same team as last year.

[Funkhouser]

Originally Posted by Flamenfame

Elliot after slow start was money down the stretch as Flames made playoffs with a much weaker team than last season that Season Flyers missed playoffs , last season with stronger team and better play by our top players we miss playoffs with the joker Smith but low and behold Flyers make playoffs with Elliot , the homerism in here is why this team is allowed to #### the bed ,and the homer fans lie in it.

Your inability to use grammar or punctuation makes everything you post incoherent (irregardless of the content of your posts, which are also incoherent).

[Makarov]

Originally Posted by Funkhouser

Your inability to use grammar or punctuation makes everything you post incoherent (irregardless of the content of your posts, which are also incoherent).

Oh dear.

[ForeverFlameFan]

We just need to bring that 3rd period momentum into next game. I don’t think we’ll be giving Vancouver much wiggle room this time around.

[Always Earned Never Given]

Was watching the game last night between Pit. and Was. I really focused on what strategies both teams deployed to enter the O zone during PP's. One that intrigued me and that could be useful for the Flames was using the bump back ( Please give me a chance to elaborate).

- 2 wingers were a few feet from the blue line
- Defenseman rushed the puck while 2 other forwards were deep in the D zone
- bump back would happen past center ice while the 2 forwards (not one like we do) were in full stride.
- They then either passed it between them to enter the zone or made an outlet pass to wingers who started only moving their feet when 2 forwards were in full stride.

When using that strategy, they did not dump it in once cause this created a 2 on 1 anywhere near the O zone blue line.

I believe we have the horses to try it. Gio starts the rush, Johnny and Lindy come steaming out of their zone together, passing it till it opens one side.

Too bad I couldn't do any screen captures.

Also I remember in the late 80's where the Flames had a unique way to enter the O zone and since, I haven't seen any team ever use it again, unless they do but because of camera angles we do not see it.

Joe Mullen and Joe Nieuwendyk were the masters at it. They would be completely offside and when their D man would rush with the puck, they would skate like hell to the blue line (to be onside) and then cut left or right to receive the pass from the D man. It was a thing of beauty especially live as Mullen sometimes would be close to the other teams goalie and you'd have the D from the other team look back at him and not knowing if they should stay inside the zone or guard the line.

Those were the days...Of course Macinnis helped a tad!

[Flames Draft Watcher]

Originally Posted by Love

Monahan looked mediocre as always, honestly. I never understood the "he's finally healthy!!!" meme. Same player. It's actually disturbing to me how slow he is. Sucks defensively, and just sits in the slot all day waiting to be spoonfed chances. Can't wait for the Monahan 1C era to be over. I talked to the chief and he told me that this definitely is not it.

Wow, such a poor take

[Always Earned Never Given]

Oh and when they do enter the zone, can they just please use the umbrella but have Johnny, Lindy or Chucky behind the net so that they can turn the heads of the defenders while one or two of our other players sneak in to an area for a quick shot or tic tac toe play like in preseason for crying out loud!