[PGT] Flames score 3 powerplay goals and defeat Canucks 7-4

[kermitology]

Mike Smith was no good tonight. Played satisfactory in the third, but man, he has zero rebound control. All that skill up front and a power play that looks like it could get downright deadly and we’ve got amateur hour in net.

Holy cow was I mad at Smith.

Thank god they won. The penalty on Gio was right in front of me and I could not believe that was called.

[tvp2003]

Random thoughts:

Gaudreau should have changed when they were hemmed in their own zone in the first. With no stick and he was probably 15 feet from the bench. Ends up in our net

Neal started to get some SOG but he seems pretty meh when he’s not scoring. Flubbed at least a few passes, including the one on the PP that ended up in our net

I think Dube-Ryan-Neal have potential... Dube brings speed, Neal is the shooter, and Ryan is strong on the dot and plays a smart game on both ends of the ice. Might have to make a change if they can’t get Neal going though...

Love being able to throw out Bennett-Janko-Frolik as a “fourth” line. If they can chip in some offence that’s basically another third line in your bottom six.

PP lost us the game on Wednesday; it won us the game tonight. Kept the zone entries simple and Johnny was doing Johnny things. Don’t remember seeing a cross-ice PP goal last year and tonight we get two. Eff you Dave Cameron.

The defensive zone lapses will kill this team. Vancouver hits the post immediately after the 5-4 goal, and then Smith has to make a huge glove save after another scramble in our end. Hope they can figure it out until Hamonic gets healthy... Stone and Prout are okay as a 5 and a 7 but not ideal as a 4 and a 6 against a quick team like Vancouver.

Chucky with four assists, one goal (disallowed, which was BS IMO), 2 PIM (based on reputation — weak), one drawn penalty, and one shot block late in the third (off his shoulder — tough SOB didn’t even leave the ice). Suck it Canucks.

Not sure what to make of the reffing. Pretty questionable penalties, one while on the PK (on Stone to put us 5-3), and the one on Tkachuk when we were on the PP to even it up. Didn’t like either.

[camm13]

I too want to see a line of Benett, Janko and Neal. The 3rd line with Neal right now has nothing going on. Wasting Neals skill in my opinion. Ryan to Peters is what Brouwer was to GG. He hasn't shown anything on the PP or PK. 7 mins for Benny and Janko is crummy. They had some good flashes tonight. Ryan was invisible, other than a poor shot that was blocked by Tanev that lead to a goal the other way.

[Yoho]

Ryan and Janko should switch spots.

[The Boy Wonder]

The Friedman thing about the flames worried that trading bennett is another St. Louis / savage situation and instead just burying him is absolutely criminal.

Also being at the game tonight, idiots on CP who think bennett sucks are the vocal minority of flames fans as bennett gets more cheers and appreciation than a lot of other guys.

People here just get one thing in their minds and can’t shake it...

You guys actually need to give your heads a shake if you legit think Czarnik, Ryan, Dube, Frolik, janko, or Neal actually give us a better chance of winning than bennett

[IamNotKenKing]

Originally Posted by sureLoss

They look so happy.

[djsFlames]

I'd swap Janko and Ryan for a game or two and see what happens.

[keenan87]

Great game and awesome win!!

Smith can be a bit better though and I am getting a little worried about Neal.. The Brouwer experience still haunts mee

[AC]

Originally Posted by GioforPM

Johnny was really good. But "gimme goals"? Monnie picked a low corner and squeezed it through and Lindholm's was a laser.

Monahan's was also a cross-body onetimer that he labeled post and in.

That type of onetimer is ridiculous. Like his bullet goal vs Chicago last year:
https://streamable.com/vjelq

[DeluxeMoustache]

Originally Posted by MisterJoji

Look, he wasn’t good the first 40 but he was solid the last 20 and made a 10 bell save. Give him credit.

Hey, guys, you just score 6, I’ll take care of the rest.
:-)

[Textcritic]

Originally Posted by keenan87

Great game and awesome win!!

Smith can be a bit better though and I am getting a little worried about Neal.. The Brouwer experience still haunts mee

I am not worried about Neal because he has always been a much better player than Brouwer. The pedigree is just so much stronger, and I am not terribly surprised that it is taking him some time to adjust here. He looked more comfortable tonight than on Wednesday.

[Cecil Terwilliger]

Originally Posted by The Boy Wonder

The Friedman thing about the flames worried that trading bennett is another St. Louis / savage situation and instead just burying him is absolutely criminal.

Also being at the game tonight, idiots on CP who think bennett sucks are the vocal minority of flames fans as bennett gets more cheers and appreciation than a lot of other guys.

People here just get one thing in their minds and can’t shake it...

You guys actually need to give your heads a shake if you legit think Czarnik, Ryan, Dube, Frolik, janko, or Neal actually give us a better chance of winning than bennett

I wish Bennett played half as well as Dube or Czarnik so far this year. Neal is 4 points shy of 500 for his NHL career. Saying Bennett is a better player is objectively stupid.

[DeluxeMoustache]

Originally Posted by tvp2003

Random thoughts:

Gaudreau should have changed when they were hemmed in their own zone in the first. With no stick and he was probably 15 feet from the bench. Ends up in our net

Neal started to get some SOG but he seems pretty meh when he’s not scoring. Flubbed at least a few passes, including the one on the PP that ended up in our net

I think Dube-Ryan-Neal have potential... Dube brings speed, Neal is the shooter, and Ryan is strong on the dot and plays a smart game on both ends of the ice. Might have to make a change if they can’t get Neal going though...

Love being able to throw out Bennett-Janko-Frolik as a “fourth” line. If they can chip in some offence that’s basically another third line in your bottom six.

PP lost us the game on Wednesday; it won us the game tonight. Kept the zone entries simple and Johnny was doing Johnny things. Don’t remember seeing a cross-ice PP goal last year and tonight we get two. Eff you Dave Cameron.

The defensive zone lapses will kill this team. Vancouver hits the post immediately after the 5-4 goal, and then Smith has to make a huge glove save after another scramble in our end. Hope they can figure it out until Hamonic gets healthy... Stone and Prout are okay as a 5 and a 7 but not ideal as a 4 and a 6 against a quick team like Vancouver.

Chucky with four assists, one goal (disallowed, which was BS IMO), 2 PIM (based on reputation — weak), one drawn penalty, and one shot block late in the third (off his shoulder — tough SOB didn’t even leave the ice). Suck it Canucks.

Not sure what to make of the reffing. Pretty questionable penalties, one while on the PK (on Stone to put us 5-3), and the one on Tkachuk when we were on the PP to even it up. Didn’t like either.

Dube is a minor leaguer. Ryan is a bizarre coach lovechild. Neal is a proven 20 goal guy. I don’t know what to do with those 3

We are only 2 games in. Neal is a sure 20 goal scorer. Let me know when game 4 is done and he is below expectations.

[drewtastic]

Just home from the game. Some thoughts:

-Echo people who have said how well Valimaki played. Wise and poised beyond his years. I know they're protecting his minutes and assignment, but he still makes the most of his time. I want to full-out believe that he's the real deal, but I'm always so hesitant to jump in with both feet...

-Hanifin is struggling. On several shifts, he was scrambling around, wildly out of position, which is not a great thing when his partner is Stone, who is solid but not super-mobile. This was especially apparent the shift after the Flames went ahead 5-4 and the CaSucks hit the post. I know he will pull it together, but very reminiscent of Hamilton's first few games as a Flame.

-Johnny is unreal. When he gets mad, watch out.

-Tkachuk is the youngest Flame to ever have four assists in one game. And he's a one-man CaSuck wrecking crew.

-PP was better; PK was...not.

-Team needs to shoot more overall. SO many passed-up (pun intended) chances. Could have had 10 goals.

-People ragging on Smith are somewhat correct--he hasn't been his best, but it's hard to save shots that are coming from directly in the crease, with no one challenging the shooters. At least two of these goals occurred in VCR and the Horvat PP goal was that tonight. The CaSucks first PP goal was also a result of bad team defence. So yes, Smith can be better, but the team defence has to improve. (It will.)

-Frolik/Jankowski/Bennett looked pretty good. Bennett was revved to go in the first. He needs more minutes. Maybe can get some on the PK with Janko...(?) Bennett haters need to give it a rest--he's working hard.

-Backlund completely deserves that "A".

-Organist game was on point: played "Stonecutters" from The Simpsons for a bit.

-Jamie Macoun as a guest analyst in the intermission--blunt and honest assessment. Articulate too--would love to hear more from him!

-Retros need to be the full-time unis. Dear Lord, seeing celebrations in those kits is surely like looking into the depths of heaven.

[Textcritic]

Originally Posted by drewtastic

-Hanifin is struggling. On several shifts, he was scrambling around, wildly out of position, which is not a great thing when his partner is Stone, who is solid but not super-mobile. This was especially apparent the shift after the Flames went ahead 5-4 and the CaSucks hit the post. I know he will pull it together, but very reminiscent of Hamilton's first few games as a Flame.

Yeah, I thought Hanifin struggled tonight, but he was much better on Wednesday. I wonder if it is the adjustment to playing with Stone.

[drewtastic]

Originally Posted by Textcritic

Yeah, I thought Hanifin struggled tonight, but he was much better on Wednesday. I wonder if it is the adjustment to playing with Stone.

Very likely. I kind of wished they'd've given Valimaki more minutes, but a third pairing of Stone/Prout...

[GranteedEV]

Originally Posted by Cecil Terwilliger

I wish Bennett played half as well as Dube or Czarnik so far this year.

You seem to have half as well and half as often confused. I love Czarnik's play for us and Dube's been competent, but Bennett hasn't remotely played worse than either - he's certainly gotten worse deployment though.

[Kovaz]

I think the bottom 6 is kind of mismatched at the moment and could probably use some shuffling. I think you keep Gaudreau-Monahan-Lindholm 100%, but I could see some shuffling of the 2nd line as well.

I think Neal and Jankowski could find some chemistry, similarly to Jagr and Janko last year where you get two big bodies down low in the cycle and they just dominate the puck.

Also seems as though Dube and Ryan are playing more of an up-tempo counterattacking style that Neal's struggling to keep up with. Might be a better fit with Bennett or even Frolik.

[getbak]

I wonder if we might see Hanifin-Andersson on Tuesday and put Stone back with Valimaki?

[MisterJoji]

Originally Posted by getbak

I wonder if we might see Hanifin-Andersson on Tuesday and put Stone back with Valimaki?

Whatever gets Prout out of the lineup.