[PGT] Flames jobbed by officiating. Lose 3-1 to the Sharks.

[Huntingwhale]

Originally Posted by Saint Troy

Flames gagged on two tap ins and a penalty shot in the third, too bad they wasted a game Mike Smith showed up for...

That's ultimately what it comes down to. Can blame the refs all we want, but when you make Martin Jones look like Vezina Jones, you don't give yourself much of a chance. Even without the refs, the Flames didn't dictate pace like the Sharks did.

Bennett's penalty shot was one of the worst attempts I've ever seen. The chance to produce in a clutch play, and instead an attempt wasted. It's not 'bad luck' that will prevent Bennett from ever producing offensively. He just lacks the finish, plain and simple. Still a useful player though.

Smith looked dialed in. He had the fire in his eyes, and that glove save on the 2 vs 1 could have easily gone in and it wouldn't have been his fault. Instead he came up huge. Too bad the team couldn't get another one for him.

M. Jones has had the Flames' number for a while. Not surprised he had a great game. Erik Karlsson looks really out of place for the Sharks. I find that very surprising considering how well star defencemen who have come over in trades have worked out in the past. Players like Campbell, Boyle and Burns are all example of all-star defencemen who have been traded to the Sharks and fit right in. It's surprising the best skating Dman in the league hasn't fit in very well with the Sharks' system.

[midniteowl]

Originally Posted by Otto-matic

I think Cassie nailed it on the head in the broadcast, that's a shot a player takes who has zero confidence in his skill right now. I think Pre-GG Bennett would have tried something a bit fancier.

Now are we too far gone with Bennett and should we start to think about trading partners? Maybe a change of scenery would do him wonders.

How to rebuild his confidence? Playing with Ryan sure doesn't help, the play kept dying on Ryan's stick.

[skcli]

Originally Posted by midniteowl

How to rebuild his confidence? Playing with Ryan sure doesn't help, the play kept dying on Ryan's stick.

A chat with Lanny or Iginla !

[Otto-matic]

Originally Posted by midniteowl

How to rebuild his confidence? Playing with Ryan sure doesn't help, the play kept dying on Ryan's stick.

Can he be sent down to the AHL?

Maybe a couple weeks in the AHL to build up his confidence and skill may be a good kick in the butt for him.

[Dajazz]

Split up Gaudreau & Monahan, it’s getting too cute.

Neal needs someone to get him the puck. Gaudreau needs someone to “talk” to people who slashes him.

Bennett hands of stone, Backlund might be injured (hand) - would explain his shot and unwillingness to be dirty.

Anyway, switch up the lines a little.

[Joborule]

If Flames aren't going to falter, and continue getting winning results throughout the rest of the season, the secondary scoring is gonna have to start showing up here. It can't be relied upon the first two lines being the only players who produce goals night in, night out. The third and fourth lines are gonna have to get goals here and there on a regular basis themselves.

This is why there is a lot of need for Bennett, Janko, and most importantly, Neal to be at least somewhat productive on the statsheet. This roster needs to have three lines that are a threat to score each night so then if one or two lines aren't getting any goals that evening, at least one line may be able to pot a goal or two in a low scoring game.

Gotta have offensive range/depth throughout the lineup to be successful in this league. Their still struggling to take advantage of the decent number of high scoring chances they're getting, and making a lot of goalies look like they're working harder than they actually are. Force the goalie to make an actual incredible save, rather than shooting into them. Therefore more of the shots of these chances will end up in the net, and the others will make it to the highlight of the night reel.

[Jeff Lebowski]

Originally Posted by Otto-matic

Now are we too far gone with Bennett and should we start to think about trading partners? Maybe a change of scenery would do him wonders.

I believe in him - and probably a minority opinion but think he can be a significant offensive contributor - but he needs support.

Gaudreau - Monahan - Tkachuk
Bennett - Lindholm - Neal
Frolik - Backlund - Czarnik
Ryan - Jankowski - Hathaway

Bennett and Czarnik on half wall on PP2

[GranteedEV]

Originally Posted by midniteowl

How to rebuild his confidence? Playing with Ryan sure doesn't help, the play kept dying on Ryan's stick.

I would put him back down the middle where he would get more touches, flanked by Czarnik/Frolik on the left and Neal on the right, show him a lot of tape of himself in the first ~110 games of his career, and tell him to go out there and just focus on having fun rushing the ice with his linemates. No more trying to cycle responsibly, no more trying to rack up "scoring chances" on the forecheck, and let the natural tendencies of playing defensively as a center be the catalyst to better play at the other end.

[Brick]

Originally Posted by Jeff Lebowski

I believe in him - and probably a minority opinion but think he can be a significant offensive contributor - but he needs support.

Gaudreau - Monahan - Tkachuk
Bennett - Lindholm - Neal
Frolik - Backlund - Czarnik
Ryan - Jankowski - Hathaway

Bennett and Czarnik on half wall on PP2

I like your lines. They make the most sense to me. Why they insist on playing Backlund in the top six is ridiculous. He is a checker and is a big part of the reason this is a one line team. IMO you have the top six correct. Let's hope that Bill Peters actually tries that.

[blender]

Tough loss to take as a fan, but some positives can be taken.
Team still playing well overall. Just no finish lately.
Smith can play at an NHL level. That alone is a massive relief. He needs to keep it up, obviously, but at least it is possible; something that was not certain over the last couple of weeks.
Team is still in a good spot in the standings. Adversity is part of hockey. Learn from it and move on.

[Samonadreau]

Originally Posted by Otto-matic

Can he be sent down to the AHL?

Maybe a couple weeks in the AHL to build up his confidence and skill may be a good kick in the butt for him.

Not sure if this is a serious question but he would have to clear waivers. Not a world beater but no chance he makes it through.

[Calgary4LIfe]

Missed in all of this is that SJ out-played and out-chanced the Flames by my eye. Yes, Flames missed some huge opportunities, but they got out-hustled. SJ seemed to win a lot of puck battles tonight. That was the difference.



Both goalies played really well. Nice to see Smith playing like himself again. Hopefully this continues. If it does, Flames are a lock for the playoffs and will probably be contending for the division.


As for Bennett - he was far from an issue tonight by my eye. I thought he competed well. He still has ZERO confidence offensively right now and, I believe, is still a relic of Gulutzan utilizing him as a grinder. Bennett just needs some reps in offensive situations, and even just a lucky goal or two bouncing off his butt can start making a world of difference.


Outside of a handful of players, I just think that the Flames didn't show up for this one quite like they should have. Maybe they did, and SJ found a way to neutralize them effectively enough. I just saw way too many puck battles lost and they were too sloppy in their own zone tonight.

[Dajazz]

Split up Gaudreau & Monahan, it’s getting too cute.

Neal needs someone to get him the puck. Gaudreau needs someone to “talk” to people who slashes him.

Bennett hands of stone, Backlund might be injured (hand) - would explain his shot and unwillingness to be dirty.

Anyway, switch up the lines a little.

[midniteowl]

Originally Posted by Otto-matic

Can he be sent down to the AHL?

Maybe a couple weeks in the AHL to build up his confidence and skill may be a good kick in the butt for him.

He'll have to go through waiver, I think. Other teams will claim him for sure.

[flamesrule14]

Awful road trip for Backlund. Didn’t like his game in Anaheim and didn’t like his game tonight at all either. Really struggled defensively which is odd for him. Offensively just not even close to being good enough either. He needs to be much better. That may have been one of the quietest games I’ve seen Tkachuk play. Just a strange game from those two who are always dependable.

Good on Peters for benching Neal. Looked totally disinterested every shift. Quite frankly he looked lazy every shift. Hopefully this wakes him up and he starts showing up. Agree with others who say he needs to play with someone who can get him the puck. He doesn’t deserve it, but I’d play him with Gaudreau. I just don’t know how you’d justify giving him that opportunity with how he’s played so far. At some point though I think we’ll see it.

I’ve liked Janko’s game the last few games. More involved skating well and getting chances. Needs to bury his opportunities though. Same with Bennett. Like his game, but at some point you need to finish.

Hopefully a sign of things to come from Smith. Didn’t love the first goal, but he was steady after that. Body language from him was totally different too. Looked confident again in the net.

Officiating awful especially the last 10 minutes or so. Nothing new though as it’s been awful for years. Would love to hear the explanation on the no delay of game penalty. Too bad we’ll never hear it.

[DazzlinDino]

Originally Posted by Otto-matic

I think Cassie nailed it on the head in the broadcast, that's a shot a player takes who has zero confidence in his skill right now. I think Pre-GG Bennett would have tried something a bit fancier.

Now are we too far gone with Bennett and should we start to think about trading partners? Maybe a change of scenery would do him wonders.

I was thinking the same thing. It was like he was trying to do something Monahan would do with his shot. I think with a little confidence he could have faked with a back hand. At least he is getting some opportunities, he just has to keep building on what he is doing!

Byron missed tons of breakaways and we gave up on him too soon. Lets not make that mistake with Bennett because he missed on a penalty shot.

[Strange Brew]

Originally Posted by DazzlinDino

I was thinking the same thing. It was like he was trying to do something Monahan would do with his shot. I think with a little confidence he could have faked with a back hand. At least he is getting some opportunities, he just has to keep building on what he is doing!

Byron missed tons of breakaways and we gave up on him too soon. Lets not make that mistake with Bennett because he missed on a penalty shot.

Yeah but Byron’s breakaways sure looked different than Bennett’s.

We should not give up on Bennett, let’s just come to grips with what he is.

[81MC]

Yikes, wasn’t there discussion about how Bennett was playing great and a contributor in at least a few of he recent games? Guys will struggle, lull, underperform, or just go cold. Doing it as a group is unfortunate, but really based on the last 10 games I’m not too worried. Bunch of youngins and new faces, guys are going to gripna little too tight. 3/4 lines looked great recently, second night of a tough back to back. Bummer to go 1/3, but I think they’ll be okay.

[DazzlinDino]

Originally Posted by Strange Brew

Yeah but Byron’s breakaways sure looked different than Bennett’s.

We should not give up on Bennett, let’s just come to grips with what he is.

Agreed and anything more from him is a bonus but he is showing the type of energy we sorely missed from Byron.

Bennett got wacked 2 or 3 times on the hand and at one point pushed forward on the breakaway only using one hand. I think he also may have been a tad bit tired on the penalty shot. It happens, Johnny has missed a few, but yeah lets trade him.

[WhiteTiger]

Ugh. I had to leave with 11 minutes left in the 3rd. I'd hoped we'd pull it together and come back. Guess not. >.<