Ok then, honest question. Why couldn't we swallow our pride and give him a cheer at ANY POINT this year? He may have been much better if he just felt some love from the home crowd.
Remember when Eric Francis said there was no way Smith would start at home because the fans would be on him? Man, that guy is a hack.
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Great win, Smith's best game as a Flame, and you can just see the confidence oozing out of him. I have been amongst the many who has doubted Peters handling of the goalies, and apparently there is a reason he makes $2 mil per season and I type on a message board.
Good news is that even after a 4-0 win, there is room for improvement. I thought there were too many turnovers in the defensive zone, and failures to clear the zone that created some of the few legit chances Colorado had. And that ill-considered pass up the middle from Backs. Yikes.
No complaints though, solid win, and a great kickoff to the campaign. 15 more to go.
Thank god for Eatbread showing the rest of the boys "hey, we don't have to clutch our sticks and this grubauer guy isn't all that great"
Mony and janko still probably need to just have a separate practice and borrow some tackling dummies from the stampeders or something, never seen two softer 6'2", 200lbs + guys on the ice.
Hanifin was really gripping his stick early but loved the way he settled in after a couple of shifts
Brodie played a great game, we need his speed out there against mackinnon for sure
Benny and Neal both flying around the ice, they need more ice time
Derek ryan legitimately might be using the sports & entertainment sections of the herald as his shin pads.
Was at the game last night. Wow, what an atmosphere!! The crowd had a huge buzz from beginning to end. Chants all night. Everyone having good clean fun. And the Flames did not disappoint.
Speaking of chants, how cool was it to here the Smitty chants all game. Hopefully it sounded as good on TV as it did live. Haven't had a good goalie chant since Kipper was around, and you couldn't help but feel good for Smith. He was feeding off it and was completely in the zone. I'll admit I was a worried when I heard he was the starter. But shame on me for ever doubting Bill Peters' decisions.
And Big Bad Bill Peters is a bad ass bastard. Engaged on the bench all night and completely out coached his counterpart.
Lindholm I thought was pretty good. Very physical and had the hit of the night. Even Gaudreau was grinding along. Monahan was flopping everywhere and it wasn't a good game for him. Barely noticed him other then a few shots here and there.
Gio was an animal. But I thought the best D was Hamonic. Damn, that guy really brought it from start to end, mixed it up in scrums, and was an all around reliable guy.
3M was great, especially Frolik. And of course, the 4th line continues to dominate whomever they play.
The lack of depth from the Avs really showed. The talk in my section was 'who the heck are these players' and splitting up the big 3 did nothing.
Pretty much the perfect way to start off the Flames' playoff season.
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Stressful to watch early, but those were my own playoff jitters.
Proud of the fans in attendance and the way they cheered for Smith. That had to feel good for him and I think you could see that reflected in how he played.
The exciting thing for me is that the Flames, as good as they were, will get better. Looking forward to Saturday!
All around a great game. Smith was just fantastic and his puck handling was a huge asset saving the Dmen from a few hits. You can already see the Aves Dmen hearing foot steps when the puck is dumped in because a Flames player is right on them.
Didn't like Landeskog trying to go all Bobby Clarke on Lindholm. NHL won't do nothing but that is a complete garbage play considering score, time left, and puck being nowhere near. There won't be a suspension, but it should be a fine.
