[PGT] Capitals 4, Flames 2

[Itse]

Originally Posted by DeluxeMoustache

To me, it’s not even the goals.

It is him getting the puck, doing the quick stop to fool the checker and create room for the pass, then stuffing it right in to the guy’s skates.

Plays are dying on his stick

That’s not the Johnny I remember. That looks like the stuff a friend of mine does in beer league.

This is beyond ridiculous. Gaudreau leads the team in assists, with 5 assists in the last 5 games. He's tied for 13th in the league in assists.

No, plays are not "dying on his stick". He's not on a 99 point pace, but he's not playing bad.

Neither him or Monahan have been scoring goals though, which is a bit of an issue. However, the teams struggles have been much more with defense than with offense.

We allow more shots than anyone, and have allowed 10+ more goals already than the top three teams in the division.

[bubbsy]

After the wins in Nashville and colombus, i have no issues with a loss yesterday.

The road trip definitely provides something for the team to build off. I am really hoping for a strong 4 game homestand here. I would love to see them pick up 5+ points.

[transplant99]

Originally Posted by Textcritic

By way of comparison:

· Vancouver has played nine road games, featuring three 2019 WC playoff teams. Their record in these games is 2–1, with wins v. St Louis and the struggling SJ Sharks. Their one loss was in Calgary.

· Edmonton has played nine road games, four of which have been against 2019 playoff teams, but only one in the WC. They lost that game 1–0 in a shootout in Winnipeg.

· Anaheim has played eight road games, with four against 2019 WC playoff teams. They have one win.

· Arizona has played seven road games, and three v. 2019 WC playoff teams. They have a 1–1–1 record.

· VGK has played six road games, and one v. a 2019 WC playoff team. It was Game #2 of the season in SJ, which they won.

· The Flames have played eleven road games. Nine of these against 2019 playoff teams, and six in the WC. They have a 2–3–1 record in those games.

No one has played as many road games as has Calgary. No one has played anywhere near the same number of road games against 2019 WC playoff opponents, and no one has recorded as many points as the Flames in these games.

The schedule masks a lot of what's really going on in the Pac Div right now.

Speaking of which...the Coyotes November sked is one of the worst i remember seeing in this league.

16 games in 29 days including 4 b2b's. Then they go on a 4 game road trip.

https://www.nhl.com/coyotes/schedule/2019-11-01/RT


Gonna know a whole bunch more about that club in about 5 weeks.

[Textcritic]

Originally Posted by Itse

...Neither him or Monahan have been scoring goals though, which is a bit of an issue. However, the teams struggles have been much more with defense than with offense.

We allow more shots than anyone, and have allowed 10+ more goals already than the top three teams in the division.

Again, I think this has a lot to do with the schedule. The Flames home/road schedule has been 6–11. Edmonton's is 6–9, Vancouver's is 5–9, and VGK's is 9–6. Two of those teams has played one road game v. a 2019 WC playoff team, and the other one has played three. Calgary has already played six.

[Textcritic]

Originally Posted by transplant99

Speaking of which...the Coyotes November sked is one of the worst i remember seeing in this league.

16 games in 29 days including 4 b2b's. Then they go on a 4 game road trip.

https://www.nhl.com/coyotes/schedule/2019-11-01/RT


Gonna know a whole bunch more about that club in about 5 weeks.

Jesus.

One of those back-to-backs is against the last two SC winners:
11/11 @ Washington
12/11 @ St Louis

[DeluxeMoustache]

Originally Posted by Itse

This is beyond ridiculous. Gaudreau leads the team in assists, with 5 assists in the last 5 games. He's tied for 13th in the league in assists.

No, plays are not "dying on his stick". He's not on a 99 point pace, but he's not playing bad.

Neither him or Monahan have been scoring goals though, which is a bit of an issue. However, the teams struggles have been much more with defense than with offense.

We allow more shots than anyone, and have allowed 10+ more goals already than the top three teams in the division.

No, it’s not beyond ridiculous. It is correct.

I did not say every play dies on his stick, nor did I say he hasn’t made a good pass here or there, from which he has gotten assists.

Did you watch the games this weekend? Again, look for the very specific example of the quick stop and turn, and pass hitting the opponents skates. It happened well more than once yesterday.

Yes, an unexpectedly large number of plays have died on his stick recently.

What’s the difference between being sub point per game, and 99 point pace? In part, could be some plays that died on his stick.

[Rick M.]

Originally Posted by dustygoon

I have to say, i have not been a big Kylington fan and wanted to see him traded before his bad decisions were no longer just due to learning curve and trade value converged to zero.

But he has really played well lately. In his own zone, he comes up with the puck in board battles, makes sensible passes and off the glass if needed, supports his partner, plays pretty physical, and has just calmed his game down overall. I'm not sure how the left side shakes out when everyone is healthy, but I wouldn't be opposed to him staying.

I enjoyed it when he stapled Wilson to the boards. His game had taken a big step forward this season.

[SuperMatt18]

Originally Posted by Rick M.

I enjoyed it when he stapled Wilson to the boards. His game had taken a big step forward this season.

The big thing I think that teams sometimes do is leave guys in the AHL too long, and then give up on them, when really what they needed was a steady run of games at the NHL level to continue to develop.

I feel like Andersson and Kylington have both taken steps by being allowed to grow and develop at the NHL level, and I'm not sure Kylington takes these steps if's hes in the AHL like he likely would have been if Valimaki wasn't injured.

[NewFan]

Mangi goal was good one. Hope he become the real top 6 player. If he had body like Jankowski, he would have been a great player for us.

[Textcritic]

Originally Posted by NewFan

Mangi goal was good one...

I loved that his goal was identical to the one he score in Game #1 of the playoffs last year.

[Infinit47]

Originally Posted by DeluxeMoustache

No goalie stops Eller’s shot

Maybe another goalie controls the breakaway rebound better, and doesn’t slide in to the net leaving the gap at the post, but that is debatable, and happened real quick

Talbot was the sacrificial lamb. Playing back to back, third game in four nights, on the road, against a great team. Talbot was fine.

I actually thought the team played well. A few istakes were made and I and they were too tired to push hard late, but the effort was there.

[Enoch Root]

I ran a few numbers on the scheduling which I thought were interesting. I will post later. Spoiler alert: the Flames have had it pretty tough.

Fun fact: The Leafs, Rangers, and Devils have all slept in their own beds every single night this season so far. (The Flames have enjoyed that privilege the least, of course).

[Joborule]

Talk about how tough the schedule has been for the Flames to start of the season made me take a quick scan of the schedule for the rest of the season.

This month once again the Flames have more road games than home games. December is a month that's more in their favour, having 8 home games to 5 road ones.

In January, the 11th will be the last home game until the All-Star break. Flames will have a 3 game Eastern Canada road trip from the 13th to the 18th, and then will have their NHL bye week until January 28th, when they're back home against the Blues, then head up north to Edmonton for the second half of their back-to-back. (Flames next game after is against Oilers again, but in the dome on Feb. 1st - Saturday night)

Flames have another season long 5 game road trip that spans from February 23rd to March 1st.

Finally in March, the Flames schedule heavily favours home games for not just that month, but the rest of the season. 9 home games, and the final 4 road games of the season are in March. In April, the two games are at home. The Flames will be on a three game NYC Metro road trip from March 16th to 19th, and then are pretty much home for the rest of the season. They have one game in Vancouver within that span, but travel to Vancouver is close enough that players won't be away from their homes.

So the Flames travel schedule is kinda tough when you look at it this season. But at least during the final several weeks of the season, when it's the playoff push, the Flames will have most of their games at home.

[GioforPM]

Originally Posted by Joborule

So the Flames travel schedule is kinda tough when you look at it this season. But at least during the final several weeks of the season, when it's the playoff push, the Flames will have most of their games at home.

An interesting question for coaches and gms would be whether they prefer an easy schedule at the beginning or end. At the beginning some opponents won't be as ready, not in "mid season form". On the other hand, neither will your team, and you might not get those easy points (though they did up north). At the end some teams will be out of it and your team should be focused.

Of course, you'd have to get them drunk enough to avoid a cliche hockey interview answer.

[jayswin]

I'd prefer the weakest part of the schedule in the playoffs.

[GioforPM]

Originally Posted by jayswin

I'd prefer the weakest part of the schedule in the playoffs.

Like when they played the Canucks

[djsFlames]

Originally Posted by bubbsy

After the wins in Nashville and colombus, i have no issues with a loss yesterday.

The road trip definitely provides something for the team to build off. I am really hoping for a strong 4 game homestand here. I would love to see them pick up 5+ points.

No reason not to pick up 6+.

[Itse]

Originally Posted by Textcritic

Again, I think this has a lot to do with the schedule. The Flames home/road schedule has been 6–11. Edmonton's is 6–9, Vancouver's is 5–9, and VGK's is 9–6. Two of those teams has played one road game v. a 2019 WC playoff team, and the other one has played three. Calgary has already played six.

It's not unrelated to the schedule, but there's been some godawful defensive games regardless of context. Nashville game as the most recent example, even though they scored their way out of it.

I'm not overly worried, but if I was to name our primary problem right now, I would say it's defensive play in general.

[GioforPM]

Originally Posted by Itse

It's not unrelated to the schedule, but there's been some godawful defensive games regardless of context. Nashville game as the most recent example, even though they scored their way out of it.

I'm not overly worried, but if I was to name our primary problem right now, I would say it's defensive play in general.

And in their good defensive games, their zone defence led directly to good offensive chances.