I really struggle to understand how Monahan is still wearing an A on his jersey. He's all talk in interviews, he's like a broken record " We remember how much it sucks to lose etc etc", yet every time come playoffs, he's invisible. Tkachuk on the other hand, he came to play game 1. He backed up his words, with action. Though now, he needs to back it up on the scoresheet. Every year come playoffs, it's always the same narrative, oh Monahan's probably injured, but what's his excuse now? If Mohanan's still our #1 center for the next couple of years, this team's not going to take that next step that it needs to.
I agree he shys away from the dirty areas and battling for loose pucks on the boards, I don't think it's just him IMO I think gaudreau is as big of a problem as he is. The only palyers on this team that seem to GAS are Tkachuk, Lindy, Mangiapane, Backlund, Bennett, Lucic, Dube, sometimes Gio, Andersson, and Rittich which I still don't understand why he got snubbed again, he was one of the main reason we had the record we did last season, and stole us key games this year to keep us in a playoff spot. This team just doesn't have that killer instinct and their identity is still unknown, it also doesn't help when your two top stars are content with mediocracy
Nope. I'm a fan, maybe Ur a homer/koolaid drinking fan who doesn't see anything but roses (I don't actually believe you are any of that, but how did that feel? That's how the insinuation that I'm not a fan felt to me).
I've definitely come to a point where I am not expecting monahan and gaudreau to lift their play come crunch time. Now that I've come to this point, I just don't really have the patience to go into every year expecting the same group to magically be something they aren't.
That felt fine, because it doesn’t matter what you think, just like it doesn’t matter what I think. I was posing an honest possibility, not saying you’re not a fan.
I just don’t understand the point, I guess. It you’re not enjoying something meant to be enjoyed, and if the losses are harder than the wins are enjoyable, why bother? If you dislike the team you’re a fan of more than almost any other team in the league, why call yourself a fan?
You can be a fan however you want. Anyone can. But being a “fan” or a “lifelong fan” or whatever isn’t some status, it’s not a role you play. You’re either a fan of the team (or hockey, I guess) or you’re not. And either one is ok. Somewhere along the way being a “fan” became a thing, and one that is synonymous with not enjoying yourself. That seems kind of ####ty to me. I wouldn’t bother calling myself a fan of a team I didn’t like. That seems crazy. Maybe a follower, I guess, but nobody calls themselves that.
The Following User Says Thank You to PepsiFree For This Useful Post:
Location: Wondering when # became hashtag and not a number sign.
Exp:
Quote:
Originally Posted by agulati
Agreed. I actually didn’t mind Gaudreau’s game at all today. Monahan on the other hand, needs to do more tomorrow.
Really?
Wow...I thought he was way way below average. I know on one shift he lost or turned the puck over 4 times. Had to be at least 15 for the game. Many of them inside his own blueline at that.
Mind you I am of the opinion the team as a whole was a steaming pile of dog crap today, sans Talbot. The only reason this game was even close is because the Jets are a really average to poor hockey team themselves. Had this been any of a dozen other opponents we are probably talking about a 4 or 5 goal loss.
A couple of posters come to mind ha ha ha. I didn’t think the officiating was great today but I wouldn’t use that as an excuse for the loss as a depleted Jets team didn’t feel sorry for themselves and came to play and the Flames were simply far too sloppy. They need to get back to the basics of completing passes and going to the net. Also it wouldn’t hurt to score the first goal in a game as well.
Location: F*** me. We're so f***ing good, you check the f***ing standings? Lets f***ing go! F***ing practice!
Exp:
Quote:
Originally Posted by ComixZone
You take penalties when you're emotionally engaged.
I'll take Bennett's penalties and 6 points in his last 7 playoff games over Johnny and Sean's emotionless, useless hockey. At least we'd lose while putting in hard nosed effort, rather than fading because you're too afraid to play with pace and can't take the pain.
Lining up on a faceoff at center ice RIGHT after your team got scored on to go down one and crosschecking the guy you're lined up against not once but twice before the puck is dropped is hardnosed or playing with pace?
I'd call it playing stupid and selfish.
There is no doubt Ward is kicking himself for putting that line out after the goal. This is exactly why every coach that Sam Bennett has had doesn't trust him with more minutes.
__________________ Backlund for Selke 2017 2018
Oilers suck.
That felt fine, because it doesn’t matter what you think, just like it doesn’t matter what I think. I was posing an honest possibility, not saying you’re not a fan.
I just don’t understand the point, I guess. It you’re not enjoying something meant to be enjoyed, and if the losses are harder than the wins are enjoyable, why bother? If you dislike the team you’re a fan of more than almost any other team in the league, why call yourself a fan?
You can be a fan however you want. Anyone can. But being a “fan” or a “lifelong fan” or whatever isn’t some status, it’s not a role you play. You’re either a fan of the team (or hockey, I guess) or you’re not. And either one is ok. Somewhere along the way being a “fan” became a thing, and one that is synonymous with not enjoying yourself. That seems kind of ####ty to me. I wouldn’t bother calling myself a fan of a team I didn’t like. That seems crazy. Maybe a follower, I guess, but nobody calls themselves that.
Fair points. I am definitely a lifer, I’ve tried changing team affiliations in other sports, but just can’t (sad dolphin fan here).
I suppose my youthful excitement has evolved to cynicism with the flames as I inch closer to 40. I don’t consider the definition of a fan to be cheerleader thru thick or thin. I think a fan is invested in a team, so much so over the years, that there is a lower level of fandom towards individual players, coaches, GMs. I am a fan of the flames, that doesn’t mean I gotta love this generation of team. I definitely am not in love with this group and the current state of the franchise. I am eager for the franchise to figure out their next direction rather than fool heartedly take the same group expecting a miraculous progression.
I supposed it’s that part of me that isn’t shy to speak so brutally about things, even though it’s just a game 2 loss. Grand scheme of things, it’s just one loss. But the roots of the loss are the same themes this group/core has defined themselves by for long enough.
The Following 2 Users Say Thank You to bubbsy For This Useful Post:
Lining up on a faceoff at center ice RIGHT after your team got scored on to go down one and crosschecking the guy you're lined up against not once but twice before the puck is dropped is hardnosed or playing with pace?
I'd call it playing stupid and selfish.
There is no doubt Ward is kicking himself for putting that line out after the goal. This is exactly why every coach that Sam Bennett has had doesn't trust him with more minutes.
I would hope the coaching staff is more worried about the powerplay going 0 for 6 and that Tkachuk, Gaudreau, Monahan and Giordano were absolutely horrible.
Bennett scored a goal, and took a penalty that generally wouldn't be called in the playoffs. Complaining about a Bennett penalty when he found his way onto the scoresheet during 5 on 5 play strikes me as a weird thing to key in on when we've got the core of our team coasting around the perimeter during playoff hockey.
Hartley trusted Bennett with plenty of minutes, and Benny produced pretty damn well for a rookie. While Hartley wasn't a superstar coach, he's a much better coach than any of the jokes that have followed him.
2 PIMs, 1 goal. Solid game - but go ahead and peg all the Flames struggles on the fact that Bennett took a penalty.
Sean Monahan: 14 pts in 22 playoff games, 3 points in his last 7 playoff games
Johnny Gaudreau: 13 pts in 22 playoff games, 2 points in his last 7 playoff games
Mark Giordano: 4 pts in 15 playoff games, 2 points in his last 7 playoff games
Sam Bennett: 12 pts in 22 playoff games, 6 points in his last 7 playoff games
Matthew Tkachuk: 3 pts in 11 playoff games, 3 points in his last 7 playoff games
Sam Bennett is not the problem with this team in the playoffs.
Some players are letting their team down right now, and Sam is not one of them.
Yeah I can’t imagine a world where Ward is giving more airtime in his mind to the Bennett penalty than he is the half dozen or more other, significantly more impactful issues that contributed to the loss. Thankfully NHL coaches don’t have the luxury of being as one-note in analysing a game as some posters do.
Bennett played well, took a penalty at the wrong time. I’m happy it was a penalty for being a aggressive than one for being lazy, but it’s still just rotten timing. That said, he comes out of the game even to me. Not something you want for a guy that scored a goal, but I’ll take his effort this afternoon over the handful of guys who made mistakes and generated nothing to make up for it. Mangiapane played a worse game today (but not bad) and took just as bad a penalty, but he doesn’t have a little anti-fan club frothing at the mouth over him lol.
The Following 2 Users Say Thank You to PepsiFree For This Useful Post:
ComixZone comment about coaching does make me wonder about what the message is in the dressing room.
Monahan, Gaudreau, Bennett, etc all seemed to show a lot more emotion when they played under Hartley and Hartley was a pretty firey guy. Since then though the coaching staff behind the bench has been so emotionless.
GG was emotionless and I think he actively coached emotion out of the team (getting both Ferland and Bennett to play more controlled games).
Peters had a bit more emotion but still wasn’t a guy that showed a lot of emotion on the bench or in the media.
Ward is pretty much emotionless on the bench too.
All these coaches are very businesslike and don’t add any fire to the team. The whole roster treats it like a job...and I’m not sure that’s a good thing. Treat it like your passion, not a job.
I’d like to see a coach like Boudreau coach this team. Strong systems, fits a teams style to their roster, and wears his heart on his sleeve.
The Following 11 Users Say Thank You to SuperMatt18 For This Useful Post:
ComixZone comment about coaching does make me wonder about what the message is in the dressing room.
Monahan, Gaudreau, Bennett, etc all seemed to show a lot more emotion when they played under Hartley and Hartley was a pretty firey guy. Since then though the coaching staff behind the bench has been so emotionless.
GG was emotionless and I think he actively coached emotion out of the team (getting both Ferland and Bennett to play more controlled games).
Peters had a bit more emotion but still wasn’t a guy that showed a lot of emotion on the bench or in the media.
Ward is pretty much emotionless on the bench too.
All these coaches are very businesslike and don’t add any fire to the team. The whole roster treats it like a job...and I’m not sure that’s a good thing. Treat it like your passion, not a job.
I’d like to see a coach like Boudreau coach this team. Strong systems, fits a teams style to their roster, and wears his heart on his sleeve.
Boudreau is also a coach that you can get behind and cheer for. He outwardly wants to !@#$ing WIN! All the time.
Paul Maurice dragged Tkachuk through the damn mud yesterday. The Flames got some chintzy calls against them this game. Unrelated?
Ward should have come out today and added fuel to the fire. Instead? Business as usual. So, business as usual tomorrow then. We'll see how it goes.
Ward came out yesterday and pretty staunchly defended Tkachuk.
What did you want him to do to add fuel to the fire?
I'm more concerned that Tkachuk famously "arrived" against Colorado Game 1 after being called out a bit by the media for not doing anything previously in the playoffs and then disappeared offensively the rest of the series. Game 1 vs WPG compared to Game 2 felt very similar.
Need to see more killer instinct from most of the team, but Tkachuk is the one guy that absolutely should lead the team in the playoffs.
The Following User Says Thank You to AC For This Useful Post:
ComixZone comment about coaching does make me wonder about what the message is in the dressing room.
Monahan, Gaudreau, Bennett, etc all seemed to show a lot more emotion when they played under Hartley and Hartley was a pretty firey guy. Since then though the coaching staff behind the bench has been so emotionless.
GG was emotionless and I think he actively coached emotion out of the team (getting both Ferland and Bennett to play more controlled games).
Peters had a bit more emotion but still wasn’t a guy that showed a lot of emotion on the bench or in the media.
Ward is pretty much emotionless on the bench too.
All these coaches are very businesslike and don’t add any fire to the team. The whole roster treats it like a job...and I’m not sure that’s a good thing. Treat it like your passion, not a job.
I’d like to see a coach like Boudreau coach this team. Strong systems, fits a teams style to their roster, and wears his heart on his sleeve.
Ward came out yesterday and pretty staunchly defended Tkachuk.
What did you want him to do to add fuel to the fire?
His defense of Tkachuk was still pretty tame and just business like.
Him or Treliving should have come right out just as intense as Maurice and attacked Maurice directly.
Imagine how Burke, Hartley, or even D.Sutter would have reacted if one coach went at one of their star players like that with those type of accusations
The Following 4 Users Say Thank You to SuperMatt18 For This Useful Post:
I believe Peters was anything but business like with the team behind closed doors.
With that Jets D, and a depleted forward group, I’m expecting our top guys to control the flow next game. It was never likely they’d win both games in 30 hours if you want to look at bright side.
Him or Treliving should have come right out just as intense as Maurice and attacked Maurice directly.
Imagine how Burke, Hartley, or even D.Sutter would have reacted if one coach went at one of their star players like that.
Yeah, I could see those 3 being pretty snarky when referring to Maurice's comments.
However I'm not convinced that would have helped the team. Seems like had that happened the team would have had a similar performance regardless, and then the narrative would be that our management just got suckered into the distraction.
If a player can't "get up" for a playoff game, I don't think it's the coach's fault.
The Following 3 Users Say Thank You to AC For This Useful Post:
