[PGT] Leafs 2-Flames 1

[Goriders]

Kylington is a different player this year and why Valimaki and Zadorov keep sitting

[DeluxeMoustache]

Kylington’s goal was sweet

Vladar was awesome.

That’s all

[genetic_phreek]

I think it's time to insert in Walker Duehr and see if we can develop him. Good skating right winger RHS. Have him play with Mangi and Mony. A similar line to the world championships.

Johnny - Lindy - Chucky
Mangi - Mony - Duehr
Coleman - Backs - Doobs
Looch - Richardson - Lewis/Pitlick

[djsFlames]

Originally Posted by TheScorpion

Really getting tired of this narrative that Kylington is bad defensively. The Flames barely allow any chances when he's on the ice and he's a legit part of that.

With the way he's playing, I wouldn't change a part of his game right now. Every defenceman gives the puck away now and then.

https://twitter.com/user/status/1459389475071696898

Sportsnet really love to run with angles that seem convenient, but are not backed up with evidence.

Basically they're a collection of amateurs who happen to have the vast majority of rights to the Canadian teams.

The high risk/reward thing around Oliver was prominent when he first came on to the scene and the AHL. But now he's the default #4 d-man on one of the top defensive teams in the league. That wouldn't be the case if he hadn't improved his all around game.

[djsFlames]

Originally Posted by Goriders

The team should buy Vlader beers after that game. He was the reason for the point. Great backup goalie! Best one I’ve seen on the Flames.

The rest if the team looked bagged. Understandable with the back to back.

They better get some sleep and take it out on Ottawa on Sunday.

Vladar is easily 1B quality, despite very few games under his belt. And a good one at that.

Great composure, only lets in very high quality shots it seems.

If only we had the consistent offensive output to support these quality starts from our goaltenders.

[Huntingwhale]

Oliver giveth, Oliver taketh. Sensation goal by him. A flubber on his giveaway. Hard to put in entirely on him though. Plenty of players didn't show up. Vlader stole the point. Losing streaks suck, but all I ask is they at least lose in OT when possible. Good they are compiling some points that way.

Valimaki in please. Not sure what he's done to get in the doghouse but he needs to either start busting his ass in practice or apologize to Sutter for whatever he did. Would much rather see him in the lineup than Zadorov finding a way to improve his game.

Usually at this point in the season the team is playing catchup to the teams in the West. For once they built a bit of a cushion when facing some adversity and hopefully come out better long term for it. Still, the Wild Card spots are a bit too close for comfort.

Also, #### the Ducks and their stupid 6 game winning streak to weasel their way over us in the standings. Big WTF on that.

[AC]

[flamesforcup]

I don't think we have as much as a cushion as people think. Our team is literally 7-7. Its concerning but not surprising giving the lack of talent. If we dont get out of this skid i dont think we have the skills to make the playoffs.

[PeteMoss]

Originally Posted by AC

Yeah, calling out Kylington for being bad defensively is extremely lazy as it just relies on the narrative surrounding him in previous years. Oh, that is an Eric Francis headline... that explains it then.

Tanev was the one fumbling the puck for partial breakaways against tonight, with Kylington busting his ass to break them up for the most part.

You get a rep and sticks with you for a while. TJ Brodie used to make that same type of play 5-6 times a year but his rep as stalwart was settled so it was always brushed off.

[Rick M.]

Originally Posted by djsFlames

LA and Anaheim are coming out of their rebuilds?

I'm pretty sure Anaheim hasn't even hit bottom yet.

Eichel hasn't even touched ice, let alone looked like he's found form.

Really reaching for that pessimism narrative, I'd say.

Yes, I’m expecting the Suicide Booth to put in an appearance.

[GS Skier]

Monahans back and hip problem is done and over with. His skating has returned to normal and while no speedster he can certainly skate as fast as a guy like Tkachuk. He's working the walls really well and winning lots of puck battles. He's getting more chances and looking like a 200 foot version of the kid who scored 23 the year before Gaudreau showed up. Noticed his posture skating and no question he's not suffering from that issue anymore .

[Rick M.]

Originally Posted by Goriders

The team should buy Vlader beers after that game. He was the reason for the point. Great backup goalie! Best one I’ve seen on the Flames.

The rest if the team looked bagged. Understandable with the back to back.

They better get some sleep and take it out on Ottawa on Sunday.

Those Toronto powerplays early used up a lot of Flames energy.

[Mindtravellee]

Originally Posted by AC

Yeah, calling out Kylington for being bad defensively is extremely lazy as it just relies on the narrative surrounding him in previous years. Oh, that is an Eric Francis headline... that explains it then.

Tanev was the one fumbling the puck for partial breakaways against tonight, with Kylington busting his ass to break them up for the most part.

Remember one where Kylington caught up to the breakaway preventing a shot. It's all a balance

[TherapyforGlencross]

Boys played a hard fought battle on a back-to-back. You could tell they were playing very tired in the third. Unfortunate play by Kylington; he’s a young defender, those things will happen every now and then, especially playing in a top-4 role. He knows he has to do better, his reaction portrayed as much.

We’re in an offensive slump. Oh well. Us scoring at 4-5 goals a game was pretty unsustainable but I believe this stretch for the lack of goals is also unsustainable.

[DazzlinDino]

Originally Posted by DeluxeMoustache

Kylington’s goal was sweet

Vladar was awesome.

That’s all

Should experiment with him as a forward. He's got great hands speed, and can pass. loses the puck in his feet, regains control to score a backhanded top-shelf goal, all in a split second. Wow! If he was a forward he might have a very good two-way game.

[ComixZone]

Originally Posted by DazzlinDino

Should experiment with him as a forward. He's got great hands speed, and can pass. loses the puck in his feet, regains control to score a backhanded top-shelf goal, all in a split second. Wow! If he was a forward he might have a very good two-way game.

He's proving himself to be a high end d-man. Moving him to forward would be an odd choice. If Kylington wasn't actively breaking out this season as a legit top-4 d-man I believe the team would be in a very different (worse) situation.

[Ziggy Lidstrom]

Sadly I still think this team scores less than 200 goals. I don’t see how they get there. They need more offence. Kravtsov is there. A big goal scoring winger looking for a chance. He won’t cost value akin to his draft slot. We need offence that won’t get pushed off the puck too easily.

And most people here know my thoughts on tachuck. 9 million a year for that guy. That’s gonna be more than iggy ever made a year. But will matt ever reach iginla heights of nhl dominance?

I think giving the kids on the farm a chance to play would be good this early in the season. Ruzicka over dube would be a good look. Dube is just so snake bitten at this level. He needs a chance to see the game from the press box.

Valimaki not playing is stupid too. Send him to Stockton then. Let him get PP1 time and build some confidence. For a dman that was drafted first round with offensive promise I haven’t seen much to warrant those projections.

Monny looks so indecisive and slow out there. Sad to see one of our better homegrown offensive players fall so precipitously so quickly.

Anderson is frustrating. IMO he could be so much better but he just is what he is. He is slow and doesn’t have very high ice iq. Sure he can battle a bit down low but his lack of burst is gonna see that matthews goal more often.

And what happened to our three on three magic? Was Brodie really that good? Sadly yes. We have so many slow players that 3 on 3 is a death knell for this group. Get used to loser points.

I still like Darryls approach and I think he sees the writing on the wall with this group. He knows they are gonna be in tough to make the playoffs with our pop gun offence.

The sky isn’t falling but regression to the mean is a thing. This group has had a few years together as they are built and I don’t see them turning a corner.

But hockey is tough to predict and growth isn’t linear. Gaudreau is still elite. Lindy is a strong presence. Eats bread is growing his game. We need some size up front Brad.

[Young Guns]

Hard to be upset about losing in OT. I thought being the 2nd game of a back to back the score could get ugly. Need to stop shooting every puck at the goalies head though. Wonder if they know you can score in the lower half of the net as well. Feels like more shots go over the net and wide than actually on the net. Also no rebounds at all when the goalie is catching everything. A prime example was Anderson’s shot in overtime, he was the last man and missed by a country mile. Puck rimmed around the glass after missing and gave them a breakaway I think.

[dino7c]

Originally Posted by flamesforcup

I don't think we have as much as a cushion as people think. Our team is literally 7-7. Its concerning but not surprising giving the lack of talent. If we dont get out of this skid i dont think we have the skills to make the playoffs.

They literally aren't

7-3-4

Same as 9-5

106 point pace

As much as you guys want to make it sound worse those 4 points are the same as two wins to the NHL

[Iginla]

Can't believe with the way the top line is playing, certain people are singling out Gaudreau. He's the least of the problem IMO.