[PGT] Down and Out in Las Vegas: Flames lose 3-2 to Golden Knights

[sketchyt]

Third game in four nights against a good team. Nothing more to read into that loss IMO.

[Ullr]

Originally Posted by TheScorpion

Still unimpressed with Ruzicka.

He was okay. Lots of rookie mistakes like getting caught with both feet not moving and each time his shift was ~25 seconds in, he would just skate directly to the bench without assessing the momentum of the current play. Plenty of shifts ended last night with momentum going into the offensive end and Ruzicka peeling off to the bench.

Can't say I'm impressed yet either, but he did start to gain more confidence later in the game and used his body effectively. I think there is still optimism to be had for Ruzicka.

[CroFlames]

Is it bad that I might actually be cheering for Sweden at the Olympics? How can you not love a team led by Lindy and Marky?

Also, it will always remain stupid that they didn’t name the team Silver Knights considering they come from the SILVER state I mean come on.

[Gaskal]

Lol had a buddy who had a Vegas weekend trip said he encountered one of the defencemen (didn't reveal who but could probably narrow it down by their performances) at one of the Blackjack tables and glimpsed several other players Saturday night.

Sutter better keep this team on a leash and chained to their hotel room if we encounter them in playoffs!

[GioforPM]

Originally Posted by Gaskal

Lol had a buddy who had a Vegas weekend trip said he encountered one of the defencemen (didn't reveal who but could probably narrow it down by their performances) at one of the Blackjack tables.

Sutter better keep this team on a leash and chained to their hotel room if we encounter them in playoffs!

Well, the seriousness of that depends on the time of day (or night). And how much free booze was consumed. At least the casino is close to the bedroom. Someone mentioned the strip club but not sure if they were serious.

Frankly, though, in the POs I’d rent out a bunch of condos in the suburbs close to the practice facility and keep ‘em there.

[GranteedEV]

Originally Posted by BigRed

Sure. But Vegas is going to have to drop $9+ mln in salary to activate Eichel in order to be cap compliant. Wonder how they do that?

There is no cap in the playoffs. Eichel is still months away from full contact hockey, and they can practice their PP with him well before they officially activate him. It's no different from Kane in 2015 or Kucherov in 2021. The Knights simply have to get into a playoff spot. If they match up to the Oilers in round 1 it'll be a pretty well-timed tuneup for acclimating Eichel too.

[SuperMatt18]

Originally Posted by Gaskal

Lol had a buddy who had a Vegas weekend trip said he encountered one of the defencemen (didn't reveal who but could probably narrow it down by their performances) at one of the Blackjack tables and glimpsed several other players Saturday night.

Sutter better keep this team on a leash and chained to their hotel room if we encounter them in playoffs!

And you know I don't mind if the staff gave the team a bit of a pass Saturday night.

This team has had a great start to the season, has had a busy schedule, and sometimes you need to reward them with a night like that to keep morale and buy in.

You could see the players were trying like crazy the last 10 minutes to tie it up because they probably were playing a little guilty at that point.

[sa226]

I'm most annoyed because that was not the Flames team that sits atop the standings. I wanted to see this group go head to head with a surging healthy Vegas team.

There was almost zero execution and no energy. While Deboer was on the other side saying that this was a big litmus test for their team and a measuring stick to see where they're at.

I'm totally fine with a loss, but the fact that they weren't really in it is frustrating as a fan. If its the Vegas flu, that's a huge piss off as a fan. If its the schedule, then I guess that's just how it goes.

This wasn't a clinic or men against boys or anything like that. It was a big veteran team that was well prepared and ready to go, against a team that looked tired.

[CroFlames]

Originally Posted by SuperMatt18

And you know I don't mind if the staff gave the team a bit of a pass Saturday night.

This team has had a great start to the season, has had a busy schedule, and sometimes you need to reward them with a night like that to keep morale and buy in.

You could see the players were trying like crazy the last 10 minutes to tie it up because they probably were playing a little guilty at that point.

100%.

You aren’t going 82-0. A bit of a reward here and there will go a long way for trust and buy in.

Imagine being in your 20s, a freaking multimillionaire, and your employer is forbidding you to go out on a Saturday night in freaking Las Vegas.

[direwolf]

What I love about this year's Flames team is that even when they're not at their best, they're never out of it. They're not getting blown out by anyone, and when they do lose it's almost always by 1 goal. Last night they came to within a post of tying it. This is a good hockey team that lost to another good hockey team. It happens.

[Erick Estrada]

Originally Posted by SuperMatt18

And you know I don't mind if the staff gave the team a bit of a pass Saturday night.

This team has had a great start to the season, has had a busy schedule, and sometimes you need to reward them with a night like that to keep morale and buy in.

You could see the players were trying like crazy the last 10 minutes to tie it up because they probably were playing a little guilty at that point.

I have no issues with the boys having a bit of fun on the road but in a city they have never won you would hope for a little more focus on the reason they are there in the first place. Ideally they don't want that arena to turn into the next Anaheim where they go more than a decade without winning. That said it would have likely been better to face them at the beginning of the road trip rather than the back half.

[dino7c]

Originally Posted by GranteedEV

There is no cap in the playoffs. Eichel is still months away from full contact hockey, and they can practice their PP with him well before they officially activate him. It's no different from Kane in 2015 or Kucherov in 2021. The Knights simply have to get into a playoff spot. If they match up to the Oilers in round 1 it'll be a pretty well-timed tuneup for acclimating Eichel too.

Those guys expected recovery time had them right around the start of the playoffs...if Eichel is healthy in February I highly doubt they try and keep him out for months.

[djsFlames]

Originally Posted by heep223

Vegas was putting pucks over and through the Flames forecheck all night. Masterful scouting and prep mostly neutralizing the Flames pressure system.

To me this was mostly the difference.

Or 4am at the blackjack table.

[FanIn80]

3 games in 3 cities in 4 nights.

[SuperMatt18]

Originally Posted by FanIn80

3 games in 3 cities in 4 nights.

And an off day Saturday night in Vegas, when you won and took 4 points in the first two games.

Sunday night was always going to be a hungover tired group of players.

[Textcritic]

Originally Posted by CroFlames

Is it bad that I might actually be cheering for Sweden at the Olympics? How can you not love a team led by Lindy and Marky?

No, it is not at all bad. Everyone gets a pass for not cheering for a team with McHobo in the lineup. That, all on its own, is enough.

I will probably do the unthinkable and cheer for Team USA. The last time I cheered for another country's hockey team at an international competition in place of Team Canada was at the 2013 WJC, when the Johnny Gaudreau led Team USA demolished a Canadian roster boasting Ty Rattie, Griffin Reinhart, Mark Scheiffele, Ryan Strome and The Tenderness™.

[Knightslayer]

I cheer for whoever my favorite player plays for. This Olympics will be team USA. Don't really feel an attachment to a country just because I was born there which may sound weird because I cheer for the team in the city I was born in but that's just how I feel.

I actually loved team Canada but after Iginla left and wasn't on the team I realized I was cheering for Iggy and not team Canada.

[Classic_Sniper]

Originally Posted by djsFlames

They were, but the Flames also weren't skating, and were fumbling the puck all over. In the third they sharpened up and stopped doing that, and suddenly they had sustained zone time in Vegas' end.

That's no fluke.

You saw Vegas sit back. I saw the Flames take it to them.

The answer probably lies somewhere in the middle. But I think you're definitely skewing a little on the side of Vegas due to history.

Flames play differently this year than years past. However, they didn't play they way they have 22 or 23 of their games this year in those opening 40 minutes.

Rick Ball thought they looks fatigued/out of it. I agree with his assessment.

Regardless, bad game for the Flames and a narrow 3-2 outcome in Vegas, a crossbar from OT? If all things are actually equal, looks like the Flames have taken a step in Vegas' direction at least. They were routinely blown out in that building before.

I would suggest everyone listen to what Darryl had to say last night after the game. I think he summed it up best when he said the Knights are the best team in the west and it’s not close. Those are my thoughts exactly.

The Knights are the class of the division. The way they play and check every shift would be a nightmare for a slower team like the Flames. We just have too many players who cannot play and cannot think at the same pace the Knights do. I know the score was close, but I didn’t think the game was all that competitive outside of a few shifts.

I’m a very hard marker, so maybe my opinion will come off as overly negative, but I’d like the Flames to show that they can really dictate the play and take it to the knights 5 on 5 at T-Mobile before I say the Flames are truly at their level.

[djsFlames]

Going to be tough to cheer for team McDirty at the Olympics.

It would however help a lot if a guy that consumes bread is also there.

[djsFlames]

Originally Posted by Classic_Sniper

I would suggest everyone listen to what Darryl had to say last night after the game. I think he summed it up best when he said the Knights are the best team in the west and it’s not close. Those are my thoughts exactly.

The Knights are the class of the division. The way they play and check every shift would be a nightmare for a slower team like the Flames. We just have too many players who cannot play and cannot think at the same pace the Knights do. I know the score was close, but I didn’t think the game was all that competitive outside of a few shifts.

I’m a very hard marker, so maybe my opinion will come off as overly negative, but I’d like the Flames to show that they can really dictate the play and take it to the knights 5 on 5 at T-Mobile before I say the Flames are truly at their level.

It comes off as overly negative.

But perhaps that's a sign of becoming a better team. Rather than just being glad for wins we critique them and the team and hold their game and system to a higher bar.