[Game Takes] Flames 3 Devils 0

[Bingo]

Flames 3 Devils 0

- Vladar with the shut out
- Markstrom solid but gives up two late goals
- Coleman with a pair
- Coronato looks good in call up

[DoubleK]

Both goalies were excellent. Vladar made some huge saves and that was the difference.

I didn't think that the Flames would be able to keep up to the Devils, but they did a good job keeping them to the outside.

Both PPs were horrendous and struggled to gain the zone.

I think Jack's wrist is still hurt, can't understand why he won't shoot the puck on the power play.

Anyone else find it strange that the Flames run with 10 left shot forwards?

[Jay Random]

Originally Posted by DoubleK

Anyone else find it strange that the Flames run with 10 left shot forwards?

That's what they've got to work with. Their best RHS forward wanted out last season and got traded.

[transplant99]

Great start for the Flames veteran.

His best game ever as a Flame.....no?

Looked like a different guy than any other time this year or last.

[BigThief]

Originally Posted by DoubleK

Anyone else find it strange that the Flames run with 10 left shot forwards?

The NHL is like 70% left handed players and the Flames have two right wingers who play their offline shooting left, so it skews things

[D as in David]

Originally Posted by Jay Random

That's what they've got to work with. Their best RHS forward wanted out last season and got traded.

I'd find it strange if an RHS forward switched hands to even things out.

[Jay Random]

Originally Posted by D as in David

I'd find it strange if an RHS forward switched hands to even things out.

Strange but not entirely unheard-of. IIRC, Gordie Howe was ambidextrous and could shoot both ways.

[Enoch Root]

Thought Eric Francis’ disdain for Jacob Markstrom was a little over the top in the first period intermission

No kidding! Francis has some serious Markstrom hate - would be interesting to find out what the reason for that is.

[EVERLAST]

Originally Posted by Enoch Root

No kidding! Francis has some serious Markstrom hate - would be interesting to find out what the reason for that is.

Markstrom is in a long long list of players who have legit beefs against Francis.

Francis has slowly changed his shtick but not nearly enough for players to forget how he tried humiliating them with his verbal diarrhea.

We've had some real doozies in the media in Calgary and Francis isn't the worst.

Mike Toth
Mike Lonsborough
Grant pollock
Eric Francis

All mouthpieces trying to stir up Shirt. Pole vaulting over mouseturds doesn't make you right. Piising guys off from upper management down isn't smart....we've all seen guys respond professionally to it .

Guys who faced serious venom here ....Doug Gilmour, Jamie Macoun, Lanny McDonald , Gary Suter , Todd Burtuzzi, Dion Phaneuf, Bryan Marchment, Theo, now Huberdeau .....rightly or wrongly seriously shut up.

Trade spots with these guys for 1 day and see how you stand up is what I'll say to media guys .

I still love Tortz and his hate for that jackhammer in NY and how publicly he hated him.

I love some of thr characters in this league. BTW....what Tortz did for Guy Gadreau is phenomenal. Wow. What a tribute , respect , honor for him to lose his boys and have John reach out like that .

[dino7c]

That was the Flames best 60 min effort of the season...it took everyone. That is the bar

[EVERLAST]

Originally Posted by dino7c

That was the Flames best 60 min effort of the season...it took everyone. That is the bar

And it's really that simple. If thr effort was just there they'd surprise themselves to a deep deep run. This isn't a horrible team.

[Jay Random]

Originally Posted by EVERLAST

And it's really that simple. If thr effort was just there they'd surprise themselves to a deep deep run. This isn't a horrible team.

The effort can be there, but when the other team is superior in every aspect of the game, they can shut you down and make it look like you aren't trying. The difference between trying-but-failing and not-trying-at-all is not always visible to fans in the stands, still less on TV.

This is, in fact, a bad team. Plenty of depth players, but as other posters have said, nearly everybody is playing about one line up from where they would be slotted on a good team. Contending teams are going to dummy them regularly.

[dino7c]

They have been "dummied" twice in 11 games
.666 hockey beating the Canucks, Oilers, and Devils with close calls against the Jets and Canes.

Credit where credit is due

[Jay Random]

Originally Posted by dino7c

They have been "dummied" twice in 11 games
.666 hockey beating the Canucks, Oilers, and Devils with close calls against the Jets and Canes.

Credit where credit is due

This year's Oilers are a bad team, and the Devils are no great shakes. (They're high up in the standings only because they've played more games than any other team.) The Vegas game was a painful reality check against a real contender.

I'm prepared to give credit where credit is due: The Flames surprised some teams early, when everyone was playing no-defence October hockey, and rode a high shooting percentage to a pretty nifty record. Then they rode a low shooting percentage right back down the table, and in some of those games they weren't even getting shots with any regularity.

They have a reasonable chance to do better than we expected this season, but they are still weak at centre, inexperienced at defence, and a mystery box in goal.

[dino7c]

Say what you want...on the deserve to win o meter they have been the better team in 9 of 11. Roster is better than some are willing to give credit for.

Vegas is hot as balls right now, they started last season like this too and ended up in a WC. I'm not saying anything is decided but we can at least take it as it comes instead of conceeding the season. I will anyway.

The Devils just beat the Canucks 6-0 and were picked by many to have a good year, they haven't just "played more games"

[Jay Random]

Originally Posted by dino7c

The Devils just beat the Canucks 6-0 and were picked by many to have a good year, they haven't just "played more games"

By points percentage the Devils are 13th – solidly in the middle of the pack.

They aren't putting up the record of a contender. They've just played more games.

[dino7c]

Originally Posted by Jay Random

By points percentage the Devils are 13th – solidly in the middle of the pack.

They aren't putting up the record of a contender. They've just played more games.

And the Flames are a .666 hockey team

On the one hand you use current records to take away credit while not giving the Flames credit because its early. I for one hope they beat the Oilers again and go 7-4-1.

Say what you like the Canucks, Oilers, and Devils were all considered top teams before the season. If I told you they would be ahead of all 3 in Nov 3 you would have laughed. Enjoy it, its just a game.

[NegativeSpace]

I think Jay takes pretty balanced views of the Flames.

We will see which Flames show up tonight. I’m not sure I’d say that they were the better team in 9 of 11. They aren’t as bad as we saw against Utah and Vegas. I thought that the Flames were significantly better than the Oilers in their last game. If they show up defensively like they did against the Devils then Edmonton will have trouble.

[dino7c]

Originally Posted by NegativeSpace

I think Jay takes pretty balanced views of the Flames.

We will see which Flames show up tonight. I’m not sure I’d say that they were the better team in 9 of 11. They aren’t as bad as we saw against Utah and Vegas. I thought that the Flames were significantly better than the Oilers in their last game. If they show up defensively like they did against the Devils then Edmonton will have trouble.

Deserve to win o meter on moneypuck

making excuses to why the Flames won and discrediting their wins and opponents while saying their worst game of the season is what they are is not "balanced"

NJ, Vancouver, and Edmonton (sadly) are all likely playoff teams. I would bet my house on 2 of 3.

[NegativeSpace]

Originally Posted by dino7c

Deserve to win o meter on moneypuck

making excuses to why the Flames won and discrediting their wins and opponents while saying their worst game of the season is what they are is not "balanced"

NJ, Vancouver, and Edmonton (sadly) are all likely playoff teams. I would bet my house on 2 of 3.

I didn’t read Jay as saying that. I’ve found that deserve to win meter on money puck difficult to understand as it doesn’t accord with my viewing. That doesn’t mean it is wrong, though. Some of these analytic devices try to over engineer stats that really create a false sense of validity. I just I’m just sceptical about that measure.

You are correct that some have ascribed Utah and Vegas as being the Flames. I don’t think they are that bad. However, I think that they benefited from some bounces in first few games. I’m thinking of a couple goals basically bouncing in off Huberdeau. We will see though. They are much better than I would have thought and that is why it is fun to see them play the games.