[PGT] Flames win 4-1! 7 in a row!

[taxbuster]

Originally Posted by sempuki

Gio will get a suspension. As much as I think Aho needs to protect himself in that situation, Gio made contact with the head, and the league wants to get rid of that. I think Gio made a mistake trying to hit with his left shoulder when he could have used his right. I don't think Aho would have necessarily been any better off, but I think it would have been easier to argue Gio wasn't head hunting.

I couldn't see anywhere that he definitively hit the head. All of the angles show Gio's shoulder low, so if Aho hit that his head is also low ie he is looking down. Gio's feet are planted and his shoulder appears to be just below Aho's chin.

(I have a frame grab of the hit, but I can't figure out how to add it here....the insert image icon is only for a URL?)

[SebC]

If Gio's hit had happened in the NBA it would've been a charge on Aho.

[driveway]

Originally Posted by KootenayFlamesFan

18 straight games allowing 3 goals or less.

That's fantastic.

I've been following this streak of solid defensive efforts pretty closely - excited as I am that our "on paper" great D is really starting to look like "on ice" great defense.

So, 18 consecutive games allowing 3 or fewer goals, our record over that span is 11-4-3. 25 of a possible 36 points for a points percentage of .694.

I got to thinking today, is 18 games a lot to hold opponents under 3 goals? The New Jersey Devils have the 20th ranked defnse in the league at exactly 3.00 GA/GP, the Kings have the best defense with 2.40 GA/GP. Also, the 12th best offense in the league is the Flyers with 2.98 GF/GP so holding opponents under 4 goals is nowhere near rare.

With the help of this great run of games, the Flames have moved into 8th place in the league with 2.69 GA/GP, just ahead of Vegas (2.71) and just behind San Jose (2.66).

I went and looked through the schedules for the 7 teams with better overall GA/GP than us to see what kind of streaks they'd put together.

LAK - 6 games
TBL - 8 games
BOS - 6 games
NAS - 5 games
STL - 9 games
ANA - 7 games
SJS - 6 games

One thing that jumps out to me is that list of teams is almost a complete list of the teams considered to be real 'contenders.' The second thing that jumps out is just how much better 18 games is than anything these teams have put together. St. Louis had a run of 9 games in the early part of the season which jumped them out on top of the league and had them looking like they might be world-beaters.

The Flames have doubled that streak. I think this run is truly something impressive, I know that Tyler Dellow in a recent Athletic article referred to the Flames as a 'smart money dark-horse Stanley Cup pick' and I think he's right.

I think it would be hubris for us to put ourselves in the ranks of real strong contenders for the Cup: special teams issues and reliance on a few top scorers keep us out of that conversation.

But we fo' real.

[sempuki]

Originally Posted by Manhattanboy

Don’t agree with this analysis at all. No time to deliberately change the mechanics of the hit. Was purely unintentional. Chest was the target and slight head contact incidental.

You're confusing what I think and what the NHL thinks. You and I are fans. The NHL has a business to run. It was a mistake to use the left shoulder, from a simple hockey perspective (could have missed and would have to hold). It will also not play as well in the visual department.

As for who's right -- we'll find out soon enough.

[Mike F]

Originally Posted by GoJetsGo

Nope.

Arm was tucked and he stood his ground throwing a hockey hit shoulder to chest. Aho was egregiously looking at his skates and as such had his head lowered skating into Gio.

That is just a terrible take on the hit.

I don't think Gio is a dirty player, and he wasn't "headhunting", but if you watch the clip of the hit closely, the first thing that moves on Aho is his head twisting to his left and helmet popping, then his body follows. The first point of contact was to his chin.

https://streamable.com/4anue

He definitely put himself in a bad position, cutting to the middle with is head down, and Gio kept his skates on the ice, didn't elevate, etc., so the league may decide the 5 minute major was enough, depending on Aho's health.

[Yobbo]

Woot Flames!!

Sent from my SM-G920W8 using Tapatalk

[GoJetsGo]

Originally Posted by sempuki

It was a mistake to use the left shoulder, from a simple hockey perspective (could have missed and would have to hold)..

You say that with hindsight. It's a fast game, and no one would have expected Aho to come in at that angle with his head down trying to skate through Gio because he didn't know he was there.

Originally Posted by sempuki

You're confusing what I think and what the NHL thinks. You and I are fans. The NHL has a business to run.
As for who's right -- we'll find out soon enough.

Suggesting the decision of the NHL Player Safety Department will validate who's take is right is pretty odd. They're as wildly inconsistent and inept as NHL officials.

You said Gio "made contact with the head" and that just isn't correct from a targeting or principal point of contact regard.

[taxbuster]

Originally Posted by Mike F

I don't think Gio is a dirty player, and he wasn't "headhunting", but if you watch the clip of the hit closely, the first thing that moves on Aho is his head twisting to his left and helmet popping, then his body follows. The first point of contact was to his chin.

https://streamable.com/4anue

He definitely put himself in a bad position, cutting to the middle with is head down, and Gio kept his skates on the ice, didn't elevate, etc., so the league may decide the 5 minute major was enough, depending on Aho's health.

It is REALLY hard to tell whether the head movement is caused by the blocking effect of Gio's shoulder on Aho's chest/left shoulder. I can't see anything that shows a clear chin hit. I can see the effect -- but a clean head hit it doesn't seem to be. Each angle is somewhat imperfect - the league may well have better video.

Agree that the league may just wash its hands of it (hope so).

[oldschoolcalgary]

Originally Posted by Mike F

I don't think Gio is a dirty player, and he wasn't "headhunting", but if you watch the clip of the hit closely, the first thing that moves on Aho is his head twisting to his left and helmet popping, then his body follows. The first point of contact was to his chin.

https://streamable.com/4anue

He definitely put himself in a bad position, cutting to the middle with is head down, and Gio kept his skates on the ice, didn't elevate, etc., so the league may decide the 5 minute major was enough, depending on Aho's health.

hard to really see, but i didn't see gio alter his trajectory or 'flash' his shoulder or elbow to catch aho...if anything it looks like Aho tries cutting in or avoiding the hit at the very last second and as a result causes the head contact (if any)

Does Gio deserve a suspension? I don't think he does... But 'Will' he get suspended is a different question.... i wouldn't be surprised one way or the other

[GoJetsGo]

Originally Posted by Mike F

I don't think Gio is a dirty player, and he wasn't "headhunting", but if you watch the clip of the hit closely, the first thing that moves on Aho is his head twisting to his left and helmet popping, then his body follows. The first point of contact was to his chin.

His head is attached to his torso so of course it's going to move with contact. I completely disagree the principal point of contact is with the head though. Gio's arm is tucked and shoulder goes right above solar plexus. It looks the way it does because of the angle Aho is cutting in at (his legs are lining up to Gio while his upper body is angled away) not looking where he's going.

[Brendone]

Seems to me Aho's head was going to hit some part of Gio regardless of Gio's position. Maybe Gio should have dove out of the way when he saw Aho's head down in that split second?

[bubbsy]

Didn't get to watch the game but ecstatic about the result!

How did Bennett look centering the top line?

That hit looked unfortunate due to the awkward angle due to aho trying to make a move. I think gio probably gets a game or two unfortunately.

In any case, this team deserves a ton of credit for the 7 game win streak which pulls them into a divisional playoff spot!

[TheFlamesVan]

^ I thought Bennett looked great defensively. Still prefer him free wheelin on the wing. But he made some great plays in his own end, including on the PK.

[Flashpoint]

Cassie Campbell shouldn’t be “learning on the job” in the NHL. That’s crazy.

She thought Gio was being ejected for a knee. She didn’t hear the post or the goal horn on the Carolina non-goal. How obvious was that? She constantly overtalks during the play.

I like her. I respect what she did in women’s hockey. I want to see the glass ceiling in pro sports broken. But she isn’t ready for prime time, and I am paying to watch pro sports. It’s damaging to the product when your own fans are watching the opposition broadcast.

How many other teams have a color person with zero NHL experience?

[belsarius]

Originally Posted by taxbuster

Their puck support is light-years ahead of where it was a few weeks ago. Too often two guys would go in on the puck in the o-zone and the third guy would be "somewhere" wandering around. Now, more often than not, the third man is close by, available for the loose puck or a pass. Not sure why that is happening when it wasn't before - but it is a notable change.

This is exactly the difference between the first and second half last year. Once the players started operating as a 5 man unit and supporting each other things just started to click. This is one of the reasons I had been defending GG, I didn't think the players were executing the way he wanted. Too many individual efforts and not enough support. The hockey they have been playing for the last month or so is how I always saw the "system" as it was explained.

I get the time it took to play the system last year, why it took 30 or so games this year to figure it out is a mystery to me. But finally this team is operating as advertised.

[Duffalufagus]

Goo better not get anything for that. Toe drag head down chin out across the slot? #### off.

[Huntingwhale]

Spoiler!

Link

Very solid road win to bring to 7 in a row! Kind of a weird, chippy game. I'd be pretty pissed if I was a Hurricane fan. Losing Aho on a strange hit. Williams gets the 10 min misconduct. Then the post from their 2 on 1, only to have the Flames score immediately after. No bounces went Carolina's way, and as a Flames fan I can relate to that.

Love how Mike Smith is such a battler. I knew he was a good goalie from his run with the Coyotes. But I had no idea of his intensity of just how good he can be. Awesome acquisition by BT.

[zamler]

Originally Posted by Nage Waza

Thought I'd seen everything on the internet, guess not.

[Lanny'sDaMan]

As previously promised:

[Lanny'sDaMan]

Originally Posted by zamler

Thought I'd seen everything on the internet, guess not.

I remember that from Spot: The 7-Up Game!!!!!! (Sega Genesis)