Is this a playoff team?

[heep223]

Originally Posted by Vulcan

Iginla wasn't going to re-sign because he realized the team was going no where.

I wonder if he's looking North right now and thinking to himself that he made have made a mistake, trying to chase the cup around the Eastern Conference and then ending up in what appears to be a losing season in Denver as he gets another year older.

I'll bet you he can't help thinking something along those lines...

[Resolute 14]

Thank god we now have two threads for people to continue whining about Iginla...

[heep223]

Originally Posted by Resolute 14

Thank god we now have two threads for people to continue whining about Iginla...

Posters whining about whining about something. That's some inception type stuff right there.

[sketchyt]

I'm still so confused. Am I the only one who watches the games and thinks, "what the hell is happening?"

[djsFlames]

Yeah. Beating Vancouver (period) and beating the Ducks in Anaheim are my two biggest checklist items for this team this season. And the two biggest hurdles they need to jump, to in my mind cross that threshold to "for real".

If there's any version of the team that can do it, though, it'd be this one. I mean I did NOT expect a quiet, 2-0 shut down of the Sharks in their barn. That still shocks me. If they have a couple more surprises in them, then I can go from cautiously optimistic, to shamelessly optimistic about this team.

[Rick M.]

Originally Posted by heep223

Posters whining about whining about something. That's some inception type stuff right there.

Let's agree to call it meta-whining. It might open up a whole new field of academic study.

[stemit14]

I was thinking how mentally exhausting it must be for the flames more than others that are competing for playoff spots right now and for the rest of the season... Mainly because the flames will face more doubts than any other team all the way to the day they secure a playoff spot... Those doubts will come from inside and outside the fanbase. Both individual and team performances are continually expected to fall off yet the flames are almost a third of the way through the season and they look better every day. I know the truth is that there is nothing like a real playoff game but they seem to have really adapted that mentality. Just like how losing two in a row in a playoff series can be catastrophic... They apply that to regular season games and bounce back quickly from losses.

It's possible they are using that doubt as motivation... As a unique kind of pressure that explains why they have not lost consecutive games in regulation this season. It's like they lose a game and are so determined to prevent that from turning into a losing streak that they play even harder the next game. That's not easy. As evident looking at almost all the other teams in the league who seem to be going through hot streaks and cold streaks.

[#-3]

Originally Posted by playmaker

I think one option is missing:

Yes, if Gio and Brodie stay healthy

I would add Russell to this, The Goaltending and Forward depth this team is showing is amazing when you consider what we were expecting. But Every stumble this team has taken has been at the hands of vary shaky Defensive depth. The best pairing in the league. a strong enough second pairing, But Weak 3rd pairing, vary weak reserve, and completely untested / poorly rated prospect pool. Injuries to those top 3 would hurt allot.

[AcGold]

Originally Posted by heep223

I wonder if he's looking North right now and thinking to himself that he made have made a mistake, trying to chase the cup around the Eastern Conference and then ending up in what appears to be a losing season in Denver as he gets another year older.

I'll bet you he can't help thinking something along those lines...

Probably not. The team doesn't work the way it does with Iginla on it, he's too slow to back check and Gio needs the captaincy. This team with Iginla is not the same, loved the guys contributions through the years but he probably realizes part of our resurgence is because he's gone, if anything he's happy for Gio.

Iginla is probably realizing he won't win a cup and that he'll spend a few years in Colorado being rich with his family then move back to Canada.

[Gaskal]

I picked "too early to tell" but this was back when the thread was first made. I've since switched my answer to a yes.

Having pondered the team's current situation, here's my take on why the Flames are a playoff team:


Tenacity and not prone to frustration or despair

I feel as though this quality separates the wheat from the chaff. Whereas in last night vs Coyotes and the 2-0 win vs Sharks - you'd be noticing both of the opposition teams showing signs of being frustrated. It's a horrible quality to endure if you're looking up at the scoreboard and knowing you have to get 2 or 3 to tie this game up. The Sharks were getting listless on the forecheck and trying to force difficult plays, the Coyotes were just trying to chase the puck all night and getting beat up in the corners.

The Flames are the opposite. The way that Hartley has this team going is that everyone's mind is mentally focused on the next goal, their next shift. They either don't look at the scoreboard or don't care - they are all focused on playing the exact same way no matter what the score. This quality was what tied all those trailing games up and came up after with 2 pts.

The Flames will never mail it in. Neither do championship teams.


Meritocracy/Work Ethic

Not news, but still a key factor. Every player in this organization has the knowledge and observed proof (based on transactions and recalls this year) that the Flames give out ice time and positions using solely performance as a factor, not just experience. Everyone is going all out, all the time. As Hartley says, "our practices are like games". There is no dial, there is an on/off switch permanently flicked to "on" with the Flames. Everyone has bought in. The Flames are operating at 100% possible capacity.


Two-way hockey

The Flames system, as instilled by Hartley: 5 guys up, 5 guys back.

This system focuses on activating the defence to join the rush (thank goodness for Gio, Brodie, and Russell) and the forwards all backchecking hard (Granlund/Gaudreau immediately igniting afterburners to the backcheck as soon as they hopped on). You are expected to play responsibly in both zones. And it shows; the defence are holding the zone more often now, the forwards are constantly coming up with good defensive plays and blocks to break up the opposition setup.

The forwards are also extremely tenacious on the forecheck. They've often held the zone by stickchecking a late pass or a good hit on the boards. You saw it very evidently in the last 2 shutout games vs SJ and AZ.

Guy has the puck in the corner, dishes it off behind the net, in comes Byron...boom
Guy behind the net fires it up the boards to center, in comes Ferland.....crash
Center feeds the winger, in comes Jooris....bang

Stuff that wears out other teams quick, especially if they're out of gas late in the game. Which brings me to...


Flames step it up a notch in the 3rd

We're the most relentless 3rd period team in the league.

Whereas other teams will check the clock and think that they're content and tired and mail it in for the night, the Flames say a big nope and go for the kill. Some teams will fade into the 3rd, and this is where the Flames' bloodlust kicks in if the game is still up for grabs. Ryan van Asten is our conditioning coach now - we'll be skating circles around lesser conditioned teams late in the game, this is why 3rd periods have been so good and OTs have been heavily in favor of the Flames. And a lot of playoff games go to OT.


Scoring Depth

This suddenly high octane offense team (last I checked, we were still the highest scoring team in the West and 3rd overall in NHL) is among the league leaders without 3 of their top 6 forwards. How weird is that?

Yeah, it doesn't make a lick of sense but I'll sure as hell take it.

The biggest injuries that will decide the fate of this team come 2015 is the golden duo of Gio and Brodie. Everyone freaked right out when Gio took a high stick to the face. Yep, that's because that's the fate of our season right there, folks.

We're being supported by the best defence pairing in the league. One goes down, it'll be a lot harder to win games. Any forward depth goes down to injury...we got an overload of NHL ready youngsters. Hell, I haven't even factored in Bennett and Poirier in yet.



Regression: When/If the wheels fall off

I expect we'll see regression. A little.

A lot of things would have to happen at the same time for the wheels to fall completely off - Gio/Brodie is lost to injury, the forwards suddenly all forget how to score goals, our goalies start to play like Oilers. At this point they would have to all happen simultaneously for the Flames to have a really bad stretch of games to the point where everyone's morale is lowered and playoff hopes are jeopardized.

And I don't see that happening either. I don't see the Flames going on long losing streaks this season.

Regression will be when we start to display some inconsistency, playing just above .500 hockey - but the reality is that we only need to play at that level to make it into the playoff picture this year anyways. And if we keep winning, that standard lowers even more. Considering the next stretch of games:

Coyotes - We just shut them out
Sharks - Them, too
Avalanche - Their defence are crap and Iggy's expiry date was last season
Leafs - I don't even
Sabres - As long as we don't completely suck
Penguins - Ok Sid you win this one for now, but I'm pretty sure we can hang with
Blackhawks - Also can hang with, but screw you Kane
Rangers - Questionable, but have beat them before
Stars - Maaaaaybe
Canucks - Why can't we ever win vs the Canucks?

Good chance the Flames really crank out the Ws going into mid Dec. The only losses in my head are Sid and the Penguins and the Canucks because the hockey gods always let them win. And in doing so, makes it that much harder for the bubble teams to displace us. Might not even have to be a wildcard playoff team.


I think we'll not only make it in the playoffs this year, we might even upset a team or two.

[Salt Water Cowboy #10]

Anyone want to change their stance on playoffs? Tough last few games. Their luck seems to have changed and the other teams that were chasing the Flames are finding their games a bit. I don't see the Flames doing much better than .500 going into Christmas.

[Enoch Root]

I grow more confident every week that they are in fact a playoff team. I didn't think so for the first 10 or 15 games (and certainly not before the season), but they continue to improve as a team. Even on this skid, where they are in an offensive slump while all the chances against seem to end up in the net, they are still competitive against very good teams.

They will shake out of this funk soon enough and find themselves on a roll again. And then the rollercoaster fans will all be back on board.

[Bingo]

A bad team that suddenly wins 5 in a row is very likely to go on a skid.

A great team that loses 5 in a row is very likely to turn things around.

The problem with the Flames is were they really a great team? Or did they have a great record with smoke and mirrors? That complicates things.

With that I think the truth is likely somewhere in the middle, and they are due now for a change back to the positive when it comes to luck. Wouldn't surprise me with 8 of the next 10 at home to see them go 6-3-1 or something and get right back into it.

This team doesn't go away.

[Winsor_Pilates]

I'm not too worried, but need to correct the skid now. We all knew there would be a stretch of games like this at some point; it's the next 10 that will really show us what they're capable of.

[Salt Water Cowboy #10]

I hope you're right Bingo. I felt they had played well in the first 25 games. But they had puck luck like I haven't seen them have. Maybe ever. But some of it had to do with their forechecking and hustle. They had focus and were making plays. Taking an extra split second to fake or look for a better option. Recently from what I've seen is, more panic, less focus and slightly worse goal tending.
Hopefully some goals start going in again. They've lost that winning feeling

[landshark]

I find all of this 'sky is falling' stuff amusing. This is still a team in rebuild and it going great!

I just watched the last CGY/CHI game and it was a damned good game. CHI is the very best team out there right now and CGY skated with them the whole game. Damn entertaining game!

This team is fine. They will probably make it to the playoffs. WPG is the team I expect to sink like a stone. MIN should make a push and present a threat. But this team is well situated now and into the next few seasons. I'd be darned happy to be a CGY fan right now.

[Salt Water Cowboy #10]

I didn't peg them to be a playoff team. I'm not saying the sky is falling at all. With a team so full of youth and short on veteran talent, you wait until the end of the year to see if playoffs are a possibility. I expect plenty of up and down in
The standings

[Fire]

I don't think the Flames are really playing that much different than they were at the beginning of the season. Earlier on the Flames were getting more goals than you would expect based on their chances. Everything their defenseman seem to throw to the net was going in. Now they are not getting the lucky bounces they were earlier in the season.

[Vinny01]

Teams can't afford 6 game losing streaks. Unfortunately i think our playoff spot is likely going to be hard to get back. No matter what this season has been a treat with several positives to look forward to in the future. Who knows maybe they have another big run they can go on in the second half?

[Erick Estrada]

I figured the wheels would fall off but I didn't think it would be until January. Now you have to think it's not out of the realm of possibility that they may be in the discussion for a top 5 pick by March as even when they end the losing streak chances are very slim that they go back to winning games like they did early in the season. I think when you look at this team on paper objectively it's simply not very good right now and as fun as the start to the season was it was never going to be sustainable.