[PGT] Flames lose 3-1

[To Be Quite Honest]

Originally Posted by the_only_turek_fan

Brad and Brian promised big and tough players yet re-signed Byron, Russell, and Stajan. All good players and good people but contradict the rhetoric that they like to use at press conferences.

IMO, you can't have Hudler, Gaudreau, Byron, Raymond, and Backlund all in your top 9. None of them are overly big and strong and can get pushed off the puck easily.

I think this team is going to be very different 2 years from now. It's hard to get big and better (or same as) than Hudler. Raymond has been great and we really can't complain with him.

[Dion]

Originally Posted by MisterJoji

I blame Bob Cole and his geriatric game calling. He should've retired 5 years ago.

I never imagined how boring a game could sound with Cole doing it. No excitement in his voice and half the time he couldn't keep up with the play or remember players names.

[dino7c]

Originally Posted by the_only_turek_fan

Brad and Brian promised big and tough players yet re-signed Byron, Russell, and Stajan. All good players and good people but contradict the rhetoric that they like to use at press conferences.

IMO, you can't have Hudler, Gaudreau, Byron, Raymond, and Backlund all in your top 9. None of them are overly big and strong and can get pushed off the puck easily.

they did need NHL quality players...not many other options out there for now

[Street Pharmacist]

Originally Posted by the_only_turek_fan

Brad and Brian promised big and tough players yet re-signed Byron, Russell, and Stajan. All good players and good people but contradict the rhetoric that they like to use at press conferences.

IMO, you can't have Hudler, Gaudreau, Byron, Raymond, and Backlund all in your top 9. None of them are overly big and strong and can get pushed off the puck easily.

They agree with you. The trouble is Byron and Russell are worth keeping. Backlund isn't small either

[badradio]

They still need to iron that backdrop!

[yads]

Good effort, but Washington is just too good defensively. Some bad defensive lapses cost us the game. I liked the fact that this team was able to skate with the Caps.

[Gaskal]

At least Brouwer missing the open net was funny.

[the_only_turek_fan]

Originally Posted by Street Pharmacist

They agree with you. The trouble is Byron and Russell are worth keeping. Backlund isn't small either

I love Paul Byron and his work ethic, and it pains me to say this as he has 2 kids, but you can't have him and Gaudreau there together. You can't have two 5'7" guys out there in today's NHL. One is fine, but two along with another 5'10" player is a bit too small.

I am sure you could have gotten someone in free agency that is about 6" taller than Byron.

[OzSome]

I totally agree with Bob Hartley's assessment at the end of the game. They did not execute properly.

Weird when the Flames won against Carolina or the other 4 wins, having small players like Hudler, Gaudreau, Byron and others was not the issue. Suddenly Flames lost tonight and it is an issue. They lost to a better team tonight and being big or small has nothing to do with it.

[dino7c]

Flames didn't lose this game because they are small

[Vulcan]

On the bright side the baby Flames are starting to come around and won 7-3.

[doctajones428]

Originally Posted by the_only_turek_fan

I love Paul Byron and his work ethic, and it pains me to say this as he has 2 kids, but you can't have him and Gaudreau there together. You can't have two 5'7" guys out there in today's NHL. One is fine, but two along with another 5'10" player is a bit too small.

I am sure you could have gotten someone in free agency that is about 6" taller than Byron.

Byron plays like he's 6" taller than he is, so it works out fine.

Him and Theo have nearly identical frames

[Huntingwhale]

Surprised no ones mentioned Brodie's game. Pretty brutal game for him. Trying to dipsy doodle around all night which resulted in more then a couple giveaways and scoring chances. His worst game in a long time. What was with the ice? I hate to blame the ice on the teams' lacklustre play but it looked pretty bad. Flames couldn't gain the zone and get a cycle going at all. Just a frustrating game all round.

[ForeverFlameFan]

Pretty frustrating game, but kudos to the Capitals. They certainly hired the perfect coach to fix their defensive issues from last year.

Nashville and Washington are lookin' good with their new coaches.

[sa226]

I don't know. As far as the team game goes, I think it was a pretty solid game. The Caps just played a really good road game.

To me the difference is guys bearing down and stepping up with a big play. Hudler, Glencross and Backlund could all be a lot better offensively. Those are 3 guys counted on to score.

Monahan again was kind of invisible.

I thought Colborne had a good game. I was Ok with Gio and Brodie. It's very close, but to me Hiller has emerged as the #1 guy.

At what point do you stop sheltering Johnny? Are they already starting to ease him into tougher minutes? To me he is so close. So close. He was the best player with the puck tonight (For the Flames) He influences puck possession so much. He is certainly no Bob Gainey, but he makes very small but very smart defensive plays. I think he is no longer just trying to survive and pick his spots, but he is making things happen. His size is a non factor. How many times did he get knocked down? If he gets hit, he just bounces off. The learning process and adjustment period is ongoing but to me he is so very close.

[taxbuster]

I only saw the third period and the Flames looked out-of-synch, and did not counter what appeared to be a pretty decent Caps defensive system. No surprise there, I guess, with Trotz in charge. Too many bad passes, too few shots when they had decent opportunitites, and losing Bollig and Glennie didn't help as both seemed to have at least a bit of owliness in them.

Byron needs schooling on finishing from someone who's a good finisher - he gets the breakaways, just can't put 'em away....

[combustiblefuel]

Originally Posted by yads

Good effort, but Washington is just too good defensively. Some bad defensive lapses cost us the game. I liked the fact that this team was able to skate with the Caps.

I agree that it was nice the team could keep up with the speed.

I was really Impressed with Colborne. He shut number 8 down a few times. He left him off the score board tonight. Ovie usually gets at least a point.

[AcGold]

As soon as the Flames start thinking they are good they suck. When they think they suck they are awsome. The instant they start believing they are talented they will lose because, while talented, they simply can't match the skill of teams that have had a core together for years.

Basic plays, hard work and driving the net will win. Screwing around and fancy passes = losing. Next time they win someone needs to tell them to calm down and not get overly high confidence. They need hard work from every player on the ice to win. The workmanlike attitude in practice should be the same during games.

[Arya Stark]

Originally Posted by the_only_turek_fan

Brad and Brian promised big and tough players yet re-signed Byron, Russell, and Stajan. All good players and good people but contradict the rhetoric that they like to use at press conferences.

IMO, you can't have Hudler, Gaudreau, Byron, Raymond, and Backlund all in your top 9. None of them are overly big and strong and can get pushed off the puck easily.

When did they promise that?

[DeluxeMoustache]

Once most explosive player in game + Barry Trotz = Boring. Sad

Too bad they had some brutal giveaways.

The trend toward blowing down any debatable or marginal icing is really not good for the game. I was there and that was hard to watch. So many unnecessary stoppages