April 1 Practice - Hiller starts vs Blues

[Hemi-Cuda]

I've agreed with everything Hartley has done this season except for giving Raymond a free pass, I just don't understand it. He's the weakest Flames forward battling for the puck, he's poor on the back check and doesn't block shots, and he routinely turns the puck over when trying to enter the offensive zone. He's a useless plug right now and I'd rather have any of Colborne, Granlund, or Ferland in the lineup over him

[Sylvanfan]

Sounds like Tarasenko will be out for the Blues so that's not bad news for Calgary. Hopefully they score a goal on Thursday and get the game past 60 minutes at the worst.

[Sylvanfan]

Sounds like Tarasenko will be out for the Blues so that's not bad news for Calgary. Hopefully they score a goal on Thursday and get the game past 60 minutes at the worst.

[442scotty]

They should put Ferland in for Raymond who offers nothing really except that Hartley is trying to get him going. Ferland can play with skilled players and has a lot of offensive upside yet to be seen. And Colborne has a lot more to offer than he is showing. Possibly nursing some injuries? He seriously needs to pick up his game which is just ok given his talent.

[sureLoss]

Roger Millions @RogMillions
Kris Russell will be in #Flames lineup Thursday in St. Louis

[FBI]

Boo to scratching Ferland for Bollig.. Bollig in for Ferland is going to grind my gears for awhile.

[MisterJoji]

Originally Posted by GioforPM

Bollig's been scratched for the last few games.

Seriously?!? What the hell have I been watching?

[sureLoss]

Derek Wills @Fan960Wills
Jonas Hiller will get a third-straight start for #Flames vs. #Blues tomorrow. #CGYvsSTL

[ForeverFlameFan]

I'm not understanding the Colborne hate? He's been pretty physical as of late and had a decent game last game, picking up an assist.

He just needs to quit taking dumb penalties.

[Hemi-Cuda]

Originally Posted by sureLoss

Derek Wills @Fan960Wills
Jonas Hiller will get a third-straight start for #Flames vs. #Blues tomorrow. #CGYvsSTL

So the game will come down to how many softies Hiller lets in before remembering how to play goal and if Calgary can actually score a goal against the Blues this year

[GioforPM]

Originally Posted by Hemi-Cuda

I've agreed with everything Hartley has done this season except for giving Raymond a free pass, I just don't understand it. He's the weakest Flames forward battling for the puck, he's poor on the back check and doesn't block shots, and he routinely turns the puck over when trying to enter the offensive zone. He's a useless plug right now and I'd rather have any of Colborne, Granlund, or Ferland in the lineup over him

Free pass? He's been benched a bunch, and had his ice time cut within the game on several occasions. You are right, he's a pure offeesive guy who doesn't check much at either end or block well, though I'd argue he plays positionally sound defence.

He actually pretty middle of the pack on giveaways. JG leads the team by far in giveaways per 60 minutes. Then (among fwds) it's Backlund, Stajan and Ferland, then a whole bunch similar to Raymond (2.08).

I tend to think people are looking for Raymond errors and find them, when the same missed plays happen to all of the players. And like I alluded to above, production-wise, he's in the upper third of the team. So that's why Hartley keeps him in and gives him bottom half minutes. There's no way Ferland has earned thos kind of minutes with his few points, and Granlund and Colborne are alerady getting similar minutes.

[Gaudfather]

Originally Posted by sureLoss

Derek Wills @Fan960Wills
Jonas Hiller will get a third-straight start for #Flames vs. #Blues tomorrow. #CGYvsSTL

He won ugly the last two games - I could handle another ugly win!

[Komskies]

Originally Posted by Hemi-Cuda

So the game will come down to how many softies Hiller lets in before remembering how to play goal and if Calgary can actually score a goal against the Blues this year

I don't like the decision to go with Hiller. He also let in a couple of softies the last time we played St. Louis on March 17th.

[cKy]

Originally Posted by Komskies

I don't like the decision to go with Hiller. He also let in a couple of softies the last time we played St. Louis on March 17th.

We're outscored 8-1 or something in the last 2 games against St. Louis - i'm not sure it really matters who is in.

[polak]

Happy Colborne is sitting.

He lumbers around like a clumsy ogre on the ice. Honestly.

Get the puck in the corner, skate to the other side, try going out front, have someone lightly knock on your stick and lose the puck.

That's the Colborne special.

[GioforPM]

Hartley has said he doesn't put much stock in goalies' previous records against particular teams.

Mark me down as a former Bollig uber-critic who thinks he has played quite well lately and can contribute against the Blues. They are a big team and Ferland, though somewhat gritty, hasn't been one to throw his weight around against bigger and older players (I think it's a rookie thing).

ETA: To some extent you might think he's throwing Hiller to the wolves and giving Ramo a break given how badly the Flames lpayed the Blues both times.

[Hemi-Cuda]

Originally Posted by GioforPM

Free pass? He's been benched a bunch, and had his ice time cut within the game on several occasions. You are right, he's a pure offeesive guy who doesn't check much at either end or block well, though I'd argue he plays positionally sound defence.

He actually pretty middle of the pack on giveaways. JG leads the team by far in giveaways per 60 minutes. Then (among fwds) it's Backlund, Stajan and Ferland, then a whole bunch similar to Raymond (2.08).

I tend to think people are looking for Raymond errors and find them, when the same missed plays happen to all of the players. And like I alluded to above, production-wise, he's in the upper third of the team. So that's why Hartley keeps him in and gives him bottom half minutes. There's no way Ferland has earned thos kind of minutes with his few points, and Granlund and Colborne are alerady getting similar minutes.

The problem is he's simply average in every faucet of the game, whereas almost every other forward excels in at least one area. Ferland uses his size and toughness for an effective forecheck, Colborne is good at battling along the boards and drawing defenders away, Jooris is a high energy guy that can cause havoc in front of the opposing net, and Backlund/Stajan are excellent defensive forwards who can chip in key goals now and then. I guess Granlund is the only one who I haven't seen define any sort of strength yet, but he's shown flashes of offensive potential and still has room to improve whereas with Raymond what you see is what you get

[ComixZone]

Originally Posted by ForeverFlameFan

I'm not understanding the Colborne hate? He's been pretty physical as of late and had a decent game last game, picking up an assist.

He just needs to quit taking dumb penalties.

March:

Played 15:44/game
Recorded 1 goal, 2 assists, 20 shots on goal
His +/- was +1
14 PIM

He was a passenger.

Did we have better options? Maybe not, but that doesn't excuse the fact that he just didn't have a good March.

[Parallex]

Originally Posted by polak

Happy Colborne is sitting.

He lumbers around like clumsy ogre on the ice. Honestly.

Get the puck in the corner, skate to the other side, try going out front, have someone lightly knock on your stick and lose the puck.

That's the Colborne special.

This^^

Colborne has been such a trainwreck lately, plays and possession just dying on his stick left and right.

[GioforPM]

Originally Posted by Hemi-Cuda

The problem is he's simply average in every faucet of the game, whereas almost every other forward excels in at least one area. Ferland uses his size and toughness for an effective forecheck, Colborne is good at battling along the boards and drawing defenders away, Jooris is a high energy guy that can cause havoc in front of the opposing net, and Backlund/Stajan are excellent defensive forwards who can chip in key goals now and then. I guess Granlund is the only one who I haven't seen define any sort of strength yet, but he's shown flashes of offensive potential and still has room to improve whereas with Raymond what you see is what you get

He's got above average speed and a good shot, one of the better wristers on the team and a decent one-timer.

I actually think Jooris and Bryon come closest to Raymond's skill set, except with less finish. Granlund - I don't see the offence. He had a few very lucky bounces in his first go-round and hasn't done much since being recalled.