Western Conference Playoffs - Round 2: Flames vs Ducks (Ducks win 4-1)

[Muta]

Best of 7

[CroFlames]

Let's regroup & go get em on Sunday.

[Hemi-Cuda]

If we win a game I'll be happy

[Cleveland Steam Whistle]

So much trying to manage expectations going on and way too much ass kissing of the Ducks. They are a good team, so are we. I agree, even if we get swept, I'll be a happy Flames fan this season, but way too much "we don't have a chance" going on after game #1.

One, I actually think the score was flattering to the Ducks. They were easily the better team, were they 5 goals better IMO, no.

Two, regardless of the opponents, we didn't play close to as good as we could have, the Flames have more to give, the Ducks played pretty close to their best IMO.

Three, this is a young team, and over the course of the season that's meant two things. One, when they make mistakes, sometimes they make them big, like last night. But two, they have shown to be quick learners, and not only do they learn from them, but the mistakes seem to make them incrementally better quicker. What I mean by that, is the Flames might have just learnt there's an extra level they need to play at that they might not have seen yet in the playoffs, for some reason I have confidence that they key guys on this team don't take that long to figure that out and find that gear.

We are the underdogs, and I agree it's going to be tough to win this series, but I don't think at the very least this team is going to go quietly into the night, and I think we are all giving the Ducks way too much credit for how much better they are than out team.

[tvp2003]

Wondering who gets the start in goal for game 2. My guess is that Ramo gets a chance to try and steal one -- it seems like a long time ago but his regular season numbers on the road were very good.

If he struggles, you can go back to Hiller in Game 3 at home.

Playing Ortio (and some have even suggested Gillies) is just setting them up for failure and sends the wrong message to the team IMO...

[SuperMatt18]

Agree 100% CSW. Flames had a bad game, but the 6-1 wasn't a true indicator IMO.

Game 1 was combination of a young team and poor goaltending. Playoff hockey went up another level that game and the team wasn't quite ready.

Once Ferland went down you could see the confidence drop. His physical play made the whole team play bigger in Round 1, and once he went down you could see our guys start to wilt.

Goaltending magnified this. With the long losing streak the last thing the Flames needed was to go down early, Hiller lets in a couple softies and all of a sudden the confidence was shot.

Flames were outplayed but a lot of it was from their own mistakes IMO. They need to regroup and not worry about being more physical then the Ducks, that isn't our game.

We need to get some speed back in the lineup (Especially if Ferland and Hudler can't go) and try to attack with speed and skill, while playing the patient transition game we played all season.

[Cflames_12.5]

Would Paul Byron add any value here. I know he's small but he's not afraid to push his away in the corners and fight for the puck. He could help win some of those battles and get the puck back quicker for the transition up the ice. Just a thought. I know he hasn't played in a long time. Is he even ready to come back from injury.

[Mattman]

Originally Posted by Hemi-Cuda

If we win a game I'll be happy

But it doesn't take one Flames win to win a series. And if you haven't been thrilled with the path we've taken to get here then somethings wrong dude.


Have some faith people! Series isn't over because we lost one game. Sunday is when the curse ends

[flambers]

Originally Posted by Cflames_12.5

Would Paul Byron add any value here..

Not really, he is to small to play on a checking line against a team like the Ducks.

[herashak]

how was wotherspoon? think he's on the bottom pairing starting next season?

[CroFlames]

Wotherspoon looked like a bottom pairing guy. Granted, the whole team was flubbing passes and missing defensive assignments, so he didn't look terribly out of place.

I think he'll round out into a decent player that we will eventually package up in a deal to bolster our D or G.

On man's opinion.

[Goodlad]

Originally Posted by flambers

Not really, he is to small to play on a checking line against a team like the Ducks.

Disagree. I think his speed would be exactly what we need to counteract the Ducks. The physical side to his game would just be a nice bonus.

[terminator]

I think the Ducks may have opened up a can of worms that they are not ready to deal with:

Kids that don't know they're suppose to lose.

[Vinny01]

Hopefully we bounce back but if we don't what a great position to be in. Second round of the playoffs and we would have the 15th pick in the draft which is the best pick for a playoff team. We are still rebuilding so a great asset could be acquired. Having said that hopefully they bounce back and take the series but after last night that will be a huge challenge

[cannon7]

Well, my prediction of a Flames sweep has been blown to hell. Think I'll stop making playoff predictions.

[Cflames_12.5]

Originally Posted by Goodlad

Disagree. I think his speed would be exactly what we need to counteract the Ducks. The physical side to his game would just be a nice bonus.

That is what I was thinking.

[Scornfire]

I just hope the boys are as frustrated as we are after that debacle, but it's pretty clear we won't be beating them playing a physical style. If byron's ready I hope he slots in, still prefer pretty much anyone over raymond though

Ps. Wtf is up with their boards, pucks were bouncing in all directions on dump-ins. Ice was practically ready to be served as gelato too

[ScorchyScorch]

Byron has been one of our best possession players this season. even after injury in the one game vs minnesota his presence was felt as we had the puck more when he was on the ice. anytime you can add players that allow you to have the puck more, even if they don't do an awful lot with it is better than having guys that will be chasing the puck and play.

[GranteedEV]

I'm looking at our win over them in November:

http://flames.nhl.com/gamecenter/en/...?id=2014020275

The following were plus players in that game that might have helped in this series:

Smid
Byron
Giordano
Granlund
Bouma

[PrettyBoyFlizzy]

We got these bums where we want them. We molest them 2-1 on Sunday.