[PGT] Flames lose 4-2, trail series 2-1

[EN FUEGO]

Tough game to swallow, but at least it was more entertaining. Nothing to do now but learn, move on and win game 4.

[The Cobra]

Originally Posted by dissentowner

I stayed away from this thread last night and don't need to go back and read the stepping off a ledge reactions that I am sure are to the extreme. It is 2-1, win game 4 and we are back home with home ice. It was always going to be a tough out against a team that's whole system is based on constant interference, grabbing, and holding. Combine that with a goalie playing red hot and it is tough. It also does not help that the second line is bad. Mangi is starting to come around but Toffoli and Backlund have been garbage offensively. Those guys need to start doing something. Win game 4, one game at a time.

Always going to be a tough out?

Before the game you said the Flames were not going to lose another game in the series.

[JohnnyB]

Originally Posted by Ashasx

trying to focus on other things

I'm the idiot for letting the Flames bring my mood down again

Yeah, I'm just not going to bother watching again unless they win a couple. They should be able to, but once again they're just not the same team in the playoffs as in the regular season. I don't understand it, but it's a pattern with them.

[Shazam]

Originally Posted by DiracSpike

Or, given the history we’ve seen from this team and how the underperform every year, in a parallel universe where the flames played Nashville they’d be down 2-1 to them too while Colorado beat the wheels of a clearly inferior Dallas team and we all lamented not playing them. Like I get what you’re saying, Nashville looks awful, but we’ve seen this movie too many times for me to think any different. It happens almost every year. The flames have a really bad habit of making teams look way better than they are. 2017 ducks destroyed them, then had a competitive series against the oilers right after that could have gone either way. 2019 Colorado was on the rise for sure, but again they absolutely wrecked us and then lost a close series to San Jose. It happens so much that the flames have actually conditioned some fans to think that being a top seed and losing and getting outplayed by bottom seeds is normal and to be expected, or that we’re just having bad luck. Dallas deserved to win last night, just like game 2. They bullied us, their goalie was better and their forwards are better. I agree with Cecil saying this team is the hot chick you try to convince yourself that things will work out with when deep down you know that’s not true, I was thinking that last night it’s the perfect analogy lol.

The Flames would lose a series to the Washington Generals.

[oldschoolcalgary]

Oettinger is playing really well...better than I thought he could.

Not sure how when the light switch will turn on for the Flames wrt to Pavelski - he's the most dangerous guy on that team. When he is on the ice someone should be be him one on one like shadowing McDavid and not looking at the puck at all.

Dallas clogs up any passes through the slot...better to shot low and be in position for a rebound...

that's all I got...hopefully Sutter et al have better ideas than that though...

[Jbo]

I’m sure covered in 26 pages but a few observations:
- Feels like D and most specifically Rasmus is handling the puck like a hand gernade;
- feels like the offence has gone full dump and chase. Maybe a handful of zone entries. I know it is playoffs and you don’t want a blue line turnover, but the Flames are not winning the deep battle and it looks easy to defend against;
- maybe shut down the one guy who always scores on you?

I’m still hopeful, but would like to see these guys play the same structured, but exciting, hockey that got them here

[codynw]

Originally Posted by Shazam

The Flames would lose a series to the Washington Generals.

They were due.

[Manhattanboy]

Trying to be objective here the Flames looked awesome in the first period of Game 1. Sutter had the guys totally prepared, things started off great and it looked like things would be different this year. Then you had all the garbage at the end of the period and the second became a slog fest with a parade of penalties. It’s like Bowness figured it all out between periods. From that time we’ve been totally owned.

[dammage79]

Maybe Calgary just needs to forget the intimidation tactics and get back to what made things work so well. Just play good sound hockey.

I still think they can make the goalie move more and open him up. On top of getting ppl in front of the net.

This perimeter shooting BS they've been doing doesn't work. Especially when they're rushing the shots with no time to set bodies up in front of the goalie.

I see the iceberg on the horizon, hopefully the captain of the SS titanic can steer clear of it this time.

[Britflamesfan]

They are literally being bullied out on the ice and it really shows as JG gets rid of the puck as soon as any one gets close to him, he needs to take a brave pill and toughen up. Our big defenders need to start hitting players, they have done it all season but now seem to have stopped. Their goalkeeper is having a very easy time, we have gone back several years too when the stats used to say we were brilliant but when you looked at it all our shots were from miles out and with nobody in front of the net. PP are hopeless if you watch we end up with three players behind the net and our D standing at the blue line, they pick up the puck and get rid 99% of the time. Those that are saying the Flames were the better team in the last 2 matches are kidding themselves. Last chance coming up on Monday, win it and they can still get through, lose and that's it for yet another year. If that happens personally i would let JG go and trade T as they have proved over the last 4 years that they cannot do it for the playoffs. Getting to the playoffs is not good enough.

[Heavy Jack]

It’s pretty easy to see what the stars have done the past two games. 8 bouts of 4 on 4 has disrupted time for the top line to do its thing, and idiot klingberg going after Chuck in the first minutes the past two games has disrupted the top line as well. Ignore Klingberg and step away from all these after whistle scrums where for wte reason the refs seem content to always even up calls. 5 on 5 this team has shown its dominance all year long, so why allow the Stars the luxury of not facing the top 5 on 5 line all year long for large portions of the game?? Straighten that out and the Flames should start finding the back of the twine.

[Britflamesfan]

Originally Posted by Heavy Jack

It’s pretty easy to see what the stars have done the past two games. 8 bouts of 4 on 4 has disrupted time for the top line to do its thing, and idiot klingberg going after Chuck in the first minutes the past two games has disrupted the top line as well. Ignore Klingberg and step away from all these after whistle scrums where for wte reason the refs seem content to always even up calls. 5 on 5 this team has shown its dominance all year long, so why allow the Stars the luxury of not facing the top 5 on 5 line all year long for large portions of the game?? Straighten that out and the Flames should start finding the back of the twine.

My son and I after watching game two agreed whilst out on the gold course that Dallas would find somebody to get in Mathews face because he cannot focus on hockey when he has been wound up and somebody would rough up JG early on. Both situations happened and both resulted in putting our number one line out of the game. JG cannot take the rough stuff and MT is dead easy to wind up and put off his game.

[1qqaaz]

I think it's largely a player personnel problem in the top 9.

Lindholm and Dube have been fine IMO. That's about where it ends in terms of positives. Several players in the middle 6 have been on a cold streak for a while now:

-Toffoli has 5 points in his last 18 games
-Coleman has 0 points in his last 9 games
-Jarnkrok has 3 points in his last 18 games
-Backlund has 2 points in his last 10 games
-Mangiapane has 0 points in his last 7 games

Tkachuk has struggled moreso than anyone else on the top line IMO. Gaudreau has been worse than usual, but I wouldn't say he's been outright bad. The 4th line has been fine, but I believe they were the line that allowed the goal against in game 2.

It's hard to overreact when you're down 1-2 in a series. It's a dire situation. You have to win 3 out of 4 against a team that just beat you in 2 out of 3. Otherwise the season is done.
Worries are justified.

The Flames still have decent metrics and shot totals. I'm not prepared to blame Sutter, but I'll give credit to Rick Bowness on the other side. The Flames have good expected goals-for stats. Likewise, Oettinger has been great. Way above what is projected. Markstrom has been fine, but he's been heavily outplayed by Oettinger.

I'm wondering if the penalty parade has really negatively affected teams like Calgary and Nashville. They feel like that can't really play to their true identity. And it benefits PP teams like Colorado, Washington, Toronto and Edmonton.
It seems like the Flames are really missing effective net-front presences on the powerplay. I actually miss Monahan quite a bit right now. Even at his worst, he's usually good at this on the powerplay.

[icarus]

My thoughts:

- Dallas is playing sound defensive hockey and succeeding in shutting down both Calgary's primary and secondary scoring at the same time to a degree only observed during the mid-season slump.

- That said, Flames are trying to manufacture playoff intensity and it's coming at the expense of their game. Simplify and go to the hard areas in front of the net. A lot of guys are not looking like themselves.

- Still a game of puck luck too. Kylington's shot off the post unluckily stuck to Oettinger's backside instead of bouncing in. Dallas has scored two otherworldly seeing-eye tip-ins.

- The slashing call in the last ten minutes, fine I guess, but don't put away the whistles for the more egregious stuff that followed. Not an excuse but call penalties consistently.

[Sec214]

This thread is filled with pathetic fans and stupid ass takes.

[tvp2003]

Originally Posted by Heavy Jack

It’s pretty easy to see what the stars have done the past two games. 8 bouts of 4 on 4 has disrupted time for the top line to do its thing, and idiot klingberg going after Chuck in the first minutes the past two games has disrupted the top line as well. Ignore Klingberg and step away from all these after whistle scrums where for wte reason the refs seem content to always even up calls. 5 on 5 this team has shown its dominance all year long, so why allow the Stars the luxury of not facing the top 5 on 5 line all year long for large portions of the game?? Straighten that out and the Flames should start finding the back of the twine.

I stand to be corrected but I think Tkachuk initiated both “fights” against Klingberg. Mangiapane trying to mix it up after the whistle is also doing absolutely nothing. It’s like they think they know what playoff hockey looks like but that’s all window dressing to what happens between the whistles.

I agree about the 4-on-4 play; for all the talk about Dallas clogging up the middle of the ice, the Flames haven’t fared well with more room out there and I believe Dallas has the edge 1-0 at 4-on-4. I think Dallas is very comfortable playing this way for the rest of the series.

[Gaskal]

Not feeling good right now. Even when we seem to carry the play the bounces just aren't there. After Pavelski scored the GWG I was pretty much despondent as that was probably the worst gut punch of the series so far and it was off a seriously brain-dead play by Rasmus, the kind that I'd expect rookie Rasmus to do not 2022 Rasmus.

So far this series that's two GWG against now off seriously brain-dead plays by each of the top pairing. Really bad.

[jmac98]

When they won the first game 1-0 there was praise for winning a low scoring playoff style game.
When they lost the second game 1-0 (add empty net) there was angst for not scoring enough.
Game three it’s the top scorers not producing, not enough traffic in front of the goalie, whatever else.

Flames just need to find a way to win to change the narrative back to a spinning positive. Lots of hockey left. Certainly cause for concern down 2-1 but when every game matters as in the playoffs, the results can yield drastic swings of opinion and emotion. Let’s hope tomorrow nights a win to get everyone back to the right side of that fence.

[Rejean31]

Originally Posted by heep223

Chintzy penalty call led to winning goal. ####

I’m still not all that worried. I firmly believe this Flames team is miles better than the Stars and will win the series.

Tbh our series aside, I’ve watched quite a bit of the first round round the league and I dunno wtf is going on but the refs have been the stars in every one. They must have got a message from up high to call it tight but holy #### has it been an embarrassment to the sport.

Otherwise known as the Edmonton Oilers media bitching and moaning effect.

[Shazam]

Originally Posted by SebC

Some terrible takes in this thread.

Flames have a fine coach (as evidenced by their drastic improvement under his leadership), two players who scored more points than Iginla, and you want to get rid of them because we're getting PDO'd in a small sample?

Playoffs are all about small samples. Unless you're willing to make this a best of 82 series.