[GDT] Flames vs Stars, 7:00 MST. Sportsnet West, Fan 960

[Roof-Daddy]

Originally Posted by polak

They were a playoff bubble team before the streak.

In the next few games we'll get to see if they're a bubble team or if they legitimately found another gear.

Yeap. Take away the 10 game streak and they were 24-17-3 after Nov 15th.

94 point pace, 0.579 points % good for 13th/14th in the league. A good but not great team, which is just fine for year #4 of a rebuild with a core as young as ours.

[Freddy]

It may not be a popular opinion, but I would start Chad in net tonight to get his & the teams confidence in having 2 winning goalies. Goaltending depth is important come playoffs and I think Chad is very capable of stealing a game in relief if necessary.

[redmile04]

Originally Posted by Freddy

It may not be a popular opinion, but I would start Chad in net tonight to get his & the teams confidence in having 2 winning goalies. Goaltending depth is important come playoffs and I think Chad is very capable of stealing a game in relief if necessary.

Exactly, shaky start due to inactivity vs a hot team and a 2 on 0 that most goalies won't stop. We wouldn't be 7 points in a playoff spot without his play earlier in the season, he should get another shot... assuming Elliot is not 100 %.

[direwolf]

Originally Posted by sureLoss

Pat Steinberg @Fan960Steinberg
Stone is in tonight. #Flames

[smalltownref]

Originally Posted by Freddy

It may not be a popular opinion, but I would start Chad in net tonight to get his & the teams confidence in having 2 winning goalies. Goaltending depth is important come playoffs and I think Chad is very capable of stealing a game in relief if necessary.

I will be the first to disagree. Gotta roll with Elliott and try to win as many games as you can right now. If the tide turns and there's no chance of becoming a playoff team with home ice advantage, then turn to the Chad and give him his shot to gain some confidence. By then Elliott could use a day off as well.

[redmile04]

Darren Haynes‏Verified account @DarrenWHaynes 15m15 minutes ago
More
Reports from the Saddledome this morning are that the Flames are getting the band back together. Stone in, Wideman out, Elliott back in net.

[direwolf]

This is a must win if only to repair some of the damage from last night's atrocious OOT. Dallas is terrible and are playing their 3rd game in 4 nights. Considering the tough schedule we have down the stretch, the Flames can't afford to piss away points against teams that they should easily beat. Hoping for a big bounce back game tonight so we can jump ahead of the Oilers again.

[colbym72]

We dont have the room to play Johnson and hope he rebounds and gets his game back. We need to play the guy who is hot and get us these wins

[The Fonz]

Any word on if Jamie Benn is playing tonight?

[locsofblu]

Originally Posted by colbym72

We dont have the room to play Johnson and hope he rebounds and gets his game back. We need to play the guy who is hot and get us these wins

YUP! We aren't even guaranteed a playoff spot yet. It will most likely be a battle to the bitter end with our last 6 coming against the California teams.

[trumpethead]

Originally Posted by Freddy

It may not be a popular opinion, but I would start Chad in net tonight to get his & the teams confidence in having 2 winning goalies. Goaltending depth is important come playoffs and I think Chad is very capable of stealing a game in relief if necessary.

Actually I would argue that goaltending depth is actually less important come playoff time. We have clearly established who our #1 is and barring misfortune or injury, chad will never see the net again.

[Vinny01]

Originally Posted by jayswin

That's unfortunate that we are mathematically eliminated from the playoffs if we lose tonight, especially after that monster winning streak. Too bad.

Lose tonight and lose Sunday it puts LA 5pts back with a game in hand. Theybwin that their road tonthenpkayoffs becomes easier. But hey we got an easy road trip coming up after that with the Caps, Preds, Blues and then 6 of our last 7 against California. Sure Pal we can easily afford to lose this game

[jg13]

It's important to note this via Darren Haynes

Teams playing in back-to-backs in Alberta have gone CGY->EDM nine times compared to EDM->CGY five times. On back end, EDM 6-2-1, CGY 4-1-0.

EDM gets the next one too. LA's in CGY on Sunday, then in EDM on Monday.
But last week of March, LA, SJ, ANA all go EDM->CGY.

[jayswin]

Originally Posted by Vinny01

Lose tonight and lose Sunday it puts LA 5pts back with a game in hand. Theybwin that their road tonthenpkayoffs becomes easier. But hey we got an easy road trip coming up after that with the Caps, Preds, Blues and then 6 of our last 7 against California. Sure Pal we can easily afford to lose this game

It's an important game, my post was just taking a shot at the annoyingly overused "must win" game. If you look at my posts in any recent OOT threads I'm right where you are.

I mean we literally had multiple posters calling for three point games between the 8th and 9th place teams because they were so in the clouds during the win streak that they figured we were above the wildcard race and it would screw the Oilers.

[Calgary4LIfe]

I totally had a brainfart. I thought the last Dallas game was the one against Edmonton in which they lost 7-1. Feel more relaxed about this game now, as they had a good push-back game against Vancouver. They should be tired tonight, and sounds like Benn is nursing an injury.

I do think it would be a good time to add Lazar to the lineup, as he does provide good speed. Dallas plays the same system as the Flames (and funny enough, seem to be terrible in goaltending again, much like the Flames last season). They rely on speed quite a bit, and Lazar can definitely help with that.

Lots of shots on net please, and relentless forechecking on what appears to be a weak defensive unit.

[polak]

Originally Posted by Freddy

It may not be a popular opinion, but I would start Chad in net tonight to get his & the teams confidence in having 2 winning goalies. Goaltending depth is important come playoffs and I think Chad is very capable of stealing a game in relief if necessary.

Nope. What if he is shaky again? Then we really destroy his confidence and we give up critical points.

Sure this game isn't a "must win" from a mathematical perspective but it's pretty close to one from a team mindset perspective and we're still not a lock for the playoffs.

As per polak-panic tradition, If we lose our next two games, LA could be three points back once they even out the game at hand. PANIC.

[jayswin]

I totally get why you don't want to mess with players heads too much and switch up the forward line-up after just one loss, but really if you don't put Lazar in now than when do you?

If you won't do it after one loss and you won't do it after a win, you're almost telling him you may not play this season. I mean before this streak they would interchange Hathaway, Hamilton etc pretty easily night to night, now sitting anyone is a sacred cow.

Hopefully they put him in soon, selfishly I really want to see him play.

[Roof-Daddy]

I know you wanna beat the other teams "best" but man I hope Benn is out.

That guy is a Flame killer. 15 goals & 28 points in 25 career games.

[jayswin]

Can't wait for the game either way. With the line-up back together we should have this. I'll bet the players are able to push last game out of their minds and won't pick up where they left off with shaky, timid play.

[Textcritic]

Originally Posted by direwolf

This is a must win if only to repair some of the damage from last night's atrocious OOT...

There is no OOT.

Only snake.