First line looked out of sync.. not a surprise considering how much time they've had together. 67% I think Monahan was in the circle, gotta love that. Really liked the creativity from Bennett and I thought Tkachuk went to the right places on the ice and played like it was his first NHL game, nothing overly bad, maybe a little too cautious. Backlund and Frolik seem to have one brain.
I know it's his first game but Elliott needs to be pulled after that fourth goal. The icing before that goal sticking the tired first line out there was the best time for a time-out, keep the momentum and rest because you know McDavid is coming. And Wideman having the second most ice-time on the team just doesn't make sense, he got his goal in his specialist position but he was overused and burned over and over on the transition. I gave Gulu the benefit of the doubt for the starting pairings but his lack of adjustments just gave me fits.. 4-4 why not put Gio and Brodie together with Gaudreau and Monahan... it just makes sense.
Only game 1, refs got their Katz payoff so the Oilers could win their opening night. Time to get ready for Friday.
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The @NHLFlames are the first team to feature four players each with 50+ points within their first 45 games of a season since the Penguins in 1995-96 (Ron Francis, Mario Lemieux, Jaromir Jagr, Tomas Sandstrom).
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The Flames were exposed last year against fast teams - particularly Wideman. Engelland seems to be savvy enough to get by - but Wideman is just completely over-matched against the wrong match-ups.
And then you add Grossman into the equation.
Again - not gonna work.
All of our D had problems with their speed. McDavid made Gio look horrible once. It's a little concerning because our D got slower, not faster this year.
I can see the theory behind Gulutzan's D-pairings, and it makes me really nervous that he's the kind of coach that thought it would work.
We have 3 great D-men on this team. Pairing each of them with a plug does not spread the greatness... it spreads the suck. Suck is dominant gene.
Just quoting to add to your point. Putting a good dman with a bad dman does not make the bad one better. It makes the good one have to cover all night. Can't expect Brodie to be 2 players like he was for 1 playoff series in the regular season.
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He rushed the puck forward and centered it in front, yes it was intercepted but a forward (Tkachuk) needs to cover. The puck rusher can't be one at fault.
he should know his own limits...take a ####ing shot
Defensive mistakes, starting with Grossman's pass up the middle, were made due to bad decision making. Goaltending needs to cover for mistakes and not being able to on the first mistake of the game set the tone. However, they are both fixable problems which i'm sure will be corrected on Friday. My guess is that (which is probably the same as others) Jokipakka comes in for Grossman. Before the shorthanded goals I thought the Ferland-Backlund-Frolik line was invisible.
And hopefully different refs for Friday's game although not game deciding that non-call on Gaudreau and following call for the penalty shot was a momentum changer.
There are positives to take from the game though, Stajan's play was solid for his limited ice time. Gaudreau is ready to build off of last season's play. I thought the Tkachuck-Bennett-Brouwer line showed some flashes of chemistry.
He rushed the puck forward and centered it in front, yes it was intercepted but a forward (Tkachuk) needs to cover. The puck rusher can't be one at fault.
A player of his skill set and nature needs to put that puck on net, especially when he knows he is pinching in. That pass literally had no chance. I agree a forward has to recognize and hold back but if directs that towards the net the Oilers do not get a 2 on 1 out of it.
It was probably Johnnys worst game I ever watched from him. He missed two easy goals and passed the puck to Oilers and created breakouts for Edmonton multiple times.
I would say the first couple games as a Flame were worse...where he looked lost and didn't really contribute much to the team.
Give him a few games and I bet he'll be back to normal. Gaudreau is a player who thinks the game exceptionally well. This is probably the first contact he's had with Gulutzan's system and is basically in preseason mode. It would make sense for a player like him to massively improve when he understands Gulutzan's thought process and where all the Flames on the ice are moving.
Defensive mistakes, starting with Grossman's pass up the middle, were made due to bad decision making. Goaltending needs to cover for mistakes and not being able to on the first mistake of the game set the tone. However, they are both fixable problems which i'm sure will be corrected on Friday. My guess is that (which is probably the same as others) Jokipakka comes in for Grossman. Before the shorthanded goals I thought the Ferland-Backlund-Frolik line was invisible.
And hopefully different refs for Friday's game although not game deciding that non-call on Gaudreau and following call for the penalty shot was a momentum changer.
There are positives to take from the game though, Stajan's play was solid for his limited ice time. Gaudreau is ready to build off of last season's play. I thought the Tkachuck-Bennett-Brouwer line showed some flashes of chemistry.
Only Ferland was invisible. Backlund & Frolik really started doing good stuff after the 1st period.
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I can't say I'm surprised they lost since they usually #### the bed in the season opener. But I didn't expect Elliott to have a bad game like that this soon. And the NHL should be embarrassed with the officiating. That was bush league.
