[PGT] Flames 3 Flyers 1

[EldrickOnIce]

Originally Posted by taxbuster

The rule on spearing doesn't say anything about "intent to injure". If the point of the stick makes contact in a stabbing motion, it's 5 and a game. Period. There's no minor, there's really only not calling it as an alternative.

Now, should Cousins have been penalized for embellishment? I think so. Apparently the refs didn't.

It was a dumb play all round. Wideman effect? Suspect that would have been called on anyone as it happened two feet from a liney.

Hmmm. I thought there was a double minor that could be called, as minimum, for spearing.

[Galakanokis]

Johnny's afraid, plain and simple. He pulls up or curls on just about every play and with back pressure he forces passes or turns the puck over. Defencemen are stepping up and forcing him earlier, closer to the blueline and he doesn't seem to have the quickness to get around guys right now. Problem for Johnny is there is no real way for him to simplify his game to get back on track. Other guys can dump and chase or crash the net to get things going, Johnny, not so much. It's a confidence thing nothing to do with Gulatzan in my mind.

I would take Gudas on this team in a heart beat. Tough, solid defensive defenseman is exactly what this team needs. He made some great plays at both ends of the ice as well, some very smart pinches. And that Provorov will be a stud, great looking young defenseman. On the Frolik non-call I liked it, thought Provorov played it perfectly.

[Yoho]

Originally Posted by Galakanokis

Johnny's afraid, plain and simple. He pulls up or curls on just about every play and with back pressure he forces passes or turns the puck over. Defencemen are stepping up and forcing him earlier, closer to the blueline and he doesn't seem to have the quickness to get around guys right now. Problem for Johnny is there is no real way for him to simplify his game to get back on track. Other guys can dump and chase or crash the net to get things going, Johnny, not so much. It's a confidence thing nothing to do with Gulatzan in my mind.

I would take Gudas on this team in a heart beat. Tough, solid defensive defenseman is exactly what this team needs. He made some great plays at both ends of the ice as well, some very smart pinches. And that Provorov will be a stud, great looking young defenseman. On the Frolik non-call I liked it, thought Provorov played it perfectly.

You're right Johnny's afraid. He's never delt with playing against bigger players in his hockey career.

[Galakanokis]

Originally Posted by Yoho

You're right Johnny's afraid. He's never delt with playing against bigger players in his hockey career.

Wise answer smart guy.

[SuperMatt18]

Originally Posted by Galakanokis

Defencemen are stepping up and forcing him earlier, closer to the blueline and he doesn't seem to have the quickness to get around guys right now.

Has nothing to do with being afraid and has everything to do with his quickness.

He seems to have lost a step this year compared to last year. Not sure if it is a fitness issue, or if it's due to him trying to put on weight, but IMO he looks noticeably slower than last year. Especially his first step.

[GioforPM]

Johnny's not afraid. Teams are just playing him way better. He got away with the same moves for two years, and they've adjusted. Now he needs to adapt to closer checking near the blue line. It would help if there was another puck carrier on his line (which I didn't think before) as another option. If Bennett improves to a be a 1C or played RW, it could work.

[Galakanokis]

Originally Posted by SuperMatt18

Has nothing to do with being afraid and has everything to do with his quickness.

He seems to have lost a step this year compared to last year. Not sure if it is a fitness issue, or if it's due to him trying to put on weight, but IMO he looks noticeably slower than last year. Especially his first step.

Originally Posted by GioforPM

Johnny's not afraid. Teams are just playing him way better. He got away with the same moves for two years, and they've adjusted. Now he needs to adapt to closer checking near the blue line. It would help if there was another puck carrier on his line (which I didn't think before) as another option. If Bennett improves to a be a 1C or played RW, it could work.

While I agree he looks slower, especially those first couple of steps I still think he is way to tentative out there compared to the last two years. He use to spin off checks and keep going now he just flat out pulls up. Perhaps that is a symptom of the quickness not sure.

Teams are definitely playing him harder, much tighter now and they bring the back pressure down the wing. He's a smart player and will figure it out but he needs to change something up real quick. At least get the puck deep as turnovers at the blueline are killing us. Afraid, tentative, gripping the stick to tight, call it what you will I just don't see his play as a result of the coach.

[belsarius]

Originally Posted by nemanja2306

But it's not just him, though. It's Brodie, Monahan, Bennett, Gio at times as well.

When one key player is not playing well, it's probably the player.
When ALL your key players are struggling, it's probably something else.

Don't underestimate the effect a coach can have on a player. Look at Crosby whose production dropped off massively under Johnston, only to return to his normal after the hiring of Sullivan. And team performance followed that.

I just don't this GG is a fit for this team. It is alarming how many players are regressing under his tenure.

While I accept your premise, I reject your conclusion. I totally agree that the coaching style is restricting the point production of the star players. I also think there are also other factors at work for a lot of them which is also contributing. Defenses learning how to deal with Johnny, Monahan's back problems, Brodie's personal issues are also all factors which can explain why these players are struggling while others are flourishing.

But I don't think you can equate player production with success of a coach. Jasques Lemaires, Ken Hitchcock and Darryl Sutter are all coaches regarded as good coaches who have regularly had their star's production drop. For Sutter you can look at him coming to Calgary and Iginla's production dropping from 96 to 67 and he didn't break 90 points again until Sutter turned it over to Playfair.

Some styles can have players wrack up career year in points but the team can utterly fail, while sometimes the team's success means individuals numbers suffer.

Bingo just wrote an article showing the Flames have shown improvement from last year in almost every statistical category except shooting %. Yes player's numbers are down and the production has "regressed" but I don't think that automatically means GG is a terrible coach that needs to be fired.

[CroFlames]

I, for one, think there should be more celebratory gifs in the PGTs

[Lanny'sDaMan]

Originally Posted by Dion

[Cali Panthers Fan]

Originally Posted by SuperMatt18

Has nothing to do with being afraid and has everything to do with his quickness.

He seems to have lost a step this year compared to last year. Not sure if it is a fitness issue, or if it's due to him trying to put on weight, but IMO he looks noticeably slower than last year. Especially his first step.

Yes, this...exactly this. However, I just don't see him actually skating very hard, and when he changes he often coasts to the bench.

At first I thought it was just an effort thing, but I actually think the kid needs to improve his fitness. A diet of skittles isn't going to cut it anymore.

[Tron_fdc]

Nothing wrong with Monahan or Gaudreau IMO. The problem lies with the RW plug who just had his hands poured last week over at Lafarge.

What we are missing is a skilled winger that can not only put the puck in the net, but is also capable of making some space on his own. Say what we want about Hudler, but at least the guy was able to make space and bury his chances. I'd take a slow ass Hudler over what we have right now any day of the week.

[PepsiFree]

Originally Posted by EldrickOnIce

Hmmm. I thought there was a double minor that could be called, as minimum, for spearing.

That's for attempting a spear but missing. If you connect in any way, it's 5.

[Robbob]

Originally Posted by Tron_fdc

Nothing wrong with Monahan or Gaudreau IMO. The problem lies with the RW plug who just had his hands poured last week over at Lafarge.

What we are missing is a skilled winger that can not only put the puck in the net, but is also capable of making some space on his own. Say what we want about Hudler, but at least the guy was able to make space and bury his chances. I'd take a slow ass Hudler over what we have right now any day of the week.

As the lines were going through the blender, I really wanted the coach to try Tkachuk with them.

[Muffins]

Originally Posted by TheScorpion

Dave Hakstol's current mood: confused Downey Jr.

All I see in this pic is the dog going to town on someone in the background.

[Huntingwhale]

Originally Posted by Isikiz

Gio with 28:00 tonight.

That is nice to see. All game long I was thinking that GG is so obsessed with getting each pairing equal time, that's why junk like Wideman gets 20+ mins a night. The big guns on D deserve to play big minutes. I miss seeing Gio and Brodie getting 25 min+ each. That's how it should be. You ride your top players. Screw this everyone gets equal time talk.

Gio was spectacular all night. None bigger then that 5 on 3. I think he cleared the zone 2-3 times on his own. And hopefully this is the start of a very hot streak for Elliott. He's always been a 2nd half player and hasn't really had a streak like Johnson had. If he can go on a tear for 20 games, the Flames stand a good chance to make the dance.

[cannon7]

Elliott stole us a game, IMO. But the team in front of him did bounce back after getting bailed out. This group continues to be consistently inconsistent.

As for Gaudreau, another puck carrier should be carrying the puck into the offensive zone or dumping and chasing. Not sure why Versteeg hasn't worked better here.

[Otto-matic]

Sportsnet Stats ‏@SNstats 8m8 minutes ago
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#Flames Brian Elliott improves to 5-0-0 with a 1.20 GAA & .952 SV% in his last 5 home starts.

[Firebot]

Overchkin went through something similar that Gaudreau did. When Overchkin broke the league he was literally unstoppable. 65 goals in his 2nd year. Teams started playing against him specifically, and his numbers tumbled quite a bit. It wasn't until he took fitness more seriously and changed his game to adapt, that he became effective at a superstar level again.

Gaudreau will figure it out. He just isn't able to slice through 2 defenceman like butter anymore because teams are have a game plan designed around nullifying him.

[csnarpy]

Watching Johnny at the game, I thought in the first period he was pushing but forcibly. You can see he wants his game to be better.

In the second, he was gold, he looked like vintage JH. I haven't seen him steal that many pucks since last year. After his first 'from behind steal' he was on a mission and looked sensational from then on. Unfortunately he didn't have puck luck with him.

If he plays like that regularly, he's going to go on a tear.