A couple of unsung guys for me tonight were Bollig and Hamilton.
If Bollig is on his game like that all of the time he is an assett. Hamilton seemed much more confident, and made good crisp passes while giving up little in his own end. I saw a glimce into what he will be, and contrary to the resent everything blows Jbo 2.0 comments he will be a great player for this team for many years.
Grant was solid all game. I like his size and two good shifts a game from him replaces the contribution from a whole night of Raymond.
We were finally physically tough to play against and it showed on the scoreboard at the end of the night.
Not a pretty game but a solid effort with the exception of the final minute of the 2nd period where I could feel it coming and just knew they were going to score. I disagree with the comments saying that we lacked effort because what I saw was a team working its butt off.
This team is so highly strung right now that I want to be weary of criticizing the players who are trying and just can't get it going. That is why I am willing to give Monahan a little slack for a while longer and not give the same slack to Raymond. One guy is battling and expending a lot of energy every shift, while the other is a perimeter floater whose equipment will look new without tags at the end of the year sale.
You could see the absolute elation from Johnny while giving Backlund a hug after the gwg. Hopefully this group can string a couple of wins together and get back to being the hard working, fun loving, family environment that we all had the fortune of watching last year.
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I'm glad to hear that Ramo didn't face any difficult shots. While part of that can be attributed to Philly sucking, it also means the defensive coverage was good and no bad rebounds or second chances were given. That's huge.
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I thought it was a pretty pedestrian game from him until OT.
It's encouraging to see them keep a team under two goals and while the end result of this game (snooze fest) was likely due partially to two struggling teams rather than anything the Flames did really well it's baby steps and at this point anything positive is something they can build on.
Will chip in that the ice was BRUTAL tonight. 90% of the game the puck was bouncing and rolling. I have noticed that when this happens the flames struggle offensively. Puck bounces over sticks on stretch passes , passing plays hindered. I think the flames played the game properly given the situation. I will NEVER complain about getting a win.
Lecavalier cost them a goal but what do Philly fans expect? He is not a 20 something anymore. He is 35 hes not the same player he was at 21 when he won the cup. Then I remembered they were Philly fans .
He's not a world-beater by any stretch. But I was shocked to see how incredibly horrible he is.
Funny that Iginla is a solid contributor at 38 and Lecalvier is near-geriatric
The league is now so so wary of Gaudreau when he has the puck. Fearful, actually. Very fun to watch. Game plan could be...grind out a tie, go to OT, get JH the puck, end of game.
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We need more of Johnny out on the perimeter sometimes. Gets him away from the elite D-men and puts him in position to set other guys up. The Blackhawks do that with Kane, a lot of his points are up high on plays like that.
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"May those who accept their fate find happiness. May those who defy it find glory."
