The losing streak - optimist vs. pessimist: which side are you on

[dino7c]

Originally Posted by Enoch Root

2-7-1 through Dec and Jan

People think they ran the table last season yet they lost (and won) 17 of their first 34 games

Vegas, LA, Anaheim were Pacific playoff teams midway through the season. Oilers weren't in a playoff spot in February and people laughed at me for suggesting Vegas might not win the division.

[Bingo]

Originally Posted by DeluxeMoustache

You keep complaining about the schedule

Problem is they lost to Nashville, Seattle and Buffalo and gave up a stinker to the Devils

Losing to Boston isn’t a problem. Losing games you should have won is

Having a tough schedule doesn't mean you only lose the tough games and should win all the easy ones.

It means less easy ones, and with that less room for error.

Then when you go forward and the schedule eases, you can win a few games you likely don't deserve to because you're not playing 100 point teams 4 out of every 5 games.

[Bingo]

Originally Posted by Teroy

Pessimist - Can't see Markstrom getting any better. Trade him while we can and bring up Wolf. Huberdeau will never live up to his 10 mil contract. Trade him for a winger, even if we have to retain. This b.s. that he'll get going is just that, b.s. We hugely over paid based on one season.
Those are the two players we should be blaming, not the supporting cast. It's not up to Lindholm & Toffoli to make Huberdeau look good. It's the other way around.

The guy that was second in Vezina voting last year isn't going to get better and you know this after 13 games.

The guy that has consistently been a top scorer in this league (and elite for the last 5 seasons) will never live up to his contract, and you know this after 13 games of which he's missed two.

Fun!

[Bingo]

The current 8th seed in the West is Edmonton by win percentage and they're on a 87 point pace. The West isn't off to the best of starts.

To get to 88 points the Flames need to go .551 the rest of the way.
To get to 92 points the Flames need to go .579 the rest of the way.

I think they've hurt their chances to win the division with the hot start, but this season is a long long way from decided.

[TrentCrimmIndependent]

i think it will be a slow, limping horse race in the west for 6 of 8 spots because so few teams out here are elite or consistent enough to build a lead on the rest

[Mathgod]

Originally Posted by dino7c

People think they ran the table last season yet they lost (and won) 17 of their first 34 games

Vegas, LA, Anaheim were Pacific playoff teams midway through the season. Oilers weren't in a playoff spot in February and people laughed at me for suggesting Vegas might not win the division.

You're equating OT/Shootout losses with regulation losses to push a narrative.

Last year's Flames weren't dealing with the kind of injuries that this year's team is. It's going to be hard for this group to win consistently with their best forward, best defenseman, and two other key defensemen out of the lineup.

That said, they'll be a very strong team if/when they finally get all their guys back healthy. But they have to make the playoffs in the meantime or it won't matter.

[Enoch Root]

Originally Posted by Mathgod

You're equating OT/Shootout losses with regulation losses to push a narrative.

Last year's Flames weren't dealing with the kind of injuries that this year's team is. It's going to be hard for this group to win consistently with their best forward, best defenseman, and two other key defensemen out of the lineup.

That said, they'll be a very strong team if/when they finally get all their guys back healthy. But they have to make the playoffs in the meantime or it won't matter.

And that is totally fair. But there are still 69 games left - how long can we expect them to be out?

Considering that neither Tanev nor Huberdeau has been put on LTIR, and both have been skating everyday (even if only for a bit, in Huberdeau's case), my guess is that they will both be back within a week or so.

Kylington is a different matter, of course. And his extended absence is concerning, no question about it.

[CalgarySames]

I'm optimistic, I don't think we've seen what this team can really be yet. Our defense should get better and our offense hasn't reached it's full potential. I'm still firmly in the camp of needing a better RW on the top line, but I think this team still has some kinks to work out!

[dino7c]

Originally Posted by Mathgod

You're equating OT/Shootout losses with regulation losses to push a narrative.

Last year's Flames weren't dealing with the kind of injuries that this year's team is. It's going to be hard for this group to win consistently with their best forward, best defenseman, and two other key defensemen out of the lineup.

That said, they'll be a very strong team if/when they finally get all their guys back healthy. But they have to make the playoffs in the meantime or it won't matter.

No I'm saying they were average in the first half and teams like the Ducks and Knights who got off to good starts ended up missing the playoffs.

Point being it's a long season that isn't decided in 13 games

[Mathgod]

Originally Posted by dino7c

No I'm saying they were average in the first half and teams like the Ducks and Knights who got off to good starts ended up missing the playoffs.

Point being it's a long season that isn't decided in 13 games

They were 15-4-5 through 24 games. That's an excellent start.

Then they went 3-8-1 over their next 12. Very bad.

From there they went 32-9-5 the rest of the way. Fantastic.

So really it was a tremendous season start to finish outside of one brutal 12 game stretch.

This season they've had a 5-1-0 start followed by a 0-5-2 slump. The team can very well recover from this and go on a heater just like they did last year, but their margin for error from here on out is getting thinner and thinner with each loss. Have to turn things around quickly here.

[McG]

I’m positive that flames will win again at some point. And go on a bit of a run.

I definitely had higher expectations after the start, but I’m back into the middle.

Making the playoffs remains a realistic target.

[I_H8_Crawford]

This team will make playoffs and do some damage in them. I don’t care about winning the division or conference. Give me a Sutter Kings special

[Calgary4LIfe]

I predicted a slow start to the season with the enormous changes (every line is different, and 3 of the 4 centers have never played with any of the wingers on their respective lines until this season), and also the homestand that was way too long. I think when you have changes, the best that you can want for your team is to start at home for a couple of games, but then you want to be on the road for 5 or so games. Nothing gels a team like being on the road.


Now everyone is holding their sticks tighter, and the pressure is on. However, I still think they will just come out of this just fine. Good team on paper, and they will start lighting the lamp regularly again. They just need to relax a bit, and find that chemistry as a team.

[Flames_Gimp]

optimist all the way!
We were lucky on the injury front most of last season, and now we have key injuries including our leader on D. When they are 100% healthy we can talk about what kind of team this is.

[gvitaly]

For the optimists, it seems like Zadorov- Weegar has been really good thus far. Imagine adding a Kylington - Tanev pairing into the mix.

https://twitter.com/user/status/1591290262814613504

https://twitter.com/user/status/1591290838168252416

[Enoch Root]

Zadorov has taken his game to the next level - he is a bona fide top 4 player now. Imagine what the team would look like right now with:

Hanifin - Andersson
Kylington - Tanev
Zadorov - Weegar

#### me

[Yikes]

Originally Posted by Teroy

Pessimist - Can't see Markstrom getting any better. Trade him while we can and bring up Wolf. Huberdeau will never live up to his 10 mil contract. Trade him for a winger, even if we have to retain. This b.s. that he'll get going is just that, b.s. We hugely over paid based on one season.
Those are the two players we should be blaming, not the supporting cast. It's not up to Lindholm & Toffoli to make Huberdeau look good. It's the other way around.

Move Markstrom for high pick(s), his salary to the kitty, Vlader is our starter, bring up Wolf. Give Backlund the C, keep sniffing around re: trade Noah for a high end winger. A decision has to made re: Kylington (LTIR?). Salary to the kitty? Let Sutter and his "show" go back to the ranch, bring in a coach that has the game to coach this kind of talent because the Flames are loaded with top end talent.

[Burning Beard]

Originally Posted by Yikes

Move Markstrom for high pick(s), his salary to the kitty, Vlader is our starter, bring up Wolf. Give Backlund the C, keep sniffing around re: trade Noah for a high end winger. A decision has to made re: Kylington (LTIR?). Salary to the kitty? Let Sutter and his "show" go back to the ranch, bring in a coach that has the game to coach this kind of talent because the Flames are loaded with top end talent.

This has got to be trolling?

[Yikes]

Originally Posted by Burning Beard

This has got to be trolling?

Nope, I give Sutter 2 more games, as I have mentioned before I believe that Vladar will be the Flames starter. Hanifin trade has gotten tougher I will admit, a decision has to made on Kylington and Backlund is the Captian.

[stamps]

Optimist!! GFG