[PGT] Flames are two points out of a playoff spot! Beat 'Yotes 2-1 in OT!

[IgiTang]

Originally Posted by erikk3

Couldn't watch tonight.
Why did Wideman play 22 minutes?
Who did Monahan play with? I was hoping Bennett and Brouwer

Originally Posted by bob-loblaw

How many minutes did Dougie play? Thought he had a good game.

Originally Posted by kukkudo

Still don't get why Wideman is playing over 20min a night.

Originally Posted by Stay Golden

Agree, 20 min. He looked better, there were a few gaffes keeping the puck in the attack zone at the blueline but otherwise was solid.

Brodie -Wideman
Gio- Hamilton
Kulak-Engalland

Those were the pairings last night and there was some real good stuff going on, but some usually glaring mistakes.

Gio and Hamilton had a real tough time keeping the puck in last night and it killed a couple really nice O-zone pressure situations. Hamilton had 3 easy keep ins that got by him which could have turned ugly really fast, but he managed to barely get back and retrieve the puck.

Gio had a couple offsides by trying to walk the blue line. Other than that, he was solid. I wish Gio would look for the open man more rather than put a puck on net for an easy save when the Flames have complete control. Gio seems to be trying to rush it a bit and if he can settle down, he'll be fine.

Wideman and Brodie looked really nice at times actually, only problem is, Wideman thinks he's as good as Brodie and tries to be too cute and he coughs up the puck... if he could simplify his game and stick to the basics, I think he'd be a lot less noticeable, which would be a good thing.
Wideman was caught floating in his own and thought the puck was going out and stopped playing before the puck was out, was starting to follow Brodie who was right in moving up the ice as he was the strong side defender, Wideman blew his coverage with 1 opponent in the Flames D zone and it cost the team a goal.
The guy just has a really poor hockey IQ.. or his GAF is zero..
Brodie was playing really well with some sweet moves in the O-zone and got lots of minutes. My guess is due to wanting to keep pairings, is why Wideman got 22 minutes..? Only guess I have..

Engalland and Kulak were really nice together and read what each other were doing really well. Engalland was being an absolute dick to other players too, especially Hanzal.

I'd like to see the pairings stay this way for a bit.. but we all know the likelihood of that..

[Cali Panthers Fan]

Originally Posted by SuperMatt18

This is what I hope happens with Monahan with Gaudreau out.

Play him more with Bennett, Ferland, Brouwer, etc. to get that edge in his game.

In junior he was more of a North-South player, that was physical and drove the net.

3 years of playing with Gaudreau & Hudler have turned him into trying to be more of an East-West player which doesn't fit his skill set at all IMO.

Yes, especially Ferland. My god, that guy was all over the ice again last night. I know in the end Bennett is the better choice on that line, but I think right now Ferland with Monahan and Brouwer would be a very strong line.

[AC]

At this point, Ferland is the clear choice for the 7th protected forward in the expansion draft IMO.

1. Gaudreau
2. Monahan
3. Bennett
4. Backlund
5. Frolik
6. Brouwer
7. Ferland

[Savvy27]

A few thoughts on last night's game:
-Johnson: I am turning into a big fan. He's such a calm and relaxed goalie. I never really worry with him as most of the goals he lets in are on reasonably dangerous chances. He has been the superior goalie by far, not just in numbers but in moments.

-Kulak: was at the game with a friend who hasn't been following the team closely and he was shocked to hear that Kulak was a rookie. I agree. Even in scrums after the whistle or at times when the team needs to change and get the puck over the red line and in deep, it seems like Kulak has a real maturity to his game. I know he had a tough outing a few games back but he's developed nicely and I don't think a top 4 role is out of the question for him in his career.

-Bennett-Monahan-Brouwer: if you didn't see the game then you missed out on a pretty good performance by this line. They had a few dominant shifts and Smith made a couple of big saves against them. As Calgary switches from a transition/rush based attack to a cyclying/puck possession style, it suits the skillset of these players. Both Bennett and Brouwer managed to get good chances attacking down the left side on the rush as well but unfortunately neither capitalized.

-Tkachuk is a difference maker. I love his style of play and his skillset. He has no issues with confidence and he's beating NHLers with plays he was doing in junior. The Flames knocked this one out of the park.

-Keeping the puck in: I don't know what it was (maybe the ice?) but Giordano, Wideman, and Hamilton all struggled to keep the puck inside the offensive blue line last night. Frustrating to watch.

Overall: As was mentioned by others, the Flames change in style is more noticeable now. The lack of skill on the Coyotes makes it tougher to gauge how far they've come (especially after giving up so many high quality chances against the Wild) but we have to be encouraged by the GAA dropping. Ideally, the team can come together and play a tight system game to stay in the mix until Gaudreau returns and he can be the game breaker on a team that has learned to play a tough, disciplined game in his absence.

[Huntingwhale]

Originally Posted by IgiTang

Brodie -Wideman
Gio- Hamilton
Kulak-Engalland

Those were the pairings last night and there was some real good stuff going on, but some usually glaring mistakes.

Gio and Hamilton had a real tough time keeping the puck in last night and it killed a couple really nice O-zone pressure situations. Hamilton had 3 easy keep ins that got by him which could have turned ugly really fast, but he managed to barely get back and retrieve the puck.

Gio had a couple offsides by trying to walk the blue line. Other than that, he was solid. I wish Gio would look for the open man more rather than put a puck on net for an easy save when the Flames have complete control. Gio seems to be trying to rush it a bit and if he can settle down, he'll be fine.

I was at the game last night ,and to be fair the puck was bouncing around like a tennis ball. It was so bad that the 5 year old behind me kept noticing and asking his dad why the puck was doing that when it was supposed to lie flat.

Gio did go offside a coupe times, but I remember twice the puck just seemed to hit a rut and bounce up. Other then a bad giveaway, I thought Gio's only real issue was hitting the net. He has a wicked wrister. But I haven't seen someone shoot wide that many times in a game in a long time.

As much as I like the look for the open man for the back door play, the team needs to focus getting the puck on net more so then looking for the extra pass. Bennett was guilty of that on his 2 on 1. Shoot the puck and go for the rebound. I actually thought Engelland did that quite well. His shots from the point were low and almost always resulted in a scramble out front.

[Serapth]

While it was beating up on one of the worst teams in the league, there were a few huge upsides to this win.

They won obviously... that's good.

But they won in the face of DOMINATING the opponent and running into a hot goaltender.

They came from behind for the win.

They had to overcome some typically awful calls from the zebras.

They didn't get any puck luck and managed a win.


Lot's to build on. This year this teams is NOT going to get the calls (because the NHL is a joke it seems), it doesn't seem like puck luck is on their side either. So these are the wins they have to get to build confidence. Confidence is by far the biggest thing this team needs.

So, score aside, circumstances aside and opponent aside, it's a pretty big win to build on.

[868904]

Originally Posted by Huntingwhale

I was at the game last night ,and to be fair the puck was bouncing around like a tennis ball. It was so bad that the 5 year old behind me kept noticing and asking his dad why the puck was doing that when it was supposed to lie flat.

Gio did go offside a coupe times, but I remember twice the puck just seemed to hit a rut and bounce up. Other then a bad giveaway, I thought Gio's only real issue was hitting the net. He has a wicked wrister. But I haven't seen someone shoot wide that many times in a game in a long time.

As much as I like the look for the open man for the back door play, the team needs to focus getting the puck on net more so then looking for the extra pass. Bennett was guilty of that on his 2 on 1. Shoot the puck and go for the rebound. I actually thought Engelland did that quite well. His shots from the point were low and almost always resulted in a scramble out front.

I thought Gio was pretty bad. Yes he had some unfortunate bounces but he was also giving the puck away a lot and making poor decisions. He along with Monahan have been the most disappointing players this year, both guys need a shot of confidence. They can't execute the simplest of tasks. Flames will go nowhere without them both playing well.

[activeStick]

It's interesting to observe the contrast between the opinion of a segment of Flames fans of Tippett as a head coach vs those of Coyote fans who see that team and his style day in and day out.

[IgiTang]

I love that the naysayers are being proven wrong when it comes it Ferland.

Early in the season he wasnt hitting as much as I would have liked but now he seems to have found his grove. The way he played last night, Skill, determination and punishing checking, is what he needs to do every night.

I think that once he starts to become consistent, his point totals and icetime are going to increase dramatically.

Completely agree with AC, he has to be protected.

I had Canucks fans texting me last night about the OEL hit and saying, geeez.. what a gem we have.

[Toonage]

I remember prior to Johnny signing (remember the panic? No? Liar.) and it was asked who would be on the top line if he didn't sign. I suggested Bennett-Monahan-Brouwer and was ridiculed. Ridiculed!

Sure, its only been one game. But still.

Vindicated.

[FlamesFan68]

Flames are 4 points out of last place with games out of hand.

[heep223]

Originally Posted by FlamesFan68

Flames are 4 points out of last place with games out of hand.

Yeah, when Minny, Colorado and Nashville catch up on their 3 games in hand, it may look pretty bleak. The Flames need to go on a 6 or 7 game win streak to be even remotely back in it IMO.

[Jetfire]

Originally Posted by FlamesFan68

Flames are 4 points out of last place with games out of hand.

And if you flip the negative to a positive, they're also only 4 points out of first in the Pacific with Edmonton dropping like a boulder.

[Savvy27]

Originally Posted by FlamesFan68

Flames are 4 points out of last place with games out of hand.

True... I guess one reason for optimism is that the schedule eased up a bit (overall standing in brackets)

Last 10 (avg 10.1): This 10 (avg 18.5)
CHI (3) : MIN (16)
STL (13) : ARI (30)
OTT (7) : CHI (3)
WAS (4) : DET (19)
CHI (3) : BUF (27)
SJS (15) : CBJ (14)
LAK (23) : BOS (9)
ANA (11) : PHI (21)
DAL (20) : NYI (28)
NYR (2) : TOR (18)

[Street Pharmacist]

Originally Posted by heep223

Yeah, when Minny, Colorado and Nashville catch up on their 3 games in hand, it may look pretty bleak. The Flames need to go on a 6 or 7 game win streak to be even remotely back in it IMO.

Never look at points. Look at games above/below .500 IMO.

Chicago +7
Winnipeg +2
Edmonton +2
Anaheim +2
St Louis +2
San Jose +2
Minnesota +2
Dallas 0
Nashville 0
LA -2
Calgary -3
Colorado -1
Vancouver -4
Arizona -4


We're really a combination of 5 Calgary wins/Edmonton losses to catch them. A combination of 3 Calgary wins/Dallas losses to make the playoff cutoff line

[SuperMatt18]

I do think one of the things that stands out to me with Ferland is he is much better if you can keep him to 10-12 minutes per game.

Start playing him too high up the lineup and I don't think he has the energy needed to play 15 minutes per game the way he needs to play to be successful.

Play him fewer minutes in a bottom 6 role and he makes much better use of his icetime and provides a lot more energy.

[Erick Estrada]

Originally Posted by SuperMatt18

I do think one of the things that stands out to me with Ferland is he is much better if you can keep him to 10-12 minutes per game.

Start playing him too high up the lineup and I don't think he has the energy needed to play 15 minutes per game the way he needs to play to be successful.

Play him fewer minutes in a bottom 6 role and he makes much better use of his icetime and provides a lot more energy.

This is why he's been better this season as his ice time is being managed much better as Hartley overplayed him at times last season. It takes energy to be the human bowling ball we have seen when he's at his best.

[dino7c]

Originally Posted by heep223

Yeah, when Minny, Colorado and Nashville catch up on their 3 games in hand, it may look pretty bleak. The Flames need to go on a 6 or 7 game win streak to be even remotely back in it IMO.

That would put the flames 3 or 4 games over .500

based on the current standings they would be more than "back in it" considering there is 1 team in the west above that mark

its a long season...Flames need to get back to .500 asap and move up from there

[Freddy]

[QUOTE=Textcritic;6011140]I don't get it. The Flames play a "heavier" game without Gaudreau because they are freed from watching out for him? This doesn't make much sense to me.

How many Flames not named Gaudreau do you see shaking their hands after every slash, complaining to the ref from their ass, and looking like wet toilet paper in board battles. When games get 'heavy' and physicality escalates the Flames have 1 super juicy target for other teams to zero in on and he compromises the fact that every other Flame intends to win / survive the escalation.

I love Gaudreau and the excitement he brings, but he doesn't compliment a truculent team as well as a team built around speed, finesse, and avoiding a physical stand off.

[djsFlames]

Originally Posted by Serapth

While it was beating up on one of the worst teams in the league, there were a few huge upsides to this win.

They won obviously... that's good.

But they won in the face of DOMINATING the opponent and running into a hot goaltender.

They came from behind for the win.

They had to overcome some typically awful calls from the zebras.

They didn't get any puck luck and managed a win.


Lot's to build on. This year this teams is NOT going to get the calls (because the NHL is a joke it seems), it doesn't seem like puck luck is on their side either. So these are the wins they have to get to build confidence. Confidence is by far the biggest thing this team needs.

So, score aside, circumstances aside and opponent aside, it's a pretty big win to build on.

Good points. They've basically willed the last two games in their favour despite not getting a lot of bounces in either of them. They could've sulked over Johnny or the late 2nd period fluke goal against but kept composed. And they came from behind last night to win, which might be a first this season (unless they did that in the Buffalo win? I can't remember). Looked more like Bob's Flames but with fewer breakdowns while more aggressive in the neutral zone and at the blue line.