Just think of the changes from a calendar year ago ...
1) Top line had a guy with a contract impasse, a guy with a bad back, and a guy that hadn't met his teammates
2) 3M didn't exist yet
3) Gulutzan had a three good D with three bad D plan going into the season, this year they have 5 good D
4) Elliott had the yips
5) Oilers were opening a new building
Different season.
We bet on two and three goal wins for the Flames tonight on a betting site.
6) A new coach with a brand new system that was completely different than the last coach.
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@PR_NHL
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).
The Oilers don't worry me. Its unfortunately the damn officials that do. As much as I hate him, give Mcdavid power play after power play and odds are completely not in our favor.
Gulutzan said the team structure in how to play is in tact to start this season. I'm watching for that-how fast they transition and how they defend. Execution on the PP too.
Obviously be aware of 97 is key but hopefully it doesn't take away from them wanting to attack and make plays. I'd like to see an aggressive, quick team tonight!
McDavid's line must be licking their chops looking at the Flames' awful third pairing and whatever that fourth line is - please don't ice the puck ever. The in-game coaching matchup will be fun to watch with the Flames presumably doing everything possible to avoid any of those five being out there against him.
On the contrary, the Oilers have one legitimate pairing on defence so the Flames will get favourable matchups regardless of any coaching tactics. Forechecking the 2nd and 3rd pairings aggressively will result in turnovers and icings.
Excited for tonight - about time the Flames broke their season-opener curse and what better team to do it against than the most overrated team in the NHL.
Let me reverse this, Gaudreau, Mony and Ferland must be licking their lips looking at Edmontons 2nd 3rd and 4th line and their 2nd and third pairing on the blueline.
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My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings;
Look on my Works, ye Mighty, and despair!
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Gulutzan said the team structure in how to play is in tact to start this season. I'm watching for that-how fast they transition and how they defend. Execution on the PP too.
Obviously be aware of 97 is key but hopefully it doesn't take away from them wanting to attack and make plays. I'd like to see an aggressive, quick team tonight!
Smith's puck handling skills should also help a speedy transition. Hope they can catch the Oilers D napping.
I am sure the Oilers will be coming hard out of the gate tonight, with McDavid leading the charge playing the 4 out of the first 5 minutes to start the game, but as long as the Flames manage to hold on, the tables will turn.
All the pressure is on the Oilers. Flames had a good match-up against Vancouver and went to the 2nd round that year, but never got that media attention. The Oilers had a great match-up with San Jose which was a injury-riddled hobbled team, and are now being told they are the favorites to win the cup, even though they arguably got worse this year.
I think the Flames win this one decisively. Once things don't start to go their way on their home opener, they will start panicking a bit, holding their sticks a bit tighter, trying to do too much.
Thank goodness for Stone out there. If the odd shift does happen where the Flames get caught with their third pairing, at least Stone is an incredibly elite 3rd pairing defencemen in my opinion. I think he did well as a 2nd pairing, and IS a 2nd pairing defencemen. This is where having a deep defence pays off.
Counting on Smith to hold off the Oilers, and I think he will. Going to be a great game. The only question is if there is going to be any bad blood tonight, and if so, how the Flames handle it. Either way, the Flames will get the first 2 points of the season.
I am predicting a Glass goal, if for no other reason then I expect a greasy game and him to be very involved in it.
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McDavid's line must be licking their chops looking at the Flames' awful third pairing and whatever that fourth line is - please don't ice the puck ever. The in-game coaching matchup will be fun to watch with the Flames presumably doing everything possible to avoid any of those five being out there against him.
On the contrary, the Oilers have one legitimate pairing on defence so the Flames will get favourable matchups regardless of any coaching tactics. Forechecking the 2nd and 3rd pairings aggressively will result in turnovers and icings.
Excited for tonight - about time the Flames broke their season-opener curse and what better team to do it against than the most overrated team in the NHL.
1) the Flames' third pairing is better than many teams, and certainly better than the Oilers' is (so should Johnny and Mony not also be licking their chops?).
2) McDavid's line will probably line up against our 4th line no more than once or twice the entire game.
3) McLellan likes to get Klefbom out there with McDavid. That means that the rest of the time (35 minutes worth), the Oilers are putting a crap line and a crap D pairing on the ice.
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I'm looking forward to Bennett punching McD in the face.
They were close childhood friends growing up, so I don't know if this would happen. But I would certainly welcome the more likely scenario of Matthew Tkachuk dummying McPeacock.
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Dealing with Everything from Dead Sea Scrolls to Red C Trolls
Quote:
Originally Posted by woob
"...harem warfare? like all your wives dressup and go paintballing?"
It is still pretty damned defeatist. I have seen the record and I understand the angst. But I don't fathom why anyone would choose misery and moral victories for something as fickle as the potential outcome of opening night.
The Flames are going to win. It's fun!
It all comes down to what you find fun. Hockey is an entertainment product, we are just the audience, not actually playing the game and winning or losing.
I find plot lines more exciting than individual games. Starting with a hard fought loss that the Flames can rally back from and overcome throughout the season sounds like a lot of fun. Get some bad blood going, and open the door for some young heroes to come up and fill the holes left by fallen veterans. Some of us like starting things off with Ned Stark's head coming off.
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