[GDT] Flames VS Yotes -7PM - 📺 @Sportsnet West 📻: @Sportsnet960

[Zoller]

I think this is the game that decides if we're buyers or not at the deadline.

Lose this one and I wonder if we even bother?

[Puppet Guy]

I'm sharing Otto-matic's outlook - minimum effort by players, minimum effort by Puppet.

Flames. Coyotes. Hero. Destroy. Bleagh:

Spoiler!

Go

[Manhattanboy]

Must win game? You bet, the start of a few I think.

[VANFLAMESFAN]

No reason the Flames can't go 13-7-1 over the final 21 games to get to 96 points.

A good chunk of those games are against ARIx3, EDMx2, BUFF, OTT. That right there should be 7 wins. The Edmonton futility has to end at some point, so I'm not listening to a "Flames can't beat Edmonton" narrative. They can. They're a better team. They lost the last one in a stupid shootout.

They are two points out of the dance right now, not 10. Still a quarter of the season to go.

[bubbsy]

I hate to say this, but here's where i'm at with this team.

"Fast Fail"

My CEO uses this term a lot, it's good to take chances and try to adopt new strategies, but it's also important to quickly be able to garner feedback and measure your success/failure quickly to be able to pivot where required.

I came into this season with high expectations. This team is about the same as last years, a 10th-7th best team in the west. Given the assets moved, and expectation messages sent by the org, the coach, that this was supposed to be a better team that is truly competing this year, i'm naturally disappointed.

If this team is going to crumple (coach's own term in defining how this team's mental fortitude in games has been) i sure as hell hope they just put all of us out of our misery sooner than later. If they're likely to fall out of the playoff picture, please do it sooner than later. The sooner i can be less emotionally invested in this year's team the better. I don't want to have to wait till game 82 to rejoice about a 9th place finish.

So basically, I'm cheering for a win of course with the hope they can string a bunch together here over the last 20 games, but it's time i stop getting upset about losses. In their own way, for my selfish purposes, they are acceptable too.....

this is going to be a really ugly offseason if this team doesn't make the playoffs.

[Manhattanboy]

Ya I don't get too upset either because they are where they should be given the system, their talent and effort (killer instinct or lack thereof etc).

And given how well Smith has played you could argue the Flames have overachieved this year.

[VANFLAMESFAN]

8 of the next 10 are against teams not in the playoffs. 4 of those 8 against teams in the bottom 4 of the league.

There's ground to be made up here. Starts tonight.

[Calgary4LIfe]

This is their chance to get on a bit of a roll. Just don't come out of the gate flat. Any terrible team can beat any elite team in the NHL. Yes, Arizona is the worst team in the league, but they have beaten some good teams, and they are on a roll.

Flames need to come out hard. Dictate the play. Skate hard.

This is the point in the season where a team needs to lay everything on the line and get on a nice rhythm leading up to the playoffs. If I am Gulutzan, I am telling my team that every game up until now has been rather meaningless, and now these are the games that matter up until the end of the playoffs.

If this team needs something, it is a couple of games in a row of dominating a few teams and running up the score a bit, making everyone loosen up a bit and gain some confidence (and ease tensions on this board to boot!).

Go Flames Go

[Locke]

Originally Posted by VANFLAMESFAN

8 of the next 10 are against teams not in the playoffs. 4 of those 8 against teams in the bottom 4 of the league.

There's ground to be made up here. Starts tonight.

Yeah, but you can see why people are pessimistic.

Its not hopeless by any stretch of the imagination but every time this team gets thrown a lifeline they simply toss it back with a jaunty wave of their perfectly coiffed hair and offer a polite "No Thank You."

[Robbob]

Coyotes are 8-5-5 since claiming forward Hamilton.

[KelVarnsen]

Originally Posted by Robbob

Coyotes are 8-5-5 since claiming forward Hamilton.

And 0 games played by Freddie in that span.

[Classic_Sniper]

3 games left against this team. Win all 3 and that should help our cause considerably. Players need to really step up. Monahan needs to bear down and put the puck in the net, Ferland needs to start getting engaged again, Backlund and Frolik need to step it up and the entire bottom 6, everyone or anyone needs to help out here, even a little bit

[FBI]

Well it's my birthday today. Maybe the hockey gods didn't like my premature request yesterday so they almost granted Vegas the 9-3 win instead.
So today 9-3 flames.

[Toonage]

Its Saskatchewan Day in Glendale. This is a thing apparently. Well, I'm from Saskatchewan

(waits for applause...moving right along)

and I think the perfect gift for me on this day is a Flames win. So thank you Glendale!

[shadowlord]

I say give Gilles a start and so we can see what we have in him.

[browna]

Given the body language towards their goalie of the players on some of those goals against last night, as Rittich throws his up in the air for many of them, and most of those he was as much to blame as others, probably good to start Gillies, as the Rittich honeymoon may be over.

[Rick M.]

Originally Posted by Gaskal

Coyotes have won 4 in a row too, so can't take them lightly.

Gulutzan did say that he'd let Smitty make the call whether he'd suit up for this roadie at all. I imagine he'll want to man the net unless his groin still isn't 100%.

I thought a groin injury had been ruled out.

[Funkhouser]

I wonder if big brother Freddie will sit with the Flames moms?

[Beninho]

Oh Flames play tonight? God if they lose this one...

[theslymonkey]

Originally Posted by VANFLAMESFAN

No reason the Flames can't go 13-7-1 over the final 21 games to get to 96 points.

A good chunk of those games are against ARIx3, EDMx2, BUFF, OTT. That right there should be 7 wins. The Edmonton futility has to end at some point, so I'm not listening to a "Flames can't beat Edmonton" narrative. They can. They're a better team. They lost the last one in a stupid shootout.

They are two points out of the dance right now, not 10. Still a quarter of the season to go.

These are not wins, at least not recently...