[Game Takes] Senators 4 Flames 1

[Bingo]

Game Takes: Senators 4 Flames 1

- Flames have a solid six minutes to start ...
- And then disappear in a no show game at 50% capacity
- Middle six dreadful
- That's four losses in a row

[Strange Brew]

Don't really even know what to add. It was just an awful game.

[GioforPM]

“Individually, Matthew Tkachuk led the way for the Flames with a 64% split of five on five shot attempts on the night. Other guys in the 60s included Milan Lucic, Erik Gudbranson and Elias Lindholm. Johnny Gaudreau, Trevor Lewis, Oliver Kylington, Zadorov and Sean Monahan also had decent nights in the mid 50s. The middle six forwards were all miserable on the night, all coming in at less than 45%.”

Yeah this looked about right for me. People complained about the bottom pairing but I thought the other D struggled at least as much, if not more, and the line that really had it tough was Backlund’s and Dube’s (for all the complaints about Monahan/Lewis I heard I thought their line was pretty good, not in small part due to Lucic).

[Bingo]

Yeah honestly the best fourth line game we've seen in weeks.

[redmile04]

Just hopeful the homers and delusional fans didnt over react to only 2 months of winning. Its the flames afterall and the same core, a great coach but same core.

[Jiri Hrdina]

"homers and delusional fans"
That stuff exhausts me.
Unnecessary and not a real contribution.

[Erick Estrada]

Originally Posted by Jiri Hrdina

"homers and delusional fans"
That stuff exhausts me.
Unnecessary and not a real contribution.

It's par for the course on a sports forum. Every single one. You can't have one group denouncing critical posters as debbie downers and not permit the other side to call out homers.

[Bingo]

Originally Posted by redmile04

Just hopeful the homers and delusional fans didnt over react to only 2 months of winning. Its the flames afterall and the same core, a great coach but same core.

Good for you man!

Way to hold on to the anger and get yourself through two months of winning hockey without enjoying it!

You're an inspiration!

[neo45]

Mangiapane needs better line mates and more ice time. He can’t be playing the same amount as Monahan at this point. Our best options until Brad makes the needed improvements are:

2nd line: Mangiapane/Backlund/Coleman
3rd: Lucic/Monahan/Dube
4th: whatever, it won’t be good

[Jiri Hrdina]

^To EE
I guess but I think it's pretty lame to criticize fans for being fans and enjoying when their team is winning. Sports is in part about having a hope.
And optimism is a more powerful tool than pessimism.

[Erick Estrada]

Originally Posted by Jiri Hrdina

And optimism is a more powerful tool than pessimism.

It all comes down to tolerance level and how much losing and mediocrity you can endure. Every person is programmed different and some fans can tolerate more than others. Some fans are happy if the team is just good enough and some badly want to cheer a cup winner. I have no issue with anyone's outlook or tolerance level. There's nothing going on right now that we haven't seen from this group for years. Absolutely nobody should be surprised that mid season they are starting to slump. I enjoy problem solving and I can't sit there and ignore problems with this organization. I clearly believe the biggest issue with the team is the GM. Short of winning a cup, the outcome of this season good or bad isn't going to change that.

That said I haven't been posting in many game threads negative or positive as I really don't have an issue with the coach or the players. Darryl is a really good head coach. I know when the team isn't playing well it's not his fault. Also the roster is very mediocre so I'm not going to get down on the first line if they can't carry the team every night nor am I going to get down on the depth players that are playing to their potential and just aren't good enough. There is one man responsible for the state of the team and organization and that's where I'm going to direct my frustration.

[DoubleK]

This might be confirmation bias, but I've often felt that this franchise plays at the opposition's level.

They could be poor team and play against one of the top teams and be competitive with them.

When a team at the bottom of the standings or on a massive slump they thump the Flames.

It's mind bottling.

[Inferno]

Originally Posted by DoubleK

This might be confirmation bias, but I've often felt that this franchise plays at the opposition's level.

They could be poor team and play against one of the top teams and be competitive with them.

When a team at the bottom of the standings or on a massive slump they thump the Flames.

It's mind bottling.

You aren't alone. I even remember being concerned last season before their first game against Ottawa that they might have a hard time with them while other teams were easily beating them and sure enough they did.

And it hasn't just been the last couple of seasons. It's been years that it feels like they show up more for the tough games than the "easy" games. Even if they win those games they make many of them look tougher than they should.

[Rutuu]

Sigh...can't I fully enjoy an Oilers melt down with out the Flames dumping 4 in a row. The relative win is all we've had for over a decade now.