What's wrong with the Flames? - Calgarypuck Forums - The Unofficial Calgary Flames Fan Community

Bingo · 10-19-2015, 07:18 AM

Its only 5 games but the team looks pretty rough night in and night out.

What's the culprit?

badger89 · 10-19-2015, 07:25 AM

Transition isn't as quick. We got a lot of quality chances off the breakout last year due to a very quick transition. We actually didn't look that great a lot of times last year (hemmed in our zone at times, badly outshot, etc) but consistently generated quality scoring chances due to a great breakout. We're really missing Brodie!

Flames_F.T.W · 10-19-2015, 07:32 AM

Lack of effort, below average goaltending, teams being ready for us , getting killed on faceoffs and poor chemistry are all culprits.
I've also been really annoyed by the amount of high risk passes with little chance of success, which end up being turnovers. This and faceoffs are killing our possession game.

kyuss275 · 10-19-2015, 07:34 AM

all of the above , except for injuries. Every team goes through injuries.

Fighting Banana Slug · 10-19-2015, 07:35 AM

Voted effort, but I would have preferred the word Urgency. I am sure they are trying, but it doesn't seem like they are able to get moving on the forecheck and move pucks out of the D zone. They need to win more puck battles, bottom line.

Resolute 14 · 10-19-2015, 07:41 AM

Hmm. "Blame the captain" isn't an option?

Wiggum_PI · 10-19-2015, 07:42 AM

The Flames D-men aren't contributing enough offensively. Last year the Flames scored a lot of goals through quick transition and D-men joining in on odd man rushes. The top pairing of Gio/Hamilton has been a disappointment so far.

The powerplay needs to be better. Ramo hasn't been very good so far.

omelete · 10-19-2015, 07:44 AM

I voted effort, but I'm not sure that quite covers it.

To me one of the biggest problems right now is that the Flames are *slow*. No speed on the fore check or in the neutral zone. No ability to win a race for a loose puck at all. Everybody seems to be skating in mud all the time.

Textcritic · 10-19-2015, 07:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Flames_F.T.W

...teams being ready for us...

I don't buy this one for a second. This might have been the case for the first two months of last season, but in the rare event that some teams still occasionally look down at their opposition, that stopped happening with the Flames a long time before the playoffs started last year.

A lack of chemistry and unreliable goaltending have been the major culprits, but I think that Brodie's injury is also a really important factor. The timing of it has been especially bad. Yes, every team experiences injuries, but they seldom ever happen in a situation to so dramatically affect so many other players. With Giordano getting back up to game speed, and with Hamilton getting adjusted to a new team in a new Conference, it has emerged as a perfect storm of suck for the Flames.

Gaudfather · 10-19-2015, 07:48 AM

It's early - no worries! I would not extrapolate this start for the duration of the season. It's been a rough start, but the boys will sort it out!

Toonage · 10-19-2015, 07:51 AM

I voted the heck out of this thing.

There are problems, but its still early enough that everything is correctable. Just hope they can correct it.

Injuries have lead to chemistry issues, which has leads to bad breaks. When players return from injury it will take a few games to get back into the groove, if they do at all.

Goaltending may or may not be fixed. We won't know until Ortio gets a start if he can steal a few for the team.

But everything is for not if there isn't the effort or will to improve each night.

saillias · 10-19-2015, 07:51 AM

Checked off most of the options except for:

Injuries - We lived through an injury to our #1 D. Now we're trying to say that an injury to our #2 D is the reason we're losing? I don't buy it. Brodie isn't solving this team's suck. Colborne and Bouma are not saving this team either. And Smid probably creates more problems than he solves once he is healthy.

Competitors improving - We're the team that's supposed to have improved. The Canucks are not really improved, most people expect them to be worse, and the Blues can hardly improve from the perennial 100+ point team they already were. The Oilers hadn't won a game until they played us. So this is a lame excuse too.

It's early no worries! - Just sort of an annoying stance to take at this point, no?

Displaced Flames fan · 10-19-2015, 07:58 AM

I picked effort, goaltending, injuries and it's early no worries!

I think the goaltender has been subpar in every game this season.
I think the effort has been subpar in every game this season.
I think TJ Brodie is far more valuable to this team than any of us realize.
I think they'll turn it around.

DownhillGoat · 10-19-2015, 07:58 AM

Checked off everything but coaching. Don't see a glaring example of that, really.

Oh and didn't check off "it's early, no worries". I would have, had we not just lost to Edmonton. When you hand that dumpster fire its first win, it's probably time to be alarmed.

EldrickOnIce · 10-19-2015, 08:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kunkstyle

Checked off everything but coaching. Don't see a glaring example of that, really.

Oh and didn't check off "it's early, no worries". I would have, had we not just lost to Edmonton. When you hand that dumpster fire its first win, it's probably time to be alarmed.

I added coaching simply because no start for Ortio yet.

Funkhouser · 10-19-2015, 08:07 AM

Personally, I think coaching is the culprit.
Last year we were a surprise; this year, the book is out on us and our gameplan. It is up to our coaches to adapt, and they have yet to do so. The players look awful because the opposition knows exactly how we are going to play.

Vinny01 · 10-19-2015, 08:20 AM

The first 3 choices and injuries (Brodie is a huge loss)

The Flames could use an upgrade in net and a top 6 forward in addition to Brodie returning.

Huntingwhale · 10-19-2015, 08:20 AM

To me the chemistry is off. Many people seemed to pencil in Hamilton and Gio as the top pair, even when Brodie was healthy. I never really saw their playing styles meshing together. As we saw back with Regehr and Phaneuf pairing, nothing is guaranteed on paper. Brodie and Gio last season were one of the top pairing. There is zero reason to break that up when Brodie returns.

I know many people see Hamilton as a franchise guy, but he's still only 22. I've already read some (hilarious) comparables to him being like Bouwmeester. Hamilton is a 6 year investment. Not an overnight solution. It will take time for him to find his stride and partner that play to each others strengths/weaknesses.

I also think expectations have changed and as seen in some of the off season threads, some people said our window to contend was opening. Not to me. We are in year 3 of a rebuild and I wouldn't be surprised at all if the team took a step backwards this season.

GranteedEV · 10-19-2015, 08:22 AM

I pick "Dougie Hamilton is about as good defensively as Brett Kulak, except he gets a free pass to play top pairing when he should be sheltered"

Cali Panthers Fan · 10-19-2015, 08:31 AM

I said it was the following: effort, chemistry, goaltending, coaching, and competitors improving. That's a long list of things, but the most glaring has been effort. That leads me to believe the real problem is preparation and attitude. They're coasting on last season's success so far, and lots of other teams are hungrier for wins. I'm not mad at Bob, but he hasn't responded quickly enough to this for my liking. He sees the same things we do, and he can't be happy, but he hasn't been hard enough on them, nor has he found a way to change up a game plan that the opposition is prepared for, AND the Flames are not executing worth a damn.

Lots to work on early in the season. They've had a lot of days off between games, so there's really no excuses.