bronco73

Well deserved suspension coming. He just came off a two game, so I'm betting he gets 5

I'm here to take my well deserved flogging. Yes I said it, and yes it was wrong to do. It was in the heat of the moment after seeing what I thought to be an attempt to injure from Gio to McDavid. It wasn't just me that thought it at the very least should have been a penalty, most analysts (Including former Flame GM Brian Burke) agreed as well. That being said, it was uncalled for and should never have been posted and I do regret typing and posting it. I can't take it back, but I can say that it was wrong and I apologize.

I completely agree. They mean nothing. That being said, you brought it up after 7 games in, not me. I just refuted one of the arguments. On the Oilers, our goaltending HAS to stay on par with right now or even better. Our D has to stop giving up more shots than a gatling gun, and we really have to improve our bottom two lines in terms of both O and D play and stupid penalties. If they don't, when the PK and PP start receding back to normal levels we could be in a heap of trouble.

yup... if those stats won games they sure would That being said, I did agree that they are going to come back down to Earth. But for right now as far as standings and results go they are at 5 on 5 in the leagues top half, not bottom.

currently they are tied for 8'th overall in 5 on 5 goals for at 16, and 14'th overall in 5 on 5 goals against at 14, which puts them in the top half of the league for 5 on 5 play. I agree they are going to come back down to Earth, especially on special teams, but currently they are not below average in 5 on 5 play.

haha debate? Just fun discussion whether it's 2 or 3 games or a decades worth, power play and pk time will always be a factor in how well a team fares. I'm still of the opinion that it was knocked down with a high stick... but that being said officials miss calls in every game. They aren't robots, and often I get drawn in to complaining about officiating without taking that moment to realize just how hard their jobs are. Both goals were controversial, both COULD or perhaps should have been called. They weren't, and there is no changing it now. I hate to say it but the Flames did deserve at least a tie in that game though, they were the better team in both second and third periods.

ya the actual goal was after tkachuk knocked it down to ice level and caught it on his stick (nice stick work btw) so the goal itself was a good goal, IF it was a high stick (which I believe it was) the play had to be whistled dead before the goal. Since it was missed, the goal itself was good. I think that's the same in both situations to be honest. Flames got robbed on one and benefited from the other. I posted an image of where I thought the high stick occurred last night below. One thing for sure is, this was a LOT closer of a call than the Colorado high stick which was unarguable. Thanks for looking those stats up. I'm sure that the above stats would be approximately the same (well let's be honest, better lol) for flames power play goals last year (and this) as well, it shows that special teams are very important and power play time can and does make a big difference in how a team fares in the standings. IMO it's true for all teams.

Lucic wasn't acquired for scoring (obviously), or even fighting. He was acquired for his presence and hitting. And it wasn't even for the regular season, it was for the playoffs. Playoffs is a different game where whistles get put away, and physical play becomes mandatory. What Neal does now or didn't do for the Flames is irrelevant, it's what Lucic WILL do in the playoffs that matters. Treliving was thinking ahead.

This is absolutely true. I've often argued that power plays (and kills) can make or break a team. Last year, the Flames had 275 power play opportunities vs. Edmontons 222. Not arguing whether or not they were earned or deserved, that's a whole different ball game and not my intent here. But power play opportunities are huge, and can be the difference in every game played. Using an average 25% success rate and 53 more opportunities for Calgary, that equates to 13.25 goals of which many would have been scored in wins that were a 1 goal difference. Teams with more power play opportunities win more games than teams that do not (unless their power play is REALLY bad of course) This year Calgary is at 10 PP opportunities after 3 games and Edmonton is at 12. Is it THE reason Edmonton has won 3 games? No.. but it definitely contributes. I honestly believe that Tkachuk should have been called for the high stick on his goal, that being said the missed call cannot be reviewed since the goal was scored after the high stick and he re-connected with the puck at the ice level. Fortunate bounce and referee oversight, and it got you a point for it. The first period sucked but man the second and third sure made up for it. Fun game to watch.

no, the Oilers rarely get empty netters. But that being said, they didn't pull their goalie, it was a 3 goal lead.

that first was some sort of scary, he made up for it in the second and third though. Our problem though is not Smith's occasional gaffe when playing the puck, it's more that his partner has the leagues worst glove. Until Koskinen can show he belongs in the NHL by actually stopping a puck on the glove side we have to put up with the lesser of two evils lol ended up being a 4 goal game for Neal, good for him because this is really his last shot at being a difference maker in the NHL. He's really playing well for us for sure.

Exactly. Social media is getting to be little more than one liners and drive-by's. Message boards and forums are still in my opinion the best way to discuss and debate a topic.

Thanks peeps, much appreciated :). AFAIK the individual teams were all given the choice to seek money elsewhere, and that option had been looked at. Remember this is only information I got from one person above me and MAY not be the actual truth. Eventually they made the decision that social media like twitter, facebook etc were the way people are tending to move towards and that forums were essentially a thing of the past. There were even some suggestions made by a former webmaster of the site, which also fell upon deaf ears. Yup you definitely are, or fortunate enough to have a team that values all forms of drawing fans in. The Oilers site, like most NHL sites that do not maintain social options for its' fans, will become little more than a wasteland now with very few visits (my opinion only of course)

Thanks... and of course all you awesome Flames fans are always welcome in our enemy territory lol! There are a couple members from here that post there as well, great guys!

This could very well be true... however this would also be true for any organization in the league. Fans criticize their teams, it's human nature. Maybe the Oilers brass got criticized more but let's be frank, it was well deserved. Anyways IF that is why it was closed, then it shows incredibly thin skin from the PTB (and I don't believe it to be true, the word and reasoning for closing that I got from above was what I explained in an earlier post)

Frankly it's ridiculous. They call it a business decision. About a year ago the NHL decided to stop funding the individual team forums, and as such the teams had to take on the cost of maintaining their forums. The Oilers decided that web forums are a "dying breed" and people are more apt to use social media for their discussions. As such, they decided to just shut it down rather than continue with it. The Flames were in the same situation, and as we can all plainly see, they decided to continue funding their board. Really you can see the Oilers POV here. They are only one of the top 10 money earners in the league, and have one of the top 1o wealthiest people in Canada owning them. how were they supposed to come up with that whopping 1500 dollars a year (or whatever is cost) to keep the forum of over 200,000 members alive? Of note, I was able to sign up and set up a proboards forum free of charge, that runs every bit as smoothly as the Invision one did.... for free with zero monthly cost. And we mods who have been there for quite a few years didn't even get a thank you from the PTB other than the web forum admin. (shameless plug here: the-omb.proboards.com)

He won't, he's a respectful poster. Without telling you exactly who he was on the OMB (I'll let him do that if he choses), I can tell you he was very highly regarded there. In short, he was kind of a big deal LOL!

Hey all, I just saw this. I was away on vacation and popped in to talk some hockey when I saw this thread and my jaw dropped to the floor. I just have to say how deeply this has affected many here and myself included. I know I'm a fan of a rival team, and it's a team that FF52 disliked very much, but he and I always had great discussions and although we may have disagreed on many things between the two teams, we both shared a love for the game of hockey and the BOA and had so many great discussions and debates. My prayers go out to his family and friends. There literally is no replacing an upstanding forum member like FF52, that is is a hole that is impossible to fill. Rest in peace Larry, we may have been on opposite sides of the BOA, but we were always friends. I will both miss and never forget you.

well at least we finally got Manning back for the McDavid hit. Honestly though, I just hope these are finally the moves that get Chiarelli's Hash Rate fired. He's a bloody trash fire.

I think that bona fide number one all star netminder is getting harder and harder to find, perhaps it's why we are seeing more and more teams going with the tandem.