cross16

I am a big proponent of analytics and data but i also think we need to be weary of sample size. My eyes tell me that Dube has been a key player in transition for that line and is responsible for most of their offensive opportunities and I just think we need a bigger sample size to see which way it goes. JTech is right about the numbers but for me the gap is small enough that you give it time as Dube gets back into game speed/shape after a short injury. Keep everything together for a few games and see what happens.

Gio Andersson have actually been really good the last 5 games. Only 1 goal against at 5 on 5. 62% XGF% 56%SCF% 76% HDCF% It took Gio a while but I think he's settled in now. That d core is playing very well right now IMO.

Hanifin and Taven by almost 20 mins. They've been the number one pair since about the 2nd or 3rd game I think. The Canucks are a mess this year and are getting run over by basically everyone but Ottawa. I don't think there is a player on that team with good stats or analytics. Canucks have been fascinating to me because they remind me so much when they stumbled through their rebuild. Last year was their 2015 Bob Hartley year and now reality is setting in.

I agree and am a proponent of leaving things is for a while as I also agree the team has found their game. I just think there are some trends you need to be mindful of and if they continue you'll want to get a head of.

Could be a sign Gawdin gets a game in the near future. While Froese was good last night his track record isn't fantastic.

Looking at the Flames centers provides both some optimism but also fear for the future. First off the good. We can forget talking about the demise of Backlund. Up to the top 10 in Corse and expected goals. highest ranking Flames center in the league at 5 on 5 production at #42. The bad? Backlund is the highest ranked points/60 player at 5 on 5 and he is ranked 42. Sean Monahan is just behind him, but for the Flames to not have 1 center in the top 30 in points/60 is concerning. Monahan and Lindholm ranking outside the top 50 is XGF% is quite concerning. Some reason for promise: Lindholm ranks 27th in ICF% and 40th in XGF so there is some reason to believe he can turn it around. My biggest conclusion - while I do like the two way game and attention to detail he is playing with, Monahan is playing no where near the level of a number one center and is a borderline number 2 at this point.

Didn't want to bury this in other threads. Mangiapane is becoming one of the best play drivers in the league and one of the most important pieces the Flames have. What a career this guys is starting to carve out for himself after being over looked in a draft and then taken in the 6th round. one of the better Flames draft picks in the last decade. I'm not sure his point total will ever get him enough credit for some fans, but he is turning into one of the Flames best all around players. He should be viewed as part of the the core moving forward.

I see that as the opposite personally. I think it's Dube driving the play on that line and he really isn't getting help. I thought Tkachuk was good against Edm but outside of that he hasn't been great these last 5-6 games. I don't mind LIndholm's game but I find putting him at center is really taking away from his offensive impact. he plays a really conservative game at center and it's the best playmaker. fun fact I uncovered today, Dillon Dube is the 9th in the league in first assist rate at 5 on 5. Small sample size alert but pretty cool I personally think Mang needs to be with Johnny/Mony but I also understand the rationale to keep things as is for a while.

Thanks for starting this thread. I'm always on the lookout for more books too. Glad to hear your feedback on Burke's as I had my eye on that one. I'll add some of mine. I would highly recommend: Playing with Fire - Theo's book. Terrific read, I couldn't put it down. King or Russia - Dave King. Really cool read about what life is like in Russia. The Game - I don't view this as the classic that some do but i do think it's a must read for a hockey fan. I don't love Dryden's style of writing but this is the most insightful hockey book i've ever read when it comes to what is life actually like for a player or a team. Journeyman - Written by Chris Pronger's brother Sean it's a really enjoyable, and pretty humorous, look at what life is like for a Journeyman. Sean only played one full season in the NHL but spent over 10 years as a call up and going up and down between the AHL and NHL. Some great stories. Searching for Bobby Orr - I really like Brunt so i'm biased here but it's a really good read. It's much better than Orr's book and does give some pretty cool stories around just how good Orr was. I didn't really like Orr's book, it's pretty vanilla. Crossing the Line - Derek Sanderson. I really enjoyed this book as it's such a unique story. Quick coles notes, Derek Sanderson came up with the Bruins and wound up being one of hockey's first millionaires when the WHA poached him. Lived a very crazy lifestyle. The best seat in the House by Jamie McLennan - A good light read with some pretty funny stories. It's not a great book but I think most Flames fans would enjoy it. If you are interested in scouting Future Greats and Heartbreaks is pretty cool. if you don't like scouting though it's not a great read. If you like how teams are built and how GM's work Ice Storm by Bruce Dowbiggen is a good read. It's a bit dated now but Money Players is one of my favorite hockey books. It was written prior to the lockout of 04 so like I said dated, but it's a fantastic look at why the lockout happened and why salaries got out of control so if you like the business side it's very cool. The last Hockey book i read was Scotty by Ken Dryden. Written with Scotty Bowman but this is not really about him or his life but how he saw the game. He ranks the best teams of all time and gives his thoughts. I don't love Dryden's writing style so I found this dry and while it's really the only book who has been able to get inside the mind of Bowman (I enjoy reading how coaches work) it's not as interesting as you'd think. Still worth a read but i'd probably read the others here first.

I agree with this approach, although my concern level for the Lindhom-Tkachuk line is rising. Been quite a stretch here where both of those guys have basically been non factors at 5 on5, Lindholm in particular.

some weird things in that clip. he complains about the lack of speed but then says "since they had the numbers advantage they get the puck in the zone". So he is complaining about a strategy that actually works really well for the situation? that' why I don't get the griping about the bump pack pass. if a team used it heavily in 5 on 5 ya for sure I'd have complaints too but it's a great tool for the PP because it leverages your numbers advantage to create options for the puck carrier. With more teams playing 1-3 across their own blueline is the answer to dump the puck in more? What's the alternative to generating speed facing a 1-3? What do you want to attack with speed and get the puck deep when the idea of a good PP should be to get possession, set up and then use puck movement to exploit your numbers advantage? It's funny because if you watch the very first clip he shows it demonstrates exactly why the bump back is effective to gain the zone. When Tavares gets the puck he has 3 options based on what the PK does. he can chip to Marner, which he does, he can drop back to Reily to set up (PK does a good job to take this away) or he can go cross ice (also taken away). 3 options off of 1 play and the puck is already in the zone. By backing them up with speed the players who are stationary become options to drop the puck back to, or rim around the boards too if the PK decided to be more aggressive. I think the Flames are very good at the bump back especially when they incorporate the 2 man rush with it. I don't think the Flames PP breaks down due to zone entries, it breaks down to the execution once in the zone and those are 2 separate areas that are not necessarily directly linked.

I know this is the way it works for a lot of fans now, the shiny new toy is always better, but the odds of this being true are extremely small. The odds Ruzicka is an NHL player are small but to step into these situations where Bennett is right now? Very unlikely IMO. that's nothing against Ruzicka either, I do like him, but let's not pretend he has a sky high trajectory or something. He still has tall odds just to make the NHL.

The data is interesting but the conclusion is too quick IMO. While yes statistically they were the worst it's also the smallest sample size and the difference between that line's performance with Bennett vs Simon for example is not drastic when you consider the sample size. Also consider that Mangiapane is the only player who actually boosted their performance and without Mangiapane the lines with Gaudreau-Monahan all come out as pretty avg, just to varying degrees. I don't actually like Bennett up there either, just don't agree with the conclusion given sample size.

Many people won't like this answer, and I don't say this to excuse what we've seen on the ice but at the end of the day the Flames are easily the 3rd best team in this division. You could even the argue the 2nd if you want. Again, doesn't excuse what we've seen but the idea that this season is over or the doom is gloom is too early. That being said it's up to the team to start proving it. Of their next 11 games you've got 1 against the Jets (despite the record I think the games have shown the Flames are the better team), 4 against the Nucks, 2 against the Oilers and 2 against the Sens. Need to start making headway here.

If it were me tkachuk -Backlund - Lindholm Gaudreau- Mony - Mang Dube - Bennett Leivo Lucic - Froese - Nordstrom wont happen but I’d shake it up.

Probably not but imo that’s just poor planning. It’s not like Nordstrom’s been great or he doesn’t have other options.

With Ryan unlikely to play Froese makes sense. I think you need an extra center and I would expect both he and Bennett to play. id like to see Ritchie get in a game. Could bring a more physical presence while not hurting you 5 on 5.

I think the "demise" of Backlund is being very overstated. At 5 on 5 here is where he ranks among Flames forwards CF% - 5th FF%- 3rd ShotsF% - 1st XGF% - 3rd SCF% - 8th High danger chance F% - 5th On top of this he has the lowest Offensive zone start rate on the team and the 3rd lowest on ice save %. He has had some bad games for sure but the idea he is on the decline is wrong IMO.

Not well handled IMO. Looks like they are trying to send a message which again makes no sense to me when he was coming off 2 well played games (1 of which even the coach admitted he played well in).

No changes at this point

Not a good sign

He is right. Need to load up the top 6 and stop trying to run all lines evenly. i would move Lindholm to the wing but the Ryan injury may impact that

Funny enough since that trade request story came out Bennett's been one of their better forwards at 5 on 5. 4th in Cf% 4th in FF% 3rd in XGA 5th in XGf% All that with being sub 50% offensive zone start rate as well. I get the production isn't there, and his offensive impact is average on the team, but he's doing a lot of things right now. I've liked his game personally especially the physical element.

I'm having a hard time critiquing any individual player on the PK because the unit, as a whole ,just has not been very good. I wouldn't point to Nordstrom as a problem, although he had a brutal clearing attempt on the 2nd PP goal against on Monday. But they've struggled as a group which mirrors their struggles as a team. Breakdown in communication and inconsistent efforts have been the main problems I see, rather than individual players not getting it done.