travel_dude

And time will tell if the latter can.

So, here's the skinny that I am aware of. When Sutter took over, he said Dube should have spent more time before playing up in CGY. He was critical of Dube for a long time. He said Dube was the most improved player this year. One player has many years of NHL time and the other doesn't. What recent NHL player is small like Dube and Mange.

On this team.

I don't feel that way before a game, unless I have seen something the game right before. Markstrom had the last two games off, so he will be fighting to keep the net. I find (myself) that he plays poorly the more games in a row he plays. The other thing is that the team is scoring more recently.

Why is Nedeljkovic on waivers according to Friedman. Cap Friendly lists it as a conditioning stint. But that also how they sent Campbell down to the AHL.

Couple of things: If it seems like the Flames hit the post/crossbar a lot, it’s because they do. Obscure stat, I know, but on Saturday the Flames took the league lead with their 49th shot off the iron - one more than Fla and Wash. Toffoli is tied for the league lead w 4 off the crossbar. Dan Vladar is in a 7-0-3 tear, but when I asked Sutter if that changed his starting goalie approach he said Vladar got Saturdays start because it was an afternoon game, and, “it gets Marky ready for the next stretch of games.”

Well, I have noticed some recent things that seem to plague both goalies. Vladar plays great, the team sucks. Vladar plays poorly but the team scores. Marky plays great and the team is asleep for a period. Marky plays just okay but the team can't score enough. Marky plays great and the team scores. When Vladar play, we seem to score more and give up less. When Vladar lets in more than 3, we get points in most games. When Marky plays, we score less and the other team keeps it close. When Marky gives up more than 3, we generally lose. These are observations and doesn't suggest who was really at fault in the games. My preference is not close games right now. Score more and give up less. Whomever can do that on a given night should get the start. If a goalie has played 3, they probably shouldn't play next game. A backup shouldn't be sitting for more than a week at a time. Vladar sat for more than 2 weeks and only got in due to the CHI game. They went right back to Markstrom and gave up 2 in the 3rd and 1 in OT. Vladar had 2 good games (1 and 2/3 games actually) and one so-so game to finish.

Not just the PP, but Rosie makes some subtle plays that seem to result in goals. He's smart out there on the PP, my only complaint is he doesn't shoot enough. If him and Dube were to swap spots on the PP, both would have better shots at the net. For some reason Dube isn't shooting on RW. What do we have, 5 LHS's on the 2nd unit? And 3 RHS on the top unit?

I will add a few to the list: Went to Rexal Place for an Oilers game; that seems like about 10 years ago. Yeah, I live here, and yes it irks me to no end. Saw the Flames play a few years back (BC - before Covid) at the Coyotes barn in Glendale. Nice complex. too bad they got the boot. The Old arena in St. Louis. I'm assuming it is the same location as whatever they call it now. Interesting tidbit. I was there for a conference back around 2000 and couldn't get tickets for a Blues game. Waited outside the arena, looking for a scalper. Weren't any around initially. One guy, very pleasant fellow, offer to smoke some crack with me. I politely declined and he said okay and left. Ended up seeing a person leaving the arena after the first period and they sold me their ticket for cheap. In Halifax, went to Moosehead games when it was still called the Metro Centre, so that was quite some time ago. Also, the AHL team Halifax Citadels played there for a short period of time before they folded (93). They sucked. Before the Metro Centre was built, the NS Voyageurs plays at the Halifax Arena. They were good, baby Habs. Other than that, my arena visits are non existent except for the Saddledome. Not even that many games seen there.

You have to be smart about it. Not wait till it falls apart, but see the trending. I don't think Lucic played that bad against DAL, but he played a lot less minutes. There must have been something seen like missed coverage. However, at the same time Lucic played the final minute of play. It may just have been managing minutes for the trip. Game to game, there are several candidates to sit the next game. Sutter isn't going to give that spot to a rookie unless it's a big message to the player. I couldn't point to one player in the last 4 games that hasn't earned the spot back in the next game. Well, at least staying in the lineup.

And I understand the part you refer to. I'm assuming there to be some logic in the decisions. Like goalie A playes well against team A. Vladar starting against WAS. Not starting him against BOS is another story. But it seems different most times. Like there is no plan, just counting starts. Gotta get to 60.

Obviously there are degrees of frustration with the starts. And some see issues that may just be "oh, he did the same thing in the playoffs". Myself, I ignore the stats and look at the saves. Some of that might get reflected in the fancy stats. Some may just be looking at the situation and thinking, wow. In recent games, I saw some saves by Vladar that included avoiding in tight stuff resuylting in goals. And the inevitable breakeaway. The Dallas game was a weird one. It seemed to be the entire team coming unglued. Markstrom has had really good games where he let in too many. Not that I blame him, as the W is important. I tend to prefer to see that you alternate a little more frequently. 5 in a row spells trouble. Teams are scoting recent games to see tendencies. And you see some habits creeping in that can turn into standard reaction. The CHI game was one too many. And sticking with Vladar for the coming game also is questionable.

The bolded is what I suspect we all agree on. And it's not as obvious as it was in EDM. Vladar has been up and down on his starts, but recently (not yesterday) he has has good results. Last 10 starts for Vladar 7-0-3; one of the OTL was a 38 minute relief. Markstrom 5-3-1 and no decision. When a goalie is looking strong, start him. I'm not sure that Markstrom had good enough games to justify 5 in a row. Same is true of Vladar. Looked good in relief and against STL. Wasn't great in the 3rd period last game.

Monahan was always a >50% faceoff guy and that benefitted the top line for scoring. It's not really something we can fix easily. nor is it right to trade for a top C. There are a couple of ways to mitigate it, one is sdd s C that can take draws. The other is having a guy that gets back the puck or can make the D zone better. We are always going to lose draws, but half our problems are ineffective D-zone after a loss. The D have a job but the wingers aren't just chess piece. They have to cover players.

There really isn't debate on whether he is the number 1. If he is struggling, like the way he has struggled for most of this season, then you can't just start him over and over. You want to win a majority, not just use player X because he has the title. You want to play the best player at specific times.

It's hell weeks for us. We can beat every team we see the next two weeks, but I fear coaching will do something dumb. Like starting Markstrom for 4 in a row. Or demoting Dube to the 4th line.

Yes, we beat the teams that are below us in the standings. Exactly what we need to do to maintain a playoff spot. I'm good with the win today, as bad as the defensive play was in the final 22 minutes or so. To the point, Duehr was given a chance to play. He did well with his minutes. Is there some reason to believe that a player with higher AHL production wouldn't be able to handle the NHL? I will point out that the Huberdeau line played the least of the top 3 lines. And that was with him getting chances on 5 PP's. Kadri had slighly more than him, but not by a lot. So, while the wins were there against mostly non-playoff teams + Dallas, there's a lot to improve.

There was an expected pushback. Dallas is the opposite to us, we score more in the 1st than anyone, they score most in the 3rd. I noticed they were using Ruzie as the QB or similar on PP2. You are right, he is pretty slick there. Will very rarely take a shot, but when he does, it's one or two chances. Maybe I would like to see him and Backlund reverse. What I see on that unit is two of the smaller guys fighting in the slot or the boards. I am okay with one of them there, maybe not both. But, saying that, they were the best unit today. Poor Weegar never gets a sniff of PP time and when he gets 20 seconds, he gets his first point. Hanifin can be pretty brainless out there on the PP. Shoot the puck through a guy's pads and wonder why it bouncs out to center ice. The top unit has been faltering ever since they started playing 24+ minutes a game. The sweet spot seems to be 22 or less, when they play more we lose.

Sutter post game comments: Vladar played today to give Markstrom time to ge ready for the next stretch.

I will take the win, but what the heck is the game plan?

JFC, the 2nd line out there for the D zone draw.

Ras having a rough day. Been on for all 5 Dallas goals. Hanifin on for 4 of 5

D zone coverage is really sad this period. What did they think? Stars were going to just give up?

Should have called a time out.

White knuckle time.