travel_dude

He mentioned LA only, but I suspect they didn't fly to Cali at all. Valimaki is what he is. Thought he was a NHL player, but sadly not ready. Perhaps a bit of tough love to say you need to grab the job, not show up and expect it. I didn't love Valimaki's pre-season, but I thought he would snap out of it.

Valimaki recalled again. I don't think this is an emergency call up. Here is what I (think I) know: Mackey - regular recall - 3 remaining Ruzicka - emergency recall - changed to regular recall - 2 remaining Valimaki - emergency recall - returned to Stockton - recalled again - 1 remaining That should give us 8 available D and 12 available F, with Jarnkrok status unknown. The Ruzicka and Valimaki recalls could still be emergency, but seems unlikely unless 2 players are moved to IR. I am glad they are taking their time with Kylington, but I am concerned that we keep playing Stone on the wrong side. Against the Ducks, not so concerning, but we have Sharks tomorrow. I just think we need to get away from the idea of "getting player X going" and concentrate on finding the best lines for the purpose they are used for. Backlund should not be looked upon as a scoring forward and concentrate on shutdown play. If he scores, great. If not, he's doing his job against top lines. Pair him with the best at possession and defensive play. Maybe that's Dube. For Toffee and Bread, get them a passing C. Ruzie makes the most sense in my mind, as he is sound defensively and seems to be pass-first. Also has a rocket. He adds size and speed to play with Mange. And he can use Toffee as the trailer or puck on net guy. If Jarnkrok is out, then that makes the most sense. If Jarny is in, then you have the option of Jarny or Dube as 4C. Carpenter hasn't solidified himself yet.

Minny can have STL. I want to stay away from them until the last possible moment. I think we can beat STL, but that 1st round they either trot out the cup winning Binnington (who has sucked this year so far) or they bring out Husso, who we have trouble scoring against. One goalie is going to get hot. There's not really any 1st round matchups that I fear, just ones I don't want to have to bother with. And EDM would be just so annoying. Probably the easiest team for us to beat, but let someone else beat them in round 1. Dallas would be iffy, but don't think they are the same team as two years ago. Nashville is tough to figure out. No real scoring stars other than Josi. But defense first. Too bad they didn't have Trotz. We will get a sense of Minny and Nash this month. See where they are now. I don't think MAF will make them any better, but adds a new wrinkle.

Gio's best days are behind him, and while he still has some tools, we wouldn't be in the same boat with him here. He still makes smart plays, and can still walk the puck into a scoring position, but I'm not sure he's going to help TO that much in the playoffs. Not his fault. I like our D core, and while Zaddy is cringe worthy and Hanifin makes plays that you shake your head at, they all play within the Sutter system. No one guy is left on an island. They move in the same direction.

Johnny having a season for the ages. Creeping up on 100 points. Heck with the Hart, go for Conn Smythe. Marky having just enough bad games to keep eyes off him leading to the playoffs. He's eyeing the single season shutout mark. Lindholm is the most underrated 1C in the league. Nobody from the East even paying attention. The Expresso to the coffee that Johnny stirs. Tanev the defensive conscience of the team. 4 guys scored 30+ so far. 2 may reach 40.

I would add that Vladar has played all of 21 NHL games in his career. 16 were with the Flames, most during the fleshy middle of the season. I want him to get more starts, but not at the expense of his confidence. The top teams in the NHL are riding one goalie right now. In the East, it's all about seeding. In the West, it's about making the dance. I want us to finish 1st, not have to play a team suddenly getting hot. WC1 is probably our best bet for advancing. We have to get there first.

Impressive. 3 months and already they have talked to somebody that is in the process of possibly becoming a 3rd part, to reach out the Flames ownership....At this rate there should be an agreement in place just in time for the next election.

I think the Flames actually are a lot tighter in front of him. They let Markstrom see a lot of shots from the outside. What I like the most is that he is really good on 2 on 1's and breakaways. He plays big in the net. It's funny, they may actually be managing the backup more than Markstrom right now. They threw him to the wolves too often, so it may be about getting his confidence back. That VAN game did nothing to help him any.

I will also say that Vladar needs to steal a game. Right now Sutter doesn't trust him to get a win. He threw Vladar to the wolves and didn't like the response. The SJS is the likely of the two games for him to start, but you never know. Personally, I think that Vladar makes about the same number of awesome saves as Marky. They are just different parts of the game. Marky lets in 5 and makes a big stop that ultimately seals the victory. Vladar lets in two in a loss. Maybe those two are just about perfect shots, but it's about when they go in. I don't agree with the view completely. You should have two guys you can go to and give the reins to the next guy if things go south. Vladar has looked bad in a few games, but the number played makes them stand out more. One was eerily similar to the playoff game against Dallas where Rittich came in cold after Talbot blew up. Can't really pin the TBL and CAR losses on him. He was the last one to get sick and got the starts after Marky lost in TB and was maybe a little off. As much as people say you need two goalies to win a cup, that is only true if you go to the 2nd goalie. Good teams know when they need that 2nd guy to come in.

Yes, some fatigue seems to be setting in, but I think he needs a reset. Rest for a couple in a row, but needs to play in the B2B's. The age old decisions about when to rest the guy you need for the playoffs. Want him sharp. Want him rested. The thing we really need to be careful about is other teams running the goalie. He gets bent out of shape about it, but I'm more worried that somebody will land on him. Teams like Dallas and Minny. Spoilers like SJS and WPG.

I think they actually showed the equipment guy trying to fix his plastic ankle guard. Ref gave him quite a bit of leeway there. It was smart. Lot's of teams try the old swap a guy while the puck is being iced. We need a little more offence right now. As much as Sutter expects Backlund to score like he used to, I think it's best to have him on a good shutdown line. Both Mange and Toffee got chances, but they were more singular effort. Create that ideal shutdown line and go from there. Call it 2nd or 3rd line, doesn't matter, give the minutes as required and earned. Coleman is the guy that should be there with him. The 3rd person depends. Need enough speed in case Backlund gets a rush chance.

Sometimes you have to grow from within. Backlund still has a reputation, so he is tradeable. Not for a 2C, but to free up space. Might have to use Valimaki and Dube as trade bait to get one. Or even Tkachuk. I see where Getzlaf is retiring this summer. Monahan to ANA makes some sense in that case. A little too early to speculate, but a lot of teams will realize their mistakes this summer. A lot of players will get moved, an we just have to be ready to make the right trades or have the cap space to take on a difference maker.

Okay, I'll bite. Mange-Dube-Toffee in that case, I assume? Or you go with Ruzie at C, and add Dube to the 4th line to cause damage out there. Anyway, I agree about Backlund's line needing to be just the shutdown line. Backlund is going to get the same chances he always does. He wants to score a goal, he better rip it high glove or swoop to the net a la McD. Too many time he gets the pass and does nothing with it. Whatever, just stop farting around in your own zone. Focus on what you do well.

They have 7 games I would call difficult. CGY, EDM, WAS, DAL, CHI, STL. CHI will be a tough game due to the B2B on the road. I would add that the NJ game could be anything from a VGK blowout to a NJ blowout. There's really just 4 easy games. LA has EDM, MIN, COL, and a lot of games against weaker opponents like ANA, VAN, SEA, CHI, and CBJ. EDM has 7 tough games remaining. The spread between 2nd and 4th is very small. 4 points, and games played is almost even. LA is in the drivers seat, but need to beat EDM to stay there. A loss by EDM to SJS and LA put them in a huge hole. It gets harder for the next 6 games. Those are make or break it.

Dube is getting a bit of tough love to bring what Sutter expects from a full time NHL player. Demote when you have an off game, promote when you are playing well. Praise and criticize. He's more plug and play than Rozie. Rozie is still getting the show me games. You show me, you stay. You don't, back to the bench. Chanllenge the guy to bring it every night. I just think that we have to stop using Toffee in a defensive first role. That is Coleman's bread and butter.

think we may need to go there just to see what they are capable of. Toffee is no slouch, but I need to see some chemistry there before I go with it longer than one game. SJS may be the right chance to do it. I think the bigger issues is we should expect Backlund to be a defensive line only, and be happy when somebody scores a goal. Using any of our weapons with him only puts us down a scoring line. Dube has shown that he gets it though. Let Backlund carry the puck in, but go to the net or go retrieve the puck after he missed wide. Use Coleman there for that transition. Top line Coleman-Backlund-Dube Mange-Ruzie-Toffee Lucic-Jarnkrok/Carpenter-Lewis/Carpenter/Jarnkrok The top line dominates most game, unless Tkachuk is slumping or looks like crap. Need that 2nd scoring line; Ruzie may be the solution to feeding guys like Toffee and Bread. Call Backlund 2nd or 3rd line, doesn't matter. They are there to shut down lines. 4th line is grit with some defensive awareness. Should not be worried about having them out at any point in the game.

Okay, that is what I heard in several interviews. He's much more open in his day after interviews than game nights. He still has issues trying to eliminate the stuff that ailed the team. Some revert to the things they used to do at times, and I think we see that a bit some games. Not a lot. It's not complicated. Win the draw or get the puck. Keep the puck. Create chances. Go to the soring areas. When something isn't there, make the simple play. The team has done nothing yet. That is the big point. Get to the playoffs and take it to the next level with this team.

Did Johnny yell "Time to go back to the gym"? Or "BOOM". I would laugh if he did. Actually, his comments were funny, that he was protecting Tkachuk. I like that. He's not the wallflower he used to be.

People are still holding back, saying he goes silent in the playoffs. Not entirely fair, but noted. Trending towards beating the 99 point season by 5-11. But this is a more impressive season. Not just passing the puck, not just scoring on the PP. A driving force for the top line. Don't worry about the Hart, you didn't have a chance. Focus on the Conn Smythe, where the men play.

Clinch division 9.5 - combo of CGY wins and EDM losses. Clinch playoffs - 7.0 - combo of Flames wins and Vegas losses.

The only way I can figure it, is that they got together and called the penalty during their little discussion. Somebody thinks they saw something. The review was to determine if it was own player or Tkachuk. I have seen that part reviewed before but it's pretty rare. I think it was BS, since I don't think anyone saw anything. We won in spite of it, and it's not like we don't see this type of reffing.

Yeahg I wasn't really suggesting he's a 2C or even that we need that. We need a 3C that can get the line going. Or a 4C that keeps the play moving the right way. I just don't think Sutter is happy with another 4C. He wants another 3C. He knows what Ruzie can be. Leaving it to the player perhaps, less than the Dube treatment. Dube seemed to be play in every position available and keep the player trying to impress and improve in all those spots. Ruzie is just getting the impress in the one position we think you can do.

We could use some less negativity

Spiderman? Sutter may have unfinished business. What is that? Avenge the 2004 loss? WIn a cup? Turn the Flames into perennial contenders? Win 2 cups? He talks like he loves the farm, but when it's hockey season, the farm runs with people he put in place. Will he stay? He seems to be interested as long as the team moves the right way.

Ruzie and Val were emergency loans, and Val was sent back after the game started. Still have 3 recalls remaining unless they convert Ruzie to regular recall