Call ups

[kehatch]

Bouma is the kind of guy every team needs; he hits, blocks, fights and can chip in goals. I would pick him over Byron every time. Byron played twice as much as Wolf and was lucky to being pushed just before Raymond shot. He ended up tipping the shot in somehow. Wolf was a force on the rush, so he earned his icetime tonight.

 

I like Bouma a lot. On the fourth line.  I just think when you have him on the second line it shouldn't be a surprise when you don't score in five periods.  Especially when Raymond, Byron, Jones, and Jooris make up most of the top 9 wingers.  The only winger we have with finish is Gaudreau.  Can't rely on Gaudreau, Monahan, and the D for all of the goals.  Wingers are supposed to score.  

[Khrox]

It sucks that Wolf got injured a bit, he looked good when he was out there. Definitely a guy I would like to see get a bit more icetime in his next game. He was physical, generated chances and didn't look bad out there at all.

[travel_dude]

I like Bouma a lot. On the fourth line.  I just think when you have him on the second line it shouldn't be a surprise when you don't score in five periods.  Especially when Raymond, Byron, Jones, and Jooris make up most of the top 9 wingers.  The only winger we have with finish is Gaudreau.  Can't rely on Gaudreau, Monahan, and the D for all of the goals.  Wingers are supposed to score.

I think we agree here. Hartley is pushing guys into roles they aren't designed for in hopes they will rise to the occasion. Bouma is a 4th liner; a good one at that. Byron is no more than a 4th line energy player.

Bollig is an insurance guy for the Western conference. Stajan is whatever you need him to be, just don't expect too many goals playing 7 minutes.

The wingers such as Jones, Colborne, and Raymond are not scoring at the level needed for the NHL. The centers and the Johnny line are the only forwards scoring. I would prefer to see a top 6 player playing top 6.

And I would rather we replace the (lack) of offence with some offence. Whether that is Stuart, Richards, Sven, Shore, Elson, or Wolf, I don't care. Fix it.

[mike_jones]

I think we agree here. Hartley is pushing guys into roles they aren't designed for in hopes they will rise to the occasion. Bouma is a 4th liner; a good one at that. Byron is no more than a 4th line energy player.

Bollig is an insurance guy for the Western conference. Stajan is whatever you need him to be, just don't expect too many goals playing 7 minutes.

The wingers such as Jones, Colborne, and Raymond are not scoring at the level needed for the NHL. The centers and the Johnny line are the only forwards scoring. I would prefer to see a top 6 player playing top 6.

And I would rather we replace the (lack) of offence with some offence. Whether that is Stuart, Richards, Sven, Shore, Elson, or Wolf, I don't care. Fix it.

 

I don't know if I'd include Colborne in that list.  He's been pretty good as of late.  He has 8 points in his last 12GP, which is decent.  In comparison, Johnny Hockey, has 7 points in his last 12 GP, and Monahan has 9 points in his last 12GP.

 

Colborne is also sitting at 54.4% in the faceoff circle, even though, he doesn't take as many draws.  I've liked his game this season.

 

Lance Bouma also has 9 points in his last 9GP, so whatever he is doing seems to be working.

 

The Flames sit 11th in the NHL in goals per game with 2.82, ahead of teams like Anaheim, San Jose, Vancouver, L.A., Boston.  

 

I have to say, I think the offense if bringing it pretty good for a rebuilding team.

 

The best stat is that the Flames are outscoring their opponents 63-32 in the 3rd.  1st in both categories in the NHL for GF and GA in that department.  

 

THAT IS PHENOMENAL!

[CheersMan]

The best stat is that the Flames are outscoring their opponents 63-32 in the 3rd.  1st in both categories in the NHL for GF and GA in that department.  

 

THAT IS PHENOMENAL!

 

That stat right there is HUGE!  If you’re winning the 3rd period then your winning your share of hockey games.  To be leading the GF and GA in 3rd is phenomenal.  About 30 games ago some here were saying it was unsustainable and they'd come back down to earth.  This truly has been enjoyable to watch. 

[kehatch]

That stat right there is HUGE! If you’re winning the 3rd period then your winning your share of hockey games. To be leading the GF and GA in 3rd is phenomenal. About 30 games ago some here were saying it was unsustainable and they'd come back down to earth. This truly has been enjoyable to watch.

I agree it's a positive. Unfortunately hockey is a 60 minute game and you need to be successful in all three periods. Love the third period success. Hate giving up the first two goals though. Flames need to find urgency before they are playing catch up.

[mike_jones]

A win is a win Kevin. Why not lighten up on the boys and take some pride in how they are earning them?

There's already enough negativity out there.

[Wreckening]

I agree it's a positive. Unfortunately hockey is a 60 minute game and you need to be successful in all three periods. Love the third period success. Hate giving up the first two goals though. Flames need to find urgency before they are playing catch up.

I have to agree. I love that the Flames can dig down and find ways to win but they have to be a complete team if they want to have any hopes of making the playoffs. The games only get tougher from here on in. Its statistically impossible for them to keep up these third period heroics.....isn't it?   Going back to the Wild game and including the Oilers game the Flames went 5 periods without scoring. Not good enough if you want to make the playoffs, let alone make a run for the Cup.

 

Now I can't speak for Kehatch but I'm sure he's not being negative, and neither am I. I've just seen enough hockey played in my time to know that these streaks have a nasty way of becoming cold at the most inopportune time at this point in the season. You have to play 60 minutes of hockey to get to the Dance. I'm just afraid they're going to "run the tank empty" before the end of the season.

[kehatch]

A win is a win Kevin. Why not lighten up on the boys and take some pride in how they are earning them?

There's already enough negativity out there.

I do take pride in my team. Love the work ethic, never quit attitude, over achievement, etc. I love the contrast to the team in the North. But we have to stop spotting the other team one and two goal leads. That isn't being negative.

[robrob1974]

I agree with Kehatch.

Eventually the odds will catch up. And once in the playoffs, the teams are that much more tuned into shutting things down that if we do get in, there's no comeback. At least the odds are less likely.

It is fristrating to watch.

The one thing counter to that, there are ebb and flows to the game. One team pushes, maybe gets a lead and the other team eventually counters. So that's part of why we're like this.

It would be nice to have the better starts as we have a pretty decent record of holding leads.

[CheersMan]

Over achieving, unsustainable, I’m tired of hearing these words.  I hope Hartley never uses those words.  Yes the game is 60 minutes, but dominating every minute of every period is asking a little much.  The 3rd period is when the game is on the line, no more foreplay.  A team who can dominant the 3rd is a dangerous team.  Agreed, we need to have better performances in the first 2 periods.

[travel_dude]

I have to agree. I love that the Flames can dig down and find ways to win but they have to be a complete team if they want to have any hopes of making the playoffs. The games only get tougher from here on in. Its statistically impossible for them to keep up these third period heroics.....isn't it?   Going back to the Wild game and including the Oilers game the Flames went 5 periods without scoring. Not good enough if you want to make the playoffs, let alone make a run for the Cup.

 

Now I can't speak for Kehatch but I'm sure he's not being negative, and neither am I. I've just seen enough hockey played in my time to know that these streaks have a nasty way of becoming cold at the most inopportune time at this point in the season. You have to play 60 minutes of hockey to get to the Dance. I'm just afraid they're going to "run the tank empty" before the end of the season.

 

No doubt that 3rd period comebacks are awesome to watch, but it is sickening to see teams like the Oilers having any lead over the Flames.  Whether it is slow starts for a goaltender (Hiller and Ramo tend to give up at least one easy one per game), inability to clear the zone, even though the Flames have the puck on their stick, or a breakdown after an icing, it all adds up.  Spotting a team one or two after 20 minutes is not good.  The 2nd period is the Flames worst one, so that leads to needing a 3rd period comeback. 

 

The Flames' superior conditioning and youth have the extra gas in the tank to allow late 3rd scoring.  We have lost too many games in the 2nd period though.

 

Having Spoon sit on the bench does not take advantage of youth available.  We are forced to overwork Brodano and Russell-man instead of working in Spoon's abaility to play over 10 minutes.  And we use 2 righties on the 3rd pairing.  What a waste.

 

Sven and Wolfie allow us to sub in some youth, but that is not being exercized right now.  We are forced into over-using Johnny/Mony/Hudler/Brodano for scoring.

 

As results improve, I am holding the Flames to a better standard.  They are rebuilding, but if you say you are competing for the playoff, then you better fix the problems that prevent wins; PK issues overall, PP not scoring, 4th line not contributing goals.

[DirtyDeeds]

No doubt that 3rd period comebacks are awesome to watch, but it is sickening to see teams like the Oilers having any lead over the Flames.  Whether it is slow starts for a goaltender (Hiller and Ramo tend to give up at least one easy one per game), inability to clear the zone, even though the Flames have the puck on their stick, or a breakdown after an icing, it all adds up.  Spotting a team one or two after 20 minutes is not good.  The 2nd period is the Flames worst one, so that leads to needing a 3rd period comeback. 

 

.................

 

 

Kipper used to let in a soft one every other game. That was the main complaint about Mike Vernon too. 

 

The thing is we forgave them this when they played well enough to give the team a chance to win...... maybe you should relax a bit on Hiller and even Ramo for the odd soft goal.. ..

[travel_dude]

Kipper used to let in a soft one every other game. That was the main complaint about Mike Vernon too. 

 

The thing is we forgave them this when they played well enough to give the team a chance to win...... maybe you should relax a bit on Hiller and even Ramo for the odd soft goal.. ..

 

I don't get bent out of shape for a bad goal here and there.  Ramo and Hiller both stop the majority of the rest of the shots.  Even when Ramo was struggling in games, I didn't feel it was his fault we lost; the defense gave him little support.  Same for Hiller.

 

What I was getting at was the cumulative effect of those factors (weak D, clearing, soft goal) requiring us to have to score many goals in the 3rd.

[s4xon]

Yup. I must admit I was pretty grumpy at the start of the game due to Hartley's lineup decisions: keeping Bouma in the top 6, playing both Raymond and Byron instead of Baertschi.

 

If we lost the game, I'd probably be complaining. But Bouma proved me wrong on this one. Also, Raymond and Byron combined for the first goal, which really opened the floodgates and gave the Flames confidence when they looked snakebitten. So I'll have to keep my fool mouth shut for now.

 

I still feel Bouma is best suited for the 4th line role.  He's the best 4th liner in the league.  A huge part of Boum's success in last game was due to Backlund feeding him the puck.

 

I'm going to put my money where my mouth is and say that we won't see a repeat of 2 goals from Bouma for quite some time.  Another factor was that it was against the Oilers.

[darth_henning]

Gotta agree with s4xon, Bouma should be on the 3rd line at best. The problem is Raymond and Bollig taking up the bottom two spots while Sven rides the pine (Wolf should also be playing but is injured)

Was disappointed to see tonight's projected lines as:

Gaudreau - Monahan - Hudler

Bouma - Backlund - Jones

Raymond - Jooris - Colborne

Bollig - Stajan - Byron

Raymond should be out, and Sven should be in (ideally pushing Bouma down a line)

[JTech780]

Gotta agree with s4xon, Bouma should be on the 3rd line at best. The problem is Raymond and Bollig taking up the bottom two spots while Sven rides the pine (Wolf should also be playing but is injured)

Was disappointed to see tonight's projected lines as:

Gaudreau - Monahan - Hudler

Bouma - Backlund - Jones

Raymond - Jooris - Colborne

Bollig - Stajan - Byron

Raymond should be out, and Sven should be in (ideally pushing Bouma down a line)

The bigger problem is that Bouma, Raymond, Jones, Jooris, Colborne and probably Backlund are all ideally 3rd liners. To me it looks like we have 2 3rd lines. I like Bouma/Backlund/Jones as a shut down line as all 3 are very good defensively, allowing the Monahan and Jooris lines to have a lighter load

[s4xon]

The bigger problem is that Bouma, Raymond, Jones, Jooris, Colborne and probably Backlund are all ideally 3rd liners. To me it looks like we have 2 3rd lines. I like Bouma/Backlund/Jones as a shut down line as all 3 are very good defensively, allowing the Monahan and Jooris lines to have a lighter load

 

I would even go farther and say that we don't exactly have a top line either.  Our top line looks like a 2nd at best compared with the rest of the league.  The only guy I would slot in the 1st line would be Johnny.  When Bennett comes, he's a player with the kind of ilk that looks to be more the cut of a top line center.  I look at Hudler and Mony as top 2nd liners and fringe 1st liners.

[darth_henning]

I don't think its fair to say Monahan isn't a top centerman or at least potentially one.

He is currently the 33 highest scoring center (and some of them like Hudler are playing wing), is tied for 20th in +/-, and is 23, 3 seconds behind Malkin, for TOI/game with a total of FOUR penalty minutes (the fewest of any top line center).

That may not exactly be best in the league, but in his second season, Monahan is right up there with the top centers in the League and will only improve.

Bennett may indeed wind up being better like many suggest, and that would give us a scary 1-2 center punch.

Backlund? Debatable if he's 2nd or 3rd line. I expect in the end he winds up being 3rd line behind those two, but 10 points in 11 games since injury makes him pretty good on the second line. For now.

Jooris and Colborne are definitely solid 3rd liners, who are developing some good chemistry, but not top 6 material. Jones is becoming expendable especially with Poirier knocking on the door as a valid 1st liner (probably 2nd line next year) and Colborne locking down the 3rd line RW spot really. Bouma is best on the 4th line, and Raymond should honestly be waved by now.

[JTech780]

Here is the depth chart based on points per game average:

 

LW:

Gaudreau(0.76)

Glencross(0.59)

Bouma(0.40)

Raymond(0.36)

Baertschi(0.21)

Bollig(0.05)

Wolf(0.00)

 

C:

Backlund(0.67)

Monahan(0.64)

Jooris(0.46)

Stajan(0.25)

 

RW:

Hudler(0.87)

Colborne(0.56)

Jones(0.46)

Byron(0.30)

 

Now granted this is a very simplistic way to look at it, but it does show that Bouma being bumped up isn't that ridiculous.

 

Also since the returning from the all star break and recalling Baertschi, Wolf and Wotherspoon we are 2-1 with the one loss being where were shutout by Dubnyk who stood on his head. It's not as if we having been playing poorly, sure we have been getting off to slow starts, but that is a whole team issue not just a lineup issue.

 

Baertschi will get his shot, but why change things up when the team is playing well.

[darth_henning]

The big surprise I have on that list is that Backlund is actually higher in PPG than Monahan.

Admittedly Monahan was used in more of a shut-down role early so that's probably why, but still surprising.

Hard to argue the rest of that except for Raymond in my mind. Since injury he's 3 points in 18 games (or 0.17 PPG). Using his whole season is misleading, he hasn't been the same since injury.

That actually puts him worse then Sven, so I don't think that simple swap would be harmful to the team, and it would be good to see if Sven is worth keeping around in future years as a part of the rebuild or if he would be better as trade deadline bait to land a D upgrade.

[Heartbreaker]

Kipper used to let in a soft one every other game. That was the main complaint about Mike Vernon too.

The thing is we forgave them this when they played well enough to give the team a chance to win...... maybe you should relax a bit on Hiller and even Ramo for the odd soft goal.. ..

You raise excellent points, DD. Even the league's absolute finest - those few in the upper echelon that went to the Nelson Mandela school of hockey - let in the occasional softie.

Love.

[DirtyDeeds]

You raise excellent points, DD. Even the league's absolute finest - those few in the upper echelon that went to the Nelson Mandela school of hockey - let in the occasional softie.

Love.

exactly

 

[Jessemadnote39]

I'm definitely ready to see Sven jump into the lineup. We have utilized hot streaks from our various young players all year, Jooris, Granlund, Ortio, might as well give Sven a chance to make his mark.

 

Another thing is when Sven goes on a hot streak it is usually an absolute tear. He also goes cold from time to time. So that's concerning when thinking long term but we may as well extract some value out of him while he's around. 

[JTech780]

Here is the depth chart based on points per game average:

 

LW:

Gaudreau(0.76)

Bouma(0.40)

Raymond(0.36)

Baertschi(0.21)

Bollig(0.05)

 

C:

Backlund(0.67)

Monahan(0.64)

Jooris(0.46)

Granlund(0.39)

Stajan(0.25)

 

RW:

Hudler(0.87)

Colborne(0.56)

Jones(0.46)

Byron(0.30)

 

Thought I would update this with a more up to date lineup.