travel_dude Posted February 1, 2015 Report Share Posted February 1, 2015 The East looks like a done deal. Talk about disparity. OTT-TOR-BUF-PHI-NJD-CLB-CAR out barring divine intervention. FLR requiring a lesser miracle. The West is still fairly wide open. ARI-EDM out. DAL-COL-MIN needing a strong, but unlikely finish. WPG-CGY-LAK on the bubble fighting for 2 spots. SJS & VAN can easily drop with poor play Quite staggering to look at the East; I don't think I can remember a year that you needed 100 points to make it in the East. Usually the West had teams out of the playoffs that were above the 8th place team in the East. Somehow, I think the East will normalize over the next 2 months. The cutoff will probably be closer to 90 points. That's just a gut feeling. I am happy to have the Flames in the driver seat; it is much harder to chase a team with the welfare points, 4-point swing games, West-playing-West games, etc. It weighs on the mind for teams. As long as we don't hit any losing skids, we should be able to maintain 60% winning, which equals 95 points. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DirtyDeeds Posted February 1, 2015 Report Share Posted February 1, 2015 The guy in the living room talking about better draft picks in the living room in the midst of a playoff run is annoying. Your logic is flawed. You won't listen to reason. Your set on this notion that you have to lose to win. But beyond any of that is is incredibly annoying to be having this discussion in the Flames playoff thread. +1 from here too. I have been following hockey since before TV. There are a few basic conventions (conventional wisdom) in hockey that will always trump any "trends". One of these conventions is: Make the playoffs and anything can happen. Short and long term history supports this claim/convention. Recent results also confirm this convention(see LA winning from 8th place, Calgary and Oilers going the distance to final rounds as examples) Just about all teams set their regular seasons goal as "we want to make the playoffs". When they accomplish that goal or get close to it they make changes at the deadline to bolster the chances to attain those goals. For our team to be competing for a playoff spot and holding on to it when we were predicted to compete for over a top draft pick is a tremendous accomplishment. This effort does not deserve anyone thinking we should be tanking for another high draft pick instead.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flyerfan52 Posted February 1, 2015 Report Share Posted February 1, 2015 +1, even though he says he's done arguing this pathetic reasoning, he's not done. FF52 is as loyal as they come, he's like a gigolo, has numerous irons in the fire so to speak. Thanks Bud. When I read his post I had a flashback to when I joined this board some 10 odd years ago & some couldn't see past my user name. ************************************************************************** Pyro, your charts are invaluable. Even if I'm on a different site I open a window to pull up this playoff tracker. If you ever quit doing them I'll miss them almost as much as capgeek. ************************************************************************** DD, nicely put in post #402. **************************************************************************** **************************************************************************** I didn't feel like using up space by multi-quoting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike_jones Posted February 1, 2015 Report Share Posted February 1, 2015 Thanks Bud. When I read his post I had a flashback to when I joined this board some 10 odd years ago & some couldn't see past my user name. ************************************************************************** Don't take any offense by that comment. By that point, I had a few wobbly pops. You can cheer for whoever you wish. As a Flames fan only, I need to hope for no 3 point games against anyone in the West. The Jets, I see, as a team that could choke out altogether and seeing as they are presently ahead of the Flames in the standings, it is even more important for the Flames to win in regulation. I have been on these boards for quite a few years myself, just with different accounts. You cheer for 3 teams. I just cheer for the Flames. To each their own, I suppose. Nonetheless, may it be a good hockey game either way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flyerfan52 Posted February 2, 2015 Report Share Posted February 2, 2015 Don't take any offense by that comment. By that point, I had a few wobbly pops. You can cheer for whoever you wish. As a Flames fan only, I need to hope for no 3 point games against anyone in the West. The Jets, I see, as a team that could choke out altogether and seeing as they are presently ahead of the Flames in the standings, it is even more important for the Flames to win in regulation. I have been on these boards for quite a few years myself, just with different accounts. You cheer for 3 teams. I just cheer for the Flames. To each their own, I suppose. Nonetheless, may it be a good hockey game either way. I don't take offense easily. No need for excuses as truthfully I don't much worry about others opinion. I'm a hockey fan 1st, then a fan of teams/players. I try to recognize talent even if that player hurts my favorite team(s) when they play against them. (See my post in the Brodeur retirement thread.) If you don't want to watch games not involving the Flames that's your perogative. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Out of curiousity why do you change accounts/user names? Would I recognize any of your old handles? I stay with 1 name regardless of the board. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike_jones Posted February 2, 2015 Report Share Posted February 2, 2015 I don't take offense easily. No need for excuses as truthfully I don't much worry about others opinion. I'm a hockey fan 1st, then a fan of teams/players. I try to recognize talent even if that player hurts my favorite team(s) when they play against them. (See my post in the Brodeur retirement thread.) If you don't want to watch games not involving the Flames that's your perogative. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Out of curiousity why do you change accounts/user names? Would I recognize any of your old handles? I stay with 1 name regardless of the board. Meh, I got the whipping stick once upon a time due to an argument with a moderator over a trade suggestion but I wasn't a significant enough of a poster in terms of you remembering my handle. I put that behind me. I'm beyond the days of having to change my I.P. address and make other alias' to chat on this site. I'm Mike_Jones, nice to meet you FF52! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flyerfan52 Posted February 2, 2015 Report Share Posted February 2, 2015 Meh, I got the whipping stick once upon a time due to an argument with a moderator over a trade suggestion but I wasn't a significant enough of a poster in terms of you remembering my handle. I put that behind me. I'm beyond the days of having to change my I.P. address and make other alias' to chat on this site. I'm Mike_Jones, nice to meet you FF52! Hey, we both know now where the other comes from. We won't always agree but that's what keeps boards from becoming fanboy idol sites. I like to think of myself as fairly open minded so I don't judge suggestions by post count. I do have a tendancy to play "devil's advocate" & take the lollipops & unicorns out of suggestions that favor only 1 team but somehow life forces a more realistic view. My take isn't always right (although I joke it is ). Often my view isn't popular but unless there is a compelling arguement against I can be a pitbull. We'll get along just fine as long as you know who's boss. (That'd be Kulstad btw). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike_jones Posted February 2, 2015 Report Share Posted February 2, 2015 Hey, we both know now where the other comes from. We won't always agree but that's what keeps boards from becoming fanboy idol sites. I like to think of myself as fairly open minded so I don't judge suggestions by post count. I do have a tendancy to play "devil's advocate" & take the lollipops & unicorns out of suggestions that favor only 1 team but somehow life forces a more realistic view. My take isn't always right (although I joke it is ). Often my view isn't popular but unless there is a compelling arguement against I can be a pitbull. We'll get along just fine as long as you know who's boss. (That'd be Kulstad btw). Haha, thanks man! Kulstad is a pretty good guy though, so can't knock him. As long as the Flames aren't playing the Jets, OR the Jets don't win against the Flames, we'll get along fine, lol. The Flyers, I don't care about. It was so much more controversial in the old days, with the likes of Snowbear and Ring-a-dong-dandy and even Louis23. Sometimes diverse minds and opinions bring with it, great discussion. I'm sure these boards will heat up once again. At least there is still Jjgallow. What was he before? Something like Fish_Creek? At the end of the day, we are all cheering for the Flames to miraculously make the playoffs, and they have performed above all our expectations! The only thing I can say about this Flames team if they make the playoffs is WATCH OUT! (Especially if you also cheer for the JETS) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heartbreaker Posted February 2, 2015 Report Share Posted February 2, 2015 Meh, I got the whipping stick once upon a time due to an argument with a moderator over a trade suggestion but I wasn't a significant enough of a poster in terms of you remembering my handle. I put that behind me. I'm beyond the days of having to change my I.P. address and make other alias' to chat on this site. I'm Mike_Jones, nice to meet you FF52! I was banned from posting here at one time for having suggested that one of the moderators was behaving "boorishly"... Which he was. These guys are the coolest. Love. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robrob1974 Posted February 2, 2015 Report Share Posted February 2, 2015 I don't think you can use Seguin as an example for Boston. He had maybe one good game. So you can argue boston didn't really have that 2nd overall to put them over the edge. Plus he was a healthy scratch a bit in that whole playoffs that year. Although, the one game he dominated was important. I still think they would've won without him. Boston is built on depth and drafting well. We need to draft well and keep building up depth. At some point we do need to get bigger to compete for a long playoff drive. Size is going to matter eventually. Can we look at the correlation of drafting players outside the first round as well? I bet those numbers tell the real story. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flyerfan52 Posted February 2, 2015 Report Share Posted February 2, 2015 I don't think you can use Seguin as an example for Boston. He had maybe one good game. So you can argue boston didn't really have that 2nd overall to put them over the edge. Plus he was a healthy scratch a bit in that whole playoffs that year. Although, the one game he dominated was important. I still think they would've won without him. Boston is built on depth and drafting well. We need to draft well and keep building up depth. At some point we do need to get bigger to compete for a long playoff drive. Size is going to matter eventually. Can we look at the correlation of drafting players outside the first round as well? I bet those numbers tell the real story. Very good point. Lucic & Kreici were both 2nd rounders. Seiderberg (gained via trade) was originally drafted in the 6th. On the Hawks Keith was a 2nd rounder while Hjalmarsson was taken in the 4th. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The_People1 Posted February 2, 2015 Report Share Posted February 2, 2015 The guy in the living room talking about better draft picks in the living room in the midst of a playoff run is annoying. Your logic is flawed. You won't listen to reason. Your set on this notion that you have to lose to win. But beyond any of that is is incredibly annoying to be having this discussion in the Flames playoff thread. All i'm saying is, if God appears in front of you right now, then would you believe in God? If it's possible to win a Cup without having a top 2 pick, then let it be the next team that wins the Cup. I will then believe it's possible to win without a top 2 pick. - From this point onward, i'm not going to talk about tanking anymore until the next Cup winner is crowned. I do think the Flames will make the playoffs (even though i think they should not). I know jjgallow asked me why i think they will make the playoffs and the signs are all there. I think five main reasons, 1. They are winning when they are suppose to. This is probably the single most critical point that plagues all non-playoff teams. They lose those "easy games" against the Oilers, Sabres, Hurricanes, etc. By doing this, they miss on the supposedly sure points. The Flames aren't doing this. The Flames are cashing in on these 2-points. 2. Coaching, Effort, Physical Conditioning, etc. The thing with young players is that they slow down halfway into the season because their bodies aren't built for the regular season grind. While Monahan, Gaudreau, Jooris, etc have shown signs of fatigue, they are holding up relatively okay so far, unlike many rebuilding teams that go over board with young players. The Flames are also built on the back of younger veterans like Giordano, Brodie, Wideman, Russell, Backlund, Stajan, Hudler, Jones, etc. There aren't any over-the-hill guys on this team either. Because of this, I believe this team will last the full length of the season without slowing down much. 3. Scoring by committee - which is a good insurance against scoring by one or two superstars. It's more likely for one or two guys to enter an extented dry spell but it's unlikely an entire team will. 4. They are winning on the back of average goaltending. In other words, they are winning deservedly. There is not a lot of onus placed on a goaltender to steal games. 5. Last but not least, a winning road record. If you study the teams in the past who have made the playoffs and missed it, the teams that miss it always have a losing road record. You can be awesome at home but if you cannot win on the road, then forget about the playoffs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
conundrumed Posted February 2, 2015 Report Share Posted February 2, 2015 I think you missed the biggest 1 peeps, they play their best hockey in the 3rd period and lead the league in 3rd period come-from-behinds. That, for me, is 2 critical points: 1. Your goalie is keeping you hanging around 2. You're a very dangerous playoff team For #2, I consider you have to be at your best when it's most critical. They're leading the league in that. If they keep that up, they'll wreak some havoc in the playoffs, mark my words. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kehatch Posted February 3, 2015 Report Share Posted February 3, 2015 The Flames just took over third in the division. If San Jose loses tonight we will be playing them for second in the division on Wednesday. We have the best goal differential in the division. We are second in wins behind Anaheim. We have scored the most goals. We have let in the second fewest. Outside of an 8 game losing streak we have been in of the top teams in the West. The big test for me was whether they could keep it up when the games got real. The won a must win against LA. They did the same tonight. It's getting real. It should be a GREAT game Wednesday. I got tickets but gave them to my wife and kids. Sucker. Still, looking forward to it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
420since1974 Posted February 3, 2015 Report Share Posted February 3, 2015 It's starting to look like the Flames may prove me wrong this season. I predicted that they'd finish 20th - 25th, I won't be disappointed about being wrong if they make the play-offs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kehatch Posted February 3, 2015 Report Share Posted February 3, 2015 It's starting to look like the Flames may prove me wrong this season. I predicted that they'd finish 20th - 25th, I won't be disappointed about being wrong if they make the play-offs. You did better then me. I had them as a top five pick and a potential front runner for McDavid. This is more fun. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
travel_dude Posted February 3, 2015 Report Share Posted February 3, 2015 All i'm saying is, if God appears in front of you right now, then would you believe in God? If it's possible to win a Cup without having a top 2 pick, then let it be the next team that wins the Cup. I will then believe it's possible to win without a top 2 pick. - From this point onward, i'm not going to talk about tanking anymore until the next Cup winner is crowned. I do think the Flames will make the playoffs (even though i think they should not). I know jjgallow asked me why i think they will make the playoffs and the signs are all there. I think five main reasons, 1. They are winning when they are suppose to. This is probably the single most critical point that plagues all non-playoff teams. They lose those "easy games" against the Oilers, Sabres, Hurricanes, etc. By doing this, they miss on the supposedly sure points. The Flames aren't doing this. The Flames are cashing in on these 2-points. 2. Coaching, Effort, Physical Conditioning, etc. The thing with young players is that they slow down halfway into the season because their bodies aren't built for the regular season grind. While Monahan, Gaudreau, Jooris, etc have shown signs of fatigue, they are holding up relatively okay so far, unlike many rebuilding teams that go over board with young players. The Flames are also built on the back of younger veterans like Giordano, Brodie, Wideman, Russell, Backlund, Stajan, Hudler, Jones, etc. There aren't any over-the-hill guys on this team either. Because of this, I believe this team will last the full length of the season without slowing down much. 3. Scoring by committee - which is a good insurance against scoring by one or two superstars. It's more likely for one or two guys to enter an extented dry spell but it's unlikely an entire team will. 4. They are winning on the back of average goaltending. In other words, they are winning deservedly. There is not a lot of onus placed on a goaltender to steal games. 5. Last but not least, a winning road record. If you study the teams in the past who have made the playoffs and missed it, the teams that miss it always have a losing road record. You can be awesome at home but if you cannot win on the road, then forget about the playoffs. You also missed an important stat: 22-8-1 against the West. Tied with ANA and NASH for the most wins against the West. those are the potential 4 point swing games. If you win the ones against the teams ahead and close behind, it sets those teams back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darth_henning Posted February 3, 2015 Report Share Posted February 3, 2015 Two Games against SJS in the next week, very much in control of our own destiny forthe Standings. Should be capable of moving into second place in the division if we win both of those, regardless of the game against the birds. As long as we stay out of the last wildcard we've got a pretty good chance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
s4xon Posted February 3, 2015 Report Share Posted February 3, 2015 *patiently await's Pyro's playoff graphic* Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redfire11 Posted February 3, 2015 Report Share Posted February 3, 2015 I have a feeling the games April 9th Kings and April 11 Jets will determine our playoff berth. Both will have a game 7 overtime feel to them. I am proud to see the Flames where they are at in the standings. It would be a genuine clink of the mugs if I was sitting next to a NYI fan. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kehatch Posted February 3, 2015 Report Share Posted February 3, 2015 Sigh. Edmonton just blew their 2 goal lead against San Jose. Man they suck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darth_henning Posted February 3, 2015 Report Share Posted February 3, 2015 What's interesting is without that 8 game losing streak we'd have a 5-10 point cushion on both off them, and the Sharks. If we don't have another run of bad luck like that, I can see us being solidly in the pacific second plce by those games. Depends if the Jets, Kings and Fish can stop their slides. EDIT: Freaking Sharks pulling a Calgary 3rd period. I really hope that the Oilers can play spoilers, but i think we all know the outcome. So much for a 1 point difference in that coming game. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robrob1974 Posted February 3, 2015 Report Share Posted February 3, 2015 Ya, it's 4-3 SJS now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kehatch Posted February 3, 2015 Report Share Posted February 3, 2015 What's interesting is without that 8 game losing streak we'd have a 5-10 point cushion on both off them, and the Sharks. If we don't have another run of bad luck like that, I can see us being solidly in the pacific second plce by those games. Depends if the Jets, Kings and Fish can stop their slides. EDIT: Freaking Sharks pulling a Calgary 3rd period. I really hope that the Oilers can play spoilers, but i think we all know the outcome. So much for a 1 point difference in that coming game. RE the first. You can't take part of the season and say if only. I could say if only the Flames didn't get ridiculous goal tending early we would be out of a playoff spot. That said, hopefully we play the rest like we have played post losing streak. RE the second. They are terrible. Like really really really terrible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flyerfan52 Posted February 3, 2015 Report Share Posted February 3, 2015 What's interesting is without that 8 game losing streak we'd have a 5-10 point cushion on both off them, and the Sharks. If the Jets hadn't lost the last 4 games they'd have 8 more points. Dang, if the Flames had won the 28 they lost they'd be home & cooled waiting for a challeger. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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