Can we make the Playoffs this year?

[checkerman]

With all due respect DJ, we have been called the comeback kids for a reason.  IMO we have 2 of the best D in the leauge, plus a young group that WANT TO WIN...  I think that we WILL finish in the playoffs.

[DirtyDeeds]

Wowza I did not know this was such a sensitive group. Like someone said this is not a thread for people to come on and just talk about how great the Flames are and brag about being a "true fan".

 

I admit I have no idea why I said that stupid comment about calling the loss or whatever (and my predictions were wrong hahah so I don't think the oracle career path would work for me ) but if the only people posting on here are guys like Cheers Man talking about how awesome we are then the thread has lost its purpose. If you get that offended by me making a negative comment I don't know how you've been a fan all these years. 

 

With the Flames I admit I'm a pessimist, being their fan for a number of years you can understand why i am a little weary with the great start and playoff talk. Eye test is also a bad argument, we could be the best team but at the end of the day all that matter is the W, which we have been failing to get. Some teams want it more than others and will close in the clutch, and get the job done. I don't believe we have that killer instinct on this team and we will not make the playoffs. 

The thing is you should expect this. If that is the way the forums is mostly made up of optimistic views then those are realities. You should expect all views, be it good or bad, and let them vocalize it.

 

The same could have been said of the pessimists in that if all you get is the down side of the conversation then the thread would also have lost its purpose.

 

If all you want is "your particular view heard" then I suggest you start a blog rather than a public forums thread.

[The_People1]

We dropping faster than the price of oil. Where is the bottom?

[The_People1]

I agree.  Just to elaborate, I don't think this reflects negatively on the Flames.

 

If we remember what our expectations were at the start of the year (zero), they have been vastly exceeded. 

Sabres, Panthers, and the Flames were picked by many to be the worst 3 teams of the season. The Panthers and Flames have legitimate chances at the playoffs and the Sabres are winning their way out of the basement. It's amazing the amount of parity in the league even at the basement level. So unpredictable.

[Flyerfan52]

Well, if I believed the talking heads, then I would believe we are playoff bound, wouldn't I?  That seems to be the message we're getting from the head-talkers these days.

 

My eyeball test agrees with yours, we are dealing with a pretty good team.   So it looks like you've still got some vision left in them, good on you!

 

But there are holes.  And the holes are big.  And at this stage, that's okay.

 

The important thing is that we both cheer them on.  You're cheering them on for the playoffs, I'm not willing to set unrealistic expectations.  I already see things on here like "it's the Flames of old" after three losses.   That's the kind of stupidity that unrealistic expectations create.  I'm not willing to go there.

 

You make a good point about that draft.  We're going to do well in this year's draft, most likely.  And you can pretend you don't like it, but chances are, just like Monahan, you'll end up being the biggest fan of that player and this year's "playoff run" will quickly become a distant memory.   So while I appreciate your living in the moment (I probably would too at your age, eh?), there are better things coming and You are going to like them as much, or more, than me in the not too distant future

The talking heads started using 2 losses as a reason they were right earlier predicting the Flames as lottery bound (conveniently forgetting/glossing ove any good things they said about the team while they were winning). Now that it's 5 they snicker & pretend they only said good things about some players but always expected failure.

Media are like a weather vane going with the most obvious. I do give you kudos for being consistent.

 

On the draft, of course I'll hope whoever we draft becomes a good player. I hope we find a top ender late in the draft rather then get the player the media hypes most with a 1 OA. A Stamkos type would be nice but a Yakupov less so.

****************************************************************************

Since you took pains to mention my age check out the 1995 & 1993 drafts. Just 2 off the top of this faded memory. '99 & 2003 are probably 2 more where teams would like re-dos.

[jjgallow]

Sabres, Panthers, and the Flames were picked by many to be the worst 3 teams of the season. The Panthers and Flames have legitimate chances at the playoffs and the Sabres are winning their way out of the basement. It's amazing the amount of parity in the league even at the basement level. So unpredictable.

 

True.

 

And then there's the Oilers...

[jjgallow]

The talking heads started using 2 losses as a reason they were right earlier predicting the Flames as lottery bound (conveniently forgetting/glossing ove any good things they said about the team while they were winning). Now that it's 5 they snicker & pretend they only said good things about some players but always expected failure.

Media are like a weather vane going with the most obvious. I do give you kudos for being consistent.

 

Well now they are, yeah     They really are particularly difficult to swallow.

 

On the draft, of course I'll hope whoever we draft becomes a good player. I hope we find a top ender late in the draft rather then get the player the media hypes most with a 1 OA. A Stamkos type would be nice but a Yakupov less so.

****************************************************************************

Since you took pains to mention my age check out the 1995 & 1993 drafts. Just 2 off the top of this faded memory. '99 & 2003 are probably 2 more where teams would like re-dos.

 

Well you know I'm just joking about the age....so much so actually that I remember the 1993 draft like yesterday as well.  I suspect you may have been older than me at the time but I have no ...direct proof

 

The Flames are 15th overall right now and would have drafted...Matts Lindgren (?) in that draft, given their current position.

 

Honestly, most of the players in the top 10 were pretty incredible picks.  With the big exception, of course, of the #1 pick.

 

No worries there, we all know the Oilers are all over that one!

 

We are four points away frrom being lottery bound right now, having played two extra games.

 

Now your style of hockey...the grit, the size, the muscle, is just beginning to come into play.

 

It wasn't as telling with Chicago as it was with Pittsburgh.

 

We have the skill, and we will have our day.  When we do, imho, we will be a bigger, more forcefull, and defensively responsible team than we are at this point in the rebuild.

[Pyromancer]

The Flames better start their winning ways again or we will fall farther back from the pack.

Among the 10 teams remaining that are still in the hunt, we are currently projected for the 10th spot.

The appearance of the 5 game winless streak demonstrates how critical it is  to be consistently better than a 0.500 team.

A 2nd half finish similar to last year is essential for our team to make the post-season festivities.

A 29-20-1 (.590 Pt%) finish is well within our reach.

 

[Zirakzigil]

The first time the Flames lose back to back games, the pretenders start jumping off the bandwagon. 

Riiiiight. Again go back and look at all of my posts. Im pretty sure I have said I do not see the Flames a making the playoffs for 2 years. If you dont like a realistic approach to the Flames as a team then I also suggest you dont listen to any sports programs including the Fan960, because even they think the Flames are 2 years from the playoffs and and all the playoff talk this season was premature. The Flames were overachieving to start the season. I dont think they are as bad as their record shows for the last 10 games but they are coming back down to earth. Hopefully they dont crash like they did this time last season but it is looking more and more like they will.  

[Zirakzigil]

The Flames better start their winning ways again or we will fall farther back from the pack.

Among the 10 teams remaining that are still in the hunt, we are currently projected for the 10th spot.

The appearance of the 5 game winless streak demonstrates how critical it is  to be consistently better than a 0.500 team.

A 2nd half finish similar to last year is essential for our team to make the post-season festivities.

A 29-20-1 (.590 Pt%) finish is well within our reach.

 

I think the more worrisome fact over losing is the fact the Flames are tied for most games played in the conference. Most teams around them have games at hand which could significantly widen the gap. The next 4 games could be really telling on the mental state of the team. A win against the Rangers is important to to get out of this slump, but more important is the 3 upcoming conference games, including one against a team chasing the Flames. 

[SheriforPM]

This is a thread for positives and negatives and that goes for posters as well.

There are good points on both sides of the fence here and I will not get on someone for saying we won't make the playoffs this year.

 

We still have the same guys and in my opinion, the addition of injured players back into the lineup is taking a small toll on the chemistry.

 

I feel we will work though that and become better as a result. 

 

We are still a playoff bound team. Not a wildcard one either. 

[slappipappi]

The Flames are 15th overall right now and would have drafted...Matts Lindgren (?) in that draft, given their current position.

 

 

They are actually 19th in win percentage

[xstrike]

Looking at the charts, I wonder if the Sharks can keep up the streak they are on as well or if they will start to peak and fall. To me, they don't seem as good as the team last year. Time will tell I suppose but I think they will fall short of their projected points.

[Anar_Sajoo]

It is difficult to answer this question.  The rebuilding team has a lot of potential in them and are performing up to par.  However, teams in the NHL have not gone through the ups and downs as the Calgary Flames have.  The elite teams in the league may be challenging but not impossible to combat because the Flames are well equipped.  But the fact remains, that they are still inexperienced and only time can tell.  The lessons they will learn from their mistakes will make them perfect.

[travel_dude]

I think that the Nucks is an example of how teams in the West will go through losing streaks, much like the Flames have.  Even after all the loses, we haven't fallen as much as I would have expected.

 

As long as we maintain reasonable winning % over the rest of the season, we should get in.  The number of games over 500 is dwindling, but if we can stop the bleeding and re-focus, we should be fine.

[cccsberg]

I think that the Nucks is an example of how teams in the West will go through losing streaks, much like the Flames have.  Even after all the loses, we haven't fallen as much as I would have expected.

 

As long as we maintain reasonable winning % over the rest of the season, we should get in.  The number of games over 500 is dwindling, but if we can stop the bleeding and re-focus, we should be fine.

This is true, but we need to keep the focus on the next game, or 7 game series versus counting on the LT 0.500 which is a bit getting the cart before the horse.

[Flyerfan52]

Funny article on THN today. It seems our advanced #s went up when we started losing.

 

WTF?

[The_People1]

Funny article on THN today. It seems our advanced #s went up when we started losing.

 

WTF?

 

In my opinion, we have been playing as well recently as we have been playing early in the season.  The main difference to me is that we had Vezina goaltending from Hiller.  Since then though, he's human again.  There's nothing much changed in team play, effort, or philosophy and you can even argue we've been playing better than ever before.

 

Hiller was our MVP.  Yes, Giordano, Brodie, and others were insanely good too but they still are insanely good.  Now that Hiller is back to normal, team results are back to normal too.

[kehatch]

Funny article on THN today. It seems our advanced #s went up when we started losing.

WTF?

Our shooting percentage and save percentages have both dropped from the unsustainable levels they were earlier. The luck is evening out. Which is exactly what the advanced stats community predicted.

The shooting metrics (ie Corsi) are stronger because the Flames have been playing better. The coaching staff would tell you the same thing. They just aren't getting the goal tending or the bounces.

[Flyerfan52]

Our shooting percentage and save percentages have both dropped from the unsustainable levels they were earlier. The luck is evening out. Which is exactly what the advanced stats community predicted.

The shooting metrics (ie Corsi) are stronger because the Flames have been playing better. The coaching staff would tell you the same thing. They just aren't getting the goal tending or the bounces.

It seems the worse the metrics the better the team does. Leafs winning streak gave them bad advanced stats but put "W"s up. Since they've lost their advanced stats got better.

Apparently the Oilers have great advanced stats & few wins.

 

 See the correlation? I prefer wins > fancy #s.

[cccsberg]

It seems the worse the metrics the better the team does. Leafs winning streak gave them bad advanced stats but put "W"s up. Since they've lost their advanced stats got better.

Apparently the Oilers have great advanced stats & few wins.

 

 See the correlation? I prefer wins > fancy #s.

Absolutely agree FF, the only stat I really want to see is W's. GFG

[kehatch]

It seems the worse the metrics the better the team does. Leafs winning streak gave them bad advanced stats but put "W"s up. Since they've lost their advanced stats got better.

Apparently the Oilers have great advanced stats & few wins.

See the correlation? I prefer wins > fancy #s.

That isn't true. But you aren't interested in knowing the facts. Which is fine.

Absolutely agree FF, the only stat I really want to see is W's. GFG

Of course. That is the only stat that matters. But the data provides information to help managers make the team better and get more of those wins. Whether fans are interested or not is up to the individual.

[kehatch]

(Flames are winning)

• Nerds "The opposition is directing pucks to the Flames net at a greater frequency then the Flames."
• Nerds "Our even strength save percentages and even strength shooting percentages are way above normally sustainable ranges as well"
• Nerds "Yup.  We have been fortunate.  It isn't sustainable.  We can probably expect a bit of bad luck down the road as things balance out."
• Skeptics "Advanced stats are just a way for nerds to try and get in the game.  Nobody of note uses them"
• Flames GM "We can't keep winning games if we are losing in shot attempts.  This isn't sustainable"
• Skeptics "I agree.  Nobody that knows anything about hockey uses this stuff"
• Skeptics "No kidding, this isn't luck.  Teams create their own luck."
• Nerds: "Actually guys ..."
• Skeptics "... If the fancy stats are so smart, who should have won the cup according to the fancy stats <snicker>"
• Nerds "Um, the LA Kings ..."
• Skeptics "... Stats are dumb"

(Flames regress as predicted)

• Nerds "We have regressed as expected.  Fortunately, our play is improved and we are starting to direct more shots at the opponents net"
• Skeptics "<snicker> These dumb stats are telling us the Flames are playing better now that we are losing."
• Skeptics "How could we be playing better if we are losing"
• Coach "We feel we are playing better"
• Skeptics "I can't believe how dumb these stats guys are thinking we are playing better"
• Nerds "You do realize we correctly predicted this regression ..."
• Skeptics "... stats are dumb"

[Tri1ickshot]

Flames wont make the playoffs without Seto in the Flames Roster. Since Seto got sent down after Stajan got back, it's all been losses. He is actually a good locker room guy and a huge motivator for the young Flames to help them come back in games. Now that he is gone, don't expect anymore 3rd period magic. If you'd rather have Stajan or Bollig or Mcgrattan in the roster so be it.

[ButterBeanIsKing]

We need a few more years of good draft picks. Right now we can't win a game to save our lives. Not to mention our pp is horrid.