We are ̶A̶r̶e̶ ̶w̶e̶ a playoff bound team ̶?̶

[AlbertaBoy12]

42 minutes ago, MAC331 said:

This is just the way some people are when it comes to winning. They ignore the fact there is another good team on the other side or a goalie has a stand out game against. I will say we do need to continue to work on our 5 on 5 defense and offense in order to become better and playoff ready.

I agree completely, could we have been better last night of course. But, every team in the league has ups and downs, hrudey pointed that out last night and said unless your washington or pittsburgh thats just the way it is. I dont necessarily agree completely, the point being no team is perfect all 60 mins 82 games a season, not to mention the flames are young.

[MAC331]

4 minutes ago, AlbertaBoy12 said:

I agree completely, could we have been better last night of course. But, every team in the league has ups and downs, hrudey pointed that out last night and said unless your washington or pittsburgh thats just the way it is. I dont necessarily agree completely, the point being no team is perfect all 60 mins 82 games a season, not to mention the flames are young.

Goals usually come off of mistakes and we make our fair share. Look at one of the goals last night was Backlund taking the wrong side of the player with the puck, he walks past him and parks it in our net. Backlund is our best defender and one of the best in the league, it happens.

One thing I have noticed with Elliott is that he sits back in his net to much and IMO would help himself by being more aggressive coming out using his stick or taking out the shooter.

[travel_dude]

13 hours ago, stubblejumper1 said:

Sorry, but I have to kick them when they are down.  Tonight shows they aren't ready for the playoffs.  

 

 

If anything, tonight shows we can win close games.  No more important games in the season than a conference rival you are trying to pass.  4 point games.  

[rickross]

It was a good game other than giving up a 3 goal lead but it was nice to see the Flames get out to a lead for once. Now we just need to see them start holding leads and closing games out in regulation. Too bad the Kings won last night but they did play the Avs, I'd be curious if Treliving would be willing to move Wideman and Bennett for Landeskog or Duchene. I still like Bennett but he's been struggling in Gulutzan's system. I could deal with getting Duchene or Landeskog in return tho!

[AlbertaBoy12]

2 hours ago, rickross said:

It was a good game other than giving up a 3 goal lead but it was nice to see the Flames get out to a lead for once. Now we just need to see them start holding leads and closing games out in regulation. Too bad the Kings won last night but they did play the Avs, I'd be curious if Treliving would be willing to move Wideman and Bennett for Landeskog or Duchene. I still like Bennett but he's been struggling in Gulutzan's system. I could deal with getting Duchene or Landeskog in return tho!

GGs system has nothing to do with bennetts struggles, the transition to center and lack of linemates is not helpful at all. Bennett will be fine in time, but im not moving bennett for duchene or landeskog.

[stubblejumper1]

10 hours ago, MAC331 said:

This is just the way some people are when it comes to winning. They ignore the fact there is another good team on the other side or a goalie has a stand out game against. I will say we do need to continue to work on our 5 on 5 defense and offense in order to become better and playoff ready.

 

To clarify, I made my post after the second period.

 

To their credit, the Flames found a way to win. 

 

However, I think my point still stands.  A three goal lead should make for a relatively easy win (by NHL standards.)  Instead, the Flames donated a point to a team they are battling with for a playoff spot.  The Flames have trouble locking down games.  Teams who succeed in the playoffs don't have that problem.

 

They are now two points closer to a playoff spot.  I won't complain too much. 

 

 

[MAC331]

49 minutes ago, stubblejumper1 said:

 

To clarify, I made my post after the second period.

 

To their credit, the Flames found a way to win. 

 

However, I think my point still stands.  A three goal lead should make for a relatively easy win (by NHL standards.)  Instead, the Flames donated a point to a team they are battling with for a playoff spot.  The Flames have trouble locking down games.  Teams who succeed in the playoffs don't have that problem.

 

They are now two points closer to a playoff spot.  I won't complain too much. 

 

 

I wasn't necessarily singling out you stubble. I don't like the mistakes this team is making on a regular basis either but I understand as a young team gaining experience they will struggle. A lot of missed assignments last night, you are correct that a good team should be able to lock down a win with a lead like that one. They have to learn from their mistakes,

[AlbertaBoy12]

4 hours ago, stubblejumper1 said:

 

To clarify, I made my post after the second period.

 

To their credit, the Flames found a way to win. 

 

However, I think my point still stands.  A three goal lead should make for a relatively easy win (by NHL standards.)  Instead, the Flames donated a point to a team they are battling with for a playoff spot.  The Flames have trouble locking down games.  Teams who succeed in the playoffs don't have that problem.

 

They are now two points closer to a playoff spot.  I won't complain too much. 

 

 

It's not a regular thing for the flames to blow 3 goal leads, I wouldn't be overly worried about it. The flames have been really good this season at getting the lead and holding on to it, I'm happy with their play in this regard. Their struggles this season have been consistency and when the going gets tough folding, last night they didn't fold they found a way to win. So I am happy, but I see where you are coming from.

[MAC331]

8 hours ago, AlbertaBoy12 said:

It's not a regular thing for the flames to blow 3 goal leads, I wouldn't be overly worried about it. The flames have been really good this season at getting the lead and holding on to it, I'm happy with their play in this regard. Their struggles this season have been consistency and when the going gets tough folding, last night they didn't fold they found a way to win. So I am happy, but I see where you are coming from.

They are starting to play for each other which was good to see.

[AlbertaBoy12]

9 minutes ago, MAC331 said:

They are starting to play for each other which was good to see.

I was happy to see bennett stick up for stone, who was the new guy on the team.

[rickross]

18 hours ago, AlbertaBoy12 said:

GGs system has nothing to do with bennetts struggles, the transition to center and lack of linemates is not helpful at all. Bennett will be fine in time, but im not moving bennett for duchene or landeskog.

I dunno , it'd be worth consideration getting a player like Duchenne or Landeskog for Bennett. Like I said , I'm a fan of Bennett but you can't deny what a Duchenne or Landeskog could bring to the Flames. Bennett is still young and has tons of potential, it's just easier to gauge the value of those Avs players at this stage

[MAC331]

38 minutes ago, rickross said:

I dunno , it'd be worth consideration getting a player like Duchenne or Landeskog for Bennett. Like I said , I'm a fan of Bennett but you can't deny what a Duchenne or Landeskog could bring to the Flames. Bennett is still young and has tons of potential, it's just easier to gauge the value of those Avs players at this stage

You also jump another salary to 6M immediately. Right now we Backlund at 3.7M and Bennett at minimum wage, just kidding but you get the point. Does Duchene really make this team that much better ? maybe a little but we stand to get the same out of Bennett soon.

[AlbertaBoy12]

1 hour ago, MAC331 said:

You also jump another salary to 6M immediately. Right now we Backlund at 3.7M and Bennett at minimum wage, just kidding but you get the point. Does Duchene really make this team that much better ? maybe a little but we stand to get the same out of Bennett soon.

Thats really my issue with the entire idea, in the short term duchene might give us a small boost, but in the long term Bennett should be similar or better we dont know for sure. I wouldnt want to make that kind of trade because bennett could really end up hurting us when he fines his groove.

[JTech780]

Getting Duchene or Landeskog is a pipe dream and not even a really good one at that. Both players are a bit over rated IMO. I wouldn't mind either player on this team, but not at the current asking price, which I think would be a 2017 1st, Sam Bennett and probably Kylington and/or Andersson (probably both). IMO both Duchene and Landeskog are 2nd line talents and paying all that plus the $6m for 2nd line players is too steep for me.

[Pyromancer]

Things are looking up with a few consecutive wins.

A little more frequent cooperation from the OOT scoreboard helps considerably also.

 

[cross16]

 

to further the point that the Flames are very good at holding leads 

[JTech780]

Here's hoping for a good day on the out of town scoreboard, LA and Nashville have tough matchups today.

 

LA plays Anaheim, LA has really struggled to score all season, but even more so lately, and Budaj is starting to fade in a big way. Quick is supposedly being activated soon, I am a little surprised that they aren't sending him down for a conditioning assignment first seeing as he hasn't played since the first game, but I guess they are pretty desperate at this point.

 

Nashville will play Washington, the Caps are a juggernaut of a team this year.

 

This bodes well for an off day for Calgary.

[DirtyDeeds]

On 2/21/2017 at 8:22 PM, AlbertaBoy12 said:

Umm what? This game tonight has been a tightly contested playoff game, a few mental errors doesn't mean they aren't playoff ready.  

 

What's with everyone using certain situations to justify their opinions of this team or coaching staff.

 

On 2/22/2017 at 8:11 AM, MAC331 said:

This is just the way some people are when it comes to winning. They ignore the fact there is another good team on the other side or a goalie has a stand out game against. I will say we do need to continue to work on our 5 on 5 defense and offense in order to become better and playoff ready.

Flames Fans have been doing this for years: Goaltending has been the worst this way.(looks at goaltending thread)

Run into a hot goalie is best example when we don't score enough. When we do score then the other goalie played poorly or we got lucky bounces.

 

I don't know why Flames Fans have trouble giving our players credit and instead make excuses for good or bad play.

 

[robrob74]

1 hour ago, DirtyDeeds said:

 

Flames Fans have been doing this for years: Goaltending has been the worst this way.(looks at goaltending thread)

Run into a hot goalie is best example when we don't score enough. When we do score then the other goalie played poorly or we got lucky bounces.

 

I don't know why Flames Fans have trouble giving our players credit and instead make excuses for good or bad play.

 

 

 

For me, earlier in the year, they had to heal all of the warts that remained from the last few years, learning the system. I didn't see much of a change until about the 20 game mark. They've looked pretty solid since, with a few games here and there where they'd play with no confidence or little engagement. That was around the stretch when both of our goalies were letting in the weak goals to start games. 

 

Since then, there has been a lot of games where the whole team has been engaged. It's great to see, and it is how the good teams win. I guess that's a part of maturity too. 

 

I loved Backlund's give-and-go with Tkachuk last night. I think Tkachuk could be one of the smartest Flames players with some of the best hockey sense. He rarely makes a mistake and almost always makes the smart plays when he has to.

 

I am happy with how the team is coming around. I think they're going to be playoff bound. They're looking locked in on the goal to make it. It's nice to see. 

 

For me, goalies will let in bad goals, teams will give up quality scoring chances, and we just have to score more than the other team. One or the other should not be the blame, because it's a team game. I defend the goalies because they rarely get defended, yet have the hardest job on the team.

[JTech780]

4 hours ago, JTech780 said:

Here's hoping for a good day on the out of town scoreboard, LA and Nashville have tough matchups today.

 

LA plays Anaheim, LA has really struggled to score all season, but even more so lately, and Budaj is starting to fade in a big way. Quick is supposedly being activated soon, I am a little surprised that they aren't sending him down for a conditioning assignment first seeing as he hasn't played since the first game, but I guess they are pretty desperate at this point.

 

Nashville will play Washington, the Caps are a juggernaut of a team this year.

 

This bodes well for an off day for Calgary.

 

Well LA beat Anaheim. I am choosing to see this as a good thing because it keeps the Ducks within striking distance, and who cares about a wild card spot when we could get a division spot and knock the Oilers out in the 1st round instead.

 

Also Nashville is up 3-1 on the Caps after 2.

[rickross]

Will have to watch LA closely now with the return of Quick they could go on a strong playoff push here. Hopefully the Flames can avoid losing streaks these last remaining games, it's looking like this could come down to that final regular season game! 

[robrob74]

59 minutes ago, rickross said:

Will have to watch LA closely now with the return of Quick they could go on a strong playoff push here. Hopefully the Flames can avoid losing streaks these last remaining games, it's looking like this could come down to that final regular season game! 

 

They have a bunch of games against them too. So those will be utmost important.

[Pyromancer]

The homestretch is here. The LA series is looming large. They trail but won't go away.

The Oil & Ducks are still within range if we can have an exceptional finish.

The schedule (Vital games bolded):
Sun    Feb 26    1:00 PM    vs Hurricanes

Tue    Feb 28    7:00 PM    vs Kings (#1)
Fri    Mar 3    7:00 PM    vs Red Wings
Sun    Mar 5    2:00 PM    vs Islanders
Thu    Mar 9    7:00 PM    vs Canadiens
Sat    Mar 11    5:00 PM    @ Jets (A faded threat - Sympathies to FF52)
Mon    Mar 13    7:00 PM    vs Penguins
Wed    Mar 15    7:00 PM    vs Bruins
Fri    Mar 17    7:00 PM    vs Stars
Sun    Mar 19    7:30 PM    vs Kings (#2)
Tue    Mar 21    5:00 PM    @ Capitals
Thu    Mar 23    6:00 PM    @ Predators
Sat    Mar 25    5:00 PM    @ Blues
Mon    Mar 27    7:00 PM    vs Avalanche
Wed    Mar 29    7:00 PM    vs Kings (#3)
Fri    Mar 31    7:00 PM    vs Sharks
Sun    Apr 2    7:30 PM    vs Ducks
Tue    Apr 4    8:00 PM    @ Ducks (We all know the significance of this one - If you don't maybe you belong on the bandwagon)
Thu    Apr 6    8:30 PM    @ Kings (#4)
Sat    Apr 8    8:00 PM    @ Sharks

 

The projection before the Hurricanes try to fan the Flames:

 

[robrob74]

From my count, we have 8 winnable but closely contested games. That leaves us 12 games against tougher opponents. If we can win most of those games and then go .500 with some OT losses, that would be really good for a playoff. We've played well against playoff teams lately. 

 

Then there is the 4 game series with LA. I hope we can come out of that with at least 2 wins and one of the losses in OT. Or win 3 out of 4 of those games.

 

Game-by-game, but as a fan, it's hard not to look ahead. One at a time.

[rickross]

I'm more concerned with how they'll fare during their home stretches. They haven't been very good at home and teams playing on the road..especially during a playoff push always have that extra juice! I remember when visitors would be hard pressed to win a game at the Dome (but we'd often lose on the road mind u lol). Now Flames are very wishy washy with their home play. We're going to need some excellent goaltending the next few months.