Playoffs GDT - Oilers @ FLAMES - Weds 18 May 2022

[travel_dude]

7 minutes ago, cross16 said:

 

I bet he starts game 2. He is a huge reason they beat LA and has been locked in as their starter for a while. I think they go back to him. 

 

There only way to win this series is Smith standing on his head. he is technically capable of doing that and I don't' think Koskinen is. I think even the Oilers know they are not winning a 7 game series with Koskinen. 

 

They saved him from himself last night.  It was a typical shaky Smith game, and I think even they were surprised with it.  It's exactly how we have to beat him.  Get to him early with a goal and some difficult looks.  Too many average shots gets him into the game.

[cross16]

I expect Smith to bounce back. I can't stand the guy and was thrilled to see him pulled early but he is a pro and tends to bounce back well. I think the Flames get a very determined Mike Smith in game 2. 

 

I think the Oilers will play better too but they really need an answer for Calgary's forecheck. They had the Oiler D running in circles last night, so I would expect to see a bit more of a 5 man zone and take away the middle of the ice. I'm sure the 2 quick goals forced them to open things up too which certainly favored the Flames. 

 

But if the Flames keep playing the way they did last night (and assuming Markstrom doesn't do that again) they are going to be in great shape. Flames really did run all over the Oilers in all aspects last night. In all situations it was:

 

Corsi F: 63.11 to 36.89

Fenwick: (same)

Shots F%: same

Scoring chances for%: 67.24 to 32.76%

High danger chances: 73% to 27% (Flames gave up only 7 high danger chances all game)

Expected goals: 69% to 31%

 

LIke I said I fully expect he will play better and I do think at the 2nd half of the 2nd period the Flames got caught cheating a bit but the ONLY reason this was close was Markstrom rough night. 

 

There are going to be just fine if they play like that in this series. 

 

[travel_dude]

24 minutes ago, cross16 said:

I expect Smith to bounce back. I can't stand the guy and was thrilled to see him pulled early but he is a pro and tends to bounce back well. I think the Flames get a very determined Mike Smith in game 2. 

 

I think the Oilers will play better too but they really need an answer for Calgary's forecheck. They had the Oiler D running in circles last night, so I would expect to see a bit more of a 5 man zone and take away the middle of the ice. I'm sure the 2 quick goals forced them to open things up too which certainly favored the Flames. 

 

I think EDM is very open to attacks from the forecheck.  Sure they opened up after going down by 3, but the defense was a gong show at times.  I don't just mean the D.  Some of the goals saw the middle open up like a barn door, for sure.  I saw some similar structure to the team that played LA.  

 

Draisaitl and Nuge look a bit off.  They impact two lines as a result.  We really didn't check him hard.  Other than the 2nd, they didn't look that dangerous, and the 2nd was Markstrom not feeling it.  Someone suggested that Kassian skate came down on Mark's glove, which was the beginning of his troubles.  Not sure if I buy that.  He was playing small.  3 goals where he was down in on the goal line.  Not typical.

 

Smith actually made a couple of good saves and it seemed like he was starting to battle back.  I can't say that the goals he let in were shots he faced against LA, though.  Most of those seemed to be down low, on the ice or telegraphed into his glove.  He will no doubt look better to start.  I just don't know he has enough in him to make as many high danger saves as we put up last night.  

 

We won a game, which is great.  Win another to retain home ice advantage.  Even though the home team seems to have an advantage, getting EDM 2-0 in games may cause them to panic a bit going home.  

[The_People1]

I think yesterday proved McDavid is unstoppable and we have to concede 2 to 3-points per game from him.  We need to score 4+ to win and luckily, that's easier done than said.

[The_People1]

1 hour ago, cross16 said:

I expect Smith to bounce back. I can't stand the guy and was thrilled to see him pulled early but he is a pro and tends to bounce back well. I think the Flames get a very determined Mike Smith in game 2. 

 

I think the Oilers will play better too but they really need an answer for Calgary's forecheck. They had the Oiler D running in circles last night, so I would expect to see a bit more of a 5 man zone and take away the middle of the ice. I'm sure the 2 quick goals forced them to open things up too which certainly favored the Flames. 

 

But if the Flames keep playing the way they did last night (and assuming Markstrom doesn't do that again) they are going to be in great shape. Flames really did run all over the Oilers in all aspects last night. In all situations it was:

 

Corsi F: 63.11 to 36.89

Fenwick: (same)

Shots F%: same

Scoring chances for%: 67.24 to 32.76%

High danger chances: 73% to 27% (Flames gave up only 7 high danger chances all game)

Expected goals: 69% to 31%

 

LIke I said I fully expect he will play better and I do think at the 2nd half of the 2nd period the Flames got caught cheating a bit but the ONLY reason this was close was Markstrom rough night. 

 

There are going to be just fine if they play like that in this series. 

 

 

Ya that Andersson game winning goal.  The celebration afterwards, or the non-celebration to be exact.  Just oozed team confidence understanding they have the game under full control.  Scoring at will, like literally.

 

I felt some of the boys were just having fun enjoying the scoring because they were so score deprived in the DAL series.  What a chance to pad some stats. Ritchie score.  Jarnkrok may even get that monkey off his back this series.  Feels like he will never score.  Great chance for Mange and Toffoli to build confidence too.

 

Maybe the team really wanted to score 10 goals for the fans.  One more high scoring game and Sutter will focus on shutting the game down.  

[The_People1]

32 minutes ago, travel_dude said:

 

I think EDM is very open to attacks from the forecheck.  Sure they opened up after going down by 3, but the defense was a gong show at times.  I don't just mean the D.  Some of the goals saw the middle open up like a barn door, for sure.  I saw some similar structure to the team that played LA.  

 

Draisaitl and Nuge look a bit off.  They impact two lines as a result.  We really didn't check him hard.  Other than the 2nd, they didn't look that dangerous, and the 2nd was Markstrom not feeling it.  Someone suggested that Kassian skate came down on Mark's glove, which was the beginning of his troubles.  Not sure if I buy that.  He was playing small.  3 goals where he was down in on the goal line.  Not typical.

 

Smith actually made a couple of good saves and it seemed like he was starting to battle back.  I can't say that the goals he let in were shots he faced against LA, though.  Most of those seemed to be down low, on the ice or telegraphed into his glove.  He will no doubt look better to start.  I just don't know he has enough in him to make as many high danger saves as we put up last night.  

 

We won a game, which is great.  Win another to retain home ice advantage.  Even though the home team seems to have an advantage, getting EDM 2-0 in games may cause them to panic a bit going home.  

 

EDM doesn't have a Heiskanen playing 25-minutes a night (neither do we unfortunately).  After Heiskanen, we had to deal with Lindell, Hakanpa (who I never heard of until last series, solid defender).  The best the Oilers can throw at us is Brett Kulak.  That's just not good enough to stop us.  We are going to get lots of grade A scoring chances this series without trying very hard.

[flames-fan-in-jets-land]

5 minutes ago, The_People1 said:

I think yesterday proved McDavid is unstoppable and we have to concede 2 to 3-points per game from him.  We need to score 4+ to win and luckily, that's easier done than said.

First round the Kings were able to keep the Oilers to 3 goals or less for 3 of the games, one being a shutout. In the end it didnt help the Kings but shows it can be done.

[The_People1]

19 minutes ago, flames-fan-in-jets-land said:

First round the Kings were able to keep the Oilers to 3 goals or less for 3 of the games, one being a shutout. In the end it didnt help the Kings but shows it can be done.

 

Well McDavid is human too.  He will have a bad game during this series.

[travel_dude]

35 minutes ago, The_People1 said:

I think yesterday proved McDavid is unstoppable and we have to concede 2 to 3-points per game from him.  We need to score 4+ to win and luckily, that's easier done than said.

 

The one he scored on Mark was a scrambling goalie opening up.  Great vision to slide it home, because that's a goal he doesn't give up anywhere else.  Normally.  Broken plays on his other points.  But to your point, if there is offense coming, he has a hand in it.  25 minutes a night and it's almost impossible not to.  Every play goes through him, so if they counted the 5th pass, he would be in on every goal. 

 

I think we did exactly what we need to frustrate McD.  We just stopped doing it.  The goal was a result of an interference behind the net on Guddy.  Maybe not a penalty, but it's still a cross check on a player down.        

[cross16]

1 hour ago, The_People1 said:

I think yesterday proved McDavid is unstoppable and we have to concede 2 to 3-points per game from him.  We need to score 4+ to win and luckily, that's easier done than said.

 

I'm not sure I agree with this. He's playing great don't get me wrong but I don't think unstoppable is fair. 

 

HIs first goal, Ritchie hesitates behind the net and allows Kane to strip him of the puck for a turnover. 

Bouchard goal. Dube over played it a bit but at the same time I don't think 5 players in the league are making the spin move he did. Good play and good scoring chance but it was a savable shot too...

Draisaitl goal: Not really a play by McDavid. Hanifin misplays it and Markstrom's gotta have it. 

His 2nd goal: Rasmus got picked by the linesman unfortunately. Just a bad break there. 

 

And it's not like Markstrom had to make highlight reels saves in other situations. I don't think he played "unstoppable" it was most bad breaks and him capitalizing on errors. 

[sak22]

54 minutes ago, The_People1 said:

I think yesterday proved McDavid is unstoppable and we have to concede 2 to 3-points per game from him.  We need to score 4+ to win and luckily, that's easier done than said.

4 even strength points and yet a -1 so he doesn't help stop us either, and maybe the best game we've had on the PK against them in quite some time.  I think the key to game 2 will be the special teams, game 1 edge to Calgary, I expect things to tighten up in game 2 and both goalies to be better, winning or tying the special teams game will crucial to a home sweep.

[travel_dude]

24 minutes ago, cross16 said:

 

I'm not sure I agree with this. He's playing great don't get me wrong but I don't think unstoppable is fair. 

 

HIs first goal, Ritchie hesitates behind the net and allows Kane to strip him of the puck for a turnover. 

Bouchard goal. Dube over played it a bit but at the same time I don't think 5 players in the league are making the spin move he did. Good play and good scoring chance but it was a savable shot too...

Draisaitl goal: Not really a play by McDavid. Hanifin misplays it and Markstrom's gotta have it. 

His 2nd goal: Rasmus got picked by the linesman unfortunately. Just a bad break there. 

 

And it's not like Markstrom had to make highlight reels saves in other situations. 

 

I thought we let up a bit on him as the game went on, but for sure it was some missed coverage and a bit of sloppy goaltending that allowed him on the score sheet.  He can take over a game, but he didn't.  Backlund was a dog on him.  The Flames checked him hard, which may actually have put him off his game a bit.  And these weren't exactly light touches.  The Lucic hit was brutal.  Head deflected off a partition.  Maybe not something you get up woozy, but it looked bad in slow mo.   

[travel_dude]

[flames-fan-in-jets-land]

19 minutes ago, travel_dude said:

That should be one of the side banners on the Flames main page.

[JTech780]

If it was me I would sit a forward back in the neutral zone on the PK and try and take away the bump back play to McDavid. Let one of the other guys carry it in, just don't let McDavid roll through the neutral zone with speed.

 

Markstrom needs a big bounce back game.

 

We really could use Tanev back in the lineup, our D looks a little less mobile without him in the lineup, and I would much rather see Tanev going up against McDavid than Stone.

 

We have to watch and make sure Kane and Kassian don't goad our guys into penalties.

 

I fully expect Smith and the Oilers to come out with a much better effort tomorrow night, I also hope and expect our effort to be much better tomorrow night, because that was not a well played game in any shape or form.

[The_People1]

7 minutes ago, JTech780 said:

If it was me I would sit a forward back in the neutral zone on the PK and try and take away the bump back play to McDavid. Let one of the other guys carry it in, just don't let McDavid roll through the neutral zone with speed.

 

Ya I wonder if we should try that.  Shadow McDavid on their PP breakout and force someone else to carry the puck into our zone.

[travel_dude]

8 minutes ago, JTech780 said:

If it was me I would sit a forward back in the neutral zone on the PK and try and take away the bump back play to McDavid. Let one of the other guys carry it in, just don't let McDavid roll through the neutral zone with speed.

 

There was one PK where Coleman disrupted the bump back.  It resulted in a shorthand chance.  I agree that you can't let McD freewheel at any time, but especially in a 5v4 situation.

[phoenix66]

14 hours ago, Heartbreaker said:

This was my favourite: 

 

Love. 

 

actually i like this one even better

 

 

 

[phoenix66]

all in all .. id say the 1st 15 min and last 15 min are indicative of how we need to play 

_ pressure, attack, forecheck and defend - clog up the middle .. don't give McDavid speed entries 

 

I think the excitement , the fast start - made us switch into non stop attack mode and go for the rout.. forgetting we need to stop them as well 

 

Smith will be better , but he still has a bad track record visiting Calgary 

Markstrom will be just fine 

Those stretches where did play our game .. we dominated .. stayed in the O zone, won puck battles , kept their chances much less dangerous.. Markstrom also shut the door in the last period after they tied it.. but even that one they had to work for 

 

id be betting on the Under next game.. likely be a 3-2 type game 

[The_People1]

Mike Smith in for Game 2 "confirmed"

 

 

[sak22]

I like the hat choice, remind everyone of your work last night

 

[travel_dude]

1 hour ago, The_People1 said:

Mike Smith in for Game 2 "confirmed"

 

 

 

Don't get the logic of saying this right now.  Stroke the ego time I guess.  It was a no-brainer, so why bother.  But I guess it's EDM, so need to tell the fans something.  Show the faith.  Stroke the ego.  

[Heartbreaker]

53 minutes ago, sak22 said:

I like the hat choice, remind everyone of your work last night

 

 

 

I realize it's unpopular around here, but I do really like Mike Smith. I've been following his career for quite awhile, probably because he reminds me so much of an old friend (who was the frontman in a band, and not a goalie). On one hand, I hope that the Flames light him up, but on the other, I do feel for him when they do.

 

Love.

[Carty]

Not the prettiest win, that's for sure...   But they came back to pull ahead again after the Satoshi Nakamotocoilers tied it up to get the win in game one... and in the end, that's what counts...

[tmac70]

The game last night was so strange. Despite the Coilers leveling it up you never had the feeling that it was going to be any thing less than a win. This was not a goal battle for sure as all the goalies last evening were Satoshi Nakamoto. I watched some of the LA series it appeared that Coilers pushed LA around especially LA Dman. The game for what I thought was not as physical as it needed to be. Also if Markstrom played at 65-70% normal last evening the score would have been 9-2. The downfall with this is you allowed the Coilers some form of belief a blow out would have been like a kick in the Balls. 

 

Keys are to tighten up defensively, shadow Mc Baby and don't allow him time and space. The weakest links on that club are Dry saddle. Smith. Kane, Kassian and Nurse they are easily rattled. When Mc Baby spun off of Dube what would have been awesome would be Grub or Zadorov about 3 feet away coming full tilt lay him out. If you play him hard the ones that will retaliate are those aforementioned. Drive the net, just funnel everything to the net and crash it, drive Smith nuts. Run Mc Baby, Dry saddle and Nurse and one of them will retaliate. IMHO Dry Saddle is hurt and so is nurse, than push them to the point they laeve the series. Its war gentleman, there are no friends in war