Post-Game Talk: Flames at Lightning: November 12, 2015 at 5:30pm MT on SNF

[Lunatik]

Maybe that's next on my list

Seriously though I've blown through 2 seasons of Homeland in 2 weeks.

I've been watching House of Cards now that I finished Justified

honestly though, for it's time My So Called Life really touched issues no other show would go near and a Claire Daines/Jared Leto cast is impressive.

 

[tmurfin]

Why the **** isn't Hamilton getting PP time? Seriously, Wideman can't hold the line to save his life, Gio has been meh, Russell takes bad timed and poorly aimed shots and Dougies sitting on the bench? Literally everytime the guy gets a shot towards the net it seems lethal, let him play his strengths.

 

[Lunatik]

Why the **** isn't Hamilton getting PP time? Seriously, Wideman can't hold the line to save his life, Gio has been meh, Russell takes bad timed and poorly aimed shots and Dougies sitting on the bench? Literally everytime the guy gets a shot towards the net it seems lethal, let him play his strengths.

Because Wideman has something those other guys don't. If you are unsure, ask Luongo.

 

[tmurfin]

Because Wideman has something those other guys don't. If you are unsure, ask Luongo.

He sure isn't using it for **** all. Hard to get off one timers when you can't hold the line or maintain pressure. And besides that, I didn't bring up just Wideman. The only D man who's been have decent on the PP is Brodie. Hamilton should be out there, at least spot time on the 2nd unit, no way a player with his skill set and strengths, should be left on the bench when we need a powerplay goal.

 

[Lunatik]

He sure isn't using it for **** all. Hard to get off one timers when you can't hold the line or maintain pressure. And besides that, I didn't bring up just Wideman. The only D man who's been have decent on the PP is Brodie. Hamilton should be out there, at least spot time on the 2nd unit, no way a player with his skill set and strengths, should be left on the bench when we need a powerplay goal.

I'd use Hamilton instead of Russell personally. I think Wideman/Brodie and Hamilton/Giordano would be our best combos.

 

[DFF]

Sarcasm unnecessary; season's over more or less. At least, it's over if the goal was to make the playoffs.

Give or take a few points, a win or two, it doesn't matter. A 0.650+ winning percentage for the rest of the season is simply unfeasible.

At this point, I'm looking forward to what Hudler, Russell, Jones and a few other vets can bring back in a trade while at the same time, what the prospects can do when they're finally given some ice time.

The Pacific sucks....they dont need that many points to make the playoff

That said, this team is luck to play .500

 

[Pizza the Hutt]

I don't agree with sitting Engelland, but I don't think it was a bad game. Bishop beat us, plain and simple.

Barring an immediate 6-10 game win streak. I think our post-season is done. Hartley is not doing well. But I'm wondering - where is Burke? Genuinely curious how he's reacting to this.

 

[WhiskeyYerTheDevils]

Everybody knows I'm an unashamed Johnny homer (its sick what he's done to me .
. I've got 10k+ posts on this board over 10+ years and now a third of my posts are related to him . . . and he's made the Flames my second favorite team, which makes life miserable), but Hartley has got to figure out how to make the most of him.

Johnny is at his best when he has someone who can skate with him and carry the puck, so that he is able to find the open ice and read / react to the play. When he has to be relied upon to lug the puck, it makes it much much easier for defending teams to keep their focus on him. When he is able to rely on others who can carry through the neutral zone, he is able to be more selective when he's got the puck, making it much more difficult to defend against.

Right now, neither Monahan nor Hudler can effectively carry the puck through the neutral zone, as Hudler is too weak and too slow at top speed, and Monahan lacks the hands and lateral mobility to be a threat. Hudler has also been awful on the forecheck, and is consistently the weak link who allows the opposition to break out. So unless Johnny carries the puck into the zone (or makes a sweet breakout pass), his line doesn't keep possession and ends up playing defense for the majority of their shifts.

So Johnny is forced to do 75% of the puck carrying himself. Luckily, he's added weight and explosiveness / speed over the off season, so he is able to effectively gain the zone. But by that point, he's typically got 2-3 defenders / backcheckers hounding him, and he has to make amazing plays just to get the puck to his linemates.

The obvious answer is to put him back with Bennett, a guy who is a great puck carrier already, is a beast on puck retrieval duty, can crash and finish around the net, and has shown to have great chemistry with Johnny.

Gaudreau - Monahan - Bennett
Hudler - Backlund - Frolik
Ferland - Jooris - Jones
Grant/Bouma - Stajan - Colborne

Top line would have 2 great puck carriers, your best playmaker, your best high slot sniper, 3 great puck retrieval players, and an excellent net front presence. This line would be dynamite.

2nd line is a strong defensive line that can provide offense. Frolik and Hudler have shown a bit of chemistry when together.

Lines 3 and 4 are very strong as well.

You could also run:

Gaudreau - Bennett - Ferland
Frolik - Monahan - Hudler
Colborne - Backlund - Jones
Grant/Bouma - Stajan - Jooris

But really anything with Bennett and Gaudreau together would do. It's incredibly frustrating to watch a Jack Adams coach not see this.

 

[TkachuckNotTkaczuk]

Everybody knows I'm an unashamed Johnny homer (its sick what he's done to me .
. I've got 10k+ posts on this board over 10+ years and now a third of my posts are related to him . . . and he's made the Flames my second favorite team, which makes life miserable), but Hartley has got to figure out how to make the most of him.

Johnny is at his best when he has someone who can skate with him and carry the puck, so that he is able to find the open ice and read / react to the play. When he has to be relied upon to lug the puck, it makes it much much easier for defending teams to keep their focus on him. When he is able to rely on others who can carry through the neutral zone, he is able to be more selective when he's got the puck, making it much more difficult to defend against.

Right now, neither Monahan nor Hudler can effectively carry the puck through the neutral zone, as Hudler is too weak and too slow at top speed, and Monahan lacks the hands and lateral mobility to be a threat. Hudler has also been awful on the forecheck, and is consistently the weak link who allows the opposition to break out. So unless Johnny carries the puck into the zone (or makes a sweet breakout pass), his line doesn't keep possession and ends up playing defense for the majority of their shifts.

So Johnny is forced to do 75% of the puck carrying himself. Luckily, he's added weight and explosiveness / speed over the off season, so he is able to effectively gain the zone. But by that point, he's typically got 2-3 defenders / backcheckers hounding him, and he has to make amazing plays just to get the puck to his linemates.

The obvious answer is to put him back with Bennett, a guy who is a great puck carrier already, is a beast on puck retrieval duty, can crash and finish around the net, and has shown to have great chemistry with Johnny.

Gaudreau - Monahan - Bennett
Hudler - Backlund - Frolik
Ferland - Jooris - Jones
Grant/Bouma - Stajan - Colborne

Top line would have 2 great puck carriers, your best playmaker, your best high slot sniper, 3 great puck retrieval players, and an excellent net front presence. This line would be dynamite.

2nd line is a strong defensive line that can provide offense. Frolik and Hudler have shown a bit of chemistry when together.

Lines 3 and 4 are very strong as well.

You could also run:

Gaudreau - Bennett - Ferland
Frolik - Monahan - Hudler
Colborne - Backlund - Jones
Grant/Bouma - Stajan - Jooris

But really anything with Bennett and Gaudreau together would do. It's incredibly frustrating to watch a Jack Adams coach not see this.

Someone like Ferland would be best suited on Gaudreau's line. We have seen his ability to make great passes, he can stickhandle pretty well in tight situations and we know he would create more room for Johnny to be Johnny. Add in Bennett and wow, could be a decent line.

 

[Lunatik]

Someone like Ferland would be best suited on Gaudreau's line. We have seen his ability to make great passes, he can stickhandle pretty well in tight situations and we know he would create more room for Johnny to be Johnny. Add in Bennett and wow, could be a decent line.

Ferland on Gaudreau's like is like playing Tim Jackman with Jarome Iginla

 

[TkachuckNotTkaczuk]

Ferland on Gaudreau's like is like playing Tim Jackman with Jarome Iginla

And why is that? Ferland has more skill in his pinkie finger than Jackman has. He is a developing power forward with pretty good upside. Monahan doesn't play the game that opens space up, Ferland does which wold open up anot her dimension in Johnny's game. Think you are underestimating the skill level he has, that may be due to who he has been teamed with, put him with skilled player and I think he rises to the occasion. Just imagine Johnny with time and space.....

Plus the cycle game those three could put on.

 

[King In The North]

We need someone to win puck battles with Johnny; The top line right now doesn't win any battles because everyone is waiting for a pass.

 

[WhiskeyYerTheDevils]

Someone like Ferland would be best suited on Gaudreau's line. We have seen his ability to make great passes, he can stickhandle pretty well in tight situations and we know he would create more room for Johnny to be Johnny. Add in Bennett and wow, could be a decent line.

Yea that would be a tough line to play against, and would allow for some depth still, keeping Hudler and Monahan together and pushing Backlund down to 3C.

But we'll probably never see it.

 

[Tkachuk Norris]

I like the way the lines are right now. We need some balance.

I actually thought Ferly was one of the best Flames last night, the pucks are going to start going in for him. Plus I really like that Stajan Jones Ferland line. They just play such an effective game.
That said, Ferland definitely hasn't shown he belongs in a top six role, but I wouldn't writer him off just yet, his skill set is too intriguing. Big, fast, good hands and solid finishing ability. That's very uncommon in the modern day to see a player with those three skills.

Edit: and just because the team isn't winning doesn't mean we are playing bad. Ever since the Ottawa game (minus a few exceptions) the Flames have been the better team. They just can't score right now, and they make costly mistakes far too often. If we can start scoring like we should (and I've seen signs) and playing simple defense we will be fine.

And to the people that are giving up on the season this early, I'm sorry that's embarrassing.
A) the pacific is a joke and the teams ahead of us are pretty bad
B) we've had one of the toughest schedules in the NHL
C) there is 65 ish games left
D) we still have 5 games against the teams ahead of us. LA, SJ, Arizona, and Anaheim. (Basically dominating those games last year got us into the playoffs)

 

[tmurfin]

Put Johnny with battlers. Get Ferland and Bennett on his line and see what they can do, Monahan has had a few bright spots, but when he plays with Johnny and Hudler he tries to force the fancy plays too much. Let him settle down and play on a line where he is forced to make things happen and not just try force the pass. Hudler on the other hand needs to move his ****in feet, really getting tired of him floating around looking for the easy points. Both Mony and Hudler worked the boards hard last season and opened space for Johnny, now they both hang around and let Johnny do the work and hope to set up a pretty play.

 

[Lunatik]

And why is that? Ferland has more skill in his pinkie finger than Jackman has. He is a developing power forward with pretty good upside. Monahan doesn't play the game that opens space up, Ferland does which wold open up anot her dimension in Johnny's game. Think you are underestimating the skill level he has, that may be due to who he has been teamed with, put him with skilled player and I think he rises to the occasion. Just imagine Johnny with time and space.....

Plus the cycle game those three could put on.

have you watched Ferland this year? He's been borderline terrible. He made one pretty move with the puck last night. Him and his six career points needs to stay in the bottom 6.

 

[WhiskeyYerTheDevils]

have you watched Ferland this year? He's been borderline terrible. He made one pretty move with the puck last night. Him and his six career points needs to stay in the bottom 6.

I think he actually looks much improved this season. Significantly more confident with the puck. He's got nice hands around the net and sees the ice very well. He seems like he's be a great fit to ride shot gun to two more dynamic skilled players in Gaudreau and Bennett.

 

[western redmen]

Gio just plainly suck right now, call it rust or whatever but he has taken more stupid penalties than I remember the whole team taking last year.

 

[Lunatik]

I think he actually looks much improved this season. Significantly more confident with the puck. He's got nice hands around the net and sees the ice very well. He seems like he's be a great fit to ride shot gun to two more dynamic skilled players in Gaudreau and Bennett.

I've seen nothing of the sort. People that were high on him were starting to suggest he be sat because of his play before his injury. In the few games since returning he has looked better, but that is all apart of the enigma that is Ferland. Play well, struggle, get hurt.... repeat.

 

[Johnny Hoxville]

If Ferland can become Rene Bourque 2.0 (with added physicality) I'll be very happy. That's actually what I'm hoping for.