GDT: Nov 2nd - Pittsburgh @ Calgary - 7:00 PM MT - SNW

[Rangediddy]

Funny how within about 4 seconds of taking Brouwer off the PP we score.

Also, monster game by Kulak. He’s not going anywhere for a while. Skates like a deer

 

[OvermanKingGainer]

Chucky bamboozled the Penguins there.

Nice use of bamboozled. Would 'Like' again

Also, monster game by Kulak. He’s not going anywhere for a while. Skates like a deer

I really should have taken names during preseason of every silly person who wanted Bartkowski, Wotherspoon, or [random waiver pickup] over him.

 

[JPeeper]

Flames offense tonight:

Monahan, Gaudreau, Tkachuk and Gio.

TFW no depth scoring.

 

[Jags68]

We are desperate for depth. Jagr hopefully is enough to get Bennett-janko going

Those 2 played awesome tonight..hopefully Jagr can get them scoring

 

[FerklundCGY]

Ugly ****ing game. Least we got it done but we look dreadful at 5v5

Somehow, we ended up winning the 5v5 battle by the end of the game.

Mostly because of the 3M line + Gio/Hamilton pairing though

 

[Unlimited Chequing]

 

[FlamesFan18]

Could you imagine our record if our bottom 6 produced league average bottom 6 numbers?

 

[Dack]

The 4th line is played like a 3rd line and perform like a 5th line.

 

[FlamerForLife]

Although a win's a win, we need goals bad man.
We haven't scored more than 2 goals in regulation since the Vancouver game on Oct 14th.

 

[Mobiandi]

I think Darren Haynes put out an article of some sort talking about promoting the entire Stockton first line. We should actually consider doing that with Mangi and Hathaway. Goddamn that fourth line blows

 

[StreakingRed]

Three Stars:
1. Mike Smith
2. Mike Smith
3. Mike Smith

 

[hangman005]

Well we got the win... but that game was uglier than I am. All hail Mike Smith our new god.

 

[Volica]

I think Darren Haynes put out an article of some sort talking about promoting the entire Stockton first line. We should actually consider doing that with Mangi and Hathaway. Goddamn that fourth line blows

We have to figure something out on that bottom 6. At least the third line is creating.

 

[JPeeper]

I think Darren Haynes put out an article of some sort talking about promoting the entire Stockton first line. We should actually consider doing that with Mangi and Hathaway. Goddamn that fourth line blows

I posted this as well more than a week ago (before Janko was ever brought up). There is no way that a Hathaway-Janko-Mangiapane 4th line could be worse than the garbage we have now. problem is then Bennett gets saddled with Versteeg and Brouwer.

With that said, Stajan and Versteeg should never play an NHL game again for the Flames. They've been beyond bad. Constantly hemmed in their own zone for minutes at a time, produce nothing offensively, yet get prime ice-time and continually get special teams time, both PK and PP. Horrendous.

 

[Mobiandi]

We have to figure something out on that bottom 6. At least the third line is creating.

I take solace in the fact Stajan and Brouwer will not be Flames next year

 

[InfinityIggy]

Brouwer will not Flames next year

I’m sorry but I have some bad news..

 

[hangman005]

I’m sorry but I have some bad news..

Not if the world ends first.

 

[Mobiandi]

I’m sorry but I have some bad news..

He will be bought out or traded this offseason. This isn't an Engelland type deal where there's some (pseudo) worth to him. He's a PKer and net front presence on the fourth line who makes 4.5m. Treliving wouldn't sit on his hands for that

 

[Calculon]

It's not impossible that Brouwer gets bought out in the summer. At the very least, his NTC becomes a MNTC.

But even if he's still here, which he probably will be (a buyout is much more palatable the following summer), all of Stajan, Versteeg and Jagr won't be back, which opens up three spots for some youthful energy, hopefully anyway. Insert at least two of Hathaway, Mangiapane, Foo, Klimchuk, Dube and the the bottom six might actually give the team some jump instead of just always being momentum killers.

 

[MonyontheMoney]

Nice job gutting out a win, but that was Mike Smith.

Our forecheck is abysmal. Lines 2 and 3 have been alright, but man, there's a large part of why we're struggling to score right there. So many easy outs from the opposition all year.

Kulak looked real good. Hope Glen sees it and realizes that spot should be his.

 

[Tofveve]

Woo we won!

 

[Bounces R Way]

People think the Pens won their last two cups on the backs of Crosby, Malkin, Kessel, Murray, and Letang. They really won because they play with tremendous tempo and have the depth to do so. No other team in the league can keep up with them when they play that fast and aggressive. When you watch them in the playoffs they were constantly pushing the pace, not giving their opponents an inch to work with.

Flames need to learn to play with this same aggression, they need to learn how to push the tempo of a game and put the other team on their heels. Nothing drives me nuts like seeing guys puck watching in their own zone and there was a lot of that going on last night. We are not going to be an effective team playing this trap and breaking out as a 5 man group method unless it's played more aggressively. The Flames couldn't even get the puck out half the time because they were just standing still.

 

[djpatm]

Smith and Gaudreau were amazing.

Nice play by Tkachuk in OT.

This team has serious problems with defense and offense and it's going to catch up with us.

 

[Flameshomer]

Smith and Gaudreau were amazing.

Nice play by Tkachuk in OT.

This team has serious problems with defense and offense and it's going to catch up with us.

Disagree on the defense- the high shot totals against are mostly low quality shots, there was a good heat map posted of it not long ago. I think our D is doing pretty well, definitely room for improvement, but well for early in the season.
On the flip side our offense is anemic. Our top lines even struggle to muster a goal between them each game, and our bottom 6 is useless scoring wise. I think these issues could be addressed rather easily though:
- Remove Versteeg and Brouwer from the PP, reduce the icetime of the entire fourth line to under 8 minutes per game. If possible, trade stajan or otherwise dispose of his corpse
-Jagr returns to the lineup, potentially spurring more offense on the third line. Alternately, it frees up Ferland to move down the lineup and I think he's been good this year so far

and one a lot of you hate:

-Trade Bennett and a Defensive prospect from our stable for some scoring help. Any scoring help.