GDT: Flyers @ Flames, December 4 @ 7:00 - The "Nuke Everything" Edition

[DCDM]

I may have missed something, but I didn't see contact with the head

Because there wasn't. Just like there wasn't a high stick on that other call.

 

[BLabz]

Man this team is gross to watch ! All this money spent on def and they cant clear the front of the net and always leave guys wide open. We need tougher dman

 

[djpatm]

And we'll continue to see no changes from the GM, this team will sputter then go on a hot streak on the back of some unsustainable play from Smith and (it's looking like) Gaudreau and they'll get a wild card spot, crash out in the first round and rinse and repeat next season.

This franchise is the definition of mediocre.

 

[The Red Mile]

We need to trade one of the d in my opinion. Brodie and Kylington for O'Reilly and McCabe would be something I would seriously look at. Buffalo could unload him and we should be all over it.

 

[DomBarr]

Hypothetical, but if the Flames were out at the deadline, think they could get that 1st back by trading Backlund to the Islanders? (work out a deal ahead of time with him to re-sign him on July 1st).

I don't know. If the flames owned a teams 1st rounder and they were not in the playoff picture would they trade it back? If they want it they would need to trade for it before they are out of the playoff picture. Nobody gives up a free lottery ticket.

 

[djpatm]

Surprise Surprise.

Derek Wills Retweeted Derek Wills
#Flames lines and pairings:
Gaudreau-Monahan-Ferland
Tkachuk-Stajan-Frolik
Bennett-Jankowski-Jagr
Brouwer-Lazar-Hathaway
F. Hamilton

Giordano-D. Hamilton
Brodie-Hamonic
Kulak-Stone
Bartkowski

Smith
Rittich

GG incapable of making any adjustments.

 

[FlamerForLife]

Surprise Surprise.

Derek Wills Retweeted Derek Wills
#Flames lines and pairings:
Gaudreau-Monahan-Ferland
Tkachuk-Stajan-Frolik
Bennett-Jankowski-Jagr
Brouwer-Lazar-Hathaway
F. Hamilton

Giordano-D. Hamilton
Brodie-Hamonic
Kulak-Stone
Bartkowski

Smith
Rittich

GG incapable of making any adjustments.

For those wondering why Stajan's there for Backlund, it's because Backlund was absent at practice.

 

[Anglesmith]

Wow, you mean they didn't shake up the lineup after it dominated the run of play all game? Weird. I would have thought for sure that changing who was playing with whom would have stopped individuals from turning the puck over unnecessarily, but apparently Glen Gulutzan doesn't agree.

 

[Volica]

Wow, you mean they didn't shake up the lineup after it dominated the run of play all game? Weird. I would have thought for sure that changing who was playing with whom would have stopped individuals from turning the puck over unnecessarily, but apparently Glen Gulutzan doesn't agree.

Our PDO from last night was 0.806. ‘Nuff said.

This team is just too fragile. We can’t give up a goal without crumbling. Just mentally weak, how many breakaways have we given up over the past 4 games?

 

[Mobiandi]

I'm curious.. how many times this season have we conceded a goal within 2-3 minutes of scoring one?

 

[Anglesmith]

Our PDO from last night was 0.806. ‘Nuff said.

This team is just too fragile. We can’t give up a goal without crumbling. Just mentally weak, how many breakaways have we given up over the past 4 games?

Last night's poor run of play wasn't even that bad, to be honest. None of those goals against were from huge breakdowns. Weal had a breakaway on a great play by Provorov, but we generally get one or two a game, too, so you accept that, I think.

They get a lucky break on both of the first two. Both turnovers by us, but not the back-breaking kind that led to clear-cut chances. Just seeing-eye shots that happened to become dangerous chances. We had dozens such shots last night that didn't turn into goals. Those are the breaks. The 3-1 goal was a really well-executed rush by the Flyers on a play where, again, we weren't really out of control. If we scored a goal like that, we'd be full of enthusiasm about what a nice goal it was, not admonishing the other team for allowing us to score. And then we come out for the next shift, get in their zone, Frolik wins a battle against two Flyers, and we end up on the PK for no reason. Another lucky break, then another lucky bounce, and it's 4-1.

I feel like it was another night where we could have helped ourselves out by cashing on the PP, though, but none of our good chances found their way in. Frustrating game all around.

One thing I've learned over the years, though, is to treat every game the same regardless of whether it came during a bad stretch or a good stretch. How would you guys evaluate this game if it came during a 5-game winning streak instead? You'd probably see a lot of positives in the way we played tonight. So it's not really fair to evaluate it differently just because of the narratives going on right now.

 

[djpatm]

GG is bag skating them apparently this morning.

That's going to fix everything Glen. It couldn't possibly be your shit Defensive pairings and overall poor defensive system.

 

[Flameshomer]

Didn't even watch the third.
This team is so damn fragile for having such a good leadership group.

It sucks that we're this 'meh' with the team we have. Treliving needs to do something to shake it up a bit, don't wait too long. Remind these guys that no one's safe.

Gio seems like a good captain but outside of his charitable contributions our teams have not preformed remarkably on the ice with him as captain. Hard to say how he actually is in the room. None of his teams have had identifiable moxie (hard to say if the Hartley season was him or bob)
The A s... well I like Monahan as a guy I can't see him being super motivational/ inspirational/ even really saying much at all. Brouwer is a f***ing disaster.
Gulutzan doesn't seem to know at all what's going on with the team. The feeling I get is that he doesn't listen to their input at all. He seems like a boss that would continue doing what he thought was right in spite of his employees advice.

So at the team level I would say we have a mediocre to piss poor leadership group, depending on what Gio is actually like in the room, no disrespect to the guy but results speak. Organizationally, Treliving seems great, Maloney has league history but not a lot of success, and Burke is a double edged sword.

IMO we don't have a good leadership group at all. There's not one guy who has a massive history of winning (Lowe jokes abound), their idea of team identity varies (we know burke likes truculence, Treliving is more of a skill finder, and gulutzen is all about systems), and so far we have seen the same short comings time and time again.

 

[Flameshomer]

Also I really really hope Backlund is ok. Knowing Glen he would deploy that second line with Stajan as if Backlund was playing, and it would be a comical disaster.

 

[Baxterman]

Wow, you mean they didn't shake up the lineup after it dominated the run of play all game? Weird. I would have thought for sure that changing who was playing with whom would have stopped individuals from turning the puck over unnecessarily, but apparently Glen Gulutzan doesn't agree.

Maybe after we win the visual Cup GG can laugh at us for wanting changes after loses in real games.

 

[Anglesmith]

Maybe after we win the visual Cup GG can laugh at us for wanting changes after loses in real games.

So of course you are 100% satisfied with the team after every victory, right? You apply this logic consistently and feel that a win is a win no matter how the team plays?

At the end of the day, changes should be made with a goal. It's one thing for fans to want to be drama queens on meaningless message boards and vent their frustrations, but do we honestly expect coaches and GMs to behave that way? We lost this last game while carrying the play. The reasons for losing the game are not related to chemistry or combinations. It's just individual errors combined with bounces and opportunism from the other team. Are any of these things solved by switching line combos?

 

[72hockey guy]

Hypothetical, but if the Flames were out at the deadline, think they could get that 1st back by trading Backlund to the Islanders? (work out a deal ahead of time with him to re-sign him on July 1st).

no i dont think so Barzal has really cemented himself on that second line

Backlund is too good for the 3rd line

I really dont know enough about Gulutzan to comment on his defensive system, so I wont

but I will say this, if seasoned pros like Gio, Brodie and Hamonic are having issues with it, it must be very complex

and if Travis were to convince his mom to move to Long Island Id welcome him back, but Apparently she is set in her ways. losing your memories is so cruel. its what makes us who we are. try not to be too critical of him, being left fatherless at 9, his devotion to his mom is admirable and natural.

I wouldnt wish his burden on anyone

 

[Ace Rimmer]

Didn't even watch the third.
This team is so damn fragile for having such a good leadership group.

I'm not sure the evidence supports this theory.

 

[Mobiandi]

Not sure what a bag skate is meant to accomplish after communicating to the press that we lost due to some bad bounces. Sends a mixed message to the players

 

[djpatm]

Not sure what a bag skate is meant to accomplish after communicating to the press that we lost due to same bad bounces. Sends a mixed message to the players

Shocker.

 

[InfinityIggy]

I'm not sure the evidence supports this theory.

Agreed. I don't think we have seen anything from this leadership group at any point in this season or seasons past to indicate they are 'good' in that regard.

 

[Ace Rimmer]

I'm curious.. how many times this season have we conceded a goal within 2-3 minutes of scoring one?

It seems to be happening a lot less than last season, if that helps (it probably doesn't)

 

[Tofveve]

We're a strange team for our slumps over the last 2 or 3 years.

I could see us entering into one in the Columbus game. I get the season is a long one and practically no team ever survives a season without a few periods of disinterest. Ours seem to extend up to 10 games or more where we might win a handful but appear clumsy, sloppy and uninspired throughout.

Also, though I've picked on Brodie some over the last while, I don't think it's for lack of effort. More with him, I think he was playing to his maximum capability for a couple of years there, but due to age and the effort involved, he's fallen back to a more normal self who he'll probably be for the remainder of his good playing years. He's not particularly large and thus appears to struggle at times with relatively basic coverage. His confidence with puck control or that extra split seconds also suffers. That all said, he played somewhat better last night.

I do have a bigger bone to pick, however, with Monahan. It seems to me that he slumps harder than anyone else during these periods. And this goes back (for me) to his noticeable disappearance during the second round of the playoffs in 2015 against Anaheim. We saw it at different times during the 2015/16 campaign, but it was probably most exemplified in 2016/17 - particularly with the start he had. Sure some of it was tied to Gaudreau's slow start, but it was also indicative of a pattern of disappearances for lengthy periods. I realize I say this after he did indeed score one of the Flames' two goals, but let's face it: he's been a lifeless-looking entity on the ice over the last 5 or 6 games. From tripping on the ice, to just generally uninspired play. Johnny may go through slumps of not scoring and getting points, but he appears to be trying hard still. Monahan comes across as different. It sounds like a joke, but when I say it looks like he's been up all night playing video games isn't as sarcastic as it sounds. Bottom line is he needs to find a more consistent game. IMO.

Anyway, that's my rant for now. I suddenly have to run without a good edit on what I wrote. Hopefully I have time a little later.

 

[JPeeper]

I may have missed something, but I didn't see contact with the head

No one did except the ref who also called a high stick penalty on Frolik when it was a Philly player who clipped his own player (the guy who clipped him even looks at his team mate knowing he clipped him).

7 minutes in phantom penalty minutes.

 

[Volica]

I'm not sure the evidence supports this theory.

This was tongue in cheek; and you missed it.