Quarter Season Update...Rank the Canadian Teams

[Mathew Barzal]

The salt tastes pretty good.

Looking forward to winning the cup

Quoted for prosperity and good will.

 

[libertarian]

And if the Jets beat the Leafs 5-4 all we'd hear is 'lol we beat you!'

Apparently the Leafs beat the Jets, but didn't beat them by enough to 'beat' them.

What trophy does Winnipeg get for winning two rounds? I think the Leafs have the same o

Nothing.

It is a hell of more fun to watch your team play extra PO games then going out the first round. I've been a Jet fan since the WHA days when they Jet's won league championships but seeing them win 2 round in the best league in the world was the most fun I've had in my lifetime as a hockey fan.

I think this is the year that Leaf fans will experience the same thing we Jets fans did last year. I know there are some Leaf fans older then me that remember the last Leafs win but most fan today don't. If the Leafs make it to the ECF or better you are for one fun ride. I hope that it is the Jets that meet you in a all Canadian final and our teams fight to the end to win it all. I don't think most Americans will ever understand how much this means to Canadian fans to be the first team in a quarter century to win it all, be they from Winnipeg or Toronto or as a Jet fan in Edmonton where I live. Both the Jets and Leaf's fans want their team to win the first SC in Canada over last 25+ years. Both team have the talent to do it.

 

[Colorado Avalanche]

Winnipeg
Toronto

Calgary

Montreal

Edmonton

Ottawa
Vancouver

 

[Luminiferous]

The Leafs have more points than the Jets, and most likely will at the end of the season. The regular season games occurred and the Jets got beefed on. There is no debate. Leafs>>Jets.

 

[IWD]

Now consider that Laine got off to a slow start. Teams look equal to me.

Being inconsistent isn't the same as being absent.

 

[Jets88]

If it wasn’t for Andersen the Leafs wouldn’t be ahead of Winnipeg in my opinion. But that being said, Toronto is an offensive powerhouse. They have the best if not second best (behind Tampa) offense in the league.

Matthews is unreal. Matthews is definitely a more complete player than Laine. And if I had a choice of the two, I’d choose Matthews hands down. I’m still happy though that Winnipeg moved up in the draft and drafted Laine.

That being said I think Winnipeg is more of a complete team. And is better fit for the playoffs. But only time will tell.

 

[qwerty]

If a team is gonna have two holes, the net and the coach are probably the worst two to have. Peters has never been an effective coach, he didn't magically turn it around he just acquired a good team. I can't for the life of me see Calgary win a playoff series against most teams in the league.

Sounds like it’s more of a personal vendetta against Bill Peters who worked with a cap floor team or some kind of strategy mental block. Personally I don’t think coaching is ever really an issue, 9 times out of ten it’s the roster that’s being fielded in my opinion.

The Flames have a considerably better defensive group this season with Dougie Hamilton gone and a completely revamped bottom 6. Giordano is free from his shackles of covering up for Hamilton and his offensive game has flourished. He’s also helped shore up TJ Brodie’s game who last year hurt the team when he was paired with Hamonic. They’re playing well, beating teams who are ahead of them in a sustainable fashion.

 

[2023FriendshipTour]

If a team is gonna have two holes, the net and the coach are probably the worst two to have. Peters has never been an effective coach, he didn't magically turn it around he just acquired a good team. I can't for the life of me see Calgary win a playoff series against most teams in the league.

That's cause you don't watch them. Advanced stats also support Calgary is a good team and Calgary is going out and beating top teams, but you're right about goaltending, as that is definitely the biggest question mark and could be our downfall.

 

[The Macho King]

As a fan of a US-based team, I rank all of them last.

 

[Just Linda]

That's cause you don't watch them. Advanced stats also support Calgary is a good team and Calgary is going out and beating top teams, but you're right about goaltending, as that is definitely the biggest question mark and could be our downfall.

I do watch them though, I catch the abridged version of most hockey games (or at least the games on nights I work) and catch them play when they are playing the late game of a double headers or since most of my friends are flames fans, when I'm at their houses. I've seen probably half their games this year and the condensed version of almost the rest.

A good system makes a goalie look better (see Carey Price when Montreal had a good defensive team and system in place). Mike Smith was bad to start the season but yeah, seriously, go watch the highlights and tell me how many times last night when Calgary got scored on was the shooter pressured?

1st goal - Bjorkstand is skating, 3 flames players are close enough to pressure but none do. He ends up getting a clean look at the net, has time to load up his shot and gets a clean shot on the goalie. It creates a perfect rebound to Werenski who buried it in the wide open net.
2nd goal - shot from the middle of the ice, rather than challenge the shooter, the dman collapses back and goes to block. Since he's too far away, he can't block and only takes the sight lane away from his goalie.
4th goal, dman is at the crease trying a block and is a solid 13 feet from the shooter.
3rd goal was a d caught a bit too far out of position, 5th goal was a breakaway and 6th goal was a tip in. Can't fault Calgary's system too much for those

I'm seeing it in every flames game, flames collapse into the box and opponents get clean looks at the net and all the time in the world to set up their shot and snipe it. Same thing Peters was roasted for non stop in Carolina. Calgary isn't letting a lot of high danger shots through, I'd reckon they got to be top 10 for lowest high danger chances per game. Calgary doesn't really seem to be letting dirty goals (crease battles etc) in either, it's goal after goal of the goalie getting beat by shots.

Peters just runs an antiquated style that just is going to hold the flames back especially in the post season.

 

[Just Linda]

Sounds like it’s more of a personal vendetta against Bill Peters who worked with a cap floor team or some kind of strategy mental block. Personally I don’t think coaching is ever really an issue, 9 times out of ten it’s the roster that’s being fielded in my opinion.

The Flames have a considerably better defensive group this season with Dougie Hamilton gone and a completely revamped bottom 6. Giordano is free from his shackles of covering up for Hamilton and his offensive game has flourished. He’s also helped shore up TJ Brodie’s game who last year hurt the team when he was paired with Hamonic. They’re playing well, beating teams who are ahead of them in a sustainable fashion.

No doubt Calgary is a good team. It's not completely the players at all, I agree with that. I get that the D has a lot of young players and are going to make mistakes but they've been a lot better than I would have predicted. Peters is a good coach too, he just runs a flawed system. I think if Peters ran everything but the defensive scheme, Calgary would be a scary team for the most part (a couple role players would help imho, I'm not going to say grit but another goal scoring goalie grinder/ net front body for their middle 6 would help push them into a contender tier team) but as long as the collapsing box is used then I can't have any faith in the Flames.

 

[Rubi]

@BabyPanda is right about the collapsing box defense. The Flames have a terrible PK%.. something like 73% which is 25th in the league IIRC.

 

[qwerty]

@BabyPanda is right about the collapsing box defense. The Flames have a terrible PK%.. something like 73% which is 25th in the league IIRC.

How would you guys explain his PK rankings of #4, #6 and #6 though 3 straight seasons from 2014-2017 though? Clearly there’s a track record of him doing well despite having some pretty below average starting goaltenders for virtually all of NHL coaching career.

 

[qwerty]

I do watch them though, I catch the abridged version of most hockey games (or at least the games on nights I work) and catch them play when they are playing the late game of a double headers or since most of my friends are flames fans, when I'm at their houses. I've seen probably half their games this year and the condensed version of almost the rest.

A good system makes a goalie look better (see Carey Price when Montreal had a good defensive team and system in place). Mike Smith was bad to start the season but yeah, seriously, go watch the highlights and tell me how many times last night when Calgary got scored on was the shooter pressured?

1st goal - Bjorkstand is skating, 3 flames players are close enough to pressure but none do. He ends up getting a clean look at the net, has time to load up his shot and gets a clean shot on the goalie. It creates a perfect rebound to Werenski who buried it in the wide open net.
2nd goal - shot from the middle of the ice, rather than challenge the shooter, the dman collapses back and goes to block. Since he's too far away, he can't block and only takes the sight lane away from his goalie.
4th goal, dman is at the crease trying a block and is a solid 13 feet from the shooter.
3rd goal was a d caught a bit too far out of position, 5th goal was a breakaway and 6th goal was a tip in. Can't fault Calgary's system too much for those

I'm seeing it in every flames game, flames collapse into the box and opponents get clean looks at the net and all the time in the world to set up their shot and snipe it. Same thing Peters was roasted for non stop in Carolina. Calgary isn't letting a lot of high danger shots through, I'd reckon they got to be top 10 for lowest high danger chances per game. Calgary doesn't really seem to be letting dirty goals (crease battles etc) in either, it's goal after goal of the goalie getting beat by shots.

Peters just runs an antiquated style that just is going to hold the flames back especially in the post season.

I can see your point here. But there’s probably quite a few pros that he’s discovered when playing a little more passive than with high pressure.
You allow low percentage shots hoping the goaltender will stop basic shots from the outside, you don’t over extend or over commit, you don’t get caught running around as much, passes through the middle are more difficult. Ultimately, you allow low percentage shots hoping the goaltender will stop basic shots from the outside.

At the end of the day, I’m not sure it’s a make or break situation. Heck I’ve seen bad defensive systems win playoff series. I think the stats and results will inevitably prove whether it’s the right system or not and I have to say, I don’t mind the current GAA and the shots allowed. It’s certainly a sustainable way to win and as long as we’re not getting as many leaky goals from Smith, I like our chances to go deep.

 

[Bonzo111]

Pretty much what was expected before the start of the season, minus Mtl doing much better than anticipated.

 

[Pilky01]

1. Toronto
2. Winnipeg
3. Calgary
4. Edmonton
5. Montreal
6. Vancouver
7. Ottawa

 

[Volica]

As a fan of a US-based team, I rank all of them last.

You deserve a top rope Elbow drop; while I pick my girlfriend up on my shoulders and parade her around the ring.

 

[super6646]

@BabyPanda is right about the collapsing box defense. The Flames have a terrible PK%.. something like 73% which is 25th in the league IIRC.

Doesn't huska run the Pk? I absolutely agree that we don't pressure the shooter enough, as I've said multiple times on our board already. They do a relatively good job at preventing entry, but are an absolute tirefire once a team sets up. That's why their Pk is 75%, the scheme sucks.

 

[Volica]

I do watch them though, I catch the abridged version of most hockey games (or at least the games on nights I work) and catch them play when they are playing the late game of a double headers or since most of my friends are flames fans, when I'm at their houses. I've seen probably half their games this year and the condensed version of almost the rest.

A good system makes a goalie look better (see Carey Price when Montreal had a good defensive team and system in place). Mike Smith was bad to start the season but yeah, seriously, go watch the highlights and tell me how many times last night when Calgary got scored on was the shooter pressured?

1st goal - Bjorkstand is skating, 3 flames players are close enough to pressure but none do. He ends up getting a clean look at the net, has time to load up his shot and gets a clean shot on the goalie. It creates a perfect rebound to Werenski who buried it in the wide open net.
2nd goal - shot from the middle of the ice, rather than challenge the shooter, the dman collapses back and goes to block. Since he's too far away, he can't block and only takes the sight lane away from his goalie.
4th goal, dman is at the crease trying a block and is a solid 13 feet from the shooter.
3rd goal was a d caught a bit too far out of position, 5th goal was a breakaway and 6th goal was a tip in. Can't fault Calgary's system too much for those

I'm seeing it in every flames game, flames collapse into the box and opponents get clean looks at the net and all the time in the world to set up their shot and snipe it. Same thing Peters was roasted for non stop in Carolina. Calgary isn't letting a lot of high danger shots through, I'd reckon they got to be top 10 for lowest high danger chances per game. Calgary doesn't really seem to be letting dirty goals (crease battles etc) in either, it's goal after goal of the goalie getting beat by shots.

Peters just runs an antiquated style that just is going to hold the flames back especially in the post season.

Just can't agree with you here.
Calgary's system is super structured especially on the defensive side of the puck. IF you're looking at the Columbus game as some type of representation, you might be a bit out to lunch; because no defence of goaltending was played that entire night from either side.

Go check out those games against the past two weeks. That system was the one that made LA look like a Junior team, Chicago/Arizona/Vegas the same. Even the game against the Jets; only once it was out of hand they opened up and played out the game. Flames have given up one of the lowest shot totals in the entire league 5v5 (5th best). Now if you said their porous in terms of giving odd-man rushes, I'd agree. That's not so much structure, and more so that 2/3rd of our Dmen are considered offense first guys.

 

[Just Linda]

Just can't agree with you here.
Calgary's system is super structured especially on the defensive side of the puck. IF you're looking at the Columbus game as some type of representation, you might be a bit out to lunch; because no defence of goaltending was played that entire night from either side.

Go check out those games against the past two weeks. That system was the one that made LA look like a Junior team, Chicago/Arizona/Vegas the same. Even the game against the Jets; only once it was out of hand they opened up and played out the game. Flames have given up one of the lowest shot totals in the entire league 5v5 (5th best). Now if you said their porous in terms of giving odd-man rushes, I'd agree. That's not so much structure, and more so that 2/3rd of our Dmen are considered offense first guys.

True about giving odd man rushes but that's not connected to playing the collapsing zone system Peters uses. It's not really concerning to me either since the D is so young and I feel that'll correct itself come the end of the year.

Since we seem to see things quite differently, how do you see Peters defensive structure. So say the team is cycling the puck against them, how would you describe what the Flames do

 

[Crazed Fan]

Regular season doesnt mean too much. It only gets you to the dance.
I do think Toronto is deep enough to win in the playoffs. I also think that of the Jets. Calgary, i still have some question marks but they are already proving they are deep enough to do some damage. 7 game series though are a different beast.

 

[JPeeper]

If a team is gonna have two holes, the net and the coach are probably the worst two to have. Peters has never been an effective coach, he didn't magically turn it around he just acquired a good team. I can't for the life of me see Calgary win a playoff series against most teams in the league.

Peters is a stud of a coach.

 

[Tkachuky]

Leafs





Who gives a ****

We already know how your fan base thinks.

 

[debil]

I agree with 1.leafs,2. jets, 3.flames...the rest.

 

[The Winter Soldier]

I am going to assume this thread is asking who is the best team after the 1/4 and not just at look at the pts since there would be no discussion there. Just cite pts. But if you ask me which Canadian team has the best chance to win the Cup this year, I would say the Jets do. Thus they are #1. They were also the only Canadian team to win 2 playoff rds last year.