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Game #45 – Flames vs. Hawks Q&A: It’s Mad, It’s Not Pretty, And It Calls Itself Floob

By Sam Fels 1733 0

@BookofLoob is yet another creature we’ve unearthed from the darkest depths of the internet. We asked it questions, but don’t ask too many questions about it. 

The Flames are still in first. This thing has to be real now, right?
 
Nashville is finally being undone by their “I love domestic abusers and a 36 year old Finnish Mike Smith” GM, and good things are never, EVER allowed to happen to Winnipeg, so yeah, this is real. You get some goaltending and you let the fake goalie ride the pine, mix it in with a top line that’s scoring at will, plus you throw in that, aside from Garnet Hathaway, you essentially have a top to bottom roster with real, functional players, the results are going to roll in.
Power play still sucks.
 
Johnny Gaudreau is fourth in the league in scoring. And yet he doesn’t seem to get the press of McDavid or Kucherov or the Colorado kids. He should blow past his career high of 30 goals with 23 already. Why the breakthrough?
 
If we’re calling this a breakthrough, it’s only because the breakthrough has been going on for about three or four years now and progressing as Johnny H enters his prime. Gaudreau and Sean Monahan could always rack up the points together, but it used to be Gaudreau carrying his line while Monahan got the vulture goals, but in recent years, Monahan has added a few dimensions to his game as well. Having a legitimate number 1 RW on their line with Elias Lindholm doesn’t hurt either.
Or maybe it’s because Johnny doesn’t get black out drunk at Cowboy’s anymore. But it’s probably not that, because Johnny absolutely still gets blackout drunk at Cowboy’s.
 
What are the Flames going to do before the deadline?
 
If you ask Leafs fans, it’s trade Rasmus Andersson to them, but if you ask anyone rational, it’s probably just a depth move here or there. As good as the Flames have been, they’re probably not Tampa Bay Lightning tier just yet, and unless they can swing Mark Stone, not many of the rental players out there are going to bump them up to that level.
I think they’d like a backup goalie in case anything happens to Big Save Dave, because you don’t want to have to rely on Mike Smith for anything other than wearing cool hats on the bench. Ideally, if you could murder him or trade him somewhere or something, that would help. One of the big mistakes the team has done this year is bury a really effective Michael Frolik, to the point where I see him being traded sooner rather than later. Maybe there’s something there.
But goddamn how cool would it be to get Mark Stone?
 
Let’s have you bitch about James Neal some more…
 
How about something nice? He’s the first overpaid, underachieving, head scratcher of a Brad Treliving acquisition that isn’t an ex-Hawk.
At least not yet 😉
 
Finally…do you want to walk with Elias?
 
I have bought so many scarves, floral shirts, and a Fender guitar. I want everyone watching the game to silence their cell phones, hold your applause, and shut your mouths. There is one universal truth, a tenet I hold above all else. You see it when the top lines rolls over Brent Seabrook, and you feel it when you look into Cam Ward‘s eyes, his terrified, self aware that he is Cam Ward eyes. It becomes a part of you when the game is over and it’s 5-1 for the Flames and the Hawks are salivating over Jack Hughes while Calgary looks to wrap up home ice throughout the playoffs, and that truth is…. WWE STANDS FOR “WALK. WITH.ELIAS”.
Say it with me now Sam.

 

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Game #45 – Flames vs. Hawks Douchebag Du Jour: Anything That’s Not These

By Sam Fels 1424 0

There are myriad reasons that the NHL isn’t as popular as it could, maybe even should, be. And a lot of them are little reasons. But add them up enough, and the NHL could be a different landscape. And one of them is teams running from their retro jerseys.

Nothing pops on HD television like bright NHL jerseys, at least not ones bordered or splashed with black, on a white ice surface. The Flames’ throwbacks are a prime example. The Oilers’ old blues were. The Flyers orange. The Penguins figured out to go back to their plainer yellow, both home and road, because it contrasts better. The Islanders’ blue is another prime example.

Games on HD TV would grab eyes a lot better if both sets of jerseys pop. Look at the NBA and how their alternates almost always are brighter. Cool college football jerseys go the same route. Cast your mind to what it looks like with the retro Flames and retro Oilers away jerseys looking like on a Saturday night, and how much better it would be if all games looked this vivid.

Look at these beautiful things. Why would you douse them with unnecessary black lining and pants? It shades everything. Deadens. Why would you run from this? Especially as the Flames won their only Cup wearing these, why wouldn’t you hang onto this?

There should be a decree that you can’t wear black unless it’s actually one of your colors. Flyers, Hawks, Ducks, Kings, Sharks, Knights, Penguins and that’s it. Everyone else needs to be brighter, to make the game look better. It doesn’t sound like much, but it would make a bigger difference than you think.

 

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Game #45 – Flames vs. Hawks: Lineups & How Teams Were Built

By Sam Fels 1184 0

Notes: That top line is going to be quite the challenge for Murphy and Dahlstrom. Gaudreau has 11 points in his last four games and Monahan has nine…Rittich can’t quite seem to fully grab the #1 job yet, as Smith got two straight starts after the turn of the calendar, but Rittich has gotten the last one and they won so expect him to go tonight…Bill Peters still hates Michael Frolik…Tkachuk also has seven points in his last four games…

Notes: Wouldn’t expect too many changes. There’s an outside shot that Jokiharju plays tonight as he came back last night, but without a morning skate or practice to bleed him back in Wednesday seems more likely…Delia will start, and he will be busy…Toews’s line absolutely destroyed the bottom six of the Penguins last night, which was curious that they weren’t eventually combatted with Crosby…Caggiula didn’t look helpless, and they’re already making noise about moving him to center, so you can look for Kruger’s name to come up in trade talks…

 

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Game #28 – Flames 3, Hawks 2 – Just a Deadbeat, Right Off the Street, Bound to Follow You Down

By Rose Rankin 2056 0

Tonight’s game was quite a throwback—to stupidity, dirty hits, pointless fights, everything you remember from the bad old days! This marks two games in a row where the Blackhawks have had a player thrown out, which tells you nearly all you need to know. Let’s get to it:

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–The Hawks actually made it over 10 minutes without giving up a goal in the first period. This is where we’re at now, when going half of the first without falling behind is a major step. Putting aside the blackness of that reality, not only did they avoid giving up multiple goals early, they even answered the Flames’ first goal with a classic forehand-backhand by Jonathan Toews, which just de-pantsed Mike Smith. So the game didn’t get off to TOO terrible of a start, although it must be said that the Flames outshot the Hawks 18-6 in the first. Think about that for a minute. They gave up 18 shots in one period, which is bad enough, and that was a full three times the number of shots they themselves managed. What does this tell you? One, is that they barely clung to life in that period. Two, is that the only reason they did so was because Corey Crawford is unreal. He had multiple saves in the first that kept the game from getting out of hand early, including after Forsling had a bad giveaway, and also on the PK after Kunitz took Dumb Penalty #1 (more on that later). Crawford hasn’t exactly been lights out in his last few games, but none of the goals tonight can be pinned on him as bad or soft ones. He was definitely back to form.

–And man did we need him to be. The level of stupidity tonight was really something to behold. After getting out of the first tied at one and with a tenuous hold on things through 4-on-4 to start the second, Chris Kunitz went full-on Neanderthal and elbowed Travis Hamonic in what can only be described as a dickhead play. Hamonic’s head was down, but Kunitz went high with the elbow and he was getting rid of the puck so it was both foolish and dangerous. Kunitz fully deserved the major penalty and game misconduct. And of course, the Flames scored twice on the ensuing extended power play. Those goals made the difference in the game, and they were entirely because of Kunitz being a stupid asshole. If he isn’t stapled to a chair in the pressbox for the rest of the season that will prove once and for all that the Hawks’ brass is incompetent, doesn’t understand how to win, and doesn’t care to figure it out.

–In an attempt to not be outdone in the stupid asshole department, everyone’s favorite dung heap Brandon Manning got in the most useless and wimpy fight possible with Garnet Hathaway (which btw is NOT an actual name). The two skated around each other with fists brandished like old timey boxers, and hit each other far less than that. It didn’t “change the momentum” or “send a message.” In fact, the only upside was that Manning spent most of the rest of the game in the penalty box and thus unable to offend our eyes with his playing.

–Clearly I’m not one for fighting, but I will say this: in the second period when James Neal basically stomped on Corey Crawford and Crawford came after him and nearly punched him, I was cackling with delight. If Crow wants to hit someone because he’s frustrated with this shitty team and the defense allowing him to get curb-stomped, I’ll set aside my issues and I’ll be here for it.

–The power play…it’s just so bad. And on paper it really shouldn’t be: Toews, Kane, Saad, DeBrincat and Jokiharju…this should be a functional first power play unit! But they can’t make a zone entry to save their lives. Seriously. They cannot get out of their own zone, they cannot get through the neutral zone, and they most certainly can’t get across the offensive blue line. It’s like a god damn force field, and that stupid-ass drop pass in the defensive zone has lived on in the Colliton era like a recurring nightmare. There are too many issues to cover in these bullets, but suffice it to say that the clown shoes are still firmly entrenched.

–Alright, enough doom and gloom. What was good from this game? Toews’ goal was pretty and we need the top line to keep scoring. The Kahun-Kampf-Kane line may be something that works. Their 43 CF% didn’t bode all that well but they were certainly fast (and besides, the entire team was underwater in possession). Dylan Strome had a nice goal. And once again, for the cheap seats in the back, Crawford finished the night with a .927 SV% and an assist, and had to face 41 fucking shots on goal.

Tonight was ugly, dumb and frustrating. If the Hawks had gotten blown out it would have made sense and been deserved. The Flames are playing much better, but again this could have been a winnable game—Mike Smith is Mike Smith which means there’s always a chance, and the fact that it came down to the stupidest of penalties is downright painful. But, there’s no rest for the wicked with three more games this week. Fire Chris Kunitz into the sun. Onward and upward.

Photo credit: Chicago Tribune

 

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Game #28 – Flames vs. Hawks Spotlight: Big Save Dave

By Sam Fels 1826 0

The Flames season was on the verge of turning into a mini civil war before October even ended. What was a talented team, and more than talented enough to compete in a learning annex of a division that is the Pacific, couldn’t stop spinning its wheels. They were scoring enough, were even fun to watch for the first time in a dog’s age, but kept seeing their work undone by bulging twine in their own end. The fans had already starting crafting effigies of Mike Smith. You can’t help but wonder if some of the players started to have furrowed brows as well, given the way Smith continually tossed them under the bus for his struggles in the press.

And then, over the ridge, at first just a silhouette on the horizon, but quickly coming into shape and definition, an apparition of hope and salvation, appeared “Big Save Dave” Rittich. And suddenly the Flames season was pulled from ash and chaos…

Ok, that’s dramatic. But the Flames are tussling at the top of the Pacific, where very few would have had them before we kicked this all off, mostly thanks to their goaltender from out of the ether (or the Czech Republic).

And make no mistake, Rittich has earned that “Big Save Dave” moniker, while at the same time proving that though it was indelicate, Smith may not have been wrong in shredding the Flames defense in front of him.

Currently, Rittich ranks first among all goalies with 500 minutes of even-strength time in high-danger save-percentage, at .883. Quite simply, this is a bonkers number. Last year, Corey Crawford had the best high-danger SV% at .859. The highest mark in this category from the past five seasons is Carey Price‘s .876 in ’16-’17, which earned him a Vezina finalist slot. No one else has been above .870 for a season when it comes to stopping the best chances.

And Rittich has had to be. Both he and Smith are in the seven-lowest expected-save-percentages in the league, meaning they’re facing some of the best chances around every night. Which is a touch weird, given that the Flames give up the third-lowest amount of attempts per game in the league. But the ones they do give up tend to be prime. Rittich has pulled their ass out of a sling, Mike Smith has eaten that sling.

That’s getting better, though. The Flames were 24th in October in scoring chances against, and 30th in high-danger chances against. In November that has improved to 2nd and 5th, respectively. They haven’t needed as much of the big saves that Rittich was so happily providing, which is good. It’s also why they rocketed up the standings.

It would behoove them to keep that going, because given the recent history, Rittich isn’t going to be able to keep up anything near a .880 SV% on high-danger chances. And Rittich’s pedigree is a little on the light side. He played 31 games in the AHL last year and put up a .924 overall, which is promising. But it’s 31 games. Other than that, it’s all back in the Czech Republic.

But the Flames have little alternative. Smith is what he is at this point, despite his acting chops. He was sinking their season, and Rittich has saved it. They might as well see how far the bolt of fortune can take them, especially if they’re tuning up their defensive game.

 

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Game #28 – Flames vs. Hawks Q&A: Some Survivalist In The Alberta Hinterlands

By Sam Fels 1369 0

Mike Pfeil is some nutjob we were pointed to a while ago. He’s got scary views. And face. But we love him, we think. Anyway, he knows his Flames hockey. Which doesn’t say much for him. 

First place and rolling. Is the Flames success merely down to finally, finally switching to Big Save Dave? 

It’s a combination of a lot of things, but the surge of legitimately good goaltending performances boils down to Big Save Dave (David Rittich). It’s hard to believe the Flames’ confidence in Mike Smith continued, but a lot of it comes down to the kids (and even Rittich) being perceived as not ready or unable to carry the workload.
And for the time being, Rittich has proven them wrong; giving the Flames goaltending we haven’t really seen in awhile. We saw glimpses of acceptable or above-average performance at times from Brian Elliott, Chad Johnson, and even Mike Smith but this is different.
Beyond Rittich the top line of Johnny Gaudreau, Sean Monahan, and new-Flame Elias Lindholm have been fantastic. A lot of fans were hoping to see Lindholm’s offensive game grow if he spent time with the two and it has blossomed nicely.
Shit-heel extraordinaire Matthew Tkachuk has taken a huge step forward (again, just like each year) and Mikael Backlund remains a constant in dictating pace of play. The revolving door on the right-wing of Michael Frolik, Sam Bennett, Austin Czarnik, or even James Neal has been hit and miss.
Depth in the bottom six is great and we haven’t even discussed the blue line. Dougie Hamilton’s departure is huge, but everyone has stepped up. Mark Giordano remains timeless and in pursuit of a Norris Trophy already. Travis Hamonic has returned to form after last season’s doldrums. TJ Brodie has had his moments, but looks better-ish. The rookies: Rasmus Andersson, Juuso Valimaki, and now Oliver Kylington all look pretty solid too.
It’s just a lot of good happening for once. I could go on and on about the legitimately good things.
How has Mark Giordano not won a Norris? Is this the year he gets something of a lifetime achievement award? Or Flames fans do what the Kings fans do and just wet themselves until he wins?
Injuries at weird inopportune times and really deep classes of talent. He should have been a finalist in 2013-14 . He probably should have been a finalist and won in 2014-15. He just does so many things well despite just turning 35.
He should be a finalist if he keeps it up at this pace. The thing is, the league has some of the best talent on the blue line in ages. This is a golden age we’re living through and most teams have a guy of exceptional caliber. The problem is this league has weird voting habits and typically pick guys who “deserve” it rather than have earned it.
If he wins, it’ll be evidence that a lot of folks didn’t need, but also needed to prove he has been one of this era’s best.
 Noah Hanifin had a rough start in Calgary. Has that straightened out? 
Yes and no. He looks a step behind the play at time and still makes boneheaded decisions with the puck. You ask a lot of fans and they’ll say he’s better than Hamilton was; I remain firmly in the “prove it then” camp because he hasn’t been as impressive as one would imagine.
I like his play at 4v5, predominately on entry suppression and breaking up breakouts that try to enter the zone quite a bit. It’s a very low key part of his game that shows how well he can manage gap control and time & space with plays occurring.
But to flip that, he’ll throw a puck into a location that is immediately at risk of screwing the Flames over. It’s a weird hot and cold experience with him that hopefully comes down to new town, new team, just some minor anxieties.
So now that he’s got goaltending is it that Bill Peters might not be a moron? 
It remains to be seen, but I like the results and the emphasis on the top-nine getting TOI. [Glen] Gulutzan rode four lines regularly; while Peters doesn’t and it’s a welcome change. He needs to tighten up play resulting in high-danger chances though. It’s a huge issue that hopefully gets worked out.
I think he’s a step above Gulutzan, but anything can happen in this league. I’m sure in a year I’ll be calling for his head for some reason.

 

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Game #28 – Flames vs. Hawks Douchebag Du Jour: The Owner Who Couldn’t Own

By Sam Fels 1408 0

Perhaps the credit should go to the city of Calgary and mayor Naheed Nenshi for becoming one of the first cities to tell the owner of a sports team to go pound when they came and asked for a municipality to pay for a new arena. But then it’s hard to do that when Nenshi turned around and tried to sell Calgary on bringing the Olympics back to Calgary, when everyone knows that any host city turns into Dark City after the Olympics leave town. Still, let’s cherish a step forward for once.

That didn’t stop Flames owner Murray Edwards from trying to influence the mayoral election in Calgary to get Nenshi out of office, along with the help of one Gary Bettman. But there are no sports in politics, remember.

Edwards also couldn’t even figure out how to leverage Seattle into getting what he wanted, sitting idly by while the NHL handed that city an expansion franchise (or soon officially will). So for once, an owner is forced to sit and just rake in the cash that his team generates in an arena that is only a touch old.

There’s nowhere for Edwards to turn. The NHL likely isn’t going to let him move to Quebec City, not when it’s on the cusp of having its perfect alignment. Kansas City? Been muted for a long time. There just isn’t any option.

And Edwards can suck it. He’s currently worth $2.2 billion, and if he wanted a new arena he could probably find the change in his couch. The impasse for the arena wasn’t that Nenshi was unwilling to put any money into it, it’s that he wanted a return on that investment for the city. Edwards wanted Calgary’s money and then to keep the revenues all to himself. It’s the normal ploy from owners, but it’s one more and more cities are standing up to.

So you wonder what Edwards thinks when he meets with fellow owners who did get their arenas, but he was too crude or stupid to get his own. Or both. While Calgary will be better off, you can be sure he’s stewing that he can’t match his fellow greed-monsters in the board room of the NHL’s meetings.

There’s a lot wrong with sports, but the image of Edwards feeling inferior and aggrieved is one we can hold onto that things could get better one day.

 

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Game #28 – Flames vs. Hawks: Lineups & How Teams Were Built

By Sam Fels 1357 0

Notes: Michael Frolik and Jusso Valimaki have missed the last couple through injury…Big Save Dave gave up four to the Stars last out so maybe Mike Smith gets a run-out with tougher games against Columbus and Minnesota later in the week for the Flames…Kylington is a prospect our Flames friends were pretty excited about before the season so he may entrench himself in the lineup…This should be the year Backlund gets Selke consideration but won’t…WHO WANTS TO WALK WITH ELIAS?!

 

Notes: We imagine Martinsen will keep his spot ahead of Fortin and Kunitz…At least Keith will be rested…Is Saad playing the best stretch of his career?…Funny how Manning played his best game of the season with the return of Connor Murphy looming this week, no?…The Kampf line actually got its head kicked in last night…Strome and Kane and Top Cat were better but once again broken up, would like to see them get the full game tonight…

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