[Meikkhaell]

Well, the Flames finished their first of two China games yesterday, and although they came just short, falling 3-4 to Boston in the fourth round of the shootout, it was a really exciting game and all things considered, they played really well.
My take-aways:

- Both Ryan and Czarnik were excellent, at times the best players on the ice. Both got a lot of quality chances, they were speedy and exciting to watch.
- Lindholm didn't look out of place on the 1st line, he got 3 or 4 really good scoring chances and had 2 assists.
- Peters' system looks like it's starting to work, even on the first day. Giordano scored two goals in this game, at least one of which was entirely because of the defensemen jumping into the play. Puck possession still needs some practice, there were a lot of weak passes that went nowhere or got intercepted, but that's expected on the first day without much of a practice.
- Aside from a 3 minute span in which he gave up 3 questionable goals, Gillies played fine, especially considering he's young, never played on international ice, and wasn't even really supposed to start that game.
- We outshot them by more than double, their goalie stood on his head.
- I didn't really notice Neal very much. Not that he played poorly, but he didn't really do anything amazing either, yet.
- This didn't look like a team under a new coach, with a quarter of it being new players. They worked quite well together all things considered.
- We managed to stop the bleeding after going down 0-3, kept in it and clawed back. Desire to win was there.

Only real drawback that irked me with this game was who was on the shootout. I understand it's just preseason and we wanna try things out, but we most likely would've won if our stars were in the shootout. We had Tkachuk (who scored a beauty), followed by Czarnik, Janko, and Ryan. What about Gaudreau and Monahan?

Either way, it was a great comeback and a stellar showcase of our team. Aside from 2 or 3 minutes at the end of the first, we played really well all game despite having no practice, this being our first game, a new coach, new system, and new players. Imagine when everyone's settled in.

 

[Oddball]

I stayed up late to watch the game. I made it through two periods, but the second intermission did me in so I missed some of the Flames best moments live.

I thought the ice was tiled in the Flames favour for the majority of the game. If it wasn't for that one prolonged lapse in the first it probably would have been a 2-0 or 3-0 game. It should be expected that the Flames would generally look like the better team they have around 95% of the opening night roster on hand, whereas Boston didn't have Bergeron, Krejci or Chara. Halak was phenomenal though. The unsung high point might have been their really strong 5on3 penalty kill. I think last years Flames would have wilted under that pressure.

We really shouldn't read too much into the results of the very first preseason game being played across the pacific on a different sized ice sheet in a building frequently described by the telecast crew as sweltering and humid with less than 3 hours of practice beforehand, but it's really hard not to. I saw a lot of the same things as you.

• Gillies was pretty good under the circumstances. Yes he let in 3 goals in under 2 minutes, but he wasn't expected to get more than 20 minutes playing time in China nevermind a start. He came in cold and the Flames really hung him out to dry. But he kept his cool, found his game and was solid for the remainder.
• TJ Brodie was probably the most noticeable player on the ice in a good way. Man was he flying. It really goes to show what a bad idea it was to enforce so much orthodoxy on him and force him to play if off side. Bad GG! Gio was an absolute stud as well. I think their line will go back to being regarded as one of the top few pairs in the league.
• I didn't see much of Neal either apart from some powerplay near misses. I wonder if the international ice worked against him, his gritty style is better suited to the claustrophobic confines of NHL ice.
• The top line was really humming. Johnny and Mony are truly great players and they looked it in Shenzhen, but I think Lindholm is going to add a dimension that was missing from that line. He seems a little more dynamic that Monahan. I'm lookin for big things from all three.
• Ryan was way better than I had feared. I really got the coach's-pet sense from him. Peters has hardly coached these guys so you know he's going to be focused on the guys he knows. So Ryan was getting an outsized share of the ice time. I don't think he should be on the second powerplay unit though.
• On the whole Peters' system or what could be said of it under the circumstances looked good. The Flames looked poised and controlled in all zones. They had a much sharper attack compared to GG's plodding setup. I even didn't mind Ryan getting bumped up to the second line in the 3rd, I thought he looked better than Backlund. Changes on the fly are another welcome departure from the GG era. I hope it continues to come together. Can't argue with the powerplay success in game one. Good start.
• Bennett ripped it up a bit in the third. I hope this is finally the year he can break out. My fingers are crossed for him. Czarnik showed some similar flashes of brilliance. Both were robbed by Halak at certain points.
• I didn't notice much of Hanifin and Hamonic. I think that's a good thing, quiet competent hockey.
• Backlund, Frolik, Jankowski and Tkachuk didn't stick out much. I won't chalk it up to much on account of all other other factors I mentioned.
• Hathaway s a tough mug. He wasn't bad at times, but he has no business sharing a line with Bennett and Jankowski.
• Kulak and Stone were the only Flames I actively hated out there. Defensive lapses from both of them. Lots of bad shots from Stone. They worked hard but they looked questionable. I really hope Andersson can make a big push at the main camp.

I haven't actually see the extra time. The replay feed cut out with about a minute to go so they never rebroadcast the whole 3on3 or shootout. Sounds like an odd lineup, but yeah it's just the preseason.

I'm pumped for game 2!

 

[Oddball]

DOUBLE POST!

I heard only the tail end of the Flames-Oilers preseason game that involved a lot of the prospects and PTOs on both sides. The Flames completely fell apart in the third and ended up blowing a 3-2 lead in a 7-4 (with empty netter) loss. They really crapped it in the final 5 minutes. I'm sure Gillies doesn't feel quite as bad as Rittich does right now. The loss doesn't feel as bitter because Dillon Dube is continuing to light it up in the preseason. He put up a hatty! This kid is really something. It's hard to think that he'll be able to do this against more competent opponents but he's really on the right track.

I was listening to a few things on the Fan worth sharing too. Firstly, Loubardias said that the Flames tried to deal for Derek Ryan at the deadline, so this is more than just a coach's favourite situation. Tree was in on him before hand. Additionally in a second interview he mentioned that Brodie had had a lot of strife in his personal life the last couple of years and that coupled with his improper utilization likely had a big impact on his play. So his situation has been straightened out in more ways than one. I really hope he carries on the look from game one. I think he's gonna be a force.

 

[Mountain Man]

Looking forward to the season, I have a feeling the Flames are going to be back in the Playoff picture come spring...

 

[Meikkhaell]

Biggest thing is Smith staying healthy.
We don't have a Halak or a Grubauer to fall back on if something happens, we have Rittich, Gillies, and MAYBE Parsons.

We upgraded the forward group and the coaching staff, we should have a better PP, better even strength, and as good if not better PK. Our defense should still be solid, might lose a little bit of the offense it had but that will be made up with all our forward improvements. The thing we didn't tweak at all is the goaltending.

When Smith is healthy, he's a top 10 goalie in the NHL. Pre-injury, he had an outstanding .933 save%. Of goalies playing 30 games or more, he would have literally had the highest save% in the NHL had he carried out that .933% for the entire season.
I hope Rittich and/or Gillies are able to take on more of a role this season, because come playoff time (which, I agree, we will likely be in the mix for), we NEED Smith. I like Rittich and Gillies and I'm hopeful they'll both be better this season, but I wouldn't bet much on either of them in terms of carrying their team through the playoffs. Hopefully Peters realizes this, we can't be pushing Smith to play 55 games every season.

Very exciting time to be a Flames fan, this has been said before in previous seasons to no avail, but I really do think we've got a group that can do something. I'll be going to the game vs Winnipeg tomorrow, and sitting near the ice for the first time in my life
Assuming we both play most of our main squads, (and we better, I paid a lot of money for these tickets!), I think this game will be the first true measuring stick for us. Against a very good team, without the added distractions and unusual conditions in China.
Gonna be a fun one for sure.

EDIT: Lol damnit, main guys aren't out there Guess the official "first test" will have to wait. There's a few players to watch, Lindholm, Ryan, Smith, Dube, Hanifin, etc will still play, but most of the other guys are sitting this one out.

 

[Meikkhaell]

Well, the preseason's over and the last few cuts are underway. Lazar, Peluso, and Kulak were all waived this morning for purpose of putting them in the minors. I don't see anyone taking Lazar or Peluso, but Kulak might just get looked at. He's nothing spectacular but he's a decent defenseman. With these cuts, it would appear that Dube, Valimaki and perhaps Anderssen have made it to the big squad. Dube had 6 points in 7 games this preseason, Valimaki had 5 in 7. Both impressive, can't wait to see them in the lineup.

It was a good preseason, the boys got a lot of practice in, more than any other team actually. We had 10 preseason games, every other team had 8 or less. Whether that makes a difference, I dunno. Some major takeaways:

- Lindholm looks to have the inside track for the 1st line RW spot. He had a great preseason, with 6 points in 5 games. Neal looked good but only had 1 point in the whole preseason.
- Giordano's still got it man. He had 7 points (4G, 3A) in 5 games. Brodie also looked better, and although he only got 2 points in 4 games, he looked much more comfortable.
- Backlund also played a really really good preseason, getting 7 points in 5 games as well. Him and Gio are actually both tied for 7th overall in the whole NHL in terms of preseason scoring.
- Hanifin looked really responsible defensively, he didn't look like a 21 year old at all. Especially in the last 2 games. Dougie scored a lot but offset that contribution with bad penalties and irresponsible play. Even if Hanifin doesn't score 17G like Dougie, I think based on defense alone he could make up the difference.
- Scoring is WAYYYY up. I mean, we put up 3 or more goals in 9 out of the 10 preseason games, and 4 or more in 5 out of 10. Treliving's goal was to increase scoring, he's done it.
- Bad thing, so far, getting scored on is WAYY up too. Smith had a .848 sv%, and 3.53 GAA. Just like we scored a lot, we let in 3 or more goals in 8 of 10 games. Supposedly Smith tends to not do great in preseason, same thing happened last year. Not a huge deal, it's just preseason.
- Tkachuk was great for most of preseason, as to be expected, but just wasn't himself on the final game against Edmonton. Some bad giveaways, accidentally tipped a goal into his own net, etc. Hopefully he's alright.

Only 2 days, 16h, 20 minutes, and 41 seconds until the season starts
(No, i'm not excited at all).

 

[Surrealplaces]

I was happy with the play of Dube and Valimaki. Both seem like legitimate prospects.

I'm not worried about Smith....yet. Kiprusoff used to regularly have bad pre-seasons and slow starts to the regular seasons but bounce back. I'm confident Smith is the same, hope I'm right.

 

[Mountain Man]

Preseason means nothing, I don't put too much stock in those games. How Smith (and the rest of the team) plays Wednesday is what counts. Glad the Flames aren't starting the season against the Oilers this year, watching McDavid skate seemed to throw them off the last couple years.

 

[Meikkhaell]

Kulak traded to Montreal for two likely AHL defensemen, Rinat Valiev and Matt Taormina.

Neither have found much NHL success, Rinat is young and might still develop into something, Matt scores a lot of points at an AHL level and will be a good addition for Stockton. I don't see either of them challenging for roster spots though, if someone were to get injured I would think Andersson and Kylington would be in line ahead of them.

Personally, I would've rather we got some draft picks back instead, to get people that have a chance of becoming NHL players, rather than two guys who probably never will. It's okay though, at least we got something.
All in all it's a good trade for Kulak and for us. He likely would've spent most of his time in Stockton because we have a pretty solid d-core. That's not the case in Montreal, and maybe he can find himself a full time NHL spot there. As for us, we get two AHL defensemen in Valiev and Taormina, rather than just the one we would've had in Kulak.

They're putting a lot of trust in Valimaki. Besides this preseason he hasn't had much of an introduction into the NHL, now he's supposed to take on a full-time role. He seems pretty good though, should be fine.

In other news, Lazar basically requested to be sent to the AHL, saying he wants to play regularly and perfect his game there, where he'd be playing a top role. I think this is a smart move, he'll be a 4th liner, if not a healthy scratch for the entire season in the NHL, if he can get his game going in Stockton and come back better, he might earn himself a full-time role.

 

[Mountain Man]

Game day! stoked for the season.

 

[Surrealplaces]

Well that sucked. I was happy to see that we weren't playing the Oilers and thought the Canucks would be an easy mark. On the flipside, it's a long season, and the Flames usually crap the bed on opening day...it seems to be a tradition.

 

[Mountain Man]

That was the worst series of PP I have ever seen, Ryan Huska has his work cut out for him. Once again the Flames just didn't look interested until the 3rd period. Pretty typical season opener for them sadly, 0-8-1 in the last 9.

The Canucks on the other hand have won 5 season openers in a row, they seem to start well most years, but the suck will find them soon.

 

[Mountain Man]

Mike Smith's new mask pays tribute to Mike Vernon, pretty sick!

https://twitter.com/TSNJFranklin?ref_src=twsrc^google|twcamp^serp|twgr^author

 

[Meikkhaell]

Hamonic's out week-to-week with a facial fracture after that fight with Gudbranson, sticking up for Dube.

He's a great guy and he's awesome for sticking up for Dube in his NHL debut, but we signed Prout, Hathaway, and Peluso to handle this sort of thing. Games like these, against Vancouver and Edmonton, are games that one of those should probably be in our lineup. Most others, they can be scratches.

We can't be sacrificing a crucial defenseman for this sort of thing.
Hopefully we bring it to 'em tomorrow, the opener was depressing to watch. When us, with all our firepower, sit scoreless in a 0-1 game for the first 45 minutes, then get slaughtered in the last 15, it hurts.

 

[Mountain Man]

I don't get why the Flames always have a brutal, uninspired start to the season, it's embarrassing as a Flames fan to watch that.