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Not a whole lot more you can say following a 7-1 loss for the Calgary Flames at the hands of the Chicago Blackhawks on Thursday night. It was a debacle and it was a team that completely checked out after playing a really tight, close checking game for 22 minutes or so. The Flames have now lost 2 straight games and have lost once again to the ‘Hawks.
In hearing from Head Coach Brent Sutter following the game, you could tell there’s a lot of frustration going on. He was quick to say that “this didn’t just happen tonight, it’s been something we’ve been dealing with all season.” What he was talking about? The mental toughness of his hockey team. He wants his team to get angry, he wants his team to show emotion, he wants his team to answer the bell all the time. And that’s something he’s struggling with right now, or at the very least, it’s something he’s working through right now.
You could look at 2 “turning points” in this hockey game, both in the 2nd period. First, after Calgary tied things at 1, Niklas Hjalmarsson levelled Rene Bourque with a clean hit. Nigel Dawes immediately jumped his man and gave the Hawks their 3rd powerplay of the game (they were 1 for 2 previously). Kris Versteeg scored on a re-direct to give the Hawks the lead back. Following that, Colin Fraser took an elbowing call and gave the Flames a powerplay to try and get things tied up again…but a huge save from Cristobal Huet on Jay Bouwmeester really seemed to suck the air out of the Flames. And then it was 5 successive goals from Chicago.
Special teams are certainly not special right now. Calgary’s powerplay did score on this night, but it’s scored just 4 times on their last 39 opportunities over their last 10 games. The penalty kill is what’s really the question mark at this point. Heading into the Buffalo game, the man advantage had surrendered just 2 goals on their previous 28 opportunities. Since then, they’ve allowed 8 goals on 18 opportunities. Yes, it gets inflated by the 4 powerplay goals against Chicago…but it wasn’t doing the job to the right level prior to that.
But the most telling thing on this night were the comments from Sutter postgame. He was not happy but he was 100% honest, or as close to it as a Head Coach can be. He laid it on the line, saying he wants more from his players when it comes to being engaged all the time mentally. He’s a damn good coach and if there’s a coach that can get the most out of this team, it’s him. But you can certainly tell he’s not impressed right now.
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I’m not sure what it is about the ‘Hawks that dismantles the Flames, but if they want to be an elite team the Flames have to figure them out.
PS: You know what though, I don’t know if it was JUST that the Flames were playing the Hawks man. There was so much else that went into that loss…Calgary was right there with Chicago for the first period.
- BarakkThe real question is how do you motivate million dollar guaranteed contracted players to perform. Can you? Is it the coach’s responsibility to do that, or at this level should it just be a given that the responsibility lies with the players. The group that Sutter has put together should not be losing games like the ones they have lost to the Hawks. Some of the players on this team are feeling way to comfortable with their positions, I believe it is time to shake up this “difficult group to coach” Start benching a few superstars, because yelling and bag skating is not working.
PS: Well, the interesting thing is that the message seemed to sink in on Saturday afternoon. The team played a fairly solid, complete game…the question that I really have is whether or not they’re able to carry it over or not. It’s great to respond in one game following a 7-1 loss, but if it only happens in one game, did the message really get through?
- PaoloBrent is finding out what Keenan and Playfair found out about this team in the past. the differences are that Playfair never found the solution and Keenan didn’t bother to search. I think Brent has the ability to get this team in the right direction, the question is if this team wants to go that way. There are things happening in that dressing room and amongst the players that the public and media don’t know about.
PS: I agree Bob…I believe IF this team wants to go in the right direction, then Brent Sutter is the right guy to lead them there. A head coach can only do so much, because eventually it will fall on the players in that locker room.
- Bob in the AbbeyCan we just be done with the whole Dion Phaneuf thing? He’s SO overrated it’s not funny. How many bad line changes can you make in a 48 hour period? The Flames need some Stanley Cup experience….they don’t have enough (Sarich is the only one I can think of with a ring).
PS: I don’t know how anyone can justify the “trade Dion Phaneuf” thing. If anyone really believes Calgary will ever get back a player as talented NOW and with as much upside for the future in a deal sending #3 elsewhere, I think they’re mistaken. Phaneuf is a rare talent, and the fact that you can only name 3 or 4 other defenders with his all-round upside in this league speaks to that.
- Darren