It is utterly infuriating how the Flames find ways to lose road games. I've thought about this so much this season -- why can't we play on the road? The simple answer is, it's the coach. Jim Playfair isn't a coach that has any Stanley Cups or even deep playoff runs in his future.
We've got an awful overtime record and -- seemingly impossibly -- an even worse shootout record. It's a tie game with a minute left, offensive zone face-off...who does Jimmy put out on the ice? Why, of course, it's Friesen, Yelle, and Nilson. Atta boy Jimmy.
It's gotten to the point that our road games suck so bad, and Playfair is so stupid, he's willing to put 6 year old children in Halloween costumes on our blue line to "shake things up". I'm just waiting for him to get frustrated without a goal in the 1st period and start putting Hamrlik up as a centre and Huselius as a d-man. Instead of focusing on what wins us games at home, he's more concerned about changing what we do on the road. Which is certainly not the same thing, because one leads to winning ways and the other leads to unpredictable stupidity.
I'm going to say this now, with grim confidence: if Playfair is not fired, it's going to be a first round exit. And then Playfair will be fired.
Here's hoping Sutter knows what needs to be done to fix our team's road game.
TRAGEDY: Johnny Gaudreau, Brother Killed in Biking Accident
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The NHL and the Columbus Blue Jackets confirmed the tragic news early
Friday morning. Former Calgary Flames star Johnny Gaudreau and his brother
Matthew ...
2 months ago
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I almost wrote this, though I wouldn't have thought of the hilarious "six-year-old children in halloween costumes to shake things up" comment.
ReplyDeleteI'm still not 100% convinced that no Playfair is the solution (hence, I didn't write it), but I'm 90% there. Flames are in a better position than most teams to do it at this point of the season, too, because Sutter could slide back in with less difficulty than most guys, and has a track record of turning things around.
The three-forwards-and-Phaneuf strategy in OT was horrendous, and led directly to a loss.
Geez, I'm glad I left the house after we were up 1-0...
ReplyDeleteAnyways. I think a lot of our troubles on the road could be blamed on coaching - I suspect that the system they used works better at home with the last line change than not. Admittedly, I haven't actually watched them on TV enough this year to confirm this.
Overall, what I see looks like they prefer fancy give-and-go plays to simpler put-the-puck-on-the-net ones..
Lately, it's gotta be in the head. There's no way a team can be this consistently horrible on the road this late in the season, yet be so solid at home, and not be a head-game thing.
I've mused before over how Playfair must feel about his job security - I suspect that in practice it may actually be too late for those sorts of changes.
Too bad its far too late in the season for a coaching change to be effective. I'm a big Andy Murray fan but that ship has sailed. Now we just have to ride it out and either go for a new coach over the summer or hope Jimmy learns from his mistakes.
ReplyDeleteToo bad its far too late in the season for a coaching change to be effective.
ReplyDeleteLate March 2000: Jersey's in a slump, and Lou Lamoriello fires Robbie Ftorek and hires Larry Robinson. Devils go on to win second cup.
I thought it was crazy at the time. But why is it that only the crappiest teams get to fire their coach mid-season?
Probably because it's only with the crappiest teams that it's the most obvious changes are needed?
ReplyDeleteMaybe our guys can do a group hug and hit the spa together and be all good on the road again...
Maybe our guys can do a group hug and hit the spa together and be all good on the road again...
ReplyDeleteI hear they offer a wonderful package for men at Calgary's Stillwater Spa... *shrugs*
Late March 2000: Jersey's in a slump, and Lou Lamoriello fires Robbie Ftorek and hires Larry Robinson. Devils go on to win second cup.
ReplyDeleteThats actually not a bad comparison. As long as we hire a Robinson and not a Ftorek.
offensive zone face-off...who does Jimmy put out on the ice? Why, of course, it's Friesen, Yelle, and Nilson. Atta boy Jimmy.
ReplyDeleteat a game in early nov (flames/preds), i was completely floored at a lot of strange coaching decisions (such as line changes at very strange times). but i'm kinda over it now. sutter handed the reigns to playfair, and it's time to take em back. he's made some player moves that scream "this is the year." he can't be blind to the fact the coaching is not helping...
Maybe our guys can do a group hug and hit the spa together and be all good on the road again...
on the radio broadcast of the phoenix game, they kept referring to a "closed-door meeting" that the players held. and they apparently "aired some dirty laundry." so who knows if that's positive or negative...