Post by Calgary Flames on May 31, 2022 10:16:01 GMT -6
Well well well. The playoffs are here. It's the best time of the year and there are going to be 16 GMs with dreams of hoisting Lord Stanley's Cup. While the Flames are no different, they have a very tough task in front of them in the Chicago Blackhawks. There could not be two more different teams in the style of their play. The Hawks have the 3 top scorers in the league while the Flames didn't have a point a game player. The Hawks have little in name value on the backend while the Flames built a long term premium defensive corps. Both teams have old experienced goalies so there is that. Here is a look at what the Flames need to do in order to win.
1. You can't shut down the top line of Panarin, Malkin, and Rantanen but you will have to contain them enough that you at least have a chance. Despite having a -16 rating, Rasmus Dahlin has played against the top opposition all season with pretty good results while also having a great offensive year. Miro Heiskanen has also been brilliant, Ryan Lindgren is tough to play against and Mike Matheson has exploded offensively. Don't look past Maatta and Van Reimsdyk though you have quietly put together excellent numbers as a 3rd pair. The Flames will absolutely need all 6 DMen playing well to limit (not stop) the big 3 for Chicago.
2. Depth Scoring. The Flames have 8 players with 19 goals or more including Dahlin and Heiskanen. That's pretty good and the advantage the Flames might have is there isn't one line to shut down. The offense can come from anywhere. I guess that will have to be the plan as they don't have three 50 goal scorers.
3. Team defense has to be the plan. The Flames have some of the top two way forwards in the league in Krejci, Lindholm, and Oshie, a top defensive group and a veteran goalie tandem in Smith and Bobrovsky. Some people are saying that the Flames only have a chance if they get a hot goalie but that won't be enough. The entire team needs to focus on keeping the puck out of the net. which they have done pretty well all year.
4. Even with the above point, Smith will have to be better than Fleury and he will have to be more consistent than he was at times this year. Fleury has better numbers but Smith has been excellent at times this year.
5. The D must shine. We've already mentioned this twice but if Dahlin and Heiskanen are not major stars of the series then they won't win. The Flames D must must must outplay Petry, Leddy, Cernak, McNabb, Hamonic, and Roy. They should be able to but they must be significantly better than their counterparts.
6. The Flames forwards need to narrow the gap between their performance and the Big 3 for Chicago. Do they have to be better? Sure.....but they likely won't be. But they do have to be closer than the regular season performance showed. The goaltending is close, the Flames D are better, but the gap in forward scoring can be what it was in the regular season. It's just math.
Either way it is going to be a fascinating matchup. If the points above don't happen, it could be an early golf season for the Flames.
1. You can't shut down the top line of Panarin, Malkin, and Rantanen but you will have to contain them enough that you at least have a chance. Despite having a -16 rating, Rasmus Dahlin has played against the top opposition all season with pretty good results while also having a great offensive year. Miro Heiskanen has also been brilliant, Ryan Lindgren is tough to play against and Mike Matheson has exploded offensively. Don't look past Maatta and Van Reimsdyk though you have quietly put together excellent numbers as a 3rd pair. The Flames will absolutely need all 6 DMen playing well to limit (not stop) the big 3 for Chicago.
2. Depth Scoring. The Flames have 8 players with 19 goals or more including Dahlin and Heiskanen. That's pretty good and the advantage the Flames might have is there isn't one line to shut down. The offense can come from anywhere. I guess that will have to be the plan as they don't have three 50 goal scorers.
3. Team defense has to be the plan. The Flames have some of the top two way forwards in the league in Krejci, Lindholm, and Oshie, a top defensive group and a veteran goalie tandem in Smith and Bobrovsky. Some people are saying that the Flames only have a chance if they get a hot goalie but that won't be enough. The entire team needs to focus on keeping the puck out of the net. which they have done pretty well all year.
4. Even with the above point, Smith will have to be better than Fleury and he will have to be more consistent than he was at times this year. Fleury has better numbers but Smith has been excellent at times this year.
5. The D must shine. We've already mentioned this twice but if Dahlin and Heiskanen are not major stars of the series then they won't win. The Flames D must must must outplay Petry, Leddy, Cernak, McNabb, Hamonic, and Roy. They should be able to but they must be significantly better than their counterparts.
6. The Flames forwards need to narrow the gap between their performance and the Big 3 for Chicago. Do they have to be better? Sure.....but they likely won't be. But they do have to be closer than the regular season performance showed. The goaltending is close, the Flames D are better, but the gap in forward scoring can be what it was in the regular season. It's just math.
Either way it is going to be a fascinating matchup. If the points above don't happen, it could be an early golf season for the Flames.