10-31-2005, 01:02 AM
cferneyh Wrote:j-monster Wrote:direwolf74 Wrote:And once again, the Flames sh*t the bed late in the game and blow a 2-goal lead with 4 minutes remaining. That makes 3 straight games where they've collapsed in the 3rd period. These guys better figure out how to win games....and soon. I can only hope that their upcoming homestand will give them some sort of jump. Those back-to-back games against the 'Nucks aren't gonna be easy.
F**k am I ever frustrated. On the bright side, at least we didn't get spanked 8-0.
:mrgreen:
This may sound ridiculous, but sometimes I think I'd rather have my team get whipped than to lose the type of game the Flame-outs have been losing. I can forget an 8-0 spanking ever happened (as long as it doesn't happen all the time, 'cause then I'd start throwing things). But games where your favourite team has the lead late then blows it, those are the games that haunt you and eat at your insides.
A loss is a loss, but yeah, if my favourite team was struggling to put wins on the board and choked up a 2 goal lead with five minutes to play, I'd kind of wonder about the character of my team. Those are games you have to close out, particularly when you are playing against the other team's third string goalie. I'm not worried about the Leafs pitching a stinker every now and again, but I think the Flames are becoming dangerously close to being known as the Calgary Hurricanes.
Ouch, that hurts. But I think you're right. The most frustrating thing about last night's game is that the Flames played great hockey for about 55 minutes and basically outplayed the Sharks in all areas of the game...but then came those horrendous final minutes where everything just fell apart. Bottom line is that the guys who are supposed to be giving Iggy some support in the scoring department (Amonte, Langkow, Donovan, Nilson) are not doing their jobs. If we could actually score more than 3 goals/game, we'd be winning a lot more than we are. The last few games have all been very close and despite the final scores, the Flames actually haven't played that badly (late game gaffes aside of course). But you can't win in the new NHL without scoring some goals, and with the exception of Iginla we're just not putting the puck in the net. And that worries me.
But I've said it before and I'll say it again. It's a long season and it's way too early to give up on this team. I still have faith in Darryl Sutter and I like the team that he's put together here. If anybody can give these guys the kick in the ass they need, it's him. And if they do manage to get their shit together, they'll be very tough to beat. 10 of their next 12 games are at home, so this'll be a good opportunity to fine-tune their game and get back to playing the kind of hockey that they're capable of.
hock:
