You know what's interesting? Remember when we all said last year the Flames would be a top 10 team if they had even league average goaltending?

Well BSD is at a .911sv% which is more or less league average (.910sv%) and we're sitting pretty at second overall. Combine that with Smith's .897 and we're looking good.

Obviously other moves made a big difference too but overall I'd said we made a pretty spot on prediction.

Smith was solid against Ottawa, this should be a tougher test.

Johnny Gaudreau - Sean Monahan - Elias Lindholm
Matthew Tkachuk - Mikael Backlund - Michael Frolik
James Neal - Mark Jankowski - Austin Czarnik
Andrew Mangiapane - Derek Ryan - Garnet Hathaway

Mark Giordano - TJ Brodie
Noah Hanifin - Travis Hamonic
Oscar Fantenberg - Rasmus Andersson

Mike Smith

8 to go, 4 till we start resting a couple of guys a night, both goalies getting tuned up just before playoffs start - let's all hope for a really boring next 2 weeks full of no news out of Flames camp...

Can people stop freaking out now whenever Smith gets a start? 8 of 9 now where he's let in 2 or less. Pretty tough to do better than that.

Yeah, he was bad at the start of the year. How is that relevant at all now?

I'd be fine with either to start the playoffs, and I bet they do go with Smith since he has the experience.

Can people stop freaking out now whenever Smith gets a start? 8 of 9 now where he's let in 2 or less. Pretty tough to do better than that.

Yeah, he was bad at the start of the year. How is that relevant at all now?

I'd be fine with either to start the playoffs, and I bet they do go with Smith since he has the experience.
- Hunkulese

I agree to a point. He’s turned it around for sure, and good on him. I still cringe a little when he’s in net. All those terrible goals he let in still give me nightmares.

Can people stop freaking out now whenever Smith gets a start? 8 of 9 now where he's let in 2 or less. Pretty tough to do better than that.

Yeah, he was bad at the start of the year. How is that relevant at all now?

I'd be fine with either to start the playoffs, and I bet they do go with Smith since he has the experience.
- Hunkulese

Today was one of the first games this season he's actually looked comfortable moving around quickly.

Anybody know what the weather blog forecast for today is?
Hope it's a good one - 6 points ahead of Sharks, playoffs getting close, Giordano over 70 points, Smith looking good, 4th line dynamite, Gaudreau mad at everybody, Backlund willing to fight anything that moves, even Fantenburg looks like a good pickup, chemistry off the charts.....what did I miss... Peters is not a lousy coach, BT looking like a genius..
Lots of things to talk about - be a shame if it's a lousy forecast that's for sure.

Loved Burkie on To The Point last night talking about Oilers and Sens. No holdback there.

Anybody know what the weather blog forecast for today is?
Hope it's a good one - 6 points ahead of Sharks, playoffs getting close, Giordano over 70 points, Smith looking good, 4th line dynamite, Gaudreau mad at everybody, Backlund willing to fight anything that moves, even Fantenburg looks like a good pickup, chemistry off the charts.....what did I miss... Peters is not a lousy coach, BT looking like a genius..
Lots of things to talk about - be a shame if it's a lousy forecast that's for sure.

Loved Burkie on To The Point last night talking about Oilers and Sens. No holdback there.
- itwasin

Its Sunday. There will not be weather blog till next game day.

Its Sunday. There will not be weather blog till next game day.
- DuranDuran

Maybe partly cloudy with the sun trying to break through.

(Devils got a blog an hour ago - probably they got theirs first because they're more excited about the weather in April than we are. Makes sense -who wants to golf in the rain...)

Anybody know what the weather blog forecast for today is?
Hope it's a good one - 6 points ahead of Sharks, playoffs getting close, Giordano over 70 points, Smith looking good, 4th line dynamite, Gaudreau mad at everybody, Backlund willing to fight anything that moves, even Fantenburg looks like a good pickup, chemistry off the charts.....what did I miss... Peters is not a lousy coach, BT looking like a genius..
Lots of things to talk about - be a shame if it's a lousy forecast that's for sure.

Loved Burkie on To The Point last night talking about Oilers and Sens. No holdback there.
- itwasin

Not sure about anyone else but I for one am soooo happy they fired Glughead! Haven’t heard much complaining about the coaching this year, funny how winning does that.

I remember last season when the Flames weren't playing well Todd would blog everyday because there was lots to complain about this season he's run out negative things to blog about!!

Not sure about anyone else but I for one am soooo happy they fired Glughead! Haven’t heard much complaining about the coaching this year, funny how winning does that.
- K-man25

Gulutzan got a raw deal, and I haven't seen anything to make me think the Flames wouldn't still be in first place if he had returned. The Flames were extremely unlucky last year. Every advanced stat you looked at suggested they were one of the better teams in the league. They consistently out-chanced the other team, but couldn't finish. They were also let down by the goaltending in the second half of the year.

They also made major roster improvements pretty much everywhere. Lindholm was a major upgrade, the bottom six is much, much better, the bottom pairing on defence is so much better it's ridiculous, Neal is... well, Neal is basically Brouwer.

Guluztan and Peters are very similar coaches, but Peters has much better pieces to work with.

I remember last season when the Flames weren't playing well Todd would blog everyday because there was lots to complain about this season he's run out negative things to blog about!!
- FlamesFan1230

Here's the beginning of today's blog after last night's game (Devils, that is)

To be blunt, watching the Devils has been horrible over the last few months. Injuries have played a big part of that. Not so subtle tanking, which is the right move long-term, hasn't helped the cause either.
They were fast. The passing was crisp. They generated plenty of chances, too, and it was so refreshing to see.
it was nice to tune into a Devils game and actually enjoy myself for a few hours. I missed that feeling.

We should be sorry for him if he can't enjoy watching one of the best teams in the NHL. Seriously, it's never fun having to do something that you can't enjoy.

Too bad the "Commissioner" doesn't see the opportunity to grow his "business." and step up when Calgary is on its best run in years. I could really enjoy Hockeybuzz but this is just pathetic.
Edit: But then the Flames weren't mentioned in His list of "must see" games yesterday so I won't hold my breath for any improvement.

Gulutzan got a raw deal, and I haven't seen anything to make me think the Flames wouldn't still be in first place if he had returned. The Flames were extremely unlucky last year. Every advanced stat you looked at suggested they were one of the better teams in the league. They consistently out-chanced the other team, but couldn't finish. They were also let down by the goaltending in the second half of the year.

They also made major roster improvements pretty much everywhere. Lindholm was a major upgrade, the bottom six is much, much better, the bottom pairing on defence is so much better it's ridiculous, Neal is... well, Neal is basically Brouwer.

Guluztan and Peters are very similar coaches, but Peters has much better pieces to work with.
- Hunkulese

You’re a fcking idiot! BP will change things up when things aren’t going well. GG (a great guy) would just keep rolling out the same old time in and time again.

I remember last season when the Flames weren't playing well Todd would blog everyday because there was lots to complain about this season he's run out negative things to blog about!!
- FlamesFan1230

He’s brutal, not sure why he even blogs for the Flames.

Gulutzan got a raw deal, and I haven't seen anything to make me think the Flames wouldn't still be in first place if he had returned. The Flames were extremely unlucky last year. Every advanced stat you looked at suggested they were one of the better teams in the league. They consistently out-chanced the other team, but couldn't finish. They were also let down by the goaltending in the second half of the year.

They also made major roster improvements pretty much everywhere. Lindholm was a major upgrade, the bottom six is much, much better, the bottom pairing on defence is so much better it's ridiculous, Neal is... well, Neal is basically Brouwer.

Guluztan and Peters are very similar coaches, but Peters has much better pieces to work with.
- Hunkulese

are you kidding! Gullhead sucked!! His player management sucked,his line combos sucked. His motivational tactics ( like throwing. A stick in the stands) wasn’t only stupid. But he lost respect from the players right then and their. ANd he never got it back. HIS pp and pk sucked and that she all on coaching. All in all he sucked ball sac. And edm can have him!!

You’re a fcking idiot! BP will change things up when things aren’t going well. GG (a great guy) would just keep rolling out the same old time in and time again.
- Clyde334

What? What significant changes has Peters made this year? He's rolled more or less the same lines for most of the year. Sure, he's given Andersson a game or two on the top line when Brodie sucks, but that has just as much to do with Andersson earning that spot. What was Gulutzan going to do, give Kulak more ice time?

The bottom six didn't work last year, but no amount of tinkering was going to fix that. Ryan, Mangiapane, Czarnik are all options Gulutzan didn't have last year.

Is Peters a bad coach because he wasn't able to get the Hurricanes to the playoffs in four years and they're going to make it the first year after he leaves? No. It's the same thing with Gulutzan.

are you kidding! Gullhead sucked!! His player management sucked,his line combos sucked. His motivational tactics ( like throwing. A stick in the stands) wasn’t only stupid. But he lost respect from the players right then and their. ANd he never got it back. HIS pp and pk sucked and that she all on coaching. All in all he sucked ball sac. And edm can have him!!
- pzoxic

We went on a massive hot streak after the stick throw.

What? What significant changes has Peters made this year? He's rolled more or less the same lines for most of the year. Sure, he's given Andersson a game or two on the top line when Brodie sucks, but that has just as much to do with Andersson earning that spot. What was Gulutzan going to do, give Kulak more ice time?

The bottom six didn't work last year, but no amount of tinkering was going to fix that. Ryan, Mangiapane, Czarnik are all options Gulutzan didn't have last year.

Is Peters a bad coach because he wasn't able to get the Hurricanes to the playoffs in four years and they're going to make it the first year after he leaves? No. It's the same thing with Gulutzan.
- Hunkulese

Are you fcking kidding. Jesus man, coaching has been night & fcking day. How many games have you actually physically went & seen the Flames play. I go to about 15 games & i can tell you this team has more structure , more forecheck, Peters has more feel for when players have it & dont & actually coach the amount of minutes they play & will juggle the lines during the game. Just stop! You are spewing horse crap about no difference in coaching between Peters & GG & that is just wrong. Fck sakes!

We went on a massive hot streak after the stick throw.
- fry

Um yeah I wouldn’t call that massive. And the players not only laughed at him but laughed at him with a scoff!! When you loose respect of your team. You’re done!!like I said oilers can have him. (He does have nice hair!)

Gulutzan got a raw deal, and I haven't seen anything to make me think the Flames wouldn't still be in first place if he had returned. The Flames were extremely unlucky last year. Every advanced stat you looked at suggested they were one of the better teams in the league. They consistently out-chanced the other team, but couldn't finish. They were also let down by the goaltending in the second half of the year.

They also made major roster improvements pretty much everywhere. Lindholm was a major upgrade, the bottom six is much, much better, the bottom pairing on defence is so much better it's ridiculous, Neal is... well, Neal is basically Brouwer.

Guluztan and Peters are very similar coaches, but Peters has much better pieces to work with.
- Hunkulese

I forgot you were one of GG’s supporters!
How can you say they are similar coaches? They are so different in too many ways. Night and day. Gg couldn’t adapt on the fly and continually went with a losing situation. Ie Brouwer in front of the net on the pp, Chiasson 1st line winger, Brodie on the pp while Gio sat, the guy had no imagination. Peters on the other hand isn’t afraid to try something different to get guys going, he’s found roles for most and puts them a situation to succeed, IMO Peters is a respected coach by the players and I’m not so sure you can say that about glen.
I’ll give you this is a better roster, but Peters has found a way to squeeze more out of it.

Would like to hear Dr poopy pants take on the coaching change. Pretty sure he was another GG supporter! He hasn’t been around much.

We went on a massive hot streak after the stick throw.
- fry

I Remember when he said he's just trying to get the team to OT where he felt the Flames are the best 3 on 3 team in the NHL. That's when he lost me. No wonder they were only getting 3 or 4 regulation wins a month...they weren't trying to win. GG was terrible.

What? What significant changes has Peters made this year? He's rolled more or less the same lines for most of the year. Sure, he's given Andersson a game or two on the top line when Brodie sucks, but that has just as much to do with Andersson earning that spot. What was Gulutzan going to do, give Kulak more ice time?

The bottom six didn't work last year, but no amount of tinkering was going to fix that. Ryan, Mangiapane, Czarnik are all options Gulutzan didn't have last year.

Is Peters a bad coach because he wasn't able to get the Hurricanes to the playoffs in four years and they're going to make it the first year after he leaves? No. It's the same thing with Gulutzan.
- Hunkulese

You either are really really dumb or have drug problem. I wish you well either way.

You either are really really dumb or have drug problem. I wish you well either way.
- Clyde334

and this is coming from lifetime member of AA!