Flint Firebirds 2019-20 Season Thread (Part 2)

[TcNorth]

Good road win! Our boys are playing great! Hopefully, a Oshawa win is next.

 

[Generalsupdates]

What’s the injury for Keppen?

 

[Fntfirebirdfan]

What’s the injury for Keppen?

Heard sprained ankle.

 

[Savard18]

Just 10 of 68. Nothing more. Nothing less.

 

[MJ5]

Great game, but only 1 of 68. Nothing more and nothing less.

 

[TheImpatientPanther]

Kolyachonok gonna hit 15g,40pts on the year?
How's his defense been going this year?
10 straight for you guys now. Impressive run!

 

[N Da No]

Nothing More and Nothing Less?

Points GAINED against each Western Conference team during Firebirds 10 game winning streak......

Kitchener +7, Saginaw +10, London +4, Windsor +14, Owen Sound +10, Guelph +13, Erie +14, Soo +12, Sarnia +16.

Flint was tied in sixth place with both Erie and Owen Sound with 46 points when the 10 game winning streak began on January 19.

 

[Savard18]

Nothing More and Nothing Less?

Points GAINED against each Western Conference team during Firebirds 10 game winning streak......

Kitchener +7, Saginaw +10, London +4, Windsor +14, Owen Sound +10, Guelph +13, Erie +14, Soo +12, Sarnia +16.

Flint was tied in sixth place with both Erie and Owen Sound with 46 points when the 10 game winning streak began on January 19.

Well, a bunch of us saw it coming and tried to explain it while you and TC were pointing out how great Windsor and Saginaw were and how close they were to out of the playoffs. At least you’re coming around now. Good for you.

 

[Savard18]

Kolyachonok gonna hit 15g,40pts on the year?
How's his defense been going this year?
10 straight for you guys now. Impressive run!

To be honest, I don’t think he’s played that much better this year than last year but he was pretty amazing last year and had to do it with little help. He could probably be on almost any top pairing in the league and I expect him to be pretty dominant in the O next year. He’s a special kid, on and off the ice.

 

[TcNorth]

Well, a bunch of us saw it coming and tried to explain it while you and TC were pointing out how great Windsor and Saginaw were and how close they were to out of the playoffs. At least you’re coming around now. Good for you.

We were closer to 9th place than to Saginaw at one point. Nobody predicted a 9 game winning streak, including you. However, great to see the club’s longest ever win streak and at such a great time of the season.

 

[TheImpatientPanther]

To be honest, I don’t think he’s played that much better this year than last year but he was pretty amazing last year and had to do it with little help. He could probably be on almost any top pairing in the league and I expect him to be pretty dominant in the O next year. He’s a special kid, on and off the ice.

So the uptick in more offense is product of a better overall team around him? He's on pace to nearly quadruple his goals and none are on the PP.

What if anything has he gotten better at besides goal scoring? More curious on the defensive side of things? Some games I'd watch last season and this one is him wanting to fly the Dzone early a bit. Not a huge issue at 18 but more looking for him to become a better defender than scorer.

Appreciate it!

 

[MJ5]

We were closer to 9th place than to Saginaw at one point. Nobody predicted a 9 game winning streak, including you. However, great to see the club’s longest ever win streak and at such a great time of the season.

We were, and then the stars started to align.

• Ty returned from WJ
  
• We traded for Piercy and Tucker
• We traded for Yule
  
• We got Kressler back from injury
  
  All of a sudden we went from dressing 9 forwards to having some of the best depth.
  
  Most of us knew it wasn't going to be an issue making the playoffs despite where we sat in the standings at that time.
  

 

[jprenkert]

Glad to see the 10 game win streak! Also nice to see us sitting 2 pts away from Sagnasty with equal games in hand. Also noticed after tonight we are the second leading scoring team in the O. Congrats and seems a lot of stuff seem to be going right and glad we can be playing with full lineups each much. Makes a huge difference

 

[N Da No]

Well, a bunch of us saw it coming and tried to explain it while you and TC were pointing out how great Windsor and Saginaw were and how close they were to out of the playoffs. At least you’re coming around now. Good for you.

At no time did I show any favoritism towards Windsor. What I did do was to state how important and PIVOTAL (if you all remember) the January 30th game with the Spitfires was. A Flint win cut the deficit to 5 points a Flint loss would have made it a 9 point deficit. The game turned out 8-3 Flint and was PIVOTAL in what happen with both teams afterwords.

And as to Saginaw, the only comment I made towards them if you wanted to consider it a "Great"comment was the support/attendance the Spirit was receiving as compared to the Firebirds. You even agreed of the lack of fan support with the way the Firebirds had been playing.

I did state that at one point Flint was as close to being the #1 team and also #10 team in the conference. At that time the Firebirds were 12 points behind the #1 spot and 12 points ahead of the #10 team. They were truly in the MIDDLE of the pack. But as you see, things can change quickly.

For the future of hockey in Flint let's just hope that Nilsen doesn't gain control of the franchise and destroy again what took nearly five years to achieve.

 

[Savard18]

At no time did I show any favoritism towards Windsor. What I did do was to state how important and PIVOTAL (if you all remember) the January 30th game with the Spitfires was. A Flint win cut the deficit to 5 points a Flint loss would have made it a 9 point deficit. The game turned out 8-3 Flint and was PIVOTAL in what happen with both teams afterwords.

And as to Saginaw, the only comment I made towards them if you wanted to consider it a "Great"comment was the support/attendance the Spirit was receiving as compared to the Firebirds. You even agreed of the lack of fan support with the way the Firebirds had been playing.

I did state that at one point Flint was as close to being the #1 team and also #10 team in the conference. At that time the Firebirds were 12 points behind the #1 spot and 12 points ahead of the #10 team. They were truly in the MIDDLE of the pack. But as you see, things can change quickly.

For the future of hockey in Flint let's just hope that Nilsen doesn't gain control of the franchise and destroy again what took nearly five years to achieve.

No, I know TC is the Saginaw fan who was singing the praises of the Spits and Spirit and how much better their depth was, because obviously he doesn’t comprehend what the meaning of depth is. I just combined you two in my response because both were pointing out how they were also as close to out of the playoffs and 10th as they were first. Anyone with any common sense knew that Guelph would sell, likely Sarnia, and Erie, Owen Sound, the Soo weren’t going to buy. Flint had spent a month missing Dellandrea, Oksentyuk, Kolyachonok, Kressler. Something had to be done about Vierling and they would add a piece or two. Cavallin was out and they were overworking Popovich. Flint was competing with quality teams while running 3 lines. We KNEW they would pull away from the bottom half of the Conference. Windsor falling as fast as they have was somewhat unexpected but that’s not a huge surprise either. Up until last week, they have been almost completely injury free and only lost Piironen for the WJC. That wasn’t going to last all season. It’s why people were dismissive of talk of the bottom half of the Conference. 4th is theirs now. Period. 2nd could be but they’re gonna have to beat Saginaw and shut down their 2 big lines team to do it.

 

[N Da No]

No, I know TC is the Saginaw fan who was singing the praises of the Spits and Spirit and how much better their depth was, because obviously he doesn’t comprehend what the meaning of depth is. I just combined you two in my response because both were pointing out how they were also as close to out of the playoffs and 10th as they were first. Anyone with any common sense knew that Guelph would sell, likely Sarnia, and Erie, Owen Sound, the Soo weren’t going to buy. Flint had spent a month missing Dellandrea, Oksentyuk, Kolyachonok, Kressler. Something had to be done about Vierling and they would add a piece or two. Cavallin was out and they were overworking Popovich. Flint was competing with quality teams while running 3 lines. We KNEW they would pull away from the bottom half of the Conference. Windsor falling as fast as they have was somewhat unexpected but that’s not a huge surprise either. Up until last week, they have been almost completely injury free and only lost Piironen for the WJC. That wasn’t going to last all season. It’s why people were dismissive of talk of the bottom half of the Conference. 4th is theirs now. Period. 2nd could be but they’re gonna have to beat Saginaw and shut down their 2 big lines team to do it.

This weeks game with Saginaw and next weeks game with Kitchener and the final week of the season games (Saginaw and a roady at Kitchener) a potential of eight points is going to have a major impact on how who finishes where. Win 3 of 4 or even sweep those 4 games and those teams will not be calling Flint a "SURPRISE" or "UNDERDOG" anymore going into the playoffs.

 

[HockeyPops]

Well, I will certainly eat some crow over here after being skeptical about Flint's ability to climb the standings. Even when they visited the Soo on Jan 22 and won 7-4 I was underwhelmed.

However, their play has steadily improved since then, and I have become a big believer in what's happening in Flint. Even if Flint climbs no higher than fourth come playoff time, I don't think any team is going to want to meet them in the playoffs (remember, Guelph was the fourth seed last year).

Good luck the rest of the way.

 

[Toldyaso]

I still don't think they are completely dialed in yet. My feeling is they will continue to get better. Should be a scary prospect for several teams come playoff time.

 

[Savard18]

So the uptick in more offense is product of a better overall team around him? He's on pace to nearly quadruple his goals and none are on the PP.

What if anything has he gotten better at besides goal scoring? More curious on the defensive side of things? Some games I'd watch last season and this one is him wanting to fly the Dzone early a bit. Not a huge issue at 18 but more looking for him to become a better defender than scorer.

Appreciate it!

Yeah, I’d say a good portion of the increased offense is just a matter of better talent around him. He’s jumping into the play just a bit more and that may be because it’s less of risky proposition this year with better forwards covering, better D partners, and better goaltending. You won’t confuse him with Ryan Merkley though. He rarely gets caught and rarely gets forced into a turnover. His speed, skating ability and active stick allow him to recover and negate offensive opportunities he may have helped create. I can’t tell you if his shot is any harder but he is finishing his opportunities more frequently. Some of that is just being a bit better at creating open ice for himself, finding soft zones in coverage and utilizing those opportunities. Though their styles are a bit different I think he’ll end up being in the mold of a slightly more offensive Nick Hjalmarsson. He’s not tough but he’s not soft and usually manages to stay out of trouble and break up plays with superior positioning, skating and really good stick work. Much like Lidstrom did. Just not quite as well obviously.

 

[boknows]

Nothing More and Nothing Less?

Points GAINED against each Western Conference team during Firebirds 10 game winning streak......
Kitchener +7, Saginaw +10, London +4, Windsor +14, Owen Sound +10, Guelph +13, Erie +14, Soo +12, Sarnia +16.

Flint was tied in sixth place with both Erie and Owen Sound with 46 points when the 10 game winning streak began on January 19.

London has won 10 in a row so not sure how you calculate +4 over last 10 games.

 

[TheImpatientPanther]

Yeah, I’d say a good portion of the increased offense is just a matter of better talent around him. He’s jumping into the play just a bit more and that may be because it’s less of risky proposition this year with better forwards covering, better D partners, and better goaltending. You won’t confuse him with Ryan Merkley though. He rarely gets caught and rarely gets forced into a turnover. His speed, skating ability and active stick allow him to recover and negate offensive opportunities he may have helped create. I can’t tell you if his shot is any harder but he is finishing his opportunities more frequently. Some of that is just being a bit better at creating open ice for himself, finding soft zones in coverage and utilizing those opportunities. Though their styles are a bit different I think he’ll end up being in the mold of a slightly more offensive Nick Hjalmarsson. He’s not tough but he’s not soft and usually manages to stay out of trouble and break up plays with superior positioning, skating and really good stick work. Much like Lidstrom did. Just not quite as well obviously.

Thank you again. Clears up a lot of questions the FLA board has for him. Really feel we've found a solid 2-way 2nd pairing guy in the making. Will try and catch more of the Firebirds down the stretch, last year wasnt as fun to watch

 

[Savard18]

Thank you again. Clears up a lot of questions the FLA board has for him. Really feel we've found a good 2nd pairing guy in the making.

Sure. And you can have him as soon as next season is over. He was clearly an on ice leader early into his OHL career. You could visibly see him on the ice calming guys down, congratulating teammates and just settling stuff down in between whistles as a 17yo on a STRUGGLING, young team. Let alone how calm he was under pressure during play. You never see him panic with or without the puck. It’s widely known around the rink that he shows up early every day and works as hard as anyone in the org. I’ve been told “I showed up 10 minutes early to unlock the building and Vlad was already there banging on the doors and looking into the windows.” There’s a reason he’s a fan favorite. A Euro defenseman that rarely hits and I still love the kid? You know he’s special. He’ll be your steady top 4 guy soon.

 

[Savard18]

London has won 10 in a row so not sure how you calculate +4 over last 10 games.

Maybe London has only played 8 games during Flint’s 10 game win streak?

 

[Toldyaso]

London has won 10 in a row so not sure how you calculate +4 over last 10 games.

Knights first win in the current 10 game streak was on Jan 12. Firebirds first win in their current 10 game streak was on Jan 19. knights first 2 wins in their streak happened before the Firebird's streak started. She's basing the change on where both teams point totals were on Jan 18. Just a different perspective.

 

[Savard18]

Knights first win in the current 10 game streak was on Jan 12. Firebirds first win in their current 10 game streak was on Jan 19. knights first 2 wins in their streak happened before the Firebird's streak started. She's basing the change on where both teams point totals were on Jan 18. Just a different perspective.

Nerd.