It's Over

After the Storm

I've been MIA from the blogosphere lately, but it hasn't been entirely on purpose. I wasn't home very much this weekend, and when I was, it was only to sleep or get ready to head out again...

As such, I have yet to put in my response to the play of the Flames in the last couple games or my PVR's now imperfect record of 10-1 (yes, I did watch the game live on Sunday night, sorry)...

I have the game from Saturday afternoon on my PVR still (despite being told I should just delete it), and will probably get around to watching it and the other two recorded games over the course of this weekend. I can't say that I'm really looking forward to seeing the Flames lose again, and I have already seen the highlights (and lowlights) from the game, but I will watch the game regardless. I think it will help me try to wrap my head around what happened to this team on the road and may give me a bit more closure on the season...

I've already had a couple days to dwell on the Flames being out of the playoffs, and now that I'm wide awake and sober I realize that it wouldn't have been right for this 'team' to have made it to the second round on the back of Miikka alone...

There are a couple of things that Sutter has to do in the off season to fix the team for next year, the biggest being his coaching staff. The offence was remarkably potent over the course of the season, but the defence seemed quite porous, especially on the road. And I'm not talking about the blueline alone, as there seemed to occasionally be a lack of effort on behalf of the forwards to backcheck and cover the points in the Flames zone. Which was most evident in the playoff round against the Red Wings, when the boys were giving up an ungodly number of shots due to an inability to clear the puck...

I'm not sure if there is anything else to say on this point, beyond the need for the team to do some housecleaning to get rid of what can afford to and make space for what they need. There are some players that need not be brought back for next season (Amonte, McCarty) and it would be nice to see a couple of the boys from Omaha get a good chance next year (I'm looking at McElhinney and Boyd here)...

I'm not sure who I'll cheer for in the second round yet, but it'll probably be Ottawa and the Rangers in the East, and I'll be cheering for Detroit and against the Canucks in the West...

I'd just like to thank the Red Wings bloggers that took the time to sort through some of my meaningless drivel, and I will most certainly add a couple of you to my blogroll on the side of my page. Good luck in the next round!

The picture at the top of this post is actually one I took while on vacation in Scotland a couple years ago. I've been told that I have a pretty good eye, which is good because I can't write, draw, or play music with any semblance of talent whatsoever. This pic is probably my favourite...