Smattville: Crisis

Wednesday, October 11, 2006

Crisis

On the heels of Monday's disappointing 4-1 loss to San Jose, there was head coach Jim Playfair saying his team needs to find its identity.

Come again?

The Flames identity is hardly a secret. You don't need Indiana Jones to help find it. It's not a case study for the cast of CSI. Even the popcorn vendor in the nose bleeds can tell you what the Flames identity is. It's about pursuit. It's about effort. It's about that old campaign slogan, 'All out, every shift.' One would think, knowing how to play to the Flames identity would be simple. Or is it?

"It's a really hard way to play," insisted Playfair after yesterday's practice. "With the new rules, it looks like you should be able to play an easier-tempoed game but it's not that way. It's about closing down ice, making the battle areas confined and winning the puck battles. It's not hard, it's really simple in looking at it, but the hard part is convincing ourselves that's how we have to play at the beginning of the game." But that doesn't mean skating from one corner of the rink to the other in a mad dash for the puck. Centre Stephane Yelle, who may be the most cerebral player on the Flames roster, insists more attention to details is involved than at first glance. "When you don't have that execution, you get away from the game plan and then you're stepping away from your identity. That's when you get in trouble".

The work ethic. itself, hasn't been up to snuff through the first three games of the season, two of which ended as losses. That trend is setting off alarms. "Just because we added a few different parts this year, our team doesn't change from what it was last year," said right winger Tony Amonte. "We have to fight for everything we get. That's the way it's gonna be. We're not gonna be fancy and make tic-tac-toe plays, it's not the way this team is built." If reminders were needed, Playfair has doled a couple out following the final buzzer in Monday's defeat to the Sharks. One was the half-hour bike ride for all the players immediately after the game. Another was a hard practice yesterday, with effort and determination more the focus than anything else.

"Our responsibility now is to re-establish that (identity)," Playfair explained. "We've been wanting it to come back, we've been hoping it comes back but now it's non-negotiable, we have to go get it and find it. It's not the end of the world Calgary, it's just a matter of getting their focus back and finding ways to get some results.

posted by Matt @ 11:05 AM

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