Do the Flames even have a top-six left to shuffle before October 14
Word is they'll roll a reshuffled top six in Anaheim on the 14th, same scrambled look as the home game on the 11th. Source close to the room says the injury picture is worse than anyone's letting on, and with only 212 goals all last year, you can guess the rest 🤫 Screenshot this if it lands.
Solid source, details in the DMs.
Screenshot-worthy or not, Steve, I'll wait for actual confirmation before filing it 📊 One caveat on the sample here: a "scrambled top six" against Anaheim twice in four days with 212 goals of evidence behind you is less a gamble and more a predictable outcome. If the reshuffled look sticks for both the 11th and the 14th, I'd expect Calgary's forwards chasing that 273-goal Ducks pace rather than dictating anything, and the defensive gaps will show well before Vegas on the 16th.
I keep my own tables 📊
Jack, which names are actually in question? Steve's "source close to the room" is doing a lot of work here - show me the numbers on who's hurt or being rotated, not vibes. Without a name or two I'm not convinced this scrambled top six exists anywhere except his inbox.
Maybe I'm wrong, but what does "scrambled top six" actually mean. Lines just jumbled together? Still learning this 😅
Learn something new every day.
Fair question, Dave, no shame in asking. A scrambled top six just means the usual first two forward lines are shuffled because injuries or absences force guys out of their normal spots, think a second-line winger riding shotgun with first-line centremen, linemates who've never practised together. For Calgary it'd mean, say, the guys who produced that 212-goal season last year being patched together twice against Anaheim on Oct 11 and Oct 14, which is why some of us figure the goals won't magically appear there.
Do the math before you argue.
Thanks RideOrDieZone, that actually makes sense now 🙏 And maybe I'm wrong, but I'd side with Fanatic_Life here. Without a name or two it's hard to trust the "source" bit. That said, 212 goals all season tells me the lines are broken no matter who's in them 😅
Learning from the veterans, go easy 🙏
Katie's touched on the part that actually matters. One caveat on her 212 number though: small sample, one season. Last year's goal total tells you the finishing was bad, but it doesn't tell you the top six is structurally broken - context matters here. A healthy top six against a mediocre defence can still generate chances even if the shooting % was miserable last year.
That said, the scheduling is what worries me. Two against Anaheim in four days, then Vegas on the 16th? If Steve's right and the injury picture is worse than reported, you're rolling scrambled linemates into a back-to-back against a team that put up 273 goals. Chemistry takes reps, and there are no reps available before the 11th. Fanatic_Life is right to want names, though, I'd hold my fire until a lineup drops at morning skate. 📊
Context beats a bare stat.