Browsing: touch

CALGARY – Four games in, a troubling pattern has emerged for the Calgary Flames.

They just canâ€t finish.

While finishing around the net was the No. 1 concern going into the season, at issue of late has been the teamâ€s inability to finish off opponents.

Tuesdayâ€s 4-2 loss to the Vegas Golden Knights marked the third straight game in which the Flames finished with a faceplant.

This disappearing act saw the lads squander a 2-0 first-period lead. The visitors responded by scoring four straight, including three in the final period.

As part of a three-game skid in which the Flames have led once, trailed once and been tied going into the third period, Calgary has been outscored 9-1 in the final frame.

“Good teams find a way to win in third period,†said MacKenzie Weegar, whose first-period wizardry set up a Mikael Backlund goal that got the joint jumping early.

“Weâ€ve got to figure out a way to learn from that one. I hate the word concerning, but it’s definitely something to be addressed, and weâ€ve got to fix that for sure.â€

The Flames were outshot 13-5 in the third, outworked in the corners, and outclassed in the clutch. Jack Eichel led the charge for Vegas, scoring twice and setting the tone for a team that knows how to close. Meanwhile, the Flames looked like a group still trying to figure out how to play with a lead — or hold onto one.

“Itâ€s much similar to the last three,†said head coach Ryan Huska of the implosion.

“Weâ€re just not playing complete games.â€

Thatâ€s putting it mildly. In each of their last three outings, the Flames have either surrendered a lead or failed to generate the kind of urgency that defines winning teams. Tuesdayâ€s collapse was particularly painful, given the strong start and the opportunity to make a statement against a perennial contender.

Blake Coleman, who added to the Flames†early lead just 12 minutes in, seemed stunned that a group known for thriving in the third period last season keeps being victimized late.

“Itâ€s a lesson that probably shouldnâ€t have to be learned with this group,†said Coleman, whose team scored twice on Adin Hill before he was suffered what the team said was a lower-body injury replaced in the second period by Akira Schmid. (yes, place your bets on the Knights inking Carter Hart as early as Wednesday, when heâ€s eligible to sign with an NHL team.)

“You know, weâ€ve got guys that have been there and know how to do it and, yeah, this oneâ€s disappointing,” Coleman added.

Disappointing is one thing. Concerning is another. And while Weegar may hate the word, itâ€s hard to avoid it when the same issues keep surfacing. Defensive lapses, missed assignments, and a lack of killer instinct have plagued the Flames in crunch time — a far cry from the identity they hoped to forge under Huskaâ€s leadership.

The loss dropped Calgary to 1-3-0 on the season, with just one comeback win in Edmonton to show for four games. The Flames, known for their work ethic and discipline in 2024-25, have yet to piece together a complete 60-minute effort – the type required to be a playoff team.

Thereâ€s no shortage of talent in the room. Veterans like Nazem Kadri, Jonathan Huberdeau, and Rasmus Andersson have the pedigree. Youngsters like Matt Coronato and Connor Zary bring energy and upside. But until the group collectively embraces the grind of third-period hockey, the results will remain the same.

“Weâ€ve got to fix that for sure,†Weegar repeated, echoing the sentiment of a locker=room that knows the clock is ticking — not just on games, but on the seasonâ€s trajectory.

Dustin Wolf made 26 saves in the loss, victimized by Eichel for the second time in the game for the winner six minutes into the third. Wolf will finally give way to Devin Cooley on Wednesday when the Flames visit Utah.

Huberdeau, who skated with the team Tuesday for the first time since being injured in the pre-season, will be on the trip, which will see the Flames visit the Golden Knights on Saturday.

There are no excuses for not putting in a late shift in Vegas.

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The foundation of any good short game starts with solid fundamentals and clean contact. But to truly lower your scores, you must master distance control — and that comes from touch.

Touch is the ability to control distance through feel and instinct. It takes time to develop and is a skill you’ll see consistently in better players. Here are five ways you can start sharpening yours.

1. Develop your hands

Feel starts with your hands. They control the club’s loft, face angle, and speed — all of which influence distance and direction.

Practice moving the clubface and shaft angle using only your hands and arms to understand their role better. Becoming aware of how subtle changes affect the ball is the first step toward real touch.

2. Let your eyes lead

Watch any skilled player during short game practice, and you’ll notice that they spend most of their time looking at the target, not the ball.

With experience, your eyes tell your hands and arms what to do. The same principle applies in putting — your distance control improves when your focus shifts from the ball to the target.

3. Match your swing length to distance

Aside from club selection, the length of your swing or stroke has the biggest influence on distance. You can calibrate this through structured practice — here’s a link to my short game calibration course. Over time, with repetition, you’ll begin to instinctively feel the right swing length for each shot.

4. Feel the club “fall”

As your backswing lengthens, you store more energy, which naturally increases speed and distance. If your hands and arms stay relaxed, you’ll sense the clubhead “fall” toward the ball. That softness — combined with the club’s natural weight — enhances both feel and distance control.

5. Learn your release

Different release patterns create different ball flights and rollouts. A body-driven release tends to be shallower, producing a lower flight and more roll. A hand-and-arm release, like on a true pitch shot, launches the ball higher with a softer landing. Learning to adjust between the two helps you fine-tune trajectory and distance on command.

MS Dhoni has a lot of issues to address. (AP Photo) MUMBAI: In movies, lead actors, despite having great lines or scenes written for them, depend on their co-actors’ pauses or reactions or cues to elevate a scene or situation to the next level. The same can be said about sport.
ALSO READ: Dhoni should stick to batting at No 4, feels Ganguly
“Batting down the order is one of the toughest things to do. You don’t get a (ready-made) player who’s complete, who bats at No.5, 6 or 7, all the time.”
Skipper MS Dhoni chose his words carefully while addressing the media as he analysed India’s 19-run defeat to New Zealand to leave the series tied at 2-2, with everything to play for in Vizag on Saturday.That is, if cyclone Kyant is kind enough to allow play. Dhoni is right. Suresh Raina, Yuvraj Singh, Mohd Kaif and Dhoni himself developed those skills to finish a game over a course of 15-20 ODIs and repeatedly being put in such situations.
In the 1990s, invariably it was Ajay Jadeja and Robin Singh who performed that role.
So, what skills are required for batting at that number? Ability to read the situation, the wicket and the calmness to not go too early for the big shot and perish in the process.
Manish Pandey and Kedar Jadhav have been assigned that role now and neither of them have played long enough in those positions to succeed consistently. They are also by-products of the IPL era where they are required to play the big shots. Pandey perished trying to do that on Wednesday while Jadhav perished attempting a cute stroke at the Kotla. Ditto for Hardik Pandya. What the finishers of the past, named above, benefitted from was a crack opening pair in either Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly or Ganguly and Sehwag, or Sehwag and Tendulkar, who invariably got the team off to sublime starts. Pandey and Jadhav have not enjoyed that luxury.
They have also been a bit crippled by the fact that the skipper’s hitting skills and the ability to rotate strike on difficult pitches have been on the wane over the last 18 months.
In Mohali, when he scored 80, Dhoni had good allies in the form of a true pitch and a red-hot Virat Kohli. Kohli’s skill to find the gaps consistently enabled Dhoni to create his own tempo and rhythm and play a key role in the win. In Ranchi, on a tired pitch, and with Kohli gone and the game still in balance, he had to make all the play on his own.
As his 11 off 31 balls illustrated, he wasn’t equipped to do it. Ajinkya Rahane batted well for his 57, but he is not the batsman that can take you home. Not yet anyway. He has hardly batted beyond the 35th over, barring the odd knock. While Dhoni will go down in history as one of India’s and the game’s greatest ever middle-order players, he is right now in the need of support when it comes to injecting momentum in chases. At 30 or 32, one could hope for stirring solos from him. Without Suresh Raina or Yuvraj Singh and without a solid and in-form top-order, those solos won’t happen.
It was proved in Sydney where Dhoni fed off Pandey (104* off 81 balls) to score 34 off 42 balls as India chased down 331. In Kanpur last year, against South Africa, Rohit Sharma slammed a sublime 150 and till he was there Dhoni did not feel troubled. But the moment Rohit departed with India needing 34 from 23 balls, Dhoni struggled.
ALL SET FOR DECIDER: India and New Zealand have been tied 2-2 twice in the past in five-match series. In 1995, India managed to win the final ODI at the Brabourne Stadium to clinch the series under Mohammad Azharuddin. In 1999, Tendulkar led India to a series win in the fifth ODI at the Kotla.
PROBLEM AREAS FOR INDIA UNDER-PERFORMING TOP-ORDER: Since 2013, very rarely have India not got good starts. In the four ODIs here, Indiaâ€s starts have been 49, 21, 13 and 19. Rohit Sharma is yet to cross 15 in the four ODIs and he is one of Indiaâ€s key players. His lack of form has put Kohli and Dhoni under pressure.
IN-EXPERIENCED MIDDLE-ORDER: Axar Patel, Manish Pandey, Hardik Pandya and Kedar Jadhav may have played the odd great knock, but they haven’t been in the trenches fighting for the side and rescuing the team from tough situations enough number of times. With Raina (unwell) or Yuvraj (ignored), the team lacks experience in tight scenarios.
PROFLIGATE BOWLING: India have so far bowled 30 wides in the series which is five extra overs. Umesh Yadav has contributed to 11 of those. In the absence of Shami, he was expected to lead the attack, but inconsistency has been his trusted friend and has always been reluctant to leave his company.
AXAR’S ROLE: When Dhoni was asked about Mumbai all-rounder Abhishek Nayar during the 2009 Champions Trophy, he has snidely remarked, I don’t know whether he is a batsman who could bowl or a bowler who could bat. Axar Patel, who has enjoyed the trust of the skipper falls in the same boat too as he has not inspired with the bat or ball, barring the last game in Ranchi where he scored 38.
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