After the first period in which the Flames were outshot 18-8 and Henrik Karlsson stopped 17 of those 18 shots, one would have hoped that the Flames would be able to bounce-back and attempt to repay their goaltender, who single-handedly was keeping his team in the game as they struggled to find their groove.
A 19-9 advantage in the shots by the Sabres in the second period would certainly imply that whatever message the team was given between periods, it wasn't received although the Tower was able to maintain his personal high level of performance as he blanked the Sabres in the second in order to give his team a chance to earn some points as they cam out for the third.
Unfortunately, the Flames still weren't able to come out in the third with the effort required to "make some hay" and they quickly found themselves down 2-1 just 1:45 into the final stanza as the looked like the quintessential "tired" team playing on the wrong side of a back-to-back situation.
Then it was as if a gong went off somewhere in the psyche of each Flames player as they suddenly started to play with some desperation. The club that looked to be horribly over-matched for the first 42 minutes was finally showing some signs of life as they were suddenly able to find their game, and certainly generated enough chances to tie the game, even though they would only be able to squeeze a single marker behind Enroth who was very solid in the third.
Obviously many will point to the fact that the Sabres let their foot off the gas with a late two goal lead, and that was certainly a factor, but the simple truth is that the Flames were once again unable to match the intensity of their opponents when the puck was dropped, and that's been a huge issue for this team going back multiple seasons.
It's one thing on the second game of a back-to-back schedule to run out of gas late in an intense battle versus a rested opponent. It's another thing entirely to coast through the first two periods and expect to be able to flick a switch and bring your game up to the level it needs to be once you're essentially buried and expect to be able to make a miraculous comeback to save the day.
Oh wait. I've just gone and done a "Cole's Notes" version of the Flames last season... If they can't find a way to bring their 'A' game on a consistent basis, they can't expect the end result to change.
Have a great day!
[email protected]
KINDLE USERS: Please subscribe to Flames Buzz; a one-stop feed for all things Calgary Flames-related on HockeyBuzz. Content is automatically updated whenever a new Calgary-related blog is published. For more information,
click here.
Follow Me On Twitter 
Calgary Flames Blogger • 
Join the Discussion:
»