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The Calgary Flames will wrap up their home games tonight against the Dallas Stars. Dallas has been playing well on the road and is rolling on a 4 game winning streak. It won’t be an easy game for the Flames who have been struggling to win at home.
Hopefully the Stars will be drained enough from last night’s contest against Edmonton to give Calgary an advantage. Where Dallas has struggled this year is scoring, and they only average around 25 shots per game. That being said, in their last four games, they’ve out-scored opponents 13-6. Calgary will hope to put an end to their current streak and take advantage of the Stars limitations as they usually allow an average of 33 shots against.
One thing Calgary has done well this year is getting the puck on net, as they’ve managed to average around 31 shots per game. If Dallas will allow the Flames to get that many shots off, they might find the puck in the back of their net more often than they would like. Conversely, Calgary will have to contend with the Stars 6th ranked defense, and goaltender Kari Lehtonen. Kari made 35 saves against the Oilers last night and has a 1.77 goals-against average and .940 save percentage… so it will be no easy task to get on the scoresheet.
The Flames goalie issues worsened last night when Feaster announced that Kipursoff will remain out for 2 more weeks. Despite having picked up Joey MacDonald off waivers, Hartley plans on keeping Irving in net to give the tender a chance to gain experience. On a positive note though, we should see Cammalleri back tonight and the Flames will give Paul Byron a shot in place of Street at center. Some fans are making a case for Roman Horak in place of Byron, but with all the injuries Calgary has faced as of late, the speculation is that Feaster is trying out all AHL options and we will go to Horak next.
Calgary has had success taking advantage of power plays, and since the Stars average 4.22 more penalty minutes a game, they will want make sure they convert on those opportunities. Playing a smart defensive game in front of Irving will be crucial tonight for a win. Dallas’ faceoff percentages is actually lower than the Flames(go figure), therefore winning faceoffs and keeping possession will allow Calgary to set their pace.
When it comes to pacing their game, Calgary needs to show more vigor in their plays. In Monday night’s loss they played relatively flat. Hudler and Cervenka’s 2 on 1 goal showed a sign of liveliness and the rest of the Flames will need to take a page out of the 2nd line’s book and create more opportunities.
To beat the 13th overall team, Calgary will have to dig deep and play the type of play they’ve only shown fleetingly thus far this season…but a win tonight is necessary.
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It’s nearing the time in this shortened season that many GM’s will begin to assess if their team will be selling or buying throughout the upcoming weeks. The Calgary Flames are no different. They currently sit tied for 30th in the league(albeit a few less games played) and another loss tonight will certainly open the trade rumor flood gates.
The Flames will soon need to decide if they are at a position where they should sell a few of their blossomed flowers to a team who is ready for the big show, in exchange for seeds or budding flowers for their future….I know…work with me here!....This will unavoidably bring up the rumors of their prettiest flower, Jarome Iginla. The Flames longstanding captain will soon find himself at a crossroad; fight with the team a little while longer, or accept a trade proposal to a contending team.
See, Iginla has two current values to his team. He has the ability to help his team win games and fight for the playoffs, and he has a trade value which could aid the team in a retool. Iginla has struggled of late and his fiery competitive nature has, well, been indiscernible. If the Flames are to find any success out of this year, he will need to start showing that feistiness again and prove that he’s here to win. If not, he may force the hand of his GM to ask him to entertain a few trade offers.
The Flames are not in panic mode just yet…but sitting tied for last with a few games in hand, isn’t exactly a good situation in such a season like this. They will need to either start winning more games, or address their future needs…and soon. Playing well is not enough and doesn’t earn points in the standings. Simple as that.
Thanks for reading!
Calgary Flames Blogger • 
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