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*Update - It appears that Karri Ramo has left practice this morning with an injury. No word yet on seriousness of said injury, and at the moment he remains the starter for tonight. Will update.
Playing their second game in just as many days, the Flames look to bounce back against the LA Kings later tonight after a disappointing 5-2 loss against the Anaheim Ducks Friday afternoon.
The Kings who have not lost a game in regulation over their last ten games will certainly be prepared to extend that streak tonight against the Flames who have but two wins in their last ten. Likely a little sore and tired from yesterday’s matchup against the Ducks, Calgary will need to dig deep for a win in LA tonight as the team continues to be dealt with injuries.
Last time the two teams met was on October 21st at the Staples Center where the Flames took a 3-2 win over the home team. Given the strength of their conference, Calgary will need to work on and improve their starts as they have been guilty of allowing early goals and having poor first periods. While they have historically found ways to catch up to teams in the latter half of games this year, their first period starts have been, well, despairing.
"A pretty weak start for us for the first period, once again," defenceman Ladislav Smid said. "The second period we played our game. We played our system and we scored some goals. We can't afford these kinds of first periods. We fall back and then you're trying to make it even. It causes you to [use too] much energy."
A team who’s intention was to be hard to play against have certainly been making a little too easy for a few of their opponents so far this year. Not being able to hold on to leads or come out of the gates with energy has ultimately led the team chasing their opponents and moving away from their game plan.
Tonight, like any other night for the Flames, will require a lot of focus on details and systems as they play a team who are much stronger than they are on paper. Having the mindset that they can outskate and or outwork any other team is one thing, but to do it is another and the Flames have not displayed a full 60 minutes of hockey since their first stretch of games.
That said, Calgary has certainly had its challenges with injuries to some of their top performers, most recently Dennis Wideman and Sean Monahan. Without the two key players, in addition to Mark Giordano, TJ Galiardi, and Curtis Glencross, Calgary will need to rely on their most veteran line of Matt Stajan, Lee Stempniak, and Mike Cammalleri to help the team battle through adversity. Outside of these guys, players such as Jiri Hudler who has been playing very well this year registering 23pts in 25 games, will also need to contribute.
David Jones was good for two goals during yesterday’s bout, and players like he and Backlund, Basertschi, Russell, and Colborne will need to be looked upon for secondary scoring as well. Without all these players playing to their expectations, Calgary can be faced with another bad loss as experienced most recently in Anaheim.
Tonight, the Flames will start netminder Karri Ramo who, outside of playing eight minutes last night, has not taken to the ice for Calgary in nearly a month. In spite of not logging too many games so far this year, Ramo says he’s happy with any playing time he gets and is ready for the challenge.
“Every action I get, I guess, is good action,” said Ramo of his four-save performance after Berra was given the hook.
“It’s been a while. I’ve been practising a lot and been on the ice a lot, but it’s different when you jump into a game,” Ramo said. “You take all the positives you can get from eight minutes.”
“You’re always looking forward to the opportunity but you still have to keep your head and not try and do too much,” he said. “It’s still the same game. I have to prepare the same way I’ve prepared for any other game this season.
Calgary will need to hit the ice running tonight and play a full 60 minute game if they have any intentions of challenging the Kings. Without most of their key players in the lineup it will be important to play a run and gun style of hockey where simple plays are the main focus of their game plan. Play the body hard, create turnovers, get the puck in deep and play a strong cycle game.
It's not likely to be a pretty game for the road team, but with the right amount of work ethic and determination, we have seen this same group put up quite the fight against much stronger rosters. Should be a good one, either way.
**
While I am searching for positive things to say at the moment with respect to the Flames play and their coaching, I have to say I continue to be a little upset with some decisions made of late.
There is one player in particular who I feel should be given more opportunities to create chances for the Flames, and yet continues to be given limited minutes as he's thrown on the fourth line with the “face-punchers”. Sven Baertschi, thought to be the Flames future star winger, has been experiencing a lot of difficulty earning his coach's trust and has been limited to around 14 minutes a game, on average.
While I am not one who believes that a player like Sven should simply be "given" his minutes and not have them earned, with the current state which the Flames find themselves in with respect to a rebuild and a few too many injuries, a player of his ilk should be awarded with more opportunity to prove his worth.
Moreover, while a player with only 47 NHL games under his belt is likely going to make mistakes, teach the young player through said mistakes and ultimately allow him to work out his game playing with stronger line mates, rather than trying to develop his talents on the fourth line. They should not lose focus of their "No B.S." attitude, however what is being offered to Baertschi at the moment, at least for this writer, doesn't appear to be the best development path.
Expect mistakes from a young player like Sven, expect that he will need to improve upon parts of his game and expect that at times it won’t be pretty…but don’t expect that sitting and limiting the rookie to 4th line minutes to work out his defensive game, then suddenly throwing him back into an offensive role and expecting him to produce right away is going to do a ton for his confidence.
I truly appreciate the coaching style of Hartley as he attempts to make it known that losing or poor play will never be accepted or excused with this team, however at some point you need to take a step back and make sure that you're not being a little too forceful with said coaching style.
What do you think of how Baertschi has been handled so far this year? Is it nothing but tough love which is needed for a team rebuilding, or should the coaching staff be a little more helpful in terms of developing said player’s confidence?
Thanks for reading!
Calgary Flames Blogger • 
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