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The Calgary Flames took to the ice last night against the Winnipeg Jets in front of a home crowd. The Flames, who have been experiencing difficulties scoring goals and winning games, were looking to bounce back against the Jets who just recently won against the Coyotes.
As is typical with most sports, when a team is struggling to score and find themselves in a slump, it’s rather difficult to turn things around. With that in mind, the Flames have won just two of their last ten games played and while scoring a total of nine goals.
Not expected to be a problem this year, the Flames are finding it difficult to put the puck in the back of net with the lack of a few star players in their roster. Even with a healthy roster, the Flames do not have a ton of proven scorers, and the one they do have is out with a concussion at the moment. That said, there is still much available to them in terms of potential production with the likes of Monahan, Hudler, Wideman, Giordano, and Stempniak.
Of those mentioned, Hudler remains on a rather strong streak as the forward currently sits with 39 points in 48 games played, while rookie Monahan has been cold of late, having no points in his previous two games and registering a total of 19 points for the year. And how about the captain? Giordano is good for 20 points in just 30 games so far this year. He has been impressive as well.
As I’ve alluded to in the past, the Flames shouldn’t really be “relying” on Monahan for goals this year, given that he’s 19 years old and in his first professional hockey season. And while this remains true, Monahan is going to need to start contributing some more if the Flames plan on succeeding beyond dead last this year (though some argue this wouldn’t be a bad thing).
Last night’s game wasn’t pretty. A 5-2 loss in front of a home crowd, to a Canadian next door rival is never a good thing, especially when said team is directly ahead of you in the standings. As I watched the game, the things that stood out for me was the teams overall defensive coverage, or lack thereof. Syphoning through twitter and postgame reports, all I could read however was criticism and blame directly pointed at netminder Reto Berra.
I’m not sure how you feel about his game last night, but I really don’t think it was as bad as a 5-2 loss would typically indicate. Thing is, the majority of the goals scored were by a player standing…all…by….themselves. I’m not sure how many goalies these pundits feel that could have saved those goals, but this writer will tell you that Berra didn’t really have a chance on most of them. Off the top of my head, there was only one goal which Berra should/could have had but ultimately found its way to the back of the net. All things considered, fans shouldn’t be calling for the guy’s head after last night’s performance.
And while people may be shaking their heads at Berra of late, they are certainly no longer shaking their heads at Backlund who has been showing large strides of improvement. Arguable their most consistent forward of late, Backlund has really turned things around and appears to be gaining more and more confidence. Mikael has been slowly finding his groove in the NHL playing with Calgary, and as a result of hard work and dedication, his higher shot totals are starting to pay off as he moves up the points ladder.
"Right now, he's on a mission. He's playing well," Flames head coach Bob Hartley said of Backlund in the aftermath of their 4-2 loss to the Predators Tuesday night.
"He's our best player."
Just a few weeks ago Backlund was seen watching the game from the press box as one of Calgary’s healthy scratches, and now he is considered their best player by Hartley – quite the 180, I’d say.
Throughout his career so far with the Flames, Backlund took on the role of a defensively responsible centerman and was not looked upon or often credited for his scoring abilities. Of late, the 24 year old has seemingly gained confidence and is taking the puck hard to the net, adding a little finesse to his game, and showing the coaches and fans alike that he has more to offer.
"This guy still has so much more to offer and he will, there's no doubt in my mind. It's part of our partnership. I need to help him get it out of him. Many young guys, they need time to find their groove in the NHL to know how good they are.
"Backs is unbelievably talented, he's committed, he's lots of fun to work with and he's just gonna get better and better."
As we continue to find out, fans need to remain patience with their young and inexperienced players. As we’re starting to see guys like Backlund turn their games around for the better, we should award the same level of patient to Berra, Colborne, Brodie, et al.
**
As most of you have already heard, 35 year old Steve Begin announced publicly over twitter last night that he has officially retired due to a re-occurring hip injury. “For once” he said over twitter “I am listening to my body”.
The forward played with the Flames from 1997-2003 and was entering his second most recent season with the Flames, prior to being sidelined by injury again. Begin was a veteran who the team felt would be an asset to have around the locker room and in their organization during the rebuild given the work ethic and professional mentality which he holds.
Steve made the team out of training camp during the 2012-13 season with a committed and hardworking attitude. He was nominated the Bill Masterdon Trophy in 2012 which is handed out to players who best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to hockey.
“Steve had a career marked with great diligence and effort,” said Flames president of hockey operations Brian Burke. “On behalf of the Calgary Flames Organization and ownership group, I congratulate him on his 15 year NHL career and wish him success in his future endeavours.”
I briefly spoke with Steve over twitter last year and the man is a professional and a class act. Unfortunately he had to end his NHL career a little earlier than he would have liked, but I imagine he will have much success in his new endeavors.
Thanks for reading!
Calgary Flames Blogger • 
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