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The Calgary Flames took to the ice against the Anaheim Ducks last night and have unfortunately extended their losing streak between the two teams.

Having now dropped their past 19 games against the Ducks, Calgary has been unable to find any success against this Western Conference powerhouse and could not get much going last night, either. Off to a poor start, the Flames allowed three unanswered goals and would have to chase the lead, which is not typically a recipe for success.

The Flames have actually been suffering when it comes to their “slow starts”, and the team is starting to notice the trend; a trend, might I add, that will make it quite difficult to win games moving forward if not acted upon.

“I can’t really pinpoint it,” said Josh Jooris. “Yeah, I don’t really know the answer to that. It’s just the whole team effort. We have to find a way to play like we do in the third in the first. That’s just the thing.

“We have to get pucks to the net and buzz around in that first period, too.”

The Flames have been playing some strong hockey and all things considered continue to impress the masses, however much of their success come from late efforts and if they intend on maintaining their strong play, will need to play a full 60 minutes of hockey.

And of all people who were hoping to walk away with two points, former Duck Jonas Hiller was certainly putting his best (pads?) forward and trying to get behind his team.

“At the end, it’s disappointing to not win any points,” Hiller said. “We want to keep moving up or stay in the standings and had a chance (Tuesday).

“Yeah, when we played our game in the third we were as good as them, but it’s too bad we can’t do it for 60 minutes right now.”

Seems pretty clear that the team has identified an area of concern which is always a good thing. Getting down on yourself about a loss and not taking away from it is when you may start to slide, but if this team has proven anything, it’s that they are a resilient group and won’t give up!

“A real good hockey team,” Hartley said. “We need to bounce back. We know the mission we’re on. And if we want to achieve it, we need to get back on our toes (Wednesday) night.”

The Flames will be challenged against the San Jose Sharks tonight who have been struggling of late. They’ve played a ton of games on the road so far this young season and a home win tonight could be what they need to get back on track.

And tonight should be an interesting start because like the Flames, the Sharks have been struggling with slow starts themselves. Both teams looking to improve in the first period should make it for some interesting hockey right off the bat…you would think.

"Slow starts, they always hurt," Pavelski said. "We worked, we kept going as the game went on. We had chances there at the end. We just have to find a way to win. ... It's still about managing the game when the game is tied, making that simple play. We've got to learn that lesson over and over. But it's got to stay with us one of these times."

All things considered, tonight is in favour of the home team as San Jose have outscored Calgary by a margin of 34-18, which is quite substantial. The Flames will need to park their rears in front and get some quality shots on net if they are to find any success. Of course their speed and effort will be the biggest key, but being outshot or out-chanced will hurt.

"We have to do better," goaltender Jonas Hiller said. "We can't just hope we win every game in the last five minutes after being down. Coming from behind might work once in a while and it shows a lot of character.

"We've got to be ready from the first minute on. We got outworked in the first two periods. You can't just flip a switch."

To close the blog on a good note, Flames captain Mark Giordano currently sits first in the NHL for defensemen in points with 24, of which 17 came from his last 13 games. With a continued strong influence from their captain, Calgary could walk away with two points and put themselves into a three way tie for 3rd in the West!

That’s all for today folks, thanks for reading!

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