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A few Calgary Flames notes on this off-day:
1) Following Sean Monahan's four-point output (in less than 15 minutes of ice, I will add) the 22-year-old pivot is just four points shy of hitting the 60-point plateau for the third consecutive season. That is impressive consistency from such a young player and it's pretty remarkable we're at this point when you factor in how poorly he started the year (Monahan had just eight points in his first 24 games).
He's definitely heating up at the right time with the playoffs just a couple weeks away.
2) On paper the Flames have a very tough schedule to end the season -- they play Anaheim, San Jose, and Los Angeles twice more -- but I don't think it's as bad as it seems.
The Kings, a perennial Cup contender, can't score and have all but officially been eliminated from playoff contention. I have a hard time believing a team accustomed to playing high stakes hockey will have the juice to keep up with a playoff bound team fighting for every point for seeding purposes.
The Sharks are in a freefall right now. They have lost six consecutive games and one of their best players, Logan Couture, in the process.
The Ducks are firing on all cylinders but the Flames are definitely capable of keeping up with them.
Perhaps the biggest reason to be optimistic about how the Flames will fare over the next few games: scheduling!
Finishing 2nd in the Pacific is not at all out of the question.
3) Micheal Ferland is low-key playing his way into an extra couple bucks on his next contract. He is up to 15 goals, the 5th highest total on the team, despite averaging less ice time per game than every regular except Lance Bouma. You can bet that'll come up when contract talks begin (if they haven't already).
4) On Monday afternoon TheHockeyNews' Dom Luszczyszyn tweeted out the top-5 lines and defense pairings in the NHL, according to Game Score. The Matthew Tkachuk - Mikael Backlund - Micheal Frolik line did not make the cut -- likely because they don't score as much as the others listed -- but the Mark Giordano - Dougie Hamilton pairing came out looking pretty good.
As you can see, Giordano - Hamilton is the 2nd best defense pairing when it comes to Game Score. The only pairing they're behind features Brent Burns, the odds on favorite to win the Norris Trophy, and the difference between the two pairings is an average of .01 per game.
I don't want to see Giordano - Hamilton leave the ice come playoff time.
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Pacific Division bold predictions
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