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Calgary Flames Look to End Losing Streak vs Rangers |
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The Calgary Flames will take to the ice tonight against the New York Rangers in what should be a nervous game for Calgary fans.
Having now dropped their previous five games played, fans are the media are beginning to wonder if their initial predictions of this team are coming to fruition in that they will eventually find themselves on the outside, looking in.
As I mentioned in previous blogs, the Flames have actually been in all their games this year as 6 of their 10 previous losses were by one goal and their offensive/defensive stats have generally been in their favour. Calgary has actually outshot and outchanced a few teams of late and have disappointingly left without any points to show for it. And that’s the part of playing in such a strong conference – you can’t have any off nights and you need to capitalize on all chances.
"Johnny got a bad edge on his skate. It's not a matter that he turned the puck over being careless or anything," coach Bob Hartley said. "It was an accident.”
"Right now it seems that whenever we need a break, it's not there. We showed up to work ... but no rewards to show for it."
The Flames have been struggling when it comes to scoring goals and their recent dry spell has left them working a little harder than their used to in order to award themselves with two points. But all this said, the team isn’t really playing much different, their shooting percentages (as many figured) appear to be coming down and guys are, well, not scoring as often.
The Rangers were a powerhouse last year and have been struggling a little bit themselves so far this year which could provide for an opportunity to the Flames to get out of a slump. And while the Rangers find themselves in the 8th spot in the East, they have won their past three and are feeling much more confident than they did to start the season.
The issue for tonight’s game, however, is that where Calgary has been struggling, the Rangers have been dominating. What I mean by this is that over their past 10 game mark, the Rangers have the 2nd lowest GAA in the league and the Flames have been struggling to find the back of the net.
If they expect to have any success tonight, they will need to throw as many pucks on net as possible and create some chances with their speed and strong forecheck. The Rangers boast a stronger and much more experience roster than do the Flames, however with the speed and tenacity of their young players, we could be in for a show tonight.
Calgary will need to keep a close eye on Rick Nash who has been hot of late, as well as Domenic Moore and Mats Zuccarelo. Looks for these three guys to place constant pressure on the Flames defense, but I feel confident in the abilities of Brodie-Giordano to shut them down.
Enjoy the game!
Thanks for reading!
Calgary Flames Blogger • 
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