Goaltending has been an issue for the Calgary Flames all season long and that was the case once again on Wednesday night.
Despite outshooting Ottawa 38-23 in what was probably the team's most complete effort of the season they walked away with just one point after falling 5-4 in a shootout.
Goaltender Jonas Hiller was once again less than spectacular stopping 14-18 prior to leaving the game with an injury. Joni Ortio stopped the five shots he faced over 12 minutes of action in relief but failed to get the job done when the Flames needed him most as he allowed two goals on three shots in the shootout.
Including last night's debacle the Flames have allowed at least three goals in eight of 10 games and four or more in seven games. It's tough for a team to win games when 70% of the time they need to score five or more and that's evident in their 2-7-1 record.
Neither Jonas Hiller, Karri Ramo or Joni Ortio were expected to be world beaters but between the three of them it seemed like a safe bet the Flames would have at least average goaltending this season.
That certainly hasn't been the case, though, as they have combined to stop just .870% of the shots they've faced during 5 vs 5 play and have looked completely inept between the pipes.
Largely because of terrible goaltending the Flames have just two wins through 10 games and are already a few wins out of a playoff spot in what is shaping up to be a highly mediocre Pacific Division.
They have shown signs of life over the last three games but it doesn't matter what they do if the goaltending doesn't improve drastically and last night was a perfect example of that.
They desperately need someone to step up between the pipes or their season will be over before it really started.
Recent posts: It's getting ugly in Calgary