The Calgary Flames will take to the ice tonight against the Minnesota Wild in what seems to be their 10th straight game of “high importance… given their current position in the standings. As I’ve touched on before, the team is currently on the cusp of a playoff spot and being on the wrong side of things, and their last two weeks have been quite entertaining but also stressful.
That said, the team will look to improve their current record to 8-2-0 over their last ten games played which is one hell of a good stretch of hockey games for this group that doesn’t seem to quit. The team’s last game was against a Boston Bruins team that has been slated to be “one of the stronger competitors in the East…, and the Flames battled through and walked away with two points.
Tonight’s game will be very important given that a win would move them past the Canucks and into 2nd place in the Pacific division. The San Jose sharks who are right behind them do not play tonight and have played two extra games, so a loss tonight wouldn’t shift their current spot in the standings either way.
I feel like I’ve said this a few too many times, but if this group is as serious about the playoffs as their play would indicate, they will really need to improve their 60 minutes of play, as it seems that they are generally dominant for one or two periods of play, and not all three.
And while the above holds true, Calgary continues to find ways to battle through adversity and games which most would argue they had no business winning.
"I don't know what to say anymore. Those guys never quit," said coach Bob Hartley. "We always have the feeling that we can pull out those comebacks."
"We want to be part of the playoffs," Hartley continued. "We've said it from day one of camp and we believe it.
"Right now, we're in a situation where we feel good but we understand it won't be easy. There's many great teams in the Western Conference pushing, but we're controlling our own destiny and comebacks like (Monday) can only add confidence to our young group."
And this is something that the entire organization and fan base needs to continue to remind themselves. Regardless of how this regular season ends, there has already been so much to take away from the year in terms of growing as a team and individual players. Playoffs will certainly be icing on the cake, but I can’t stress how important their overall effort and play is toward their development.
In terms of trade discussion/speculation, I mentioned on Twitter last night that I felt the Flames could be closing in on a trade. I’ll update if anything new comes up, but as of now there is nothing to add…especially on game day.
I would imagine any deals will be for some forward depth to ensure scoring isn’t an issue, but scoring with size is what could be added to this group. For that reason I think (despite the fact that he’s been struggling since being moved to Boston) that Loui Eriksson would be an ice addition!
Perhaps a change of scenery and a different coaching style would help him find his game again as he seems to be lost in Boston.
That’s all for today, thanks for reading!
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