Follow Colin on Twitter!: @ColinDJD
The Calgary Flames will face the Winnipeg Jets later this evening on the road as they hope to bring their losing ways to an end.
Dropping their last game against a struggling Edmonton Oilers group, the Flames have not found too much success in their last ten games played as they currently sit with a record of 2-7-1. Up two goals and keeping the Oilers from scoring any goals going into the third, the Flames essentially controlled most of the play for the beginning 40 minutes of the game.
As we have seen a few too many times this year, Calgary would not be able to hold onto their lead and play a full 60 minutes as the Oilers found the back of the net four times in the third period to take the win. Despite outshooting their opponent throughout every period, in addition to controlling the pace of the game for the most part, Calgary would drop the first BOA game and further their recent losing ways.
That said, while the scoreboard paints one picture with respect to their third period loss, how the game actually came to a close for the Flames was another. Coming down the wing without much room for a quality shot on net, Oilers David Perron threw the puck toward Reto Berra from a bad angle which bounced off his shoulder and in the net for the win. The Flames players and coaching staff felt that the game should have ended in a much different way for the home team.
"We gave them two goals out of three," said Hartley. "After 40 minutes, I felt that we gave them nothing. We were playing our style. Then, their first goal and third goal, there's only one word for those two goals - awful.""Great start. In the first two periods, I thought we were the better team. Then, in 10 or 12 minutes, we lost the game, so that's really disappointing and nobody in this locker-room can be happy," said Smid. "We have to learn how to finish those kind of games. We knew they have lots of talent over there. We should have just played the same game for 60 minutes, no matter what happened."
While there wasn't arguably much on the line for the rebuilding Flames, a win on Saturday night was really needed for a deflated Oilers group. Coming into the game as the 2nd worst team in the league, Edmonton needed a big win against a divisional rival to get some confidence back into their game and hopefully turn things around.
Expected to be a team on the verge of breaking out and making a splash, the Oilers continue to fail at making any significant improvements in terms of their record each passing year, despite the quality of players which they acquire. That said, the team appears to have finally had enough with their own losing ways and are not impressed with the fact that most have labeled them as a non-playoff team this early in the year.
"Momentum is a huge thing in this game. When things aren't going, you sometimes get pissed off and try to do things yourself and that's when things start breaking down even more," said Eberle. "So when you finally get rewarded and get some confidence, we're going to use that."
The Oilers roster is currently blessed with several high end players who have yet to really break out in the NHL and some, like Eberle, are becoming frustrated. As I have mentioned a few times now, I feel it will be best for this organization to move one of their young stars as an attempt to balance out the team’s skill. When all your strength is up front, it should only follow that you make moves necessary to filter some talent down to the backend and help improve your defensive game.
But enough about the Oilers. As mentioned, the Calgary Flames will take to the ice against the Winnipeg Jets tonight who are 5-5-0 throughout their last ten games played. Before dropping their last game against the Wild, Winnipeg was on a four game winning streak and has put together some strong hockey. Unfortunately for the Jets, it appears that they will be without Zach Bogosian who is “week to week… with a lower body injury suffered this past Friday.
In spite of a breakdown during the third period against the Oilers on Saturday, Reto Berra will once again get the start as coach Bob Hartley feels the tender continues to give them the best chance to win games. Not sure what kind of message this sends to Karri Ramo who is sitting patiently on the bench waiting for his next chance to play…
“Obviously, we all saw the third goal,… said coach Bob Hartley. “It’s a mental challenge for him. I felt that he played very well. He was sharp. And, too, even though he’s 26 years old, there’s still a lack of experience at this level. He’s working. He’s learning. I like everything that I see out of him.…
Speaking of players who Hartley does not seem to be very “high… on, Baertschi appears to be a healthy scratch once again tonight as he was often seen on the 4th line throughout practice yesterday afternoon. Another unfortunate decision for this young team as even though I too agree with playing the hardest working players, Baertschi and Ramo need to develop some confidence and playing a game here and there isn’t likely going to achieve that. Perhaps there is more than meets the eye with these two guys, but at some point you have to start to wonder what is going on behind the scenes when neither is getting much ice time.
The Flames will need to shut down the likes of Evander Kane who has been skating quite well and plays a physical game, in addition to veterans Dustin Byfuglien and Andrew Ladd. Tonight’s game will be a quick, loud, physical game and the Flames should come prepared for a battle.
Here are the expected lines for tonight.
Cammalleri - Stajan - Stempniak Jackman – Monahan - Hudler Galiardi – Backlund - Jones Bouma – Colborne - McGrattan
Russell - Wideman Butler - Brodie Smid - O’Brien
Berra Thanks for reading!