Follow Colin on Twitter! Follow @ColinDJD Well I have got to say; I was delightfuly surprised with last night’s performance. Kudos to the Calgary Flames for continuing to be the underdog and coming out with a victory!
After a strong defensive performance, the Flames managed to keep the Chicago Blackhawks to only 1 goal, despite allowing 49 shots against – something that hasn’t happened to a Flames team since 1994. While there is no doubt that Jonas Hiller had a fantastic night, I felt as though the team’s defensive play as a whole was better than what 49 shots against would indicate.
There were certainly too many shots allowed to get through, there’s no debate about that. I would even argue that the Hawks had a few too many offensive chances, all things considered. But this is the Chicago Blackhawks who ice a much more experienced and skilled roster than do the Calgary Flames. And with that being said, it would be the Flames who battled hard, were rewarded with chances of their own, didn’t give up, and walked away with two points.
I suppose an argument can be made that the Hawks likely didn’t “show up… for a game like this, however I for one never buy into that nonsense. These are professional NHL teams where every game, and every point matters…unless you’re an Oilers fan in most recent years – sorry Edmonton, but it’s seemingly a harsh reality.
Anyways, I digress.
The Flames were being outplayed in their own end for the start of the season and throughout much of the preseason games. Their specialty teams were, well, abysmal and their system wasn’t very cohesive. With a few new faces and a couple youngsters again in the lineup, it’s expected that it will take them time to get their shit together and I expect them to suffer through a few more games.
What we can say from all this is that there is a clear indication that the team is improving little by little, are working on areas of weakness, and doing what they can to improve every time they hit the ice.
The no excuses mentality continues to be the focus of the organization and the fact that a player such as Sven Baertschi is still not with the big club should be a clear indication of just that.
The Flames will take on the Columbus Blue Jackets tonight and this one could go either way as the Jackets have played two less games than have the Flames and have two wins of their own.
That’s all for today, thanks for reading!