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The Calgary Flames will take to the ice tonight against the Los Angeles Kings as they attempt to straighten out their record moving into the New Year.
Coming off a hot start to the 2014-15 NHL season, the Flames have since begun to struggle having only won two of their last 10 games played. That being said, Calgary has picked up their latest four points over their past two games and are showing signs that they were not ready to slide from a playoff position.
There has been much discussion around this team as most pundits predicted a bottom five position for the team moving into the year. Head coach Bob Hartley and his young and or inexperienced group has silenced the masses until recently where they started to show signs of said inexperience.
What I started to notice, however, has been the difference in opinion with respect to this team depending on whether they were winning or losing. For instance, while the Flames were wining most of their games, analysts broke down their games and production as being "unsustainable" due to the advanced statistic numbers which were being posted. And of course, when the Flames started to lose more games it was said to be due to said unsustainable numbers.
What was interesting, however, is that the team's "advanced stats" were not much different between their wins and their losses. Their shooting percentages were still a little high, their possession rates were still low, and all things considered they looked to be about the same on the ice.
The difference? Well, I don't want to say "puck luck", but much of it appears to have come down to that.
This particular squad has many players who have not yet set any streaks or have amassed a level of confidence which is arguably very important when your team is struggling. A younger or less experienced player may not have the proper mental makeup to break out of a slump and when things start going wrong, it typically just starts to pile on. This is essentially why it is important to have the right number of vets to rookies on a team; even one that is admist a rebuild.
"I'm pretty excited about getting the chance to score some goals," said Gaudreau. "They weren't coming throughout the first 20, 30 games of the season. I was kind of off to a slow start, but it's nice to see the puck going in the net."
Anyways, my point is that things are still going in the right direction for this team, however they are starting to struggle with finding the back of the net at the level that is required to make the playoffs. The team must rely on guys like Gaudreau and Monahan (for instance) to drive offence, and when they start to struggle, the team will generally struggle a little as well.
The Flames will be tested once again against a much bigger and stronger team in the Los Angeles Kings in a back to back contest after recently walking away with a much needed win last week.
"It started with a big win in LA and they're going to be ready to play against us and want some revenge," Colborne said. "It's going to be a tough game tomorrow and a big physical battle ... The Kings, they have one of the top teams in the league still. It's always a good challenge."
Quick is expected to start in net for the Kings with Jonas Hiller between the pipes for the Flames. Also, it has been noted that Hiller will be sporting a new mask tonight which is said to be gun metal black. I expect it to look much like the mask he had playing with the Ducks.
Enjoy the game, and thanks for reading!