Follow Colin on Twitter!: @ColinDJD
Five straight wins, five straight home wins, and 13 points over their last ten games. These are not portrayals I would expect to be typing in January with respect to the Calgary Flames. In fact, the last time the Flames have won five straight home games was nearly 17 years ago!
I mentioned a few blogs ago that I felt the Flames were doing all the little things right when it comes to rebuilding a franchise. They are giving playing time to their youth, not expecting players to play beyond their skill-sets, but also not condoning poor play and or games, either. As such, they are instilling a winning atmosphere and it has certainly been paying off of late.
Moreover, and while the current winning streak is nice to watch, some fans are becoming a little frustrated (in a sense) as they hold that a high draft pick this year is very important. While I certainly won’t disagree with this, the fact of the matter is that the players, coaches, and training staff are paid to do their best with what they have and compete. In doing so, the team has been battling through adversity and winning matches which most pundits felt they had no business winning.
That said, and I suppose you could call this the icing on the cake, the Flames are still tied for 28th league wide, having only gained seven points on the Edmonton Oilers...it's been frustratingly difficult to beat the Oilers at losing this year. All things considered, the Flames have not yet passed an NHL team in the standings despite going on a five game winning streak. Who could possibly find any reason to complain about that!? Not me, that’s for sure.
With respect to the game on Saturday night, it would be another strong team effort by Calgary to take a 4-3 win over Minnesota in the extra frame. As often expressed in my blogs, the Flames would need their top players to show up for their weekend game, and they did just that.
With the only goal scored during the first period, TJ Galiardi would open the score after receiving a perfectly placed pass from Kevin Westgarth. Galiardi would notch his second goal and 11th point for the year while Westgarth would pick up his second point of the year. Despite a few strong chances from both sides, the period would end 1-0 Flames.
The 2nd period is really where the Flames showed their desire to win this game. In spite of allowing an arguably week shorthanded goal, Calgary would remain resilient with 18 shots on net and only allowing the Wild to reach four of their own. As we’ve been noticing of late, defense wins championships…right Bronco fans?
That said, the Flames also put together a strong offensive game as Dennis Wideman would renew the lead in the dying minutes of the third while Mikael Backlund would add another goal of his own minutes later as the third period took way. Unfortunately for the Flames, they would soon give up their two goal lead as the Wild would find the back of the net on a power-play chance, and then another with just five minutes left in the game. An extra period would be needed to decide this one.
This is a recording – the Flames would need their top players to show up, and they did. Scoring the game winner and his second of the night would be Mikael Backlund, assisted by Sean Monahan and Mark Giordano. The Flames captain would walk away with a two point night as he extends his point streak. For those who don’t follow me on Twitter, I noted a rather interesting stat on the captain;
NH’s top six defensemen in points-per game: 1. Karlsson – 0.93 2. Keith – 0.86 3. Giordano – 0.76 4. Hedman – 0.75 5. Byfuglien – 0.73 6. Weber - 0.70
That’s right folks, Giordano is currently 3rd in points per game in the league…methinks that those stats may help make a case for a call up stop on a certain Red & White team? Positive thinking, mom always said! But I digress.
Calgary may be without Karri Ramo for a game/two as the netminder pulled himself Saturday night with an apparent “groin injury…. Though not noted to be serious, the team appears to be playing it safe, so to speak, and giving their starter the time needed to properly heal as the Olympic break nears. That said, expect to see Joni Ortio called up to play backup to Reto Berra. Playing with the Abbostford Heat, Ortio currently sits with a .928 SV% and has been doing quite well.
Further to this potential call up, we may expect to see the likes of Granlund, Reinhart, and Wotherspoon called up sooner than later as players are slowly moved out of the organization. With no surprise to anyone, Mike Cammalleri and Lee Stempniak continue to be the two most coveted vets at the moment in terms of players the Flames would like to move, anyways.
Calgary will take to the ice tomorrow night against the Montreal Canadiens who are but 3-6-1 in their last ten. It will also be the Flames first road game since January 20th and they will try and secure their sixth straight win.
Thanks for reading!