Game 41 - Flames vs Capitals Live Chat
Kent Wilson
January 03 2012 04:44PM
The Flames stumbled their way through the easy portion of the road trip so now they face the unfavorable task of picking up points against much tougher competition in order to stay in the thick of the WC playoff race.
That starts tonight with the Caps. It's been a rocky road for WAS so far and it looks like Alex Ovechkin has gone from a freakish force of nature to *just* a very good player. Despite their hiccups, the Capitals remain a formidable foe - they are currently 4th in the league in terms of possession (score-tied) behind only DET, STL and CHI (Flames are 19th). Their goaltending has been relatively mediocre and some big guns are suffering through poor SH%, but their first half record shouldn't be taken as proof that their window has closed.
If I was to pick a team to have a big second half of the season, the Caps are near the top of the list. Calgary will need to be drastically better than they have been in their previous stops recently to have any sort of chance.
Flames and Rebuilding - Follow the Money
Kent Wilson
January 02 2012 03:27PM
Feaster has been at the helm of the Calgary Flames for just over a year. And while some superficially significant moves have been made over that period (specifically, the trades involving Robyn Regehr and Daymond Langkow) the organizational path and mantra hasn't changed much despite the switch in management. Calgary continues to market long beloved heroes like Jarome Iginla and Miikka Kiprusoff while battling to remain in the playoff picture in the Western Conference.
Flames Scoring Chances - Game 40 vs Nashville Predators
Kent Wilson
January 01 2012 06:43PM
Final Score: 5-3 L
GAme 40 - Flames vs Predators Live Chat
Kent Wilson
January 01 2012 03:37PM
The Flames have been getting by in recent weeks in a kind of Nashvillian fashion - mostly getting outshot at ES, but garnering points thanks to a mix of opportunistic scoring and above average netminding. Of course, the Preds win games like that by design/necessity while Calgary has kind fallen into the habit.
It's not an ideal path to success in the NHL, but it's the best way for a club like Nashville to stay competitive given some of their challenges. As they are currently built - with a concentration on high-end goaltending and defenders and not much up front - the Predators will never ascend beyond the NHL's middle class, but they aren't likely to fall into the basement as well.
That's been the Flames challenge since about 2005-06 too. The blueprint has chnaged numerous times and the challenges the Flames face now aren't the ones they were seeking to overcome six years ago, but the results are more or less the same.
With a bevy of injuries both up front and on the back-end, Calgary has gone from decent outshooting team to a bottom-barrel club. It's a solid step back. If it persists, the hopes of one last playoff appearance before hard decisions are made this offseason will rapidly fade in the new year. That is, unless Kipper and backup (Irving?) can continue to stop 94%+ of the shots they see at ES indefinitely, of course.
Flames Scoring Chances - Game 39 vs Ottawa Senators
Kent Wilson
December 30 2011 08:29PM
Final Score - 4-3 OTL
