1. We begin with a loss That game against the Rangers was, I think, a nice encapsulation of what Flames fans should expect for most of the remainder of the season. There are more than 20 games left, but this was a contest in which the Flames tried very hard for a while and at…
1. What the Flames need So we’ve got the trade deadline in two weeks or so and the dominoes are already starting to fall. A guy I thought the Flames might target, and in fact did — Cody Franson — has instead gone to league-leading Nashville in one of those “rich-get-richer” deals that you’re not sure…
1. Tonight, tonight While one would normally hesitate to call any game in mid-February “a big one,” tonight’s game at Los Angeles is about as big as a mid-February game is likely to get. The Flames are holding on somewhat comfortably to that playoff spot of theirs, and prior to last night’s games were tied…
1. What if? A quick look at the standings as I write this ahead of Wednesday night’s game against the Sharks shows the Flames in eighth place in the West, with 59 points from 51 games. That put them somewhat comfortably ahead of a cluster of four teams with 54 or 55 points, though most have…
1. A quick intro Last weekend I had the opportunity to see Providence College play one of the better teams in the NCAA on two consecutive nights, and this is, I think, a unique opportunity that few college teams afford a person covering a single NHL team. The Friars, as you well know, have three Flames…
1. This looks familiar So Joni Ortio keeps winning and the Flames keep starting him. No surprise, you roll with the hot goalie. And it’s difficult to think of a hotter goalie heading into last night’s game than the .958 Ortio was pitching in his four games this season. Now, this has prompted a lot of…
1. Flames at the half Well the Flames have now officially meandered through the first half of the schedule (and then some) so now seems like it’s good a time as any to kick the tires on where they stand. As I write this, ahead of last night’s games, they’re three points out of the…
1. Tough decisions Trade rumors around the league are now officially starting to swirl, and some minor swaps have already been made as teams that don’t think they can compete for a playoff spot sell off pieces. As the winter wears on, more teams are going have to seriously consider whether they’re going to push for…
1. A worst-case scenario Kent posed a serious question on Twitter the other day, and it really got me thinking: “Say the Flames can’t re-sign Mark Giordano next year.” This was something I honestly hadn’t even considered to be a possibility. They recently named the guy captain, and by all accounts he loves Calgary, loves…
1. Here’s Johnny Even before his hat trick on Monday night, I had been thinking a lot about Johnny Gaudreau. That’s because I had been doing a bit of work to determine era adjustments for goals and assists numbers in college hockey over the years (vis a vis Jack Eichel vs. Paul Kariya, the two…
1. Well well well Since the last publication in this space here, the Flames have gone 0-fer in five straight games, running their losing streak to six. In reading the comments here on the site and in other Flames-related destinations around the internet, from people who swore up and down that all the winning the team…
1. Some good news So in the last several days, I had a chance to see five of Calgary’s six NCAA prospects live and in person, which was a nice treat. I took in a pair of Boston University games this past weekend, and got an eyeful of Brandon Hickey, and then on Tuesday had a…
