Sunday Open Thread: A Look Ahead

The Flames kicked off the next section of their schedule yesterday with a win, their 19th of the season. As we recover from that game, let’s take a quick look ahead to the next big gap in the section – the NHL All-Star Game on January 25.

Here’s a quick glance at the 10 games between now and then.

A couple key things here. First, the schedule is generally pretty favourable. The travel isn’t terrible AND there are two big, big gaps in the schedule when the team is at home (I’d expect them to fly back after the Vancouver game). There’s also a good amount of games in the Pacific, allowing the Flames to basically be masters of their own destiny.

Secondly, after these 10 games, the Flames will have played 47 games this season. That will put a lot of road behind them and just 35 games between them and the end of the season. They will need to have a pretty good handle on if they think they can make the playoffs or not, as well as a good handle on what they’re willing to give up to get there.

Me? I’d rather they continue chugging along and operate under the auspices of a rebuild, because functionally that’s what they’re doing. But what I think they should do and what they will do are two different animals entirely.

How do you see the next 10 games going? And based on that, what do you see the Flames doing to prepare for the stretch drive after the All-Star break?