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Well tickle me pink, the Flames have done it again!
Let me start off by saying this – we are now 27 games in, the Calgary Flames sit 4th in the Western Conference and 7th in the league. They have won 8 of their last ten games played, 5th in goals scored per game, 12th in goals against, and 7th for their powerplay efforts!
How about those stats, they sure do look fancy to me!
All that being said, the Calgary Flames continue to play with the energy with which they provided early on in the season. The Colorado Avalanche are a quick young team and last night was no easy task. Throughout the first two minutes, both teams have several chances but the goaltenders proved to be too strong for either side to open to scoring.
It would take 22 minutes of play for Dennis Wideman to open the scoring on a power play goal assisted by none other than Johnny Hockey Gaudreau. This young man has been looking very good so far in his short NHL career using his speed and hands to create opportunities and make room for himself. The size factor which most felt(including myself) would be his biggest challenge doesn’t seem to be holding him back one bit. The kid has wheels and he can often skate his way out of trouble. There’s still plenty of work and improvement in certain facets of his game mind you, but for a young and small rookie, he’s doing quite well.
Despite opening the scoring, the Flames would end up chasing the lead from that point on. What I noticed from Calgary, and not just last night, is that they find ways to play a very strategic game, if you will. Watch the way the players enter the offensive zone and cycle the puck. In most cases there are always one man deep pressuring the puck, one nearby for assistance, and the third forward is often sitting back as defensive support.
You won’t find the Flames in too many cases having three men deep and no one sitting back to help out the defense. It reminds me a lot of playing hockey as a junior as this is basically hockey 101 which they teach you. First man on the puck, second in support, third stay high. It’s not a guaranteed fool proof system, but I really like the puck support which Calgary has been demonstrating and it has clearly been working in their favour.
And this is the nice thing of having such a young and inexperienced team (at least for those who are a part of the future plans). Calgary can instill, teach, instruct, and demand a certain system or playing style that the players will learn early on in their careers and bring with them into future seasons. Remember, this is a rebuilding year for this group and they are still not expected to…wait for it…regress. Well it’s yet to happen and as I’ve mentioned before, I don’t necessarily see any patterns emerging which would lead me to believe that they may start getting some “unlucky” bounces and fall back a few spots.
Calgary’s play and puck presence, at least to me, doesn’t really seem to depend on bounces of the errors of other teams. Rather than sitting back and waiting to pounce on mistakes, Calgary forces the play and will force errors out of their opposition. By constantly keeping pressure on the puck carrier and getting in the lanes, we often see that the Flames are rewarded with opportunities which likely would not have presented itself had they played a more relaxed or down-tempo game.
This coach certainly has the respect of his team and there is no doubt Hartley is doing a fine job; oh and he’s pretty humble, too.
"To be honest, I think I have no business with this prestigious fire helmet but at the same time, I told the players that I really respected the fact that they presented me with the helmet," said Hartley.
"I told them that I'm ready to trade that helmet to see them in the playoffs. I don't know where this season, this story, is going, but it's certainly fun and it's certainly very entertaining for us, the coaching staff."
"It's pretty sweet for him to get that against a team he won the Cup with back in the day," Glencross said. "I imagine it's one he'll never forget and he came in after the game and said that his 400th win wasn't as important as it is for us to get into the playoffs."
Last night was an entertaining game and the Calgary Flames walked away with two points. They have now won 4 straight games and their stats, despite what the advanced guys want to point out, look good. The area in which the Flames will need to improve, however, is toward their giveways.
Last night Calgary coughed up the puck 16 times and were only good for 17 takeaways. They remain strong in terms of blocked shots, however sitting 2nd in the league for most giveaways can and likely will haunt them down the road.
Their game which is high tempo and energetic often offers a few too many chances to cough up the puck, so they will need to focus on their areas of weakness and continue to look for ways to improve. And for arguments sake, if this team can round out their areas of weakness, they could honestly prove to be a playoff worthy team.
Season is still considered early and most are still waiting for a few losing streaks too many. I think all we can say at this point is, watch and enjoy the games, nerds!
Thanks for reading!
Calgary Flames Blogger • 
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