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1) Remember when the Calgary Flames were a complete disaster on the power play? Remember when it was considered an achievement if they could even gain the opposing line with possession of the puck? Oh, how the times have changed.
The once disturbingly bad Flames' power play is suddenly elite. They have scored 13 power play markers over the last 10 games and have shown the ability to completely dissect opposing defenses with pinpoint passes.
Here is one example.
And another.
Notice people are moving their feet to change angles and help make themselves available for passes. They are not stationary. It's a lot harder to defend on the penalty kill when you're forced to cover a lot of ground.
2) If Troy Brouwer's injury is serious and/or he's forced to miss some time, I think Micheal Ferland is the perfect guy to replace him in the top-9.
Like Brouwer, Ferland brings a physical element to the table and he can also shoot the puck. On top of that, he is good in possession and has shown the ability to help the Flames drive play throughout his young career.
I don't think Ferland is much of a downgrade, if at all, so I don't expect the Flames to skip a beat if Brouwer misses some time. Hopefully it's not serious, though. Brouwer is a nice piece to have around the net on the power play.
3) After playing somewhat limited minutes over the last couple games, Dougie Hamilton was given 20+ last night and responded with a pair of points and a dominant performance at 5v5. He has been playing fantastic hockey alongside Mark Giordano and should see a steady dose of minutes moving forward.
4) Brian Elliott didn't exactly have a lot to do against the Canucks but he stopped 13 of the 14 shots he faced and has now posted a .923 save percentage or better in four consecutive appearances. With Chad Johnson starting to struggle a bit, it's nice to see Elliott is getting back on track. Both guys will be needed in the 2nd half.
5) I had the Flames penciled in as the No. 3 seed in the Pacific prior to the season, but many expected the Flames to be a bubble team that could perhaps squeeze into the playoffs.
As it stands, the Flames are in a wild card spot and have three points of breathing room (although they've played more games than teams chasing them). There have been a lot of ups and downs but right now they're sitting where they should be, and there's certainly reason to be happy about that considering they were without Johnny Gaudreau for a while.
This team is on track and with a good, young core, and Matthew Tkachuk looking like a steal at 6th overall, there's certainly reason to be optimistic about the future.
Merry Christmas, everyone.
Recent posts:
On Tkachuk's strong play, Hamilton's minutes and a soft upcoming schedule
Predicting the Pacific Division standings
Pacific Division bold predictions
Pacific Division breakout players
Calgary Flames Blogger • 
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