The quintessentially average Calgary Flames have finally found their stride and it may be for real this time.
The last time the Calgary Flames made a legitimate run for the Stanley Cup was in 2004 against the Tampa Bay Lightning (spoiler, the Flames lost).
The last time the Flames won a Stanley Cup was WAY back in 1989 and that is their only Cup.
So, it’s been a while since the Flames have tasted victory and it seems as though they are finally getting hungry.
The Flames have failed to make the playoffs in six of the last ten NHL seasons. Those seasons were chaotic, unsure and frustrating.
Miikkaa Kiprusoff may be the best goaltender the Flames have ever had. (Photo from Reddit)
After losing Miikka Kiprusoff (who may be even more missed than Jarome Iginla) to retirement before the 2014-15 season the Flames struggled to find someone to take command between the pipes. They went through Jonas Hiller, Kari Ramo, Reto Berra, Brian Elliot, Chad Johnson and most recently Eddie Lack.
Even when the Flames had Kiprusoff they lacked solid secondary support in the crease which caused the Flames to overplay Kiprusoff and potentially lead to his somewhat premature retirement.
In addition to their goaltending woes, the Flames also had an extremely slow and old group of players.
Here is a breakdown of the average ages in the NHL in 2010-11. (Screenshot from QuantHockey.com)
Veterans are beneficial to a team, but you don’t want a whole team of veterans.
The Calgary Flames were above the NHL age average from the 2009-10 season until the 2012-13 season. Two of those seasons they were second in age average (at nearly 30 years old) to only the Detroit Red Wings.
Extending the contracts of Johnny Gaudreau and Sean Monahan were clutch moves (albeit obvious). Their connection is absolutely incredible and adding Michael Ferland to that line has made a huge positive difference.
Picking up Dougie Hamilton and Travis Hamonic and the rise of Michael Stone have bolstered the Flames D-line to be one of top defensive cores in the league.
Picking up Mike Smith is one of the best things that’s happened to the Flames since Gaudreau became an unexpected star.
In their last four games of December the Flames went 1-3. Not due to lack of effort. The Flames shootout loss against the San Jose Sharks was one of the best games I have ever watched.
On New Years Eve the Flames turned it all around. They were playing the Chicago Blackhawks and came out on top with a great all around effort. That victory sparked a seven game win streak which is still in progress. During the win streak the Flames have matched up with and beaten extremely strong opponents, such as the league leading Tampa Bay Lightning, the Anaheim Ducks and the LA Kings.
The biggest difference between this current streak and some of the Flames’ past streaks is the quality of the teams they are beating. In addition to this, the Flames are seeing offensive contributions from more players than just their first line, including key contributions from their defensemen.
The Flames are seeing depth not only from their forwards and defensemen but also their goalies. It seems like for the first time in over a decade the Flames may have found a decent backup in David Rittich who has gone 4-1-1 since being called up with a 2.03 GAA and a .932 S%.
Two members of the Flames were named to the NHL’s Three Stars of the Week; with Johnny Gaudreau at number one and Mike Smith at number two.
If the Flames continue to execute on special teams and keep their possession numbers up there is no reason why they shouldn’t be in the playoff picture.
Things are really starting to look up for the Flames, so if they can keep this level of confidence the rest of this season should be smooth sailing.
Featured image from Calgary Herald
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