PLAYOFF ROAD STARTS HERE
Three-game trip key for Flames
Their starting goaltender remains in sick bay and a specific return date is still unclear.
A three-game losing streak has them slipping in the Pacific Division standings and currently out of the playoff picture.
Crunch time, go-to time, season-defining, whatever you want to call it, the Calgary Flames have 16 games — starting with a threegame road trip beginning Monday in Pittsburgh (5 p.m. MT, Sportsnet, Sportsnet960 The Fan) — remaining in 2017-18 to wrap this thing up.
Or not.
The path to the post-season starts off with a heavy challenge against the two-time defending Stanley Cup champion Penguins tonight and also features two hypothetical winnable games against the Buffalo Sabres and Ottawa Senators, both in the lower echelon of the East Conference standings.
But make no mistake: there are no freebies in the NHL and both Buffalo and Ottawa are capable of playing spoiler if the Flames aren’t careful — witness Friday’s 3-1 loss to the New York Rangers, a team that was in fire sale mode at last week’s NHL trade deadline.
Calgary outshot the Rangers 51-27 and the post-game commentary centred on hot Rangers’ goalie Henrik Lundqvist, but the severity of the situation could not be overlooked.
With only three goals scored in the last three games, an 0-for-14 drought on the power play in that stretch, and a 3-6-1 record without starting goalie Mike Smith — who will remain in Calgary this week to continue rehabbing from a lower body injury, meaning that he’ll be out for another three games at least — they could very well miss the post-season party if trends continue.
“When you look at the schedule, we fought to get here,” said Flames head coach Glen Gulutzan. “And did we get here in the position we wanted to on this date? No. But now we can’t look back on that. We have to maximize our rest here and maximize what we think is a good schedule in the month of March.”
Gulutzan and his coaching staff ran an upbeat 19-minute practice on Saturday prior to heading to the team’s annual charity poker tournament. He also opted to use Sunday as a travel-only day, scrapping their previously scheduled morning practice.
The boss is not wrong about a light travel schedule for the remainder of the month. Following the road trip, Calgary plays at home for eight of the remaining 13 games. But with a 14-14-4 record at home, that may not be a positive aspect of the docket.
They also play 10 of their final 16 games against Pacific Division rivals, including a pair against the provincial rival Edmonton Oilers whom they haven’t beaten all season (or the last seven straight meetings for that matter), homeand-home games against the surprise-contender Vegas Golden Knights and the playoff-loaded San Jose Sharks, a big-boy game against the Anaheim Ducks and another battle royale at Staples Center against the always tough Los Angeles Kings.
Oh, and a one-off against the Winnipeg Jets on April 5, a team that has only lost seven times in regulation at home all season. That game could be meaningless if the Flames, currently sitting at 32-259 with 73 points, don’t go on some type of consistent run in the final stretch drive.
“(The road trip) is big,” said Flames forward Johnny Gaudreau. “Towards the end of the season, we play lots of teams that we’re trying to chase. Those are big games. I don’t think we need to think about the (playoff pressure). We just have to play hockey the way we’re capable of and play like we do. We play well on the road so if we play like we have in the past, we’ll be successful.”
Following Friday’s loss, a frustrated Flames’ captain Mark Giordano called the upcoming threegame road trip “their season.”
“If Gio said that, it’s kind of true,” said Flames forward Michael Frolik. “I don’t think we’re playing bad lately. We just need to stick with it and believe and just stay the course. We need to believe in each other. (Friday’s) game could have gone either way. If Backs would have scored, it would be a different game but it didn’t happen. We have to try and stay positive. This is a big trip coming up.”
We play well on the road so if we play like we have in the past, we’ll be successful.