Crazy train

Calgary Flames Coach Glen Gulutzan used a train ride to get his team back on track in January after four consecutive losses.

“I gave the guys some beer,” Gulutzan told The Associated Press. “We told the guys to take the headphones off and sit together and figure this thing out.”

Riding the rails for two hours from Montreal to Ottawa gave the Flames a chance to essentially save their season. The Flames (41-28-4) have won 17 of 22 games since and went from on the bubble of reaching the NHL playoffs to a team that suggests it will give opponents fits when the playoffs begin in three weeks.

Alberta is actually home to two of the hottest teams in the NHL: A three-hour drive to the north in Edmonton, the rival Oilers are rolling, too. The province will almost certainly have two playoff teams for the first time since 2006 with the Oilers poised to end their 10-year postseason drought and the Flames set to make it for the second time in eight seasons.

“The rivalry is there [and] obviously it’s gotten better this season because our teams are finally starting to win some hockey games,” Oilers forward Matt Hendricks said. “Hearing the stories of the past and how great it was, the excitement level in Edmonton right now with hopefully playoffs right around the corner for our club, it would be very, very exciting.”