SCORE OF THE ISSUE
Calgary isn’t making playoffs without more goal production
Maybe this is the perfect place to rekindle that scoring magic.
The last time the Calgary Flames dropped into the State of Hockey, they connected for three goals in a span of 13 minutes, en route to a 4-3 victory over the Minnesota Wild.
That third-period outburst on March 11 included Sven Baertschi’s first-ever tally and Curtis Glencross’s seventh marker in seven contests and Olli Jokinen’s game-winner. Oh, what fun. Now? The Flames’ blossoming attack has withered.
Three goals in three contests — all losses, not surprisingly. Not much of a pace considering a Western Conference playoff berth is hanging in the balance.
“We’ve got to find ways to score,” says Flames coach Brent Sutter. “Scoring one goal a game . . . we need more than that right now.”
The first place to point a finger is the power play, conspicuous by its absence.
Stretching back five games, the man-advantage unit is 0-for-13.
“We need our power play producing,” says Sutter. “If it scores a goal for you (Tuesday in Denver), you win the hockey game.”
The Colorado Avalanche had been awarded zero power plays, but the Flames got three. Fortuitous, but fruitless as they fall 2-1 in overtime.
“Well, in a perfect world, you want to score when you get a power-play opportunity,” says Matt Stajan. “When you get three power-play opportunities . . . we were trying for the perfect play. We know our special teams have to be better. It’s no secret.”
And neither is the key to making power-play hay.
“It’s the old saying — more shots, more bodies to the net,” says Lee Stempniak. “At times, I think we could funnel more pucks there . . . and just make it an ugly game around the front of the net. You never know when you’ll find one or find a lucky one or find pucks at the side to put in. Obviously scoring on the power play is big.”
Maybe we’ve got to not squeeze our sticks so tight in front of the net.
MATT STAJAN
“When you get a goal or two on the power play, you’re ahead of the game,” Stempniak continues. “It’s huge.”
In their recent — and seasonlong — five-game winning streak, the Calgarians made scoring look easy peasy, piling up 21 tallies.
To a man, they claim that offensive opportunities these days are every bit as bountiful as they had been two weeks ago.
“I thought Sunday against Columbus, the second and third (periods), we got great chances,” says Jarome Iginla. “Sometimes they’re not going to go in and they just don’t go in. For us, we have to stay with it. Pretty much our last five periods of hockey have been pretty good. It doesn’t feel very good (not scoring), but if we stay with that, they’ll go in again.”
Adds Stajan: “The last three games, we’ve been getting chances, but not scoring. That’s been the difference. But the work ethic’s there, that’s a positive note. Maybe we’ve got to not squeeze our sticks so tight in front of the net. Everybody wants it, there’s no doubt about it. It’s just maybe getting that bounce, making sure we bear down a little bit more on those chances.”
Alex Tanguay, too, insisted that Tuesday had been brimming with offensive potential.
“On a normal night, we would have scored three or four,” he says. “It is certainly frustrating, but we are not hanging our heads.” They’d better not. After all, eight games remain — meaning the Flames can still guide their destiny. For now, at least.
Sutter is keenly aware of the conference’s slippery slope.
“We can’t drop our guard,” the coach is preaching — and not for the first time this particular sermon. “At this time of year, you have to have your ‘A’ game, no matter who you’re playing. It’s really important. The intensity and emotion level of your game has to be at a high level, and our standards have to be at a high level. We’ve got to go to Minnesota with that mindset — forget about who we’re playing, and let’s focus on what we need to do to get ourselves up in the standings.
“Obviously, one-point games aren’t going to help us. We’ve got to go get some wins.”
C-NOTES: Two Flames prospects, Brandon’s Michael Ferland and Kootenay’s Max Reinhart, were named WHL Eastern Conference second-team all-stars.