Flames hope energy trumps experience

Before the Calgary Flames arrived in Vancouver, Bob Hartley made extra effort to sit down with the younger, inexperienced group of players on his team that, prior to Wednesday night, hadn’t a single game of National Hockey League playoff experience between them.

The discussion was part motivating and part reining- in as there is a delicate balance of energy at this point in the season.

“It’s new territory for them,” said the Flames head coach earlier this week. “It’s an exciting time, also. You want them to be on their toes, you want them to be ready. But you don’t want them to be overly excited. Let’s stay calm. They’ve been great. “But now, it’s a new story.” The majority of the Vancouver Canucks roster has at least one NHL playoff game under their belt.

Their top line, alone, had 250 post- season contests before Game 1, which nearly equals Calgary’s entire team total of 275 games.

Outside of Jiri Hudler, the Flames top line ( Johnny Gaudreau and Sean Monahan) had no NHL playoff games on their resume.

“I guess you could look at it both ways,” said 24- year- old Flames rookie Josh Jooris. “( The Canucks) have some guys in their lockerroom who have went all the way to the Cup final. And, yeah, we have limited experience here, but I think the more we can use that to our advantage, the better.

“We’ve got a lot of hungry guys in here. If we play the same way we have, we’ll be able to feed off the crowd and let the playoff atmosphere help us.”

When games are ramped up like the first- round series will be, there’s added pressure, more noise, and mistakes are often amplified. A bad penalty can cost a team the game. A terrible giveaway can change the momentum.

In these scenarios, experience helps.

“It would be nice if we had a couple of Cups under our belts and had been there before, but there’s something to be said about the excitement and intensity that we’re going to have,” said Joe Colborne. “We’re just going to go in there and make ( them) beat us.”

And use their youthful enthusiasm to their advantage.

You want them to be on their toes, you want them to be ready. But you don’t want them to be overly excited.