Flames right where they need to be atop Pacific Division
The first-place Calgary Flames.
For the Saddledome supporters, that must have a nice ring toit.
American Thanksgiving is one of those take-stock moments on the NHL’s annual calendar and as our friends south of the border filled up on turkey and football Thursday, the Flames were perched atop the Pacific Division standings.
There’s a buzz building in this city. There’s a belief building in the locker-room.
“When we’re playing fast, when we’re playing our game, I think we’re one of the best teams in the league,” said Flames centre Mark Jankowski. “I think we just have to keep our foot on the gas. We can’t get complacent. It’s a long season, obviously.”
Indeed, we’re barely past the quarter-point of the 82-game slate. A whole lot can happen between now and when the postseason invites are stamped in April.
Still, statistics show that it’s not especially easy to change your fate after U.S. Thanksgiving.
Of the 16 teams that marked the holiday in a playoff spot last fall, 11 remained there — and that was the lowest percentage in several seasons. Over the past five campaigns, 62 of 80 teams in a playoff pegging on American Thanksgiving have ultimately qualified for the spring dance.
“It’s talked about a lot, and it has proven over time to hold some water,” said Flames head coach Bill Peters. “But it’s not foolproof. It’s the quarter mark, and you get an idea of where you’re at.”
Where they’re at — after three straight victories, including Wednesday’s 6-3 doubling of the Winnipeg Jets — is the top slot in the Pacific Division and third in the Western Conference with a 13-8-1 mark.
A good place to be, no doubt.
“I think we’re pretty upbeat, happy with the way we’ve been playing,” said centre Derek Ryan, one of a handful of off-season additions for the Flames. “But I’ve been talking with a couple guys and I feel like we haven’t quite reached our potential at the same time, which is a good thing.”
Heading into Friday’s matchup with the Vegas Golden Knights in Sin City (4 p.m., Sportsnet One/ Sportsnet 960 The Fan), there is a lot to like.
Summer trade acquisition Elias Lindholm has been a dandy fit on both the top line — Johnny Gaudreau, Sean Monahan and the new guy in No. 28 are all averaging upwards of a point per game — and first power-play unit, while the soon-to-be-very-rich Matthew Tkachuk has managed to pile up a team-leading 27 scoresheet mentions all while working in a shutdown role and cementing his status as Public Enemy No. 1 among Edmonton Oilers fans.
When they boarded Thursday’s flight to Las Vegas, the Flames ranked as the second-highest scoring team in the Western Conference, and that’s without much contribution from prized free-agent signing James Neal, who has mustered just three tallies and one assist so far.
Not to be overlooked, Sam Bennett is suddenly thriving as a sparkplug, tops on the team with 52 hits and having tussled with a pair of very tough customers — Josh Manson of the Anaheim Ducks and Darnell Nurse of the Oilers.
On Calgary’s back end, 35-yearold captain Mark Giordano is playing some of the best hockey of his career, while a more comfortable Travis Hamonic has provided the sort of stability the Flames figured they were getting last summer and the arrival/ emergence of youngsters Rasmus Andersson, Noah Hanifin and Juuso Valimaki has transformed this into a legitimately deep blue-line brigade (their seventh defenceman, Michael Stone, will be out indefinitely after being diagnosed Thursday with a blood clot in his arm).