Flames hope to regroup
Calgary carries eight-game losing streak into game against reigning Cup champs
LOS ANGELES — Looking across the ice, who do the Calgary Flames see?
The reigning Stanley Cup champions?
Or the squad that resides just a single rung north of them on the Western Conference ladder?
Or the potential solution to their eight-game losing streak?
None of the above, apparently, if you’re Bob Hartley.
From the Calgary Flames coach’s perspective, the Los Angeles Kings happen to be next on his team’s schedule, sure. But his focus remains steadfastly in-house.
“When we were on the top of our game, we didn’t adjust to the other team,” Hartley said Sunday, an office day for his players. “We were playing our game, so our mindset’s not going to change. Obviously, we know who we’re playing — that’s a great challenge for us — but let’s bear down on one, two more (scoring) chances on our side.
“Let’s try to cut down on one or two bad reads that open the door for great scoring chances (for the opposition). Then we’ll be back to being good enough to win by a goal rather than being good enough to lose by a goal.”
The timing is perfect for a fresh slate, because Monday represents the start of, yes, another segment.
By now, everyone in Calgary is aware of Hartley’s obsession with slicing the schedule into bite-sized chunks of seven games.
And after winning the opening four “series” — 4-3-0, 4-1-2, 4-3-0, 5-2-0 — the Flames were crowned in the fifth, a groan-worthy stretch of 0-6-1.
“What we’ve done over the last seven games — let’s flush this,” said Hartley. “There’s lots of great things to learn about, but resultwise, we have one point to show. Definitely not good enough.
“We won four (segment) rounds, but we got cleaned real bad in one. We look at this picture … and there’s still lots of positives.”
Of course, no one wants to drag a wicked slump into Christmastime. The Flames get four days off, so much better to think about, say, nine ladies dancing than nine games losing.
“We have a good break, it’s about the holiday season,” said Hartley. “It’s a great time of the year. Plus we’re coming back with a great schedule.”
Starting Saturday against the Edmonton Oilers, the Flames open a six-date homestand.
“That’s going to be a chance for us to fall back on our feet and get going,” said Hartley. “But (Monday) night, there’s no way we don’t want to win this game. We need to win this game.”
Which had been the plan Saturday at Vancouver. Instead, the Flames, desperate to regain traction, suffered through an embarrassing sequence.
During a delayed penalty call — with the goalie Jonas Hiller out, with an extra attacker in place — Dennis Wideman, from the end boards in the Vancouver zone, whipped a pass back to the right point. The puck skittered past Mason Raymond, down the ice, into the vacated cage.
“I mean, it’s just the way things are going right now,” Wideman said afterward. “I had the puck back there and I just tried to bank it back to Mase … and it went in. I don’t know what to tell you. Just one of those fluke plays.”
Added Hartley: “That sums up, a little bit, how it has been going for us.”
The visitors did rally smartly from a two-goal deficit to force overtime — on goals by David Jones and Johnny Gaudreau — before the Canucks ended their own (five-game) losing spell on a tally from Chris Tanev 18 seconds into the extra period.
Still, the Flames managed to bag a point, something they hadn’t accomplished in their previous seven attempts.
“There’s bits and pieces of our game that we’re not as sharp as what we’re used to,” said Hartley. “Whether we’re rattled a little bit with confidence — we have lots of young players — but we’re still the same team.”