It's the end of April in 1992 and the Flames are out of the playoffs for the first time in their 12-year existence in Calgary. At this time, the Senators do not even exist. Fast forward some 14 odd years and judging by the current NHL standings, things haven't changed. Calgary is once again out of the playoff picture and Ottawa was non-existent in their home opener against the Maple Leafs. It's a good thing there are 79 games to go!The Flames limp into the arena formerly known as the Palladium with a 1-2 record. Their most recent loss courtesy of a hungry Sharks team that feasted on the Flames' surprising defensive lapses. And once again, their all too familiar offensive ineptitude reared its ugly head. It was so bad, they were booed out of the Saddledome.
On the other side of the tilt, the Sens have an identical record and have stumbled since a sensational debut by newly-signed goaltender, Martin Gerber. Gerber is partly to blame for the consecutive losses and head coach Murray has elected to start Ray Emery between the pipes. It is also a lack of offence that has contributed to the poor start so Murray is reuniting captain Alfredsson with Spezza and Heatley to improve the offensive production (which is currently at 2.33 GF/G and that INCLUDES an empty netter).
Look for the Flames to tighten it up defensively, at least to the level where they did not give up more than two goals a game. As for the offence, Playfair will continue to use Tanguay on the second line and keep Huselius on the top line (although now at this point, it's tough to say which is the top line and which is the second line). For a Flames win, as cliched as it sounds, they need their D to be better than Monday night, their primary and secondary offence to step it up and finally, they need at least another PP goal.
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