That odd and unfamiliar you noise you might hear coming from up North tonight may be the sound of Oiler fans actually cheering for the Flames.
Spite will be their driving motivator, you understand. Spite and Schadenfreude.
Course, Oil fans haven't been given much to savour in terms of the latter sentiment so far this year: the Pronger lead Ducks broke an NHL record last night by beating the Canucks and gathering a point in their 16th straight game. Further, Pronger himself is enjoying a career season with 15 points in 16 games and a rating of +12. Oh what a bitter pill!
The Traitor's not the only thing the Flames have to worry about tonight, though. The Ducks have been successful so far because they're good at just about everything. They have the 2nd best win percentage in the league (.875), 3rd best Goals for average (3.56), 3rd best GA average (2.00) and the fourth best powerplay AND penalty kill. They are +15 at even-strength (37 goals for, 22 against) and a staggering +25 overall (57 goals for, 32 against).
What this means for Calgary tonight is they will have to play a complete game at both ends in order to compete. If the PP fails again or if the PK falls on hard times once more, the Ducks will undoubtedly be adding to their record setting start to the season. Im not too worried about the Flames at ES - that's been the clubs strength thus far - but the other areas have been inconsistent at best and downright crappy at worst. The good news is, Calgary has been steadily improving over the last week or so. Not to mention the Quackers will be playing for the second time in two nights; let's hope they used up all their mojo on the West Coast last night. Plus...well...Anaheim has to lose at some point. Right Edmonton fans?
