As a Flames fan, it's pretty easy to be down right now. The team has gone into free-fall in the standings, losing 5 straight, 4 of which were against divisional foes. They can't seem to score or defend. The supporing players are ineffectual while the big guns are largely silent. There doesn't seem to be a hint of light on the dark horizon.
I think the dawn isn't too far away, however. While I've spent a lot of time pointing out the obvious failings of this club, I'll make it known here and now that I don't honestly think the Flames are THIS bad. Kelly Hrudy and the color crew for Saturday night's Battle of Alberta spent a lot of time pointing out the Flames bad luck. And it was bad. By my approximate, informal count, Calgary out-chanced the Oilers by about 2to1 that night and still ended on the wrong side of a 4-2 score.
And that's happened a bunch of times to Calgary thus far this season. The 5-4 S/O loss to Colorado. The 3-2 OT loss to Vancouver. The 3-2 O/T loss to Colorado. The Flames are hitting a lot of posts right now while pucks are deflecting in off just about everything and anything at the other end. No, it doesn't help that Kipper is going through probably the toughest stretch of his career as a Flame. And no, the rest of the players aren't totally blameless when it comes to the current slump. But, there does seem to be a strong element of chance contributing to Calgary's struggles currently. And the bounces are bound to start going the other way (right?).
Other stuff:
- Anders Eriksson has done a reasonable impersonation of an NHL defensemen the last 2 games. Im not ready to give him up as punching bag though. If he can a) continue to perform over the long-term and b) perform against tougher opposition than Edmonton and Vancouver, then I'll be ready to choose a new scapegoat (Im looking your way, Owen). I wouldn't bet on A or B happening, however.
- Lest anyone thinks I've become a head-in-the-sand, pom-pom waver, I'll end this post with some depressing stats:
Flames PK** is 28th in the league, running at a 74% clip. They've given up 24 PP goals against, less than only ATL (25). In contrast, San Jose and St. Louis have given up 7.
**(It's time to start considering the possibility that the Flames PK woes arise from some systemic flaw. Personally, I hate watching the Flames play that passive, diamond PK they so favor. There's no pressure on the puck carrier and no deterrent for point shots. The PK will improve once Kipper returns to form, of course, but probably not by any real measure if the Flames don't change their strategy.)
Kiprusoff is rated 35th in the league in terms of SV% (0.884). Johan Holmqvist, Johan Hedberg, Peter Budaj and Dany Sabourin all have superior numbers.
The Flames have scored 49 goals so far. Five players (Iginla, Huselius, Langkow, Tanguay, Lombardi) account for 35 of those, or 71%. Of the remaining 14 goals, Phaneuf and Regehr account for 5 of them, meaning the last 9 are spread out among 9 other forwards and 5 defensemen.
The Flames are winless in November.
