There's nothing new left to say about this team. Nine games left and it's pure "kill or be killed".
The first foe to enter Thunderdome is the loathsome Colorado Avalanche: a club that has repeatedly been outplayed by the Flames this season, but have repeatedly won games nonetheless. I'd say Calgary is due, but it's starting to look like one of those unfortunate arrangements where one team has another teams "number". I guess the best Flames fans can hope for is a repeat of previous domination, except lacking the bad bounces and curiously bad officiating that have conspired to turn wins into losses.
Course, that may be asking a bit too much: the Flames have only rarely played competent hockey since late February. Otherwise, they've been handily out-chanced on most occasions. The 20 shot differential between Calgary and Columbus (a non-play-off team) recently is indicative of the Flames play, particularly the last 15 games or so. As I pointed out back when their 7-2-1 in 10 record was more favorable (but rather illusory), that's not a winning strategy over the long haul. Problem being, I don't see any solution to what ails the team: particularly with Tanguay likely sitting in the press-box for an indefinite amount of time. That's an ES difference on the shelf precisely when the Flames need one.
As for the the Avs, they're tied with the Flames but with one more game played and are therefore in a slightly more desperate situation. They also have some of their own injury issues, including Jordan Leopold, Marek Svatos and - surprise - Peter Forsberg. That said, the Avs still scare the hell out of me, not just because of the issue mentioned above, but because of their impressive forward depth headed by Joe "Flame Killer" Sakic**.
**FUN FACT - Sakic has 999 assists. I put the chances at 99% he reaches the 1000 career milestone this evening.
Sigh. Oh well. At very least, the next two weeks should be interesting. And by that I mean, gut-wrenching and potentially heart-breaking. Still, interesting nonetheless.
