If you're unaware, the Vancouver Canucks were destroyed by the Washington Capitals last night. Now, this can go both ways for the average Flames fan:
Optimism: glee, shadenfreude, etc. The Canucks aren't really that good and won't be steamrolling over the rest of the NW (and thus the Flames) all year.
Pessimism: shock, horror, etc. that a team that has outscored Calgary 17-4 in the last three games could be fundamentally dismantled by an Eastern Conference foe.
*Segue* Perspectives on the up-coming contest against the Avs can be similarly split.
Optimism:
Colorado has also lost it's first two games of the year, partially due to lackluster goaltending (surprise!). In fact, Peter Budaj is one of the only starting goaltenders with a worse SV% thus far than Kiprusoff (.795 vs. .807).
Not to mention the fact that Calgary has owned Budaj in the past, often chasing him from the net by the 2nd frame. And, hell, if that happens...their back-up is Andrew FAILcroft. Nothing to worry about there.
Also, the Flames were better Saturday night versus the Canucks relative to the season opener. Some of the new faces were particularly noteworthy, including Bourque and Cammalleri. Also, if you look at the Flames corsi numbers through two, you'll see that the puck is going the right direction when the big boys are on the ice. Eventually, that should start making a difference.
Pessimism:
Let's face it, the first two games were not good, to say the least. The defensive coverage is lacking, the PP is oh-fer and the goaltending is as weak as it ever was. Anything even resembling a scoring chance has ended up in the Flames net so far, due to the combination of those two factors. And there hasn't been much indication of that easing up.
In addition, the Avs lack of success so far is probably misleading: they've outshot their opponents 72-39 so far, a per game difference of 36 for, 19.5 against. That's a pretty massive differential and indicates that bad luck/bad goaltending had more to do with their losing than anything else.
Also, there's that Joe Sakic guy - he tends to beat the tar out of the Flames at every opportunity.
Prediction - Im going with "pessimism". Until the defensive faction of the this club shows some marked improvement, my confidence and hopes for success will remain low. 5-3 Avs. Sakic, Stastny, Smyth (2) and Tucker for Colorado. Lombardi and Iginla (2) for Calgary.
