It’s that time of year again, the time of year we endure 82 regular season games to witness: playoffs. When we look back upon the regular season for the Calgary Flames there are obvious ups and downs. The stretch drive being fresh in the minds of Flames fans everywhere, it is important to remember what this team was capable of during a majority of the regular season. The Flames capitalized on the injury woes of the Vancouver Canucks and took the division by storm with a 13 point lead at one point. But as the eventual downswing of the team that was expected came to fruition it was then compounded by a myriad of injuries that turned a disappointing situation into a desperate one. The division title, once almost a foregone conclusion for the Flames, slipped every so slowly from their grasp until eventually things caught up to the Flames and the division was lost.
As a result, instead of being the third seed, facing the shockingly hot St. Louis Blues, the Flames fell to fifth place to face the Chicago Blackhawks, the team who swept the season series. With questions surrounding Calgary, many are writing the Flames off this post season, expecting the youthful Hawks to make quick work of the beaten and battered Flames.
The Nitty Gritty
It’s no secret the Flames struggled against the Blackhawks this season. Starting with a 6-1 loss on the road while the healthy Flames were playing their worst hockey of the season, continuing with a heartbreaking overtime loss in December and then two more 5-2 losses at home and at the United Center, the Flames had a brutal regular season series against the Blackhawks. So with that factor, and the fact that throughout his career Nikolai Khabibulin has completely owned Calgary, taking the Blackhawks is probably the safe bet. So how does Calgary beat the odds?
Given the injury situation the Flames have been in over the past few weeks probably the biggest key to success is to keep things simple. This is playoff hockey, it’s a time for defensive hockey not the run and gun offense that buoyed the Flames so much. Maintaining positioning on the speedy Blackhawks forwards and keeping them to the outside will help greatly, but the forwards, namely Jarome Iginla, Olli Jokinen, Mike Cammalleri and Todd Bertuzzi need to do a better job supporting in the defensive zone. That and an aggressive forecheck will help to even the series out. The Flames can be physical and this will help wear down the Blackhawks over the series. The longer it goes…the better chance the Flames have
Step two for the Flames: get in the grill of the Bulin wall. Players like Curtis Glencross, David Moss, Olli Jokinen, Todd Bertuzzi, Daymond Langkow, and Rene Bourque have to make life extremely difficult inside the Blackhawks crease. And with defensive players like Sami Pahlsson and Duncan Keith sure to be draped all over Jarome Iginla, the offense will need to come from unlikely sources.
Step three for the Flames is to get the power-play going. There are too many shooters not shooting the puck. Good things happen when you throw the puck at the net. But far too often, the perfect pass is sought, or Phaneuf and Iginla blast the puck high or wide. Dirty goals count just as much as pretty ones, so get the shots on net and wreak havoc in front. And for the love of all things Harvey, don’t allow short-handed goals.
While these suggestions are all well and good, it’s up to the Flames to actually implement them if they want to succeed.
Prediction
Unfortunately this writer doesn’t think that the Flames have time or the appropriate bodies (Regehr) to deal with Chicago right now. Normally, this is probably a pretty even match up, Khabibulin aside.
Blackhawks in 5
