Calgary Puck

Whenever we get back to a normal NHL schedule it will be interesting to see where the last three games sits against the season as a whole.

With Calgary getting soundly beat for the third straight game by Eastern beasts, this time by a 6-3 score in Carolina, one has to wonder …

Is Calgary sputtering? Is it the degree of difficulty, and they’ll be fine against lesser opponents on most nights? Has the league figured out Sutter’s system?

With a trade deadline coming up the answers to some of those questions are key. Just how far away are the Flames from truly being a contender if they couldn’t stand with three of the best teams in the East?

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There is no shame in losing to the Tampa Bay Lightning.

They’ve won back to back Stanley Cups and have been the class of the league for the past four seasons or more.

But if you saw this road trip as an acid test for the largely successful Calgary Flames it was a very cold shower, as the team and their fans certainly learned the difference between pretty good in the West, and being a beast in the East as the Lightning pretty much ran the Flames out of the building with a flattering 4-1 score.

Backup Dan Vladar was working on a masterpiece through most of the second period with the score tied at 0-0 and the impossible looking more and more possible.

In the end, however, talent won out, as the damn finally burst.

The loss moves the Flames five gamer to 2-2-0 through four games with the final game of the trip tomorrow night in Carolina.

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The game was built up as a measuring stick for the Flames as they headed out East – once again – to take on one of the powerhouses in the Eastern Conference.

The measurement came up short.

The Flames had 49 shots on goal, something you don’t see in too many four goal losses, but gave up way too much in the first half of the game and were pretty much trounced by the Florida Panthers by a 6-2 score.

The game had an interesting flow to it. Both teams on the attack at all times. The Flames with what I thought was the better five on five first period, but the Panthers took things away in the second and then just cruised in the third to the win.

Should give Mr. Sutter lots to talk about in practice tomorrow in Tampa.

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The Flames stumbled through a pretty despondent first period, suggesting the two points in Chicago … the easy money on a tough four game road trip would be anything but easy.

But then the second period started and the Flames completely took over, scoring two special team goals and generated 26 shots on goal on the way to a convincing 5-1 victory over the Blackhawks.

The Flames were fueled by three more points by Johnny Gaudreau as he continues to move up the scoring ranks.

The team is either 1-0-0 on a tough four game road trip or 2-0-0 on a five game road trip depending on how you look at it.

Tough stops coming up in Florida, Tampa and Carolina.

Will be an interesting measuring stick for the Flames.

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Well that was interesting.

When I was much younger it seemed like the Flames were always lending a helping hand to expansion teams to make sure they had their first win, first home win, or first win on the road.

Luckily when the Flames arrived in Seattle the Kraken had already scratched most of their firsts off the lists.

Tonight the Flames struggled early to find their legs, hands and brains, but then pretty much dominated and were unlucky to not win this one going away in a 6-4 game that likely should have been 5-2.

The win snaps the Flames four game losing streak heading into the covid break, and puts them in third spot in the conference in terms of win % before heading East on what could be an endless road trip.

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