Calgary Puck

I’ve often found it interesting how much one outcome can change the narrative of how a team is playing or the direction they are heading.

A three game win streak followed by two overtime losses is a five game point streak. But if you lose the next one it’s now a three game losing streak just like that.

The Flames lost three in a row last week, and the bounce back of three points out of four in Toronto was tempered by how they sat on a scoreless tie in the second game in the Six and then completely face planted in their game in Ottawa on Thursday night.

With a 6-3 win this afternoon they now have points in three of the last four, and are at least looking to be somewhat competitive with a falling Montreal in the battle for the fourth spot in the North Division.

It all means nothing without a similar effort on Monday however. Baby steps are fine if they continue to go in the right direction, but this season all we’ve seen is two steps forward, two steps back … rinse … repeat.

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Well that was fun wasn’t it?

The Calgary Flames were gassed on Thursday night, you could see it midway through the first period, and it just got worse from there in a 6-1 Ottawa victory in Ottawa.

Good excuse to some degree for sure, but only to a point, as good teams find ways to push through and get the job done, something the Flames clearly did not.

The season isn’t over. The three points in Toronto were probably somewhat unexpected, so some wins in the next few games will perhaps make tonight’s wrong, less wrong.

But you just don’t get a good feeling about this team this year.

They just don’t seem to have the gumption to get things done.

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May as well face it … the right team won.

David Rittich hung on heroically to give the Flames what looked to be a 1-0 win before William Nylander wrecked the party in his home town by scoring a goal with the goalie pulled and then again in overtime to give Toronto a 2-1 win.

For the Flames they were an Elias Lindholm goal post with an empty net away from salting away an improbable victory, but all in all three points in Toronto is a heck of a result given the state of the team when they arrived in Toronto.

Now on to Ottawa, a team that is no longer the easy points they presented early in the season.

For now situation critical is back to situation interesting?

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So you just have to feel great for David Rittich, don’t you?

Team goes out and signs Jacob Markstrom to a six year deal all but killing any chance you’d have to be the club’s number one goaltender going forward. Then you start the season with two losses, and sit for a huge spell of games.

Team in a swoon goes into Toronto with the Leafs licking their chops to run up the score on a down trodden team and at the morning skate you find out you’re no longer backing up but starting the game in only a few hours.

No problem … you pitch a shut out in a 3-0 Flames victory in Toronto, snapping the team’s three game losing streak and delaying … for now … the funeral march in an obscure season.

Love it.

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Magical players can do magical things … Connor McDavid was all of that tonight in posting five points and embarrassing the Flames by a 7-1 score tonight.

Calgary had some gumption tonight, they pushed hard putting up 44 shots and carrying the play, but they just couldn’t match the individual talent of McDavid who ran over Calgary with a natural hat trick to follow two first period assists.

For the Flames that’s three straight losses, which is becoming situation critical in a very tight division. There is lots of time left in the season but they had better get this corrected soon.

Tough games coming up in Toronto (2), but they can’t afford to waste the four games against Ottawa on the schedule.

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