Flames fight to keep flickering playoff hopes alive
Published
Calgary Flames forward Blake Coleman figures the team needs to win at least six of its remaining eight games to have a chance at the playoffs.
Entering tonight’s contest versus the Anaheim Ducks, Calgary is seven points back of the St. Louis Blues for the second wild-card spot in the Western Conference. According to MoneyPuck, they have approximately a 10.3 per cent chance of getting into the postseason.
“In my opinion, we’ve still got ourselves a good chance if we put ourselves in that situation,” Coleman said after this morning’s skate. “We’ve got to go 7-1, 6-2 at worst. We’ve just got to go one game at a time, one day at a time, put our best foot forward, and see where the cards fall.”
Calgary is coming off a tough 3-1 loss to Utah on Tuesday where they thought they had tied the game at 1-1 after captain Mikael Backlund threw the puck on net early in the second period. The goal was called back because it didn't fully cross the goal line, and Utah scored the game-winning goal on the next shift.
“We’ve had a few calls that haven’t gone our way and bounces that haven’t gone our way and maybe we’re sitting in a little different of a picture right now, but we still believe,” Coleman said.
Coleman and other veterans have worked to maintain a positive environment in the face of setbacks. Calgary had two disallowed goals last week during a 5-2 loss to Dallas where they outplayed their opponent.
“In hockey – and in life – you control what you control,” he said. “It seems like none of them are going our way at the moment, but you create your own bounces. We’ll continue to push.”
Head coach Ryan Huska credited Coleman and veteran forward Nazem Kadri for not allowing the group to get too frustrated during this stretch.
“If you dwell or hang on to things, it’s kind of counter-productive,” Huska said. “With them being around the room, and players watching them move on quickly, good or bad, I think they send the right message to the rest of the team.”
Huska said that frustration is simply wasted energy.
“If you’re going to lose your marbles over something like that, then you’re wasting some other energy that you could be putting to good use in other areas,” he said. “You can see frustration after the game from players at certain times, but then they do shift and move on because there’s nothing you can do about it. It’s over. It’s in the past.”
Huska’s club has lost three of four during a critical part of their season. He sees two key areas they need to improve on.
“If there is a battle in the corner, who’s getting there next?” Huska said. “Are we arriving as that second guy in there to win the puck? I felt in Utah, we weren’t anywhere close to that…when there is a battle somewhere, we need to have support quicker than Anaheim does tonight. That means you’re skating all over the ice.”
While the team is focused on the current playoff chase, the Flames welcomed a newcomer to the Saddledome on Monday who could be a big part of their future.
The club signed 2023 third-round pick Aydar Suniev over the weekend. The 20-year-old left winger from Kazan, Russia scored 20 goals this season for the University of Massachusetts-Amherst. While his gear remains in transit, he’s excited about the prospect of starting his NHL career and may see NHL action if the Flames are mathematically eliminated from the playoffs.
“My ability to score goals is my strength,” he said.
Suniev said he is a big fan of Toronto Maple Leafs captain Auston Matthews.
“I try to compare my game to him [and] model my game after him,” he said.
Flames projected lineup
Sharangovich-Kadri-Pospisil
Huberdeau-Frost-Coronato
Farabee-Backlund-Coleman
Lomberg-Rooney-Klapka
Hanley-Weegar
Bahl-Andersson
Bean-Pachal
Wolf
Vladar