Calgary Flames face make-or-break week that could define their season

Article content material

Wouldn’t it be an overstatement to say this week will outline the Calgary Flames’ season?

Within the chilly gentle of day, it could be exhausting to argue.

Article content material

The Flames have three video games between Tuesday and Saturday.

All three opponents sit beneath them within the standings. They’re winnable video games at a time when, properly … the Flames simply can’t afford to lose.

Because it stood on Sunday morning, the Flames’ 21-20-5 document has earned them 47 factors. That’s 4 factors again of the Nashville Predators, who sit within the Western Convention’s second wildcard spot, however each the Arizona Coyotes and Seattle Kraken have video games in hand and the identical variety of factors because the Flames.

Article content material

It’s solely mid-January, certain, however the margins are already wanting fairly skinny.

They comprehend it, too.

Requested whether or not the Flames must win all three of their video games this week, MacKenzie Weegar didn’t must suppose earlier than he answered.

“Completely,” mentioned Weegar, who scored the Flames’ lone aim in Saturday night time’s 3-1 loss to the Edmonton Oilers. “There’s no time for us to maintain dropping. We’ve acquired to get as many wins as we are able to from right here to the top of the season, it’s going to be a good race.”

Perhaps the wildcard race will come proper right down to the wire. The Flames gamers themselves will maintain believing they’ve acquired a shot and preventing for his or her playoff lives till the very second the group is mathematically eradicated from competition. That’s the way in which they’re wired.

However with the nine-day all-star break coming proper after subsequent Saturday night time’s recreation towards the Chicago Blackhawks — who’ve inexplicably had the Flames’ quantity just lately — the group’s administration goes to have a whole lot of time to consider the route they wish to take the membership.

Article content material

Article content material

If basic supervisor Craig Conroy seems to be on the standings and sees a group that has fought exhausting however isn’t truly anyplace close to being a real contender, how will that have an effect on his selections relating to outstanding soon-to-be free brokers Elias Lindholm, Noah Hanifin and Chris Tanev?

Three video games on their very own aren’t going to profoundly change the way in which somebody as sensible as Conroy thinks about plotting the Flames’ future, however it might definitely make the choice to maneuver guys like Lindholm and Tanev and get youthful quite a bit simpler if the Flames drop a number of video games and discover themselves even additional out of the playoff image.

That’s not going to be entrance of thoughts for the gamers and even head coach Ryan Huska. Their jobs are to concentrate on profitable video games. Perhaps there are some followers who wish to see them begin dropping quite a bit to enhance their draft place, however that’s not the form of considering that may ever be allowed to enter a locker room.

The large image state of the franchise stuff issues, however the Flames themselves stay strictly centered on profitable hockey video games and attempting to get into the playoffs.

They had been enthusiastic about their current four-game profitable streak.

Article content material

They had been annoyed by back-to-back losses this week to the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Oilers.

And the main focus now’s on transferring on from these setbacks and selecting up wins towards the St. Louis Blues on Tuesday, Johnny Gaudreau and the Columbus Blue Jackets on Thursday after which the Blackhawks on Saturday night time.

Win all of these they usually’ll be proper within the thick of the wildcard race going into the all-star break. It received’t matter what the groups round them have performed.

Lose one or two of the subsequent three, although, and an already-uphill battle for a playoff spot will look a complete lot extra daunting after they return from their break in early February, only one month earlier than the March 8 commerce deadline.

“You’ll be able to’t management the opposite groups, it goes again to how we play and the way we put together ourselves,” mentioned Flames head coach Ryan Huska. “If we don’t win video games we don’t put ourselves in that image, if you’ll, so we now have to ensure we’re centered on doing the roles ourselves and never taking a look at who’s sizzling and who’s not proper now.”

Markstrom prepared

The Flames introduced Sunday morning that goaltender Dustin Wolf has been reassigned to their AHL affiliate, the Calgary Wranglers, which indicators that Jacob Markstrom is able to return.

Markstrom has been arguably the league’s hottest goalie over the previous six weeks or so, however left follow final Monday morning and missed all three of the Flames’ video games this week with a lower-body damage.

Wolf served as Dan Vladar’s backup for these video games however didn’t see any motion. He’ll return to the Wranglers, the place he has posted the AHL’s second-best save share this season at .929 and sports activities a 16-6-1 document. The 22-year-old was chosen to signify the Pacific Division on the AHL All-Star Traditional.

daustin@postmedia.com

X: @DannyAustin_9

Article content material