Where does Calgary stand amidst a 1-1-1 record?
It has been one week since the Calgary Flames kicked off their season, the opportunity to bury once and for all the disappointment and disfunction of the 2022-23 campaign.
After three games, in which the Flames have posted a 1-1-1 record, where do they stand?
Here are three thoughts:
Some good, some bad
To be expected, a middle-of-the-road record comes with positives and negatives, often in regards to the same elements. For example:
The power play. At first glance, a 3-for-11 rate (27.3%), with one goal every game, would be very good over the course of a whole season. The kicker, however, is the timing. Calgary had golden opportunities to boast a bigger lead in both losses, but did not. Failing to convert on a pair of late third-period advantages against Washington eventually led to losing in extra time.
Goaltending. Jacob Markstrom has been phenomenal at times. He has also surrendered a couple of goals that were flat-out groaners. This team can not afford to soft goals on a regular basis.
There are very good aspects to the season so far — for example, the penalty kill is perfect in three games and the Flames even scored one shorthanded goal — but a playoff berth requires more positives than negatives.
Offensive struggles
It is early in the season, but scoring has proven to be an issue for the Flames. There are plenty of other teams with more surprising troubles — Seattle, Dallas, Buffalo and Florida come to mind — but the Flames are looking much like last season’s version. They are generating chances, just not burying enough of them.
The Flames do not have a true game-breaking player, and it is showing. What they have is a lot of very good talent, and some of those players are not yet having the expected offensive impact, notably Nazem Kadri, Mikael Backlund and Yegor Sharangovich.
A scoring-by-committee approach can only work when everybody is pulling their weight.
Reasons for hope
That said, the Flames are not in dire straits. A few players are showing signs of either bouncing back, such as Andrew Mangiapane, Elias Lindholm and even Jonathan Huberdeau, or reaching a new level (Dillon Dube and Adam Ruzicka). As well, there are plenty of reasons to believe those who are struggling will find their form.
Plus, they are making strides in adjusting to the style of new coach Ryan Huska. These things do take time.
The Flames were expected to be a playoff bubble team, not a slam-dunk squad, but definitely one that will be in the Stanley Cup fight, and more likely able to claim a place.
Through three games, that has not changed.