Calgary trying to put its disappointing road trip in the past Tuesday at home versus the New York Rangers
The Calgary Flames are in need of Dome-ice advantage to stop their spiral.
Back home to face the New York Rangers on Tuesday as part of the NHL’s Frozen Frenzy — which has all 32 clubs hitting the ice with staggered start times — the Flames (2-3-1) must find a way to turn their fortunes from the disappointing five-game road trip in which they mustered only one victory and ended with a 6-2 drubbing at the hands of the Detroit Red Wings on Sunday.
“We gave them a little bit of feedback and information as to what we saw, and then we challenged them to turn the page and make sure they’re ready to play (Tuesday),” coach Ryan Huska told the media after Monday’s practice in preparation.
The Flames, who are riding a two-game losing skid, have a multitude of issues to correct to change their fortunes, but the club is best served focusing on a couple key elements to begin rebuilding their game.
One is to stem the continuous turnovers that are resulting in lost momentum and too many scoring chances against.
“We’re giving opponents too many good opportunities based on what we’re doing with the puck,” said Huska, who watched his squad victimized all too often by the speedy Red Wings last outing.
Which leads to the next aspect that has been sorely lacking in the past couple of games: pace.
By no means are the Flames a fast team — which must be addressed by the new management over the next couple of years — but better puck management will allow them to keep pace with their opponents, or at least control the temp.
“We’ve got to move our feet and play the game fast,” defenseman Noah Hanifin said. “When we slow the game down, that’s when we run into problems and issues. When we play fast and are skating … that’s when we have success.”
