Plusses and minuses as the middling Calgary Flames finish the first quarter of the season

The Calgary Flames have reached the one-quarter mark of the season and have already seen plenty of good and bad.

With so much up in the air regarding their crew of pending unrestricted free-agents creating plenty of trade winds, it should come as no surprise Calgary is sitting outside a playoff spot with a 8-10-3.

As the Flames prepare to host the defending Stanley Cup-champion Vegas Golden Knights on Monday night to kick off a six-game homestand, here are three plusses and minuses we have seen through 21 games.

MINUSES

Putrid power play™

Despite all of the excitement of adding Marc Savard to the coaching staff and building off his success guiding the power play in both junior and during a stint with the St. Louis Blues, the Flames are becoming worse and worse with the man-advantage. This team has scored on the power play in only seven of 21 games.

Saturday’s 3-1 loss to the Colorado Avalanche was a prime example of how the Flames’ power play has let down this team. Calgary went 0-for-4 (granted, one was just a few seconds) but managed only one shot on goal. In their Nashville loss earlier on the road trip, the Flames also failed on four chances and even surrendered a shorthanded goal.

The Flames have been guilty of being too slow, too predictable and too many giveaways, along with losing too many faceoffs.

Heading into the Vegas game, they are in a 1-for-29 slump over 10 games and sit 27th overall at 8-for-68.

Slow starts by key vets

Being a playoff team took a gut punch thanks to an early season six-game losing skid in which almost all of the players most counted upon to lead the way were struggling.

Elias Lindholm, one of those aforementioned pending UFAs looking for a big payday, went through a 14-game stretch with only one goal and four assists; Nazem Kadri managed one goal and four assists in the first 11 games, and was minus-12; Jonathan Huberdeau had an 11-game run with only three assists; Mikael Backlund scored in only one of the first 19 games.

Those early season struggles put the Flames in a hole.

Give it away now

Officially, the Flames are tied for sixth worst in the league in giveaways at 176. They should sit even further down the list, because there have been plenty of games when the number of turnovers was higher than recorded, especially in the early going.

While adjusting to a new zone-style defensive system, there were all kinds of pizzas served up and all too often resulted in goals against.

There has been improvement in that area, but the glaring miscues have been lethal.

PLUSSES

The kids are alright

The credit goes mainly to Connor Zary (11GP, 3G 6A) and Martin Pospisil (11GP, 3G 2A). Both injected life and offence into the team when it was needed most. Even Adam Ruzicka has provided glimpses of why the club has maintained extreme patience.

Matt Coronato was starting to struggle and was sent to the minors after 10 games, but the 21-year-old 2021 first-round draft pick is regaining his offensive touch and confidence with the AHL Wranglers and will be a full-time NHLer soon enough and more prepared.

The Flames have also looked to add youngsters when roster spots are open, such as defenseman Ilya Solovyov skating in a couple of games.

Unfortunately, injuries cost Jakob Pelletier a shot at the opening night roster and Jeremie Poirier a chance when the team needed a defenceman.

Markstrom bouncing back

After a difficult 2022-23 season, number-one goaltender Jacob Markstrom has regained his form.

Looking at the raw numbers — 2.93 goals-against average, .901 save percentage — he’s off career averages, but Markstrom is climbing in analytical stats such as saves above expected on a team that surrenders far too many high-danger opportunities.

As the team improves defensively, which is happening, his numbers will improve, too.

Offensive attack building

Lacking a true game-breaking goal scorer is hurting the team, and will be an issue that likely costs a playoff berth. That said, a total of 15 players have three or more goals.

In their first 10 games, the Flames managed only 22 goals — and five of them were in the season opener.

In their most recent 11 contests, they have scored 40 times.

It’s not just the expected veterans playing a part. Forward Yegor Sharangovich, for example, has shown why the club wanted him back in the trade that sent Tyler Toffoli to New Jersey, and the defense corps, notably Rasmus Andersson, MacKenzie Weegar, Noah Hanifin and Nikita Zadorov have been joining into the rush and aiding the attack.