Yet another defeat against a division's last-place club sends the flickering Flames tumbling down the standings
No deep dive into analytics required. Old-school, black-and-white numbers do the trick.
With their dismal performance in Thursday’s 6-3 home loss to the bottom-feeding San Jose Sharks, the one-step-forward-two-steps-back Calgary Flames have fallen to one game above the NHL version of .500 (25-24-5), sit five points back of a playoff position with 28 games remaining on the schedule and even managed to drop three spots in the overall standings to 23rd overall.
And that is not the worst of the data. The kicker proving how far away this team is from being a legitimate contender can simply be found by checking out the record against the four division cellar dwellers: a paltry 2-5-0. Yep, two wins and five losses collectively against the Ottawa Senators, Columbus Blue Jackets, Chicago Blackhawks and Sharks.
That is 10 lost points — with three more games against those squads (two against San Jose and one more versus the Blackhawks) — in games the Flames can not afford to be losing. By comparison, the Flames sport a 4-3-0 mark against the four division leaders: Dallas, Vancouver, Florida and the New York Rangers.
Losing to the worst teams is coming at a cost and don’t let anybody make any comments about it being a mystery. Deep down, the players know why this is a problem.
“We thought it was going to be an easy game, then we just got out-worked, and out-competed,” defenceman MacKenzie Weegar said.
The numbers, all the way to the final score, prove it out.
Now, three more thoughts beyond the tough night — in a tough spot — for goaltender Dustin Wolf.
Second-period meltdown
The Flames didn’t look all that sharp, yet posted a 1-0 lead first-period lead while dominating the Sharks in any analytical measure you want to use. They should have been ready to break down a dam the rest of the way against an over-matched and under-manned Sharks squad. Instead, a pair of egregious turnovers by Noah Hanifin and Weegar, and a costly penalty by Blake Coleman led to an own-goal by Chris Tanev, and the Flames were down 3-1 just past the game’s midway point.
When the dust settled, the Flames were flagged for 15 giveaways to San Jose’s five. Careless, unfocussed play did them in.
Markstrom’s unique moves
The oddest sight of the night took place even before puck drop. During the final few minutes of the pre-game warmup, number-one goalie Jacob Markstrom, who served as back-up, was tossing pucks to fans near the glass. Now, it could be nothing more than Markstrom having fun. But, considering how the netminder has been the subject of trade rumours that are growing louder — and with one deal apparently scuttled near the finish line — could it be a case of Markstrom preparing a farewell to the fans? We’ll see between now and the March 8 trade deadline.
Putrid Power Play™
Speaking of recurring issues, the Flames’ power play could have saved them, and simply did not. After the hosts took an early lead and before the Sharks got on the board, the Flames failed on three power plays. Score a goal at that point, and it very well could have been the much-expected cruise to an easy victory against a Sharks team that has struggled to overcome deficits. Opportunity: Wasted and even more to stew on before the Flames return to action Saturday afternoon against the Detroit Red Wings.
“Three in a row, and we didn’t really do much of anything with any of our power plays,” coach Ryan Huska lamented. “There’s situations where we could have worked to really put a nail in a team with a few good power plays there, and that’s something that didn’t happen tonight and I think that kind of shifted the momentum.”