The Calgary Flames (25-12-4) will play three games this week – two on home ice and one on the road.

Current standings – They have a home record of 15 wins, 4 losses and 3 ties. Their power play percentage has increased marginally to 18.95% and their penalty killing excels at 85.71% – they have scored 3 short handed goals thus far. Following is the breakdown of their schedule this week:-

Game 42: Flames host the St. Louis Blues

After two consecutive wins, the Flames will host the St. Louis Blues who rank 15th in the western conference division. According to current NHL standings, the Blues have played 41 games in total and have accumulated 35 points with 16 wins, 22 losses and 3 ties. On a positive forefront, they have a road record of 6 wins 13 losses and 1 tie; and they were defeated by the Edmonton Oilers on Sunday night. Their penalty killing sits at 80.54% while their power play percentage is slightly higher at 21.74%.

The Calgary Flames had defeated the Blues twice on December 4th (4-3) and December 16th (6-3). They have a better statistical record in terms of victories and this fact stands on black and white. If they can enhance their diverse power play strategies with their inherent offensive power, they can tackle their opponent’s weak penalty killing statistics. Overall, they have a better home record in comparison to the Blues’ road record; and fortunately, they also have home ice advantage.

Of note, every game is a must win for the Flames as the trial and error period has been long over. This game is just as vital because if they can win against their weaker counterparts, they can easily attain the two points and gain confidence to battle the stronger teams. It will also help them develop diverse strategies as they confront different opponents and prepare themselves for the forthcoming playoffs.

*This game will be televised Sportsnet SNET-W on Tuesday, January 13th at 7:30 pm.

Game 43: Flames in San Jose

The Flames will be on the road to San Jose for a game against the Sharks, which will be scheduled on January 15th. The Sharks rank first in the western conference and in overall NHL standings. They are 31-5-5 with a total of 67 points. Conspicuously, the Sharks have won more games in general and their power play statistics is slightly higher than the Flames; which means that the Calgary Flames will have be alert about their discipline on ice. At the same time, because the Flames penalty killing is higher than their counterparts, this might be beneficial to offset the statistical difference.

By and large, these two teams have met twice so far; on November 13th, the Flames were defeated (1-6) on the road, but had won 5-2 on home ice, January 6th. This had been a very important victory for them as it had come immediately after their 5-2 loss in Chicago. Since then, neither the Edmonton Oilers nor the Vancouver Canucks were able to defeat the Sharks, which is a positive high for them Flames. Hence, the stats in favour of the Sharks should not bother the visiting team’s performance because only they have the drive to utilize diverse strategies to combat their opponents.

This game will also be televised on Sportsnet, Thursday, January 15th at 8:30 pm.

Game 44: Flames host the Phoenix Coyotes

The Coyotes rank seventh in the western conference division and are 21-17-5 with a total of 47 points. Their road record averages six wins, eleven losses and three ties. They have a power play percentage of 12.70% and penalty killing of only 80.36%. In accordance with these statistics, the Flames have a two way advantage over the Coyotes – they have excellent offensive players and a good penalty killing percentage. In addition, they have won three games in total with only one loss on November 4th. More importantly, they also have home ice advantage this time. It is highly anticipated that the Flames can maintain their win streaks again.

This Saturday game will be televised on CBC at 8:00 pm

Please note that a play by play coverage will be hosted for all these games by Peter Maher and Mike Rogers on Calgary Flames Radio, The Fan 960.

p.s. Statistics as of January 12th.