The Flames found retribution against their divisional rivals the Vancouver Canucks. With 3 straight wins after an abysmal start, one of the worst in franchise history, they no longer sit 32nd in the league. In true Flames fashion, they will probably go on a run, show up as a mediocre team, and wind up just out of the playoff picture and out of the bottom 3 for the coveted #1 draft selection.
That’s a glass half full approach, and there’s a lot of season left to tank. But Calgary simply isn’t as bad as 32nd, and not lucky enough to land draft help. Or least that’s our history.
What’s fueling the latest win streak?
- Cooley has 2 of 3 wins and has been the surprise of the season. There were question marks surrounding back-up goaltending that have since been answered.
- Yan. The defence has been horrible this year with a gaping hole in the middle. Kuznetsov has been marinating in the AHL for a couple of seasons and has made the jump to the bigs and has shown he’s the ‘Chris Tanev’ the Flames need. His appearance is undoubtedly tied to the recent win streak. Solid development by the Flames especially given they let Solovyov go to waivers.
- Kadri has been picking up offence. I don’t know what to say, other than he looks better. Every dangle is always ‘ya, this aint’ gonna work’ but then it does, and it’s needed for a team that has very few players with offensive skill that can drive possession.
Where does this leave the team into December? We’ll see how they lineup against some better teams, but it seems as though a new happy medium has been achieved, which bodes well for the standings, but not for the draft rankings.