It's been a while since I've made it over here for an entry and I sure wish I had better news. These past few weeks have been nothing less than what I've referred to in the past as a roller coaster ride. Our win over Colorado on Friday night secured the hope of faithful fans that there was a chance, 22% to be exact, that the Flames could make it into 8th place in our division and face off in the first round of the playoffs. Tied in points with Colorado having the upper hand by one more win, our only option after Friday night was to win all four of our remaining games, leaving us with the pressure of having very little wiggle room.
As far as I can tell, we're far too hot and cold to make it past the first round should we make it there anyhow. I haven't given up all hope, if that's what you're thinking; I defend the Flames to the end. I just can't understand why our defensemen are our leading scorers when all of our forward lines are more than capable of scoring, proven over and over again. Giordano has been a gold star player all year long, Bouwmeester is more than ready with his slap shots at all corners of the ice, and Ian White has been on a roll with his wrister's including the lone Calgary goal this afternoon against the Blackhawks.
Needless to say, this loss will hurt us more than any other this season and that 22% hope we all had has been significantly reduced once more. Whether or not we play another game after April 10th is in the hands of the Avalanche, however it's a little bittersweet hoping for a team to lose because your team can't seem to tighten it's reigns. Half of the time we're a team who deserves to win, that unfortunately has a lot to say about how we think we can make it to 8th position and beat the 1st place team in a 7 game match up. Will our D men have to defend our net minder and continue to score the goals on their own? If so, then perhaps Regher and Bouwmeester should play D men and Sutter can throw Giordano, White and...oh let's sa6 Bourque on the first line...see how far that ensemble gets us. Maybe that way we can score a few goals a shift?
A friend of mine asked me last night if I thought B. Sutter was an exceptional coach. The trouble is we haven't had much to compare him to in recent years. Truthfully, I believe Calgary has a team with incredible potential and when we're on fire you can not deny the chemistry on each and every line sent onto the ice during those 60 minute bursts of incredible hockey. It seems to be a coin toss that is lost more often than not and I just can't put my finger on what or why. Would I keep Sutter if it were up to me? I can't say, who else is there? There is no reason this team isn't performing well...With the overall position that we're in; salary caps, aging players, retirement possibilities, free agents on the rise... I'm not sure where the biggest problem is or how to solve it. Let's hope someone does.
3 games to go, boys. It's not over until it's over. Let's play hockey!
GO FLAMES GO
T
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