Flames: 43-29-7, 93 points, STILL 3rd in the Pacific, 8th in the West, 16th in NHL.
Coyotes: 24-47-8, 56 points, 7th in the Pacific, 14th in the West, 29th in NHL.
Wow.
This is one of the tightest playoff races I can remember. 3 games left for 3 teams fighting for 2 spots, and still nothing is decided and may not be decided until the last game of the season. Not only that, these teams still have games against each other. I honestly am having trouble remembering the last time something like this happened. As if the Flames season wasn't already heart attack inducing enough, we have to deal with The Wild playing in god mode for nearly 2 months, the Kings finding their playoff swagger at the right time, and the upstart Jets overcoming a LOT of adversity throughout the year to become a very dangerous team. It's exciting and terrifying. Beautiful and horrible. It's forced Pylon to continue eating food so dangerous the WHO has put a quarantine around his home until the playoff picture is decided. But enough about this for now. Today is about the Coyotes.
What a tank job. They are only 2 McDavid points behind Buffalo, and are still 3 points clear of Edmonton for 2nd last, that coming after Edmonton has lost 3 in a row. As if it wasn't already hard enough to convince fans in the desert to attend a game, they've put on a shameful display of tanking, especially in the 2nd half of the season. The Coyotes haven't won more than 2 games in a row since December 23-29th where they managed 3 in a row, a feat they did only one other time all season long. Ok, but 3 game winning streaks aren't that common for bad teams. How about winning 2 games in a row? It's happened just 4 times all season long. Just pitiful. Since they won their last game against San Jose, I just don't see them winning another one in a row. All this being said, the Coyotes still managed to win all 5 games against Edmonton. Yes, that's right, the Oilers have accounted for 20% of the Coyotes wins all season, and yet the 'Yotes are still tanking better than they are. Since the trade deadline where they unloaded Antoine Vermette, Keith Yandle, and Zbynek Michalek, the Coyotes have only won 4 games, including an 8 game losing streak, but the heavy tanking was done leading up to the deadline with a 10 game losing streak. Let's help them continue their McDavid/Eichel quest by handing them another loss tonight.
The Flames are coming off 2 days of rest and what could only be considered a pedestrian affair against a beat down Oilers team. Sure, Edmonton played a fiery 1st period, but they eventually laid down once the lead was an insurmountable 3-goals (thanks RNH). If that game was relatively easy, one can only imagine how easy this game might be. The last time these two teams met Joni Ortio was in the middle of his great run, making 26 of 27 saves, several of them of the exceptional variety. The Flames didn't play that well overall, but did enough to beat Arizona, much like the last game against Edmonton. I would appreciate it if they could just win convincingly, without any drama. There will be enough of that in the 2 games after this one. One thing to consider, the Coyotes still own a top 10 power play ranked 7th with 20.6%. That's pretty much the only way they will score in a game, as they have the 2nd worst offense at just 2.05 GF/G and the absolute worst 5 on 5 GF/GA ratio at just 0.62. They don't have a single player in the positive in plus/minus. You know things are bad when a defenseman is the team's leading scorer (OEL), but their 2nd leading scorer is Sam Gagner. Their PK is also horrible, working at around 77%. Goaltender Mike Smith is having a down year, but has still managed a .904 Sv% on a truly terrible team, so it's not all his fault. Any way you slice it, the Arizona Coyotes are a bad team.
Hartley quotes:
On the schedule against Kings and Jets upcoming:
Quote:
“It’s a great schedule,” Hartley said after Calgary’s skate Monday. “I don’t know who made the schedule but this guy has a flair for drama, but at the same time it’s great.
On looking past the Coyotes:
Quote:
“We were wearing those shoes last year,” said Hartley of being relegated to the spoiler role. “We were having fun with it because there’s zero pressure. Teams are calling up a few kids from the American League that they want to prove to their organization that they deserve to be in the NHL next year. You need to prepare for them as any important game.
“That was our message to our guys this morning. During the entire practice, during the meeting, we only focus on Arizona. That’s where it is. Every game is a must-win situation so we can’t get caught looking too far ahead.”
On whether Sam Bennett will play tonight:
Quote:
“He’s learning tremendously right now. You look at our track record with kids in the past years, I think that we’ve worked with a plan and we have a plan for Sam.
“Is he going to play? I can’t answer this question. Right now our focus is on winning our final three games. Here’s a young prospect that is unbelievably talented but didn’t play a game until early March. Lets not get too excited over here.
“We have a plan. We’re in control. Trust us. We’re going to do what’s best for Sam Bennett but at the same time we’re going to do what’s best for the Calgary Flames. Yes, he’s going to play. I can’t tell you when. You’ll have to stay tuned.”
http://flames.nhl.com/club/news.htm?...id=DL|CGY|home
Read into that what you will.
Playoff Update: The Flames did not play yesterday, but there were two very important games on the OOT schedule. The Jets won in regulation over Minnesota, decreasing the Flames odds by 6.3%. The L.A. Kings lost in the shootout, meaning it added a measly 0.2% to the Flames chances, but at least it didn't drop our chances by another 5-6%. The Flames playoff chances currently sit at 72.4% with just 3 games to go. A win tonight increases their odds by 5.8%. The OOT tonight has a few important games. L.A. is on the road in Edmonton and a win by the Oilers (yeah...right) increases the Flames odds by 9.9%. Winnipeg is on the road in St. Louis, and a win by the Blues increases our chances by 3.9%. Even a win by the Blackhawks over the Wild increases our chances by 0.4%. Those are all the best case scenarios. If the worst case scenario occurs (Flames lose; Kings, Jets, Wild all win), the Flames playoff chances will drop 34% to 38.4%. The biggest part of that is a 25% drop from losing to the Coyotes, so clearly they need to win this game.
Roster Notes: In the wake of Karri Ramo's injury, Brad Thiessen was recalled from Adirondack. For those of you concerned about this, Thiessen does have limited NHL experience with the Pittsburgh Penguins, and has been around long enough to contribute if called upon. Let's just hope he doesn't get called upon. No significant updates on whether Wotherspoon or Bennett get in the lineup, so don't be shocked if neither plays tonight. The Coyotes weak lineup is due to them missing Hanzal, Korpikoski, and Boedker for likely the rest of the season.
Flames
Gaudreau-Monahan-Hudler
Bouma-Stajan-Jones
Raymond-Backlund-Colborne
Ferland-Granlund-Jooris
Russell-Wideman
Brodie-Engelland
Schlemko-Potter
Hiller
Coyotes
Rieder-Arcobello-Doan
Erat-Gagner-Moss
Cunningham-Chipchura-Szwarz
McGinn-Vitale-Crombeen
Ekman-Larsson-Stone
Dahlbeck-Campbell
Murphy-Moore
Smith
Go Flames Go!!!!!!