3 Things From Week 24: Hat Tricks, BoA and Shutouts

It was another tough week for the good guys as the Flames record after 7 days was 1-2-0 and they find themselves sinking further and further away from the playoffs. The Flames are 4 games behind the Anaheim Ducks for the last WC spot and 6 points behind Colorado for 7th place in the Western Conference.

Just as Calgary needed it’s best players, 1 came back ineffective and the others left with injuries. Mike Smith came back and shut out the Oilers, but he surrendered 10 goals in his other 2 starts during the week. As for injuries, Matthew Tkachuk is day to day with an upper body injury and T.J. Brodie left Calgary’s 4-0 loss to Vegas. He stayed in for a bit after getting destroyed by Ryan Reeves and then being responsible for two Vegas goals.

Hat Trick City

You gotta love a good hat trick. Two is even better…….except when they come at your expense. TWICE this week the Flames let an opposing player score on them 3 times and once it was 4 times!!!! Evander Kane, the malcontent that no Flames fan wanted at the trade deadline scored 4 times in the Sharks 7-4 dismantling of the Flames Friday night. As if that showcase wasn’t enough William Karlsson score 3 second period goals on Sunday to in effect bury the Flames in the span of 8 minutes. These are game the Flames needed to win, but clearly they missed the memo.

At Least They Beat The Oilers

The one silver lining in this rough week was Calgary beating the Oilers for the first time in 7 tries. The Flames hadn’t beaten the Oilers in 2 seasons coming into Tuesday night, but a Johnny Gaudreau goal and 28 Mike Smith saves later and the Flames were 1-0 winners over Edmonton. Is the BOA really back? The intensity is there, but until the Flames can shake off their 1-6-1 record in their last 8 against Edmonton, we’ll go with “no.”

Shutout Again

While the Flames shutout the Oilers, they also found themselves on the other end of a blanking Sunday afternoon. The Vegas Golden Knights shutdown the Calgary offence and sent the Flames away with a 4-0 loss. That was the 6th time the Flames were shutout this season, but that’s not even close to the NHL record. The 2006-07 Columbus Blue Jackets were shutout 16 times that season. 16.

by Mark Parkinson