Hot Talk: Flames face long odds down stretch despite victory in Vegas

Craig Ellingson: I was getting Stampede Corral vibes watching the game the other night when Calgary was in Tempe playing the Coyotes. 

That camera angle, those white Flames unis. I could’ve sworn I saw Guy Chouinard on a rush. 

All the Mullett Arena was missing were higher boards, a picture of the Queen and player benches opposite each other.

Steve Macfarlane: That’s funny, actually. It’s not far off.

Craig: Nikita Zadorov is wearing Chouinard’s old number 16, after all. Chouinard was about a foot shorter than Zadorov, though. 

Flames flashback video evidence

Compare this one from the old Stampede Corral in 1980-81 …

To this one from Wednesday night. Blast from the past, I'm tellin' ya…

Anyway, it’s good that the Flames didn’t have a day off between games when going to Las Vegas, amirite?

Steve: Oh, but they did! Are you saying they may have the Vegas flu? Tough to avoid distractions when the arena is on the Vegas Strip.

Craig: Surely they can’t catch the flu when they have to practise, though, like they did the day between games. All that exercise would surely exorcise any bugs. 🧐

Steve: Honestly, they probably don’t stray from routine much, but Vegas is the new Anaheim. It's been a tough place for the Calgary Flames to win … until last night.

Flames probably need 9 or 10 wins to get in

Craig: It was pretty much an impossible place for them, wasn’t it? Calgary had never gotten a W at T-Mobile until last night's 7-2 win. 

That’s a big two points, and they'll need every one of them if they have any hope of making the playoffs. 

They need to win at least nine or 10 more games down the stretch, I reckon, to make that happen. 

That would mean beating teams above them in the standings at least two or three more times and putting away all the ones below them in the standings they’ll face between now and mid-April.

Steve: They probably need at least 96 points. I don’t have the math in front of me right now, but they may need more than 20 points here to get there. 

Things got a little easier with their two points against the Golden Knights. But considering they’ve not won more than three in a row this year, I have a hard time believing in a run.

Craig: Exactly. A lot has to go right for the Flames if they are to secure a playoff spot, and that would include at least one complete breakdown by two teams ahead of them in the standings. 

The Winnipeg Jets are stalling here (3-0 losers last night to the visiting Boston Bruins), but still, Calgary simply doesn’t control its destiny, given they're the ones playing catch-up. 

Sure, it could happen if they went on a long win streak. But as you said, they have yet to string more than three wins together this season. It’s unlikely.