Close Games Cause For Optimism, Not "Frustration"

If you’re Brian Burke, there’s a very good chance you’re not happy with the December the Calgary Flames have had so far. But if you’re anyone else with a desire to see this team succeed, you should be.

When Burke announced the end of the Jay Feaster era on December 11, he gave a host of reasons for the move. One was his problem with what he identified as a tendency to blow late leads and play too many non-regulation games.

Slow down there, Brian. Let’s put things in perspective.

The night before Feaster’s firing, the Boston Bruins scored two third-period goals just over a minute-and-a-half apart to come out on the winning end of a 2-1 game in which they were out-hustled, out-shot and out-hit by the Flames. These are the same Boston Bruins that are considered to be one of the league’s hardest teams to play against, who also just happen to be the defending Eastern Conference champs. Yes, the Flames lost, but they were the better team against an elite opponent.

In 10 contests before that, dating back to the midway-point in November, Calgary never held anything more than a two-goal lead at any point in any game. They went 5-4-1 over that span, playing past regulation in four games, two of which had them trailing at some point in the game. Not exactly a record of calamitous collapses.

On only three occasions in those 10 games did a blown lead actually culminate in a loss for the Flames. The first time was against the Edmonton Oilers, when they surrendered four third-period goals in admittedly poor fashion during a 4-2 loss. Then they did it again against the Chicago Blackhawks in the last week of November, as in the defending Stanley Cup champion Blackhawks. But that was more a product of the heroics of the ever-dangerous Patrick Kane, who had two third-period goals including the game-winner with 18 seconds left to play, than anything else. The most recent incident was the Flames’ second game of December, when they blew a lead against the surprisingly dominant Colorado Avalanche to lose 3-2. But that lead was a modest one-goal margin, one that they managed to protect for the first 38 minutes of the game before veteran Maxime Talbot finally found a chink in the armour.

Oh, and that four-goal gaffe against the Oil? That was all the way back on November 16.

Since Feaster’s firing, it’s true that the Flames have certainly seen more than their fair share of extra time. In five games, four of which have been on the road, they have gone to overtime or the shootout four times, which probably doesn’t sit well with Calgary’s truculent interim general manager. But Calgary is a decent 2-1-2 over that brief time-frame, with the lone regulation loss coming again at the hands of the Bruins, who shut them out 2-0 on Tuesday.

Refreshingly, after allowing an average of 3.5 goals against per game in November, Calgary has yet to allow more than three goals in a game this month, limiting their opposition to a single tally on five of nine occasions.

Karri Ramo and Reto Berra have also continued to show progress in their development and dependability, while the players in front of the young goaltending tandem have returned the favour by blocking an average of just under 20 shots a game.

And although the powerplay has struggled, going just 3-for-29 in December, Calgary has done a good job of mitigating the issue by allowing only four goals on the 36 oppositional opportunities.

The result of all this is a 4-3-2 December record heading into Saturday’s match-up with the Penguins, which already matches Calgary’s win-total through 14 games in November.

So what does it all mean? It doesn’t mean the Flames are choke-artists. They’re just playing close, back-and-forth hockey games, winning some and losing others. Yes, it means they need to learn how to build on their momentum, but the fact that they can establish it against opposing teams in the first place is promising, especially when they sit 27^th in league standings. It’s also promising that a rebuilding team has the mental fortitude and composure to battle adversity and survive long enough to get at least one point out of the majority of its last several outings.

The lead-blowing that Burke discussed in his post-Feaster-firing press conference is not nearly as glaring an issue as he made it out to be, nor is the team’s propensity to play more than 60 minutes.

Let’s be perfectly honest here. Calgary is not going to become a contender that steamrolls opposition overnight, and probably won’t be for several seasons. But they’re clearly putting in the effort necessary to become one, and that’s the first step. These close games and non-regulation decisions might not be ideal, but they are a testament to the work ethic that this team has been striving for and the identity they are already building. These close decisions shouldn’t be taken as “frustrating”, as Burke says. Instead, they should be cause for optimism; the sign of a team that’s working hard to improve and is starting to see some results for its efforts, at least for now.

‘Tis the season of good cheer, Brian. How ’bout a little?

photo credit: Tsar Kasim via photopin cc

Thanks for reading. Please give our Hockey Department a follow on Twitter – @lastwordBKerr, @lastwordrick, @MitchRTierney, @LastWordBigMick, @crimsonskorpion, @CMS_74_, @TwoTurtleDuffs, @d_rocchi, @dasimonetta, @LWOSDanRussell, @ddmatthews, @CanuckPuckHead, @NKonarowski2, @LarryScotti, @PurpleRocktober, @jaynichols11, @meaghannn_, @LastWordOnNHL, and @darrinharmy and follow the site @lastwordonsport and like our Facebook Page.