As the month draws to a close, the upstart Calgary Flames can look back on March with a sense of accomplishment, while the Toronto Maple Leafs would prefer not to look back on it at all.
The Flames went 9-7-0 in March, the first time they’ve finished a calendar month with a winning record since March 2012 (and April 2012, when they won their final two regular season games). The Leafs finished March with a 4-10-1 record, including their current eight-game losing streak, and have seen once-bright playoff aspirations tarnished with doubt, uncertainty and frustration.
Trending in opposite directions, these two teams are set to open April with a clash at the Air Canada Centre on Tuesday night. The Flames will be looking to avenge Toronto’s 4-2 road win in October by playing spoiler against a Leafs squad fighting for their post-season lives. Interestingly, there are several players facing off against their former clubs on Tuesday who have played key roles in their respective club’s March fortunes.
No one would call the past month a good one for Flames centre Matt Stajan, whose newborn son died shortly after birth in early March. The 30-year-old forward missed eight games after the tragedy. But since returning to the lineup, Stajan has been a man inspired. In his third game back, an 8-1 stomping of the Oilers, Stajan tied a career-high with four-point performance that included a highlight-reel penalty-shot goal, which he followed with a gesture skyward.
It’s just one example of the resilience Stajan has shown since being traded from Toronto to Calgary in January 2010. When he arrived, fans had high expectations of Stajan, whom many hoped would be a good top-line fit with Jarome Iginla. In his first couple of seasons with the Flames, he played up and down the lineup while disappointing offensive numbers made him a frequent target of fan scrutiny. However his production and play improved when Bob Hartley replaced Brent Sutter as head coach, and he’s become one of Calgary’s core players, signing a four-year extension in January. Dating back to last season, he’s also won two different Flames awards for character and humanitarianism. Stajan comes into the tilt riding a three-game point streak for eight points in his last five games, and will be looking to keep it going while keeping the club that drafted him away from the playoffs.
Joe Colborne made the trip from Hogtown to Cowtown far more recently than his teammate, but like Stajan he made the most of March. The Leafs traded the 24-year-old to Calgary in September, and he’s had ups and downs in his first season playing more than 10 games. March, though, was a big up. After posting four goals and 15 points in 57 games through February, the six-foot-five, 213-pound forward exploded for six goals and 11 points in 16 March games. That included a two-goal outing against the Islanders where he scored the game-winner and garnered first-star honors, as well as a third-star nod in a one-goal performance versus Buffalo. With points in two straight contests and three of his last four games, Colborne has some momentum heading into his first return to the ACC.
Even Flames goaltender Joey MacDonald, who played six games with the Leafs in 2009-2010, managed to contribute to the Flames’ March success. The 34-year-old made 22 saves and stopped three of four shooters in a come-from-behind shootout win against the Stars.
For former Flames and Leafs captain Dion Phaneuf, however, March was nothing to brag about. In 15 games, he was a minus-15 with an average Corsi-for percentage of 36.3, and a negative relative Corsi-for percentage in 11 of those contests. The Flames first-round selection has been criticized for his play of late; he’s been prone to poor decisions and defensive lapses that have resulted in costly and deflating goals against his team.
Phaneuf was the centerpiece of the trade that sent Stajan to Calgary, and was named the 18th captain in Leafs history less than six months later. Since then, he’s borne the responsibility representing the most heavily-scrutinized team in the league to its most pressurized market. And lately, it’s been quite a burden to bear. The Leafs had high expectations after snapping their post-season drought last year, and those expectations seemed realistic until just about everything went wrong for them in March, and the relentless Toronto media and fanbase has been less than merciful to a team that has had control of their own fate, but has badly mishandled it in recent weeks. The team is searching for a turn-around, and it’s hoped that Phaneuf can help start it.
The stage is set for a pivotal match-up, with each of these players looking for a big game against their former clubs. And with the way things are going, the chances of at least one of them getting it done are looking pretty good.
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