This year’s underdog has a vicious bite. Just ask the Boston Bruins, Los Angeles Kings and Vancouver Canucks—teams the 2014-2015 Calgary Flames have wounded, defeated and left behind in their unrelenting and unfathomable pursuit of success and victory.
First of all, the Flames defied all logic and odds, battling and clawing their way into the Stanley Cup playoffs for the first time in six years. And now that the Flames have knocked the Canucks out of the first round of the playoffs, people are giving them no chance against the best-in-the-West Anaheim Ducks. But if this year’s version of the Flames has taught us anything, it’s that this team should never be counted out of any moment of any game or any series.
That the Flames have made it this far is no doubt unbelievable. Even more amazing, however, is the way they got here. The Flames never quit; they never go away. They never give up no matter what. In fact, the Flames’ come-from-behind 7-4 victory to eliminate the Canucks in game six is a microcosm of the team’s entire season.
Down 3-0 early in game six, the Flames came together after starting goaltender Jonas Hiller was pulled from the crease and replaced by backup Karri Ramo. Goals from Michael Ferland, Sean Monahan and Johnny Gaudreau had the game tied at three in the second until Luca Sbisa’s weak wrister from the point found its way past Ramo to put the Canucks back in the lead. Still, the Flames refused to quit, proving to be too much for the tired Canucks and scoring four times in the third to win the game and take the series.
It was magical. But for the Flames it was nothing out of the ordinary. And the Canucks are not the first victims, either. Indeed, the Flames came from behind in the third period to win on 10 separate occasions this season. In addition, Saturday’s game six victory over the Canucks marked the third time this season the Flames have come back to win a game when trailing 3-0.
Maybe the most memorable of these games—definitely the most important—was Calgary’s come-from-behind win over the Kings in Los Angeles on December 22, 2014, in which Flames rookie-sensation Gaudreau scored his first career hat trick and tied the game at three with a lucky bounce off Drew Doughty’s skate in the final minute of the third period. The Flames trailed 3-0 early, but a goaltending change (Hiller replaced Ramo), and heroic performances by Gaudreau and Flames captain Mark Giordano resulted in a spectacular 4-3 overtime win that snapped the team’s previous eight-game losing streak.
“It’s really special,” Gaudreau said after the win. “These guys are such a big team in the league and we were two, three weeks there without a win. It’s great to get a win, especially against a team like this that’s really, really skilled and really play the game really well, so the guys are real happy right now.”
In hindsight, this game against the Kings was the pivotal turning point of the season for the Flames. The win not only snapped their longest losing streak of the season; it also provided the young Flames with much needed confidence moving forward and eventually contributed to the elimination of the defending Stanley Cup champs from the playoff race.
A couple months later, in February, the Flames came from behind 3-0 to beat the Bruins 4-3 in overtime, culminating with a lucky flip shot by TJ Brodie that bounced its way past Bruins goaltender Tukka Rask with no more than 2 seconds left on the clock. What’s most surprising about this win is that the Bruins had a dominating record of 91-1-1 in games that they led by three goals, dating back to 2011.
“To use a famous phrase from a great baseball manager, it’s not over until it’s over,” Flames head coach Bob Hartley said. “I don’t know what to say anymore. Those guys never quit.”
Indeed, less then a month later the Flames came back from a 4-0 deficit against the Ottawa Senators, scoring all their goals in the third period but eventually losing 5-4 in a shootout. Nevertheless, the relentless determination of the Flames was not lost on their head coach.
“The character we’ve built over the last years, it’s really paying off in games like this,” Hartley said. “The guys after the second period were like mad, disappointed with themselves, but at the same time there was that belief. That’s something we’ve cultivated over the past months. Once we got one, it was electric on the bench. We had that sense that we would make it happen.”
Yes, believe it or not, the Flames have made it happen and now they face the almighty Ducks in the second round. On paper, the Ducks are a powerhouse that should be able to easily eliminate the lowly, inexperienced Flames. Corey Perry, unperturbed by the “Katy Perry” chants from the white out crowd in Winnipeg, was pretty much unstoppable in the Ducks four-game sweep of the Jets, hypnotizing Dustin Byfuglien at every turn and collecting seven points. Even scarier for the Flames is the fact that they haven’t won a regular season game in Anaheim since 2004. That’s right, the Flames have lost 20 straight regular season games against the Ducks at the Honda Center in Anaheim.
What’s more, the Ducks aren’t too bad at coming from behind to win games, either. They ranked first in the NHL this season with a total of 12 regular-season third period comebacks and they just finished becoming the first team in playoff history to win three straight games when trailing after two periods. They also set an NHL regular season record for the most wins (18) when trailing at any point in the third period.
“We have two white sheets on the wall of our office [listing] the strengths and weaknesses of the Ducks,” Hartley said earlier this week. “We’re running out of paper on the strengths side, and on the weaknesses side it’s still a blank piece of paper.”
The daunting task the Flames face in the next round is no joke. But I’m sure we all know that the playoffs change everything. In a matter of moments, momentum can swing and the team with the bigger heart can take control. Anything can happen in the playoffs. Regular season stats become irrelevant.
At just 44.3%, the Flames had the third worst Corsi rating in the NHL this season—only Toronto (42.7%) and Buffalo (36%) were worse. However, what the Flames lacked in possession, they certainly made up for in almost every other important area of their game. The Flames are a hard-working, disciplined team that has benefited from career seasons from players like Giordano, Brodie, Jiri Hudler, Lance Bouma, Dennis Wideman and Kris Russell. They have also been the beneficiaries of surprising breakout seasons from players like Gaudreau and Monahan and reliable goaltending from both Hiller and Ramo. So far in the playoffs, these players have continued their stellar play and the additions of rookies Ferland and Sam Bennett have increased the Flames competitiveness and potential. Even without Giordano, the Flames still managed to win the majority of their games, qualify for the playoffs and advance to the second round for only the second time since 1989. What a feat indeed.
Against analytics, stats, and odds, the Flames have made it this far. The next round of the 2015 Stanley Cup playoffs is just beginning and many people believe that the Flames have already reached the end of their spectacular season. But it would be wise not to dismiss this team too early. Don’t count the Flames out already. Don’t count them out too soon.
