Calgary Flames, Mason Raymond, Matt Stajan Will Be OK
By Len Nunes
Sometimes the easiest answer is not always the correct answer. Since Matt Stajan returned on December 6 and Mason Raymond returned on December 9, the Calgary Flames have gone through a 3-game losing streak. The cure to Calgary’s ailments recently is NOT just putting Stajan and Raymond back in the pressbox!!
Matt Stajan played well in his return game from that scary looking knee-to-knee collision back on October 28th. Admittedly, in his 2nd game back, aside from one shift which Sportsnet TV pinpointed for us, Stajan looked (to me anyway) gassed. You somewhat have to expect that from a person coming back from surgery. The fact Mr. Stajan was rested for the first game of a back-to-back red flags one of two things – – I’m right and he was gassed during the Toronto game or his knee is sore and bothering him.
In respect to Mr. Stajan, I won’t feed you the “you need vets” crap because I think this team legitimately needs Matt Stajan (sorry Curtis Glencross). Last year, the Flames were dead last in faceoff percentage. This year, the Flames currently sit 11th. That fact surprises me since coming into the season Stajan and the injured Mikael Backlund were our top two faceoff men. We need Stajan’s faceoff presence. We can’t have Sean Monahan and Josh Jooris taking all special teams and regular play faceoffs. Yes, they have been handling the pressure well so far, but the reason for Matt Stajan is to alleviate that pressure.
As for Mason Raymond…he looked terrible (read rustier than a nail in the Titanic) in his return on Tuesday. Raymond was held to only 11:13 of ice-time on Thursday and is slotted as a 4th line winger for Friday’s game in Pittsburgh. Minus the hat trick performance in the season’s 2nd game, Raymond’s season has been hit and miss with his performance. With his head in the game, Raymond uses his speed to create open ice and scoring chances. We have all seen flashes of that.
His speed gives him a “use” for our Calgary Flames team. One must remember that recovering from an injury is not only physical but mental as well. Give it time fans, he’s signed for two more years.
So while it’s “easy” to place blame on returning vets, it’s not the correct assumption here. For one theory, click HERE. For another theory, look at the reason the Calgary Flames won so many games early in the season – – it was our goalies! The past three games what have the Calgary Flames encountered – – hot goaltenders.
Everything is going to be okay folks.