4 Calgary Flames Searching For Form In Mile High City
Oct 30, 2015; Calgary, Alberta, CAN; Calgary Flames head coach Bob Hartley (C) loons on from behind the bench against the Montreal Canadiens during the third period at Scotiabank Saddledome. The Canadiens won 6-2. Mandatory Credit: Sergei Belski-USA TODAY Sports
The Calgary Flames head to Denver today on the back of a 5-4 win in the Battle Of Alberta. That game saw some top performances from some of the younger members of the roster, but the big guns all need to be firing for the Calgary Flames too.
It goes without saying that the start to the season has been lacklustre. The team is clearly lacking confidence and for some reason, despite strong depth on the blue line is leaking goals like nobody’s business.
The hat-trick hero for the Calgary Flames in Edmonton, Michael Frolik pointed out to Aaron Vickers that their late win could be the confidence boost the side need:
“Hockey is about confidence and hopefully this win can give us more confidence and that we can have the same effort that we had in Edmonton. We were forechecking, we were battling hard, so we need to just carry it over and build our confidence.” – Michael Frolik (flames.NHL.com)
Despite the win, there are still players making the starting roster every night that need to pick up their form. Whilst it’s early days, the mountain may start getting too steep to conquer in terms of the Calgary Flames’ play-off hopes very, very soon.
Tonight at the Pepsi Center, there are at least four players that really need to bring their best game if the fire is to stop smouldering and start burning properly for the Calgary Flames.
Next: Players Needing Form: Karri Ramo
Karri Ramo
With Jonas Hiller going down injured, it’s been left to Karri Ramo and Joni Ortio to battle it out for the starting goaltender berth. In Denver, Karri Ramo has been given the start and will be looking to build upon the win against Edmonton.
Karri Ramo will get second straight start in goal for #Flames vs. #Avalanche tomorrow. #COLvsCGY
— Derek Wills (@Fan960Wills) November 2, 2015
However, the Calgary Flames goaltending hasn’t exactly been a strong suit this year following the injury to the number one. Right now, the numbers aren’t looking very pretty.
Prior to going down injured, Jonas Hiller had put up a rather meagre .861 save percentage for his seven games. Ramo and Ortio have both seen ice four times apiece and have matched save percentage with .868 – numbers that are evidently not good enough.
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Ramo back-stopped the team to victory over the Edmonton Oilers, but the Calgary Flames aren’t going to win too many more games this season that see them concede four goals. He needs a big, big game against the Avalanche to show he should be given a run with the team.
Otherwise, it’ll be a case of shuffling the pack once more and seeing whether Ortio can take the ball and run with it.
No team performs at its’ best if they’re in front of a struggling goaltender. The lack of confidence permeates the whole team, with defensemen spending the whole game more concerned about whether their net is safe than focusing on the two-way game. This in turn affects scoring, and the cycle continues.
Ramo needs to deliver the goods if the team are to win, he needs to help his defencemen break the cycle and push the team forward from the back.
Next: Players Needing Form: Kris Russell
Oct 31, 2015; Edmonton, Alberta, CAN; Calgary Flames defenseman Kris Russell (4) and Edmonton Oilers center Connor McDavid (97) battle for the puck during the first period at Rexall Place. Mandatory Credit: Sergei Belski-USA TODAY Sports
Kris Russell
Kris Russell has had a rather abysmal start to the season. For any positive that can be drawn, two negatives can easily counter it. His plus/minus is a shocking -14 at this early stage of the year and whether you read anything into the statistic or not; that’s pretty darn poor.
The arrival of Dougie Hamilton could well have affected Russell’s game as he knows he must now battle harder for ice-time. Surely though, this should be a motivator and not see his form slump as it has done thus far.
A lot has been written about Kris Russell, not least by Flame For Thought.
RELATED: The Ongoing Woes Of Kris Russell
Kris is in desperate need of some redemption in Colorado, he needs to bring his absolute best game otherwise he could well find himself scratched or potentially heading for some time with Stockton.
This mere fact should serve to motivate him and light the fire in his belly. It’s pretty unclear right now where this poor form has come from and whether there’s an end in sight. This is a player that has previously delivered the goods when called upon.
It’s plausible that at least some of the blame can fall on the goaltender, but a defensemen needs to build his own confidence, regardless of whether he has full faith in the man behind him.
As he keeps getting the ice-time, he needs to start showing he deserves it. The Pepsi Center seems like the ideal location to start chipping away at that ghastly plus/minus figure for Kris. He’s hoping he starts showing what he can bring to the table for the Calgary Flames.
Next: Players Needing Form: Mikael Backlund
Oct 26, 2015; Brooklyn, NY, USA; Calgary Flames center Mikael Backlund (11) plays the puck against New York Islanders defenseman Johnny Boychuk (55) during the first period at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports
Mikael Backlund
Player signs three-year contract extension in the summer. Player’s form dips.
This is exactly the scenario that’s been seen with Mikael Backlund. It’s quite plausible that a contract extension was serving as a large incentive to perform at his best last season.
That’s possibly a little unfair though, as Backlund hasn’t been the only player on the Calgary Flames roster that has struggled for form. It shouldn’t be ignored that he did get a knock in training camp and is potentially feeling the effects still.
Right now, his shooting game is poor, with a measly 4.3% on shooting, a single goal to his name and plus/minus of -7; he is even sub-par on face-offs right now with 45.9% on face-off wins.
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Compare this to the player he was last season and he’s definitely down statistically. Over the entire year last year (his 52 games anyhow), he had a stronger face-off winning percentage at 48.3% and although still poor number, shooting accuracy that was 5% better than at present.
Maybe it’s over critical to compare last year’s statistics with this years’ as their have obviously been some roster changes. New players can unsettle even the strongest core of players and maybe that’s what has occurred in the Calgary locker-room.
As the Calgary Flames head to Denver, Mikael Backlund is but one of many that needs to lift his game. He has his flaws and always has done, but when he is on-form he brings a steadying influence to the side.
That is much-needed right now, the ship isn’t quite sinking but it’s spring a small leak and he can certainly lift and help plug it!
Next: Players Needing Form: Sean Monahan
Sean Monahan
Sean Monahan is a bit of an outlier here; statistically speaking he isn’t doing too badly this year. He’s at least scored two goals and had offered up five assists. However, these numbers don’t match the form he has previously shown.
Last year he was a sixty point man and in his rookie season he was a solid thirty point man. His start to the year suggests a sophomore slump, but this is a player entering his third full season on the Calgary Flames roster.
The 6th overall pick in the 2013 NHL Entry Draft sees time on a line alongside Jiri Hudler and Joe Colborne, which should at any rate be offering some decent offense.
Hudler looks to have found his spark but there’s a bit of pressure for Monahan to step up and deliver the goods with a bit more routine now.
Given the minutes he’s seeing on the ice, he’s not putting enough shots on net to help create the much-needed offense the Flames need to win games.
His shot attempt percentage is sitting at a lowly 46.44%, which equates to 20th best this year for the Flames – time to step it up.
Hopefully the Avalanche game can serve as a launching point for Monahan’s season; with momentum on the Flames’ side, Sean has a good chance to really start rolling and hopefully improve the chemistry between himself and his line-mates. That is, of course, if the offensive lines aren’t shuffled once more, but that’s a whole other story in itself.
Next: The Ongoing Woes Of Kris Russell
Are there other Calgary Flames that in poor form that we should be highlighting? Tell us in the comments section below.