TGIF Calgary Flames fans! The Flames will face off against the San Jose Sharks tonight where they’ll have another chance to clinch a playoff spot.
The Calgary Flames will have another chance to clinch a playoff spot today. They could have clinched on Wednesday with a win over the Los Angeles Kings, however it was a failed attempt and they lost 4-1.
They’ll be facing the San Jose Sharks, a team they have already met three other times this season and whom they’ll see one more time this season, the last game of the regular season for both teams.
This game is almost essentially a four-point game for the Flames. The Sharks have been one of the top seeds in the Pacific Division almost all season long, but just the last couple of weeks, they’ve fallen and they’re now third in the Pacific Division.
The Flames sit in the first wildcard spot with 90 points while the Sharks sit in the third Pacific spot with 93 points, both have played 77 games. With a win in regulation for the Flames, they can close that gap even more. And they’ll slowly inch their way closer to being in the Pacific Division rather than a wildcard spot.
Calgary Flames
Via Calgary Herald:
"“There’s going to be a lot of emotion like (Wednesday) night,” said Flames head coach Glen Gulutzan. “And I think moving forward, the Anaheims and San Joses, it’s all emotionally charged games. I think we need to do a better job with having discipline over emotion.“We took five or six minors (Wednesday) and that can’t happen (in the playoffs). It wrecks the flow of the game for us. We like to use our speed and four lines because games are going to be emotionally charged from here on out.”“It’s good to learn from these situations,” said Flames captain Mark Giordano. “There’s going to be different types of pressure from game-to-game. Another good lesson is, now it’s a bounce-back for (Friday). We lost one now.“In the playoffs, when you lose one, you’ve got to come back the next night and win one.”"
Some links surrounding the Flames to get you through your day
Flames hoping to catch that playoff feeling (Calgary Herald).
Tipsheet: Matthew Tkachuk living up to dad’s reputation (St. Louis Today).
Calgary Flames rookie Matthew Tkachuk can be the NHL’s next great villain (FOX Sports).
Backlund and Giordano Flames nominees for NHL Foundation Player award and King Clancy Memorial trophy (Calgary Herald).
Some other links surrounding hockey and the NHL
Hockey World: Colorado Avalanche would be trading low in any Matt Duchene deal (Edmonton Journal).
Vegas focused on building quality, not quantity (NHL.com).
5 things we learned in the NHL: Hurricanes making East interesting (Sportsnet).
Florida Panthers: What went wrong in 2016-2017 season (Puck Prose).
Next: Throwback Thursday: Gaudreau's First Hat Trick
That’s all in this edition of Flames Daily! Thanks for tuning in.