Calgary Flames: Five games to circle in your calendar for 2017-18
A new season is upon us! Not everyone can watch all 82 games. So here are five must-see Calgary Flames games this season.
With a disappointing season-opening loss to the Edmonton Oilers at Rogers Place, the Calgary Flames will be looking for their first win at their home-opener. We don’t really have to count the season-opener, do we? Let’s just pretend it didn’t happen.
We get it, not everyone can watch every single game. And if you have heart problems, it’s probably a good idea not to watch every game (I’m talking to you, dad). But sometimes in a season, there are definitely must-see games. You need to clear your schedule, book time off of work, tell your friends you came down with a flu. Anything, just to watch these games.
Sometimes, I like to add the season-opener in this list. But, seeing how the Flames have lost seven season-openers in a row, I thought this year may follow that trend. And it did, with a 3-0 loss to the Oilers. The Flames are now at eight season-opening losses, an active NHL record. Wow, the Flames have a record right now? And who says this team isn’t good?
Related Story: Flames broke an NHL record - but not a good one
With the Flames, Oilers, and Anaheim Ducks all projected at being the top three in the Pacific Division, these rivalries may intensify throughout the season. And who knows, we may even see our first Battle of Alberta in the post-season since 1991.
With a new NHL franchise and some new legendary faces in the Flames lineup (cough cough Jaromir Jagr cough cough), we’ve got a few games that you definitely need to circle in your calendar. You may not be able to watch all the games, but these five, you need to clear your schedule for.
Game #1 – Jaromir Jagr home-debut
We don’t know when this will be, but we’re now certain it won’t be against the Winnipeg Jets for the Calgary Flames home-opener. Multiple people on Twitter have already reported that Curtis Lazar was seen skating on the Kris Versteeg and Sam Bennett line in practice this morning.
So far during practices, Jaromir Jagr was seen skating on that line and practicing on that line (what everyone assumed would happen). Head Coach Glen Gulutzan has just confirmed as well that Jagr won’t be in the lineup tonight. But the cheers when Beasley announces #68 will be as loud as ever.
And in his first home game, the seats at the Saddledome will be filled. Gulutzan has also basically said that Jagr will be deciding when he makes his debut. Well move over, Glen, we’ve got a new boss in town. Jagr hasn’t been practicing a lot in the off-season because he didn’t even know if he would be playing in the NHL again. And he missed all of training camp and preseason with the Flames since he signed quite late.
Related Story: Calgary Flames sign 45-year-old Jaromir Jagr
Jagr has MANY accomplishments. And I mean many.
Originally drafted at fifth overall by the Pittsburgh Penguins in 1990, he’s played for eight different NHL teams, is a two-time Stanley Cup winner (both with the Penguins in 1990-91 and 91-92), is a five-time Art Ross Trophy winner, a three-time Ted Lindsay Award winner, a Masterton Trophy winner, a Hart Trophy winner, and has made the All-Star team eight times.
Right now, Jagr is only 57 games away from breaking an NHL record for most amount of games played. Unless he gets injured, he will end up breaking that record with Calgary, which is an awesome feeling. He also said that he’s 99% sure that this is his last season, so ending his season off with not only his first Canadian team, but the Calgary Flames? Flames fans have a lot to look forward to this season with this legend.
We don’t know yet when his home-debut will be, but it will most likely be the Flames next home-game next Friday against the Ottawa Senators.
Game #2 – CGY @ ANA – Oct. 09, 2017
I’m so sick of the Honda Center.
The Calgary Flames have had this stinking Honda Center curse on them for over a decade now. They haven’t won a regular season game in Anaheim against the Ducks since 2004 and a playoff game there since 2006. Their last regular season win came on January 19th, 2004.
The last time the Flames won a game there, Matthew Tkachuk was just six years old.
Their first game at the Honda Center comes early this year – just three games in. So the Flames have a chance early on to try and break this record. Last year, they broke an NHL record by getting their 24th consecutive loss at the Honda Center – now a record for most consecutive losses in one building. Which means it’s not a real curse or anything (it’s a real curse).
Related Story: The decade long curse of the Honda Center
But, there may be a turning point this year.
In his last four starts in the Honda Center, Mike Smith is 2-1-1 with a 1.69 GAA and .950 SV%.
— Darren Haynes (@DarrenWHaynes) June 18, 2017
Now that's what I call a deal clincher.
Mike Smith, who probably gave Flames fans the most amount of anxiety before the season started, was incredible in their final exhibition game and in their first game of the season when the team wasn’t. In a 3-0 loss to the Edmonton Oilers in the season opener (sorry for bringing it up), Mike Smith stopped 42 of 44 shots earning him the second star of the game. He was easily the best player on the ice for the Flames.
The Flames did have that exciting 8-3 win against the Ducks last year in December at the Saddledome in Johnny Gaudreau‘s return to the Flames lineup after missing ten games with an injury. With five goals coming in six minutes in the second period. Let’s hope they can do something similar… just in a different building.
Will Mike Smith be the reason the Flames finally break this stupid curse? Looks like we’ll have to wait and find out.
Game #3 – CGY vs. PIT – Nov. 02, 2017
It’s a little weird when a must see game is against a team in a different conference, but hear me out. The Pittsburgh Penguins (as everyone knows because Pens fans don’t stop talking about it), won back-to-back Stanley Cup Champions for the last two years. AKA the NHL cancelled the 2016 and the 2017 Stanley Cup. Wow, that sucks for the Penguins, they could have had back-to-back cups!
But all joking aside, yes they won two years in a row. But you know what they haven’t been able to do in those two years?
Beat the Calgary Flames.
Related Story: Flames go into bye-week with shootout win over Penguins
In the 2015-16 season, the Flames were one of just three teams who the Pens couldn’t get any points against. Last season, they still managed points against the Flames, but they lost in shootout in both games. And both 3-2 wins for the Flames.
One was a little frustrating because the Flames looked to have scored in overtime and Sean Monahan looked to have gotten his 100th goal, becoming the youngest Flame in franchise history to get to that 100 goal mark, but they waived it off because Matt Murray shook his helmet off. I mean, I’m for a rule like that, for player safety reasons. But in the rule-book right now, it states that if the goaltender removes his own helmet (Murray shook it off), and if the opposing team has an impeding scoring opportunity (which the Flames did), then the whistle won’t get blown. But that’s behind us now.
I mean, yeah, the Penguins may have won back-to-back Cups, but they haven’t been able to win against the Flames so looks like they should hand over their Cups now.
Game #4 – CGY @ VGK – Feb. 21, 2018
A new franchise has been born. For the first time since 2000, we’ll be having a brand new NHL team. The Vegas Golden Knights are the first expansion team in 17 years. And it’s always fun seeing a brand new NHL team come to life.
The Flames will be playing their first game against the Golden Knights at the Saddledome in January, but they’ll be playing their first ever regular season game in Sin City on Feb. 21st, 2018. And people from Calgary are already planning trips to Vegas for that week.
Last night, the Golden Knights played their first ever regular season game, where in a slightly poor attempt (compared to their opponents, the Dallas Stars), Marc-Andre Fleury somewhat bailed them out and him alongside James Neal, brought them to their first ever win in their first ever game. This is the first time that an expansion team has won in their first ever game since the Ottawa Senators in 1992.
While nobody expects the Golden Knights to excel that much this year (like we saw last night with the Stars managing 46 SOG), and you never really do with brand new teams, it’s still fun seeing a new team come to life. The last time a new NHL team was born, I was only five years old. So I can actually experience it this time.
The Calgary Flames will also face off against a former teammate who was taken in the Expansion Draft, Deryk Engelland.
Game #5 – CGY vs. EDM – March 31, 2017
Ah, the good ol’ Battle of Alberta. The Calgary Flames and Edmonton Oilers will play in their final Battle of Alberta of the season in March at the Saddledome, in the Flames fourth last regular season game. These two teams are both projected to finish in the top three in the Pacific Division. Whether that will actually happen or not will basically be up to the teams to decide.
Even if they both finish in the Pacific division and go to the playoffs, it doesn’t mean we’ll be seeing a Battle of Alberta in the post-season. It’s only if both teams finish either second or third in the Pacific. But if we do see a Battle of Alberta in the playoffs, it’ll be the first time since 1991.
The Calgary Flames and Edmonton Oilers both haven’t been the best teams in the last decade – especially the Oilers who didn’t make the playoffs for ten years before this past season. So the Battle of Alberta hasn’t exactly been prominent. And definitely not like it was in the 80s when these two teams really hated each other. And who were always two of the top teams in the league.
But now with both teams projected at making the playoffs and with the Flames claiming they’re ready for Cup contention and the Oilers having good odds of making it all the way, we may finally be seeing the Battle of Alberta in full-force.
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And those are five games to keep watch of! There of course may be some other ones you’d want to watch, like games against the Nashville Predators since they’re a popular pick for a contender this year as well and with that exciting 6-5 OT win against them last season that sparked the beginning of a ten-game win streak, Flames and Preds games will be fun.
Let’s just hope that they don’t have a whole lot of games like they had in their season-opener. And you know… let’s hope they can actually win at the Honda Center for once.