Rarely have expectations been lower in Calgary, and never has the team started this well.
It has been a fascinating couple of weeks for the Flames.
Even though Saturday evening ended with an overtime loss in Seattle, the club’s 4-0-1 start is the best in franchise history.
And, in large part, they have their goaltenders to thank for that.
Their biggest question mark heading into the season has been their biggest strength.
That point was driven home Saturday in a game the Flames counted heavily on Don Vladar to get to extra time.
Making his third consecutive start on the road, Vladar was the game’s first star in a 2-1 loss that saw him make 21 saves to steal a point.
Goaltending like he and Dustin Wolf have provided is what it will take for the Flames to have a chance at being competitive enough to challenge for the playoffs.
The Flames became the 105th team in NHL history to open a season by gaining nine of a possible ten points.
Ninety-one of the 104 previous teams on that list have gone on to make the playoffs that year.
Yes, 87.5 per cent of those clubs have parlayed their early success into a post-season berth.
The Flames’ impressive start doesn’t guarantee anything, but numbers like that bode well.
Jordan Eberle capitalized on a Nazem Kadri turnover in the extra frame to cost Calgary the 5-0 start they’d craved during a gap in the schedule that included team-building in Banff.
But on a night in which the Flames got into rare penalty trouble, Vladar helped bail them out by allowing just one power-play goal on six attempts.
The lone strike came with the Flames down two men and the club under siege, with Chandler Stephenson tying it 1-1 midway through the game, setting the stage for a third period in which Vladar would make several key saves to nab a point.
“I thought he was excellent — he made some great saves for us at key times,” Huska told reporters.
“That’s been one consistent thing we’ve seen in our five games so far, is the goaltending.
“I thought Dan was probably our best player tonight.”
The Flames are one of only four teams left in the league without a regulation loss, giving them plenty of momentum heading into a three-game homestand that starts Tuesday with a visit from Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins.
“(The start) is obviously a confidence boost and a sign our system works and we’re working for each other,” Rasmus Andersson told Flames TV after the game.
“Now is the tricky part — we just have to keep it going night in and night out.”
The Flames entered the game leading the West with 4.75 goals a game, but had trouble generating many quality chances against Joey Daccord until a Blake Coleman blast from the point beat him in the dying seconds of the first period.
The goaltending duel continued until the end when Eberle struck.
Nazem Kadri was just starting to head up the ice with the puck from deep in the Flames’ zone when he lost the handle and coughed the puck up to give Brandon Montour a golden opportunity in front of the net. Montour quickly grabbed his own rebound and dished back to a trailing Eberle, who beat Vladar cleanly.
THIRD (PERIOD) IS THE CHARM
The Flames entered the game with the best third-period goal differential in the league, outscoring opponents 10 to 2.
Despite some heavy pressure and having to kill a late penalty for too many men on the ice, Saturday’s third period was scoreless, allowing the Flames to leave with a point.
“Our third period has been our best each and every night and that’s how you win in this league — you stay with it for 60 minutes and play good third periods,” said Andersson.
THE LINES
Huberdeau – Pospisil – Mantha
Kuzmenko – Kadri – Coronato
Zary – Backlund – Coleman
Lomberg – Kirkland – Klapka
Bahl – Andersson
Weegar – Barrie
Bean – Pachal
Vladar
Wolf
