Calgary Flames Finally Win in ATL

Rack’em up. Wins, that is.


It’s what the Calgary Flames continue to do.

Despite never winning in Atlanta before tonight, the Flames pulled off their second straight comeback win and won their sixth in a row for the first time since 2008.

They are currently (as I type this) tied for the final playoff spot. Depending on what plays out in the Colorado Minnesota game, they will either sit one point back of 8th or be tied for the spot.

Tied for a playoff spot on February 3rd! You must be joking!



Less than a month ago they were second last in the conference and left for dead by fans, media, and probably family alike. Battling for a draft pick, not a birth in the playoffs

Now they can’t be stopped.

Why?

Well, a number of things. But mainly, in my opinion, because of the attitude change this team went through in late December.

When Darryl Sutter left the organization, everything, all of a sudden, got a whole lot easier. No more looking over your shoulder to see whose head would roll next. No more trickle down effects from a grumpy manager that was persistantly making questionable moves in a an effort to save his own hide. No more god damn negativity around the Saddledome.

The pressure was too much for this team, and it showed early on. A change was needed, and for once it wasn’t the coach. The Flames finally rid themselves of the once thought of messiah from Viking and the team is now playing its best hockey in the last two+ years.

They are 8-1-3 in the last 12 games, 10-3-3 since Sutter left, and the hottest team in the league.

These aren’t pretty wins, but they are wins and that’s all that matters. A pseudo power play goal by Giordano (first since January 1st) opened the scoring early. Another goal by Brendan Morrison (6th straight with a point) to tie the game up, and then a garbage goal by Backlund to go ahead, capped off with a Glencross hard-working empty netter.

Everyone is contributing. Everyone is doing their part.

Kiprusoff is back to his usual self. No one should be surprised by this. Only nine goals allowed in his last five wins and a save percentage in the upper echelon of the league.

So what’s next? Two games against the Kings and the Hawks. Two teams stuck in traffic with the Flames waiting for the crowd to clear. The only problem is, the crowd will never clear.

It’s going to be a down to the wire race.

Is this what Flames fans wanted? Does it matter? Fans don’t control the game and regardless of if they wanted the team to lose out, you know that professionals will never voluntarily lose to games. It just doesn’t happen nowadays and hasn’t happened since the 1919 Black Sox.

The Flames will get a mid round draft pick. Fine. So be it. They’ve never had a top 5 pick in their entire history in Calgary. They wouldn’t know what to do with it anyways, so let’s just enjoy a playoff push.

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Newman
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thesportsroundup@gmail.com
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