That seems to be the question I hear more than any other when I watch TSN, Sportsnet, TheScore, or drop in on conversations at the local watering hole.
So, will they?
Well it’s a little more complicated than that. It involves beating out seven other teams in a very, very competitive Western Conference.
I could go through every team and tell you what’s good and what’s bad about each and every team and why the Oilers will fail because they are still one year away and how the Kings might be the team to watch this year because Kopitar, Doughty, Johnson, and Bernier/Quick in net make up the next coming of the Blackhawks. These are things that people who read this blog already know, or at least, should know — if you are new to hockey world and do not read other columns or blogs, then welcome, we are talking about a game played on ice where the goal is to shoot a rubber disk into a net more times than the opposing team.
It’s not roller hockey, field hockey or tonsil hockey. And no one calls it ice hockey either, it’s just HOCKEY.
The Flames, for their role, are an enigma wrapped in a riddle covered in a Twinkie – the Twinkie being Darryl Sutter.
No one can really make sense of the team and who can blame them?
Amid one of the strangest off-seasons in recent memory the Flames subsequently stormed through the pre-season with nary a blemish on their record -- except of course the stampede of Flames players to the ER.
Are they simply building up false hope for a city of a million people that won’t deal well with another hockey-less spring?
They have the goaltending, and they have a core group of defenders to assist with the keeping the puck away from the net idea. What is there really?
Oh wait, I think I was talking about putting some sort of rubber into a large gaping cage; and no I’m not referring to the video’s you find hiding in your dad’s dresser drawer entitled “Shoot it in my 5-hole.”
Scoring goals; it’s the most important aspect of winning in hockey and last year the Flames stunk at doing so.
So in saying that, the Flames will not make the playoffs if they don’t
A) Learn how to score on the power play
B) Learn how to score 5 on 5
C) Learn how to score on the power play
And
D) Find a way to get Olli Jokinen off that top line because we know that he and Iginla do not work well together. Tried it once, didn’t work. So, Sutter, take a lesson from the wise Homer Simpson: “You tried your best and failed miserably. The lesson is never try.” If only we had a delorian to ramp up to 88mph.
And usually people end off their preview posts/articles with a prediction, and so, as I do like making lofty predictions I will say this:
The Oilers will miss the playoffs, despite being one of the more fun teams to watch. The Canucks will not win the Stanley Cup, despite coming very close. The Leafs will not make the playoffs, despite Brian Burke being a total prick to 99% of the viewing public. As for the Flames...well, I still feel like a lost child roaming the rink in search of answers to that ever so-complex question that I was asked in the first place.
Will the Calgary Flames make the playoffs?
To tell you the truth, I still have no idea.
Newman
twitter.com/TSRNewman
Agree? Disagree? We want to hear from you! Click below to comment
No comments:
Post a Comment