Sometimes it’s best not to look at the numbers.

In the 2009 Stanley Cup Finals versus the Pittsburgh Penguins, Game Seven was at the Detroit Red Wings’ Joe Louis Arena. Red Wings fans clung to their numbers, spouting things like Chris Osgood‘s goals-against average and save percentage so far in the Finals, how Pittsburgh certainly couldn’t win three of the four last games of the series, and how the Wings had outscored the Penguins 11-2 so far at the Joe.

And look at what happened, with everything pointing in the Red Wings’ favor. Again, with an aged roster (the oldest in the NHL) and their top defenseman having an off-season last year, who knew that Nicklas Lidstrom would bounce back stronger than ever at the ripe young age of 41 and have one of the most productive seasons of his career? He played in every single game this season and had sixteen goals and forty-six assists for sixty-two points, his highest since the 2007-2008 season. And look at how beneficial he was in the Red Wings’ run through the playoffs; he scored some timely (and game-winning) goals. Not to mention being nominated for the Norris and Lady Byng trophies on top of all that.

This postseason’s semi-final round found the Red Wings becoming just the eighth team in the NHL’s history to come back from a 3-0 series deficit to force a Game Seven. Only three of those “underdogs” have won that Game Seven. However, the Red Wings did not increase that total to four.

The numbers can go either way.

But what it all boils down to is this: The Red Wings’ season is now officially over. Now comes the time for worrying about free agency. Now comes the time for worrying about who’s retiring and who’s coming back for another year. Now comes the time where we still watch hockey, knowing that watching its glory will only be around for a little less than a month longer; then we’re really stuck.

Now comes the part where us fans scour the internet, the newspapers, our friends, our family, local television, sometimes even ESPN, just for a glimpse at Nicklas Lidstrom’s name somewhere in the depths, giving us a clue as to what he’s deciding for next year.

Someone at work told me they aren’t worried if Lidstrom retires this year; after all, when guys like Steve Yzerman, Brendan Shanahan, Sergei Fedorov and those core players from the 1990s and early 2000s left, people said the Red Wings would be terrible, but the team surprisingly fared well.

My response? I can’t think like that. Nicklas Lidstrom is one of (if not the) greatest defenseman that has ever played this sport. Losing someone like him…he cannot be replaced. When Yzerman and Shanahan and guys like them left, we at least had players coming up in the pipeline that could fill their roles relatively well (i.e. Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg) and take that leadership role, that offensive role.

Now that’s not saying Datsyuk and Zetterberg became the next Yzerman and Fedorov; it’s just saying that the Red Wings had different players to fill those empty spaces when the key guys left. There isn’t an up-and-coming Nicklas Lidstrom anywhere in the NHL and it may be thirty years (or even never) until there is another defenseman like him. Yes, there are good replacements out there in the league right now, but then it comes down to price and contracts and no-trade clauses and all of that stuff that drives us hockey fans crazy at times.

What all of that up there means:  The Red Wings don’t have a good replacement for Lidstrom.

That thought is quite terrifying…At least to Red Wings fans. To the rest of the NHL, it’s probably a bit of a relief.

I posed a question to a few of my regular Red Wings fan customers:  Is it more of a disappointment to lose in Game Seven or win Game Seven, only to lose in the next round? After all, moving onto the next round after facing that adversity, you’re usually pumped up from such a comeback that you think you’ll be able to win it all. Losing in the next round would hurt almost as much as losing Game Seven.

Then again, losing in Game Seven makes the comeback kind of pointless. It makes it feel like maybe getting swept would have been a better option.

Let’s just say that not one customer could give me a definitive answer when I brought up both these sides of the argument. It all comes down to your own personal opinions on whether this was a mildly successful playoff run or whether it was just a heap of nothing.

This postseason run can be seen both ways. On one hand, we did two of the pretty-hard-to-do feats:  sweeping a team, then coming back from a 3-0 series deficit to force a Game Seven. On the other hand, we only made it to the second round and technically should have had home-ice advantage against the San Jose Sharks had we not sucked off in the last three games of the season

What are the Red Wings going to do in the off-season? How will they tweak their roster to make themselves an even better Cup-contender for next season? Well, that’s a question I’ll try to answer throughout these summer months (along with some pretty awesome articles I’ve got in mind already) in hopes that by the time I’m done writing them, it will be September and time for training camp.

Until then, enjoy the rest of the hockey season, people. Because whether your team has won or lost or didn’t even make the playoffs, within the next few weeks we’ll all be in the same boat, waiting for hockey to return.

Christina Roberts
NHLHS Detroit Red Wings Correspondent
Twitter: @franzenmuth
Email: christina.roberts@nhlhotstove.com

“Why not us?”

These three words have fallen from Jimmy Howard’s lips ever since the loss in Game Three. Innocent enough words, ones that can have no meaning if the Detroit Red Wings had lost any of the last three games. But now that they are taking the San Jose Sharks to a Game Seven after their 3-0 lead and that little statement is being repeated everywhere – by reporters, players, and fans alike.

“I’ve seen this game before.”

This slightly defeated comment came from my brother at least five times during last night’s game. Up until the tying goal, how similar did that game look to any normal Red Wings game? They were outshooting their opponents, hitting posts, missing practically empty nets, getting quality chances while the opposing goalie stood on his head, looked like a Hall-of-Famer, and all of this led to a lucky goal by San Jose to take the lead. How many times had we seen that happen to the Red Wings before?

In the past five days, I have been called a horrible fan by several different people for not having faith in the Red Wings. But I did have faith; I just chose to focus on the reality of the situation, playing the numbers game and seeing them stacked against us, and understanding that winning games would be even tougher and probably impossible. Plus, people know I take series losses a little harder than the average fan – they should realize I was just gearing myself up for the inevitable.

But it’s hard to beat myself down for this next game. No matter whether the Red Wings or Sharks win, this will have been one of the more intense series in recent years.

Has the mental battle been won in this series? This same comment was thrown around in the Vancouver Canucks/Chicago Blackhawks series when the Blackhawks took the Canucks to a Game Seven. Their three-game comeback didn’t seem to have an effect on the Canucks, but the Sharks aren’t the Canucks nor are the Red Wings the Blackhawks. Every situation is different.

The Sharks are similar to the Red Wings in the fact that they don’t let much get to them mentally. They don’t allow themselves to get beat down. Even being down 3-1 in last night’s game, they still attempted to give it their all in the last minute of the game to force an overtime. But when the team you’re battling against is just as focused, it’s a little hard to fight back. These two teams are pretty much evenly matched.

I’m not counting the Sharks out of this for a single minute. Heading back into the Shark Tank, they will have their fans backing them. They have to prove that the Red Wings haven’t beaten them just yet. They have to prove that the Red Wings haven’t defeated them mentally either. There’s more at stake for them losing this series than there is for the the Red Wings.

And then what’s going through Vancouver’s mind? If they get San Jose, they’ll be facing a tired team that just had to overcome a three-game comeback from the Red Wings; that doesn’t sound half-bad to face a team coming off that situation. If they get Detroit, they’ll be facing a team that just defied all odds to make it to the Conference Finals; they may be tired, but they’ll be focused and ready to go, ready to prove themselves; that doesn’t sound very ideal.

My friend Emma put this pretty well, so I’m just going to let her say it for me:

“[The Red Wings] didn’t have to fight this hard. They didn’t have to dig in deep and say no, we are not going down without a fight. They could have given it a half-assed effort in game four or five and let it be over with. Gone home to their families for the summer and relaxed after a long season. But No. They said ‘f&@k you very much’ to everyone who said they couldn’t, and here we are… going to game seven.

I’m just in awe.

Because right now, these guys are playing for pride.  These guys are playing for honor.  These guys are playing because they believe in themselves and they know they can do it.

The NHL has been around since 1917.  It took over from the NHA, which was created in 1909, which, by the way, was when the Montréal Canadiens were also created.  This is a league with a team that has been around for over 100 years.

And in that history, only eight teams have ever come back from a 3-0 deficit to force a game 7.  And only three teams have come back from a 3-0 deficit to win a series.

Eight teams.  Out of hundreds of rounds of playoffs for almost a hundred years.  Fifteen rounds every year, every playoffs, in the current NHL format.

John Buccigross said on his Twitter, “The winner of this game wins the series.” We’ll find out if he’s right or not Thursday night when the puck drops in San Jose.

Christina Roberts
NHLHS Detroit Red Wings Correspondent
Twitter: @franzenmuth
Email: christina.roberts@nhlhotstove.com

The Detroit Red Wings must be listening to Elvis Presley. After a little less conversation about their season ending, they gave a little more action (please) and extended this series by at least one more game.

It’s hard not to get excited after the Game Five win against the San Jose Sharks. The figurative sigh of relief from millions of Red Wings fans watching the game was very audible when the final buzzer went in Sunday night’s game. After all, it means the déjà vu  from this being a repeat of last year’s semi-final match up has ended and the Red Wings’ season is just a little bit longer.

But do we dare get our hopes up for Game Six?

The Red Wings are on home ice, but that fact hasn’t really mattered much this year. Then again, being surrounded by fans screaming in support of them is a little more of a comfort. Players are injured – namely Johan Franzen and Pavel Datsyuk. Franzen will be sitting out tonight’s game – Mike Modano will be in the lineup for him.

You may blink at my mention of Datsyuk being injured because he has still be playing magically, but he hasn’t taken any faceoffs and his time on ice has been cut a bit. Nevertheless, even being slightly injured, he’s still a key component for this team and still full of offense.

My brother brought up a joking-yet-kind-of-serious point after the last win: This entire Red Wings season has been streaky. They would get on a roll and win five or six games in a row only to drop the next three or four. So perhaps the three losses against the Sharks were just that “down” streak and this is the beginning of another four-game win streak.

Then again, the numbers are against the Red Wings. Only three other teams in the entire NHL’s history have come back from a 0-3 series deficit. The Chicago Blackhawks nearly made it four last round, but fell short in game seven; the Red Wings could do the same. Or it could be like their 2008 conference finals match up against the Dallas Stars when the Red Wings had the chance to sweep and Dallas took them to a game six before they finished the series and moved on to the Finals. San Jose could do the same thing to the Red Wings tonight.

Do we get our hopes up for a victory tonight? Or do we keep them low in an effort to not be heartbroken if they lose and freak out if they win and take it to a game seven? Without Ryane Clowe, the Sharks will be much more focused missing a player like him as well as knowing what’s at stake for their own team. Possibly blowing a 0-3 deficit? Who do they think they are, the 2010 Boston Bruins?

It’s the playoffs. Anything is possible. We just have to wait until the puck drops and the final whistle goes to see what happens.

Christina Roberts
NHLHS Detroit Red Wings Correspondent
Twitter: @franzenmuth
Email: christina.roberts@nhlhotstove.com

If the Detroit Red Wings aren’t having the biggest case of deja vu in recorded history, I don’t know who else could rival their case (I suppose the Philadelphia Flyers, but that’s not my territory of expertise).

At the same exact time last year, the Red Wings had just dropped an overtime decision to the San Jose Sharks to put them in a 0-3 hole in the best-of-seven series only to come back and win game four in the only playoff game not decided by one goal between these two teams. Why do I remember this so vividly? Because my birthday fell on the day between Games three and four, much like it did this year. And much like last year, we’re in the same predicament.

And the same questions stand this time around, too. Will tonight be the last game that Nicklas Lidstrom plays for the Red Wings? Is this Mike Babcock’s fault? This team is so talented, so why aren’t they playing to their potential? What players are going to retire and which ones are going to stick around?

Honestly, I wish I had an answer to all of these questions. I would sleep better at night.

Red Wings fans can take solace in the fact that the last time the Wings were swept in the playoffs was in the 2002-2003 season in the quarterfinals. It was the Anaheim Mighty Ducks, led by Mike Babcock, that put the Red Wings out of it.

Do I think we can be the fourth team in NHL history to come back from a 3-0 deficit? Absolutely not. But can we? If the players actually play like they want to win, like they want that chance at the Stanley Cup (which would be a fifth for Lidstrom, Tomas Holmstrom, and Kris Draper), yes. This team has the potential to win four games in a row. After all, they did it against the Phoenix Coyotes.

But then you can bring up the fact that maybe sweeping the Coyotes was a sort of fluke. After all, look at all of the off-ice drama the team had to deal with. They didn’t know if they would be moving to Winnipeg or staying put and they still don’t, but that kind of uncertainty would throw off any person’s game.

If any team can come back from a 3-0 deficit in a series, it’s this Detroit Red Wings team. But that’s only if the team and the coaches and the organization play and focus like they want to win instead of jerking us fans’ hearts around every single game.

Now I come to the part of the article where I attempt to instill some hope into the hearts of Wingnuts everywhere…

Don’t stop believing. It’s as simple as that. The song that plays at The Joe when victory is within our grasp. It’s a simple enough lyric, an even simpler action. Believing isn’t impossible and if there’s any team that can pull this off, it’s us. Because we have The Mule, who is hungrier than ever (albeit slightly injured as well), and Darren Helm, who has been playing out of his mind. Because we have a core group of veterans who want that fifth ring to make a complete fist with. Because we have that veteran who was shunned by his own home team and given another chance in Detroit this year. Because we have those rookies who want to win the Cup. Because we have players who were disappointed that they were just one goal away from winning it against two years ago.

Don’t look at it as a “Oh, we have to win four in a row.” Look at it as a, “Oh, we can win this one at home because there’s no way we’re going to let ourselves get swept at home,” and then a, “Well, it’s possible that we can steal one on the road,” and then a, “Hey, we’re back at The Joe! They can win it for us!” and then end it with a, “Well, it’s Game Seven and we fought back from a 0-3 deficit to make it here. If we win, sweet, if we lose, at least we fought like crazy.”

Now doesn’t that sound a little easier and a little more possible? But the tricky thing about it? The Red Wings need to think like this. It’s easier said than done.

I hate to do this, but it needs to be said:

Watch Nicklas Lidstrom. Watch him like you’ve never watched him before. Because this could be the last game you ever see him play. As depressing of a thought as that is, it might just be the truth. I never wanted him to have a disappointing ending like Steve Yzerman, but it may have just come to that. Yes, he still has excellent hockey in him and no, I don’t think he’ll be retiring this season, but depending on whether the Red Wings are swept or not may be key in his decision. If Lidstrom doesn’t think we have a future, then we have to face our team next year without damn near the best defenseman in the history of the National Hockey League.

I could end this with so many different song lyrics with so many different connotations (“But what is and what should never be,” Led Zeppelin, 1969), (“Tell me what you think about your sit-u-a-tion, complication, aggravation is getting to you,” Aerosmith, 1993), (“This is Detroit, see the skyline, a commotion on the assembly line,” Sam Roberts, 2009), but I think one works quite well, and I’m only doing a mashed-up snippet:

“Just a city boy, born and raised in south Detroit…
Don’t stop believin’
Hold on to that feeling.”
-Journey, “Don’t Stop Believin’,” 1981

Christina Roberts
NHLHS Detroit Red Wings Correspondent
Twitter: @franzenmuth
Email: christina.roberts@nhlhotstove.com

The Phoenix Coyotes may have played their last game in the desert.

But that doesn’t mean they didn’t play their hearts out for their fans and their city.

This was certainly the closest game of the series between the Coyotes and the Detroit Red Wings. For once, the Red Wings didn’t dominate the control of the puck, and they didn’t have a secure lead until the third period. The Coyotes gave it everything. Ilya Bryzgalov looked to be in better form this game than in previous games and didn’t let an early-ish goal by Tomas Holmstrom get him too off-focus. The Coyotes won nearly all of the physical battles. Shane Doan was as persistent as ever.

They showed how much they wanted to survive.

But the Red Wings proved that they’re a team wanting to get that Stanley Cup for a twelfth time. Only Holmstrom, Pavel Datsyuk, Brian Rafalski, Patrick Eaves, and Johan Franzen have scored more than one goal – they all have two. This team has had thirteen different goal-scorers. If that doesn’t show depth, I don’t know how else to prove this team has potential.

Hockeytown is the only team who managed to sweep their series; they are one of two teams to have finished their series in five games or less (Washington/New York finished in five). With how much this team has played in the past four years, a week-long break between series is a good thing. While people may argue that you get rusty from such a layoff, this looks like a team that’s focused, that’s hit that magical switch and turned on their playoff mode. Any amount of rest is good rest.

Plus, the fact that they swept without the aid of Henrik Zetterberg is simply astounding. And Franzen did not play in the last game of the series with an ankle injury and as far as I’ve heard, has yet to practice with the team, who had the weekend off. The health of these two stars is the only thing that should really be of any concern for fans.

It’s ironic when you think about perspective; as someone said on Twitter, we’re crying because we won a series; we can’t imagine what it’s like to be losing your team. While it’s not a set-in-stone deal, it’s definitely possible that the team will be moved back to Winnipeg. While I’m not a huge supporter of the sun-belt teams (I don’t hate them or anything like that), it’s still a little heartbreaking to think of all the fans in that area that will be losing their team. Especially for an area like Phoenix, with so many Red Wings fans moved out there for work or the snowbirds escaping the cold winters of Michigan, they are able to see their team in person twice a year, on television four times a year. Or for the fans who are just getting into hockey. Will they ever see a game again?

But then, how bad can you really feel for a fanbase that only showed up during the playoffs? If they loved their team so much, why haven’t they shown up at any games in the regular season? Why didn’t they fight a little harder, a little louder? I understand that buying tickets to a ton of games gets expensive (trust me, I know that fact), but to only show support for your team when the big-name opponents come to town, does that really show your love for your hockey team, or is it just to show up and spite their successful opponents?

Again, that’s not to deter from the fact that any city losing an NHL team is terrible. To see an entire franchise have to uproot itself and move somewhere else after a decade in the state/provice – no matter how much you may hate that team – still hurts to watch.

The Coyotes still sit and wait to see whether they’ll be playing in the warm desert or the freezing cold next season. The Red Wings wait to see if they’ll be playing San Jose (if San Jose wins and Vancouver wins), Chicago (if they beat Vancouver and San Jose wins), or Nashville (if San Jose and Vancouver both win) in the next round of the playoffs.

Until then, everyone just has to sit tight and wait.

Christina Roberts
NHLHS Detroit Red Wings Correspondent
Twitter: @franzenmuth
Email: christina.roberts@nhlhotstove.com

In what turned out be one of the toughest divisions in the National Hockey League, the San Jose Sharks and Los Angeles Kings will face off for the first time in either teams history.  So what make the Los Angeles Kings scary good this year and why will the San Jose Sharks will have a tough time:

1. Jonathan Quick – For a guy whose last name is pretty much the epitome of what he is, it’s hard to watch a Kings game and not get caught solely watching him. His six shutouts and 2.24 goals against average landed him in the top ten among all NHL goalies. He only allowed five or more goals in three starts this season, and put together a seven game winning streak back in the first half of the season.
2. Justin Williams & Anze Kopitar – Both players led the Kings in goals before going down with injuries. Okay, yes Kopitar is done for the season, but he still finished the season leading the team in assists, points, +/-, game winning goals and shots on goal. Williams tallied 22 goals before his shoulder injury kept him out for the final nine games of the season. And according to coach Terry Murray, Williams might be able to return to the line up for the start of the first round on Thursday.
3. Dustin Brown – Yes, the almighty Captain. Leading the team goals (28) and hits (300), Dustin Brown knows how to score goals and do his job quite effectively. He is especially good on the penalty play, scoring seven goals and adding eight assists.
4. Penalty Kill – Los Angeles ended the season ranked 4th in penalty killing compared to San Jose’s 24th ranked penalty kill.

So, then what makes San Jose tough for the Los Angeles Kings?

1. Joe Pavelski – The man we call Joe Pa isn’t anywhere near as good as our top line, but his ten game point streak, including 12 assists makes him quite lethal. Pavelski reached career highs in just about every category this season, achieving 66 points and 46 assists with a +10 rating.
2. Logan Couture – Because if you have been following the Calder race closely, then you would know why. Although Couture is in his second season in the NHL, his twenty five games played last season still allows him to be considered for the Calder this season. He led the rookies early in the season in all categories and is second among the Sharks in goals (32), +/- (18), and game winning goals (eight).
3. Power Play - San Jose’s 68 power play goals puts them 3rd among the NHL for most goals on the man advantage but 2nd over all on the power play with 23.5%.
4. Seven 20+ goal scorers – Los Angeles only has five available players at the moment with 20+ goals, assuming Williams will be ready for action come Thursday.

The NHL trade deadline has come and passed without the drama or action that many ‘analysts’ had predicted. The trade deadline demonstrated that many teams were happy with their status quo — or were unable to make drastic changes. The Calgary Flames were no exception to this; picking up Fredrik Modin from Atlanta for a 7th round pick, and picking up defenceman Brett Carson off waivers.

The Calgary Flames have been on a torrid pace as of late; vaulting them from the Western Conference basement into the playoffs. While nobody is complaining about the Flames latest success, it has made Jay Feaster’s job significantly more difficult than he originally envisioned. When Feaster took over from Daryl Sutter in December the Flames were destined to be sellers at the trade deadline. But with the Flames continued success, Feaster believes that he owes it to the club and the city to put the best product on the ice in order to make playoffs.

It was well established that Feaster is hesitant to make drastic changes to a team that has been playing so well. With many players being vital components, there were few that were available as trade bait. Along with that – the Flames are hesitant to give up draft picks or prospects within the organization, as they are relatively thin in that department.

Going into the deadline what were the Flames hunting for? Ideally, Feaster would have liked to add another top-six forward to aid in scoring down the stretch, as well as a fifth and sixth defenseman to provide depth to their defensive core.

However, given that the Flames were unwilling to take apart the majority of the team, or part with prospects/draft picks, it became difficult to conceive that they would be able to land the sort of talent that they were seeking.

It was entirely feasible that Feaster would have been willing to part with some minor components on the team; specifically Matt Stajan, Niklas Hagman or Steve Staios. Secondary to that many teams were interested in picking up Curtis Glencross at the deadline — as he would have been an valuable asset to many playoff runs. Feaster informed reporters that he entertained offers for Glencross, however, none of those offers made the Flames a better club than with Curtis in the lineup.

So what did the Flames do? Feaster added Modin to serve as a 13th forward on the team (for now) and to help provide leadership on the 3rd/4th line. Modin is a veteren player who understands his role and what is expected of him.  Carson brings in another defensive prospect to the organization, with a little bit more experience than many of the Flames prospects in the minors.

While Flames fans may see this lack of action as somewhat discouraging – it is the best possible scenario for the team for multiple reasons. The primary reason being that the Flames are not in a situation to forgo draft picks and prospects. Secondarily to that, the team is playing so well as a unit, that it would be difficult to break up any of the components. Thus, the Flames will push to the playoffs with the status quo after adding some possible depth and experience. Are these the types of moves that are going to push the Flames over the edge? Certainly not, but moves like that are hard to come by (the last such Flames trade was Chris Simon in 2004). Instead these deals are helping to secure depth within the organization without giving up future considerations. Expect the Flames to continue their stellar play and make an significant push towards the playoffs with the same team that has been on fire over the last two months.

By acting on a superficial level at the trade deadline, Feaster has also sent a subtle messages to his players that he believes in this club, and these are the players that will be here for a chance at the post-season. Hopefully with all trade talk out of the way, the Flames can continue to excel during the most critical part of their regular season schedule.

Shahbaz Syed
Twitter: DDxDino

After the mid-season All Star classic, the red-hot Calgary Flames come back to work with a new found swagger. The club has managed to turn their season around in the last month, pulling themselves within two points of a playoff spot. Coming off an exceptional 10-3-3 in their last 16 games, the Flames are starting to perform to their potential.

The next month is a critical time period for the Flames as they need to continue their stellar play in order to make a legitimate push for the playoffs. All but four of their remaining games this season are against Western Conference opponents, with many of them being those that they need to battle to make the playoffs.

Flames fans are more than overjoyed with the resurgence, the Saddledome is once again packed and the Sea of Red is alive. But the question remains, how did this team turn it around?

In the beginning of the season the Flames struggled either offensively or defensively game in and game out. However, around December they club began to sort things out on both ends of the ice, and began to work hard but were just not catching any lucky bounces. They were losing close contests, many of them being games they deserved to win. The puck just wasn’t going in, or they were on the wrong end of a bad bounce in their own end.

After Darryl Sutter stepped down after Christmas, the hockey Gods finally decided to smile upon the Flames and many of the lucky bounces began to go in, instilling a profound sense of confidence to the team. As a result, the club has been playing its best hockey of the season and is raring to go down the stretch.

The Calgary Flames need to continue their hot streak in order to have a shot at the playoffs. As a result, the next month is of the utmost critical importance for the team; if they continue to play this way expect them to be buyers at the trade deadline. Robyn Regehr is a name that comes to mind – while one would love to have him anchoring the blueline, he is an expendable and valuable commodity. If the Flames were able to acquire an admirable offensive return for the defenseman, expect a trade at the deadline.

If they are able to continue to win two out of every three games, expect this club to vault into the playoffs. Their ability to beat some of the higher ranked teams remains in question, however, if they are able to obtain a key offensive component at the trade deadline – anything is possible.

All of this however, hinges upon the Flames continuing their stellar play, because if they once again begin to struggle, the word ‘rebuild’ will become a new buzzword around town. Therefore, Flames fans everywhere are collectively hoping that the hockey Gods continue to smile upon the Flaming C in the weeks to come.

Shahbaz Syed
Twitter: DDxDino

The Calgary Flames are returning after a four-game road trip, managing to collect six out of a possible eight points on this Eastern swing. It may be accurately noted that their wins came against two of the worst teams in the Eastern conference; however, it is often the case that the Flames struggle against teams that they should easily beat.

To correlate this with their play as of late – the club has gone 6-2-3 in their last 11 games to once again pull them back to .500 hockey. Just after Christmas, Brent Sutter broke the remainder of the season down into three-game mini-series, with the suggestion that winning two out of every three games will push the Flames into a playoff position. This is a difficult goal for any team to achieve, but thus far the Flames have been par for the course and are playing with the intention of achieving this lofty goal. With the team sitting only sixth points back of eigth place, players and management feel as if the playoffs are within their grasp if they are able to continue collecting valuable points.

The question then arises – how does this influence Jay Feaster’s management of the team in the coming weeks leading up to the trade deadline?

As of late, there have been many unsupported rumors (Eklund) suggesting drastic changes to the Flames within the coming days, specifically related to trading Jarome Iginla.

Photo courtesy of NHL Images

It seems difficult to fathom that a team making a push for the playoffs (believable or not) would trade away their greatest asset and captain of the team.

If the team continues to gather points and win their ‘mini-series’ it is safe to assume that the Flames will attempt to put the best team on the ice game in and game out.

An NHL team will almost always prioritize a shot at the playoffs (even if it is in eighth place) over giving up on the season and trading away their greatest assets.

For that reason, Flames fans can come to expect the status quo over the next few weeks – assuming the Flames can continue to collect points at this pace. Under this scenario (whether or not you believe it is possible), one of the only big name players that Feaster may move is Robyn Regehr. The highly effective shutdown defenseman would be an admirable addition to many clubs looking for some more support on their blueline (most likely in the Eastern conference). In return the Flames would be looking for some offensive talent that could help them not only now – but in the future as well.

On the other hand, if the Flames at all begin to slump within the next few weeks – anything on the trade front is possible. Despite being considered an essential part of the team by Feaster, Jarome Iginla would warrant significant attention by teams looking to go deep into the playoffs. It may seem unfathomable to trade away the face of the franchise, but with enough interested teams the bids may become irresistible to a club looking to rebuild. At that point, nobody on the Flames would be safe and the element of change would be heavy in the air (stay tuned for an article on who warrants solid trade value).

All of these ‘what-ifs’, theories and rumors will be addressed in the coming weeks. It will be entertaining, draining and emotional to watch this team battle not only for their playoff lives, but for the future of this club as well.

Shahbaz Syed
Twitter: @DDxDino

And Now The Pressures On, The Heat Is Rising… Tonight There’s Something In The Air

Marblehead JohnsonThe Bluetones- The Singles

A thousand times I sat down to write this and a thousand ways it could go. But it is going to be short, simple and sweet. Once again my blog on hockey culture in Los Angeles will wait. It is timeless. It is important but, in the face of tonight, can wait until business is taken care of. I have to, despite whatever rules might exist, also suggest the following reads before tonights epic battle at Staples Center: