"Shock the hockey world." ~Bob Hartley
No penalty on this play
Or this play
Ducks lead best of 7; 3 games to 1.
Well here we are, in a Conference Semi-Final series against the best team in the West, the Anaheim Ducks. Now facing elimination, we head to the most unlucky building for this team, where we have not won this year, and for many years in the past as well. Sounds like the ultimate underdog narrative to me, which bodes well for a team that has found a way in crunch time. All this in a year where we were supposed to be in the bottom 3 in the league. Instead, we are one of the elite 8, without losing any draft picks, but rather picking up a few to have 4 picks in the first 2 rounds in the upcoming draft. This adds to one of the top prospect pools in the entire NHL right now (recently ranked 2nd by Hockey's Future). With a roster full of burgeoning young stars like Monahan, Gaudreau, Bennett, Brodie; excellent depth players like Backlund, Colborne, Bouma, Ferland; and key veterans who are still in their prime like Giordano, Russell, Wideman, and Hudler, this is clearly a team that will be competitive and entertaining for years to come. They aren't anywhere near their peak yet, and still they're hanging in there with an elite powerhouse team like the Ducks who are built perfectly for the playoffs. What a revelation this year has been.
This is all a huge silver lining for us as things look grim in this series. I'm not counting out the Flames yet, but the Ducks seem to have that killer instinct this year, which means they are very unlikely to lose 3 games in a row. I don't know if the Flames can have the same energy they did in front of a raucous home crowd, but if game 2 was any indication we know that the Flames can actually play well in that building. Execution and capitalizing on chances have been the only thing that separated these teams so far in this series, that is if you throw out game 1. That just comes with experience, which the Flames are getting a ton of this year. That experience will be invaluable for years to come, but the learning curve is probably just a little too steep this year to overcome the odds facing them at the moment. That being said, I think the Flames find a way to win a tight-checking game tonight, and reward the fans with one more game at home. There's too much heart in this team to go away quietly. IF the Ducks do win tonight, it'll likely take their best game of the playoffs to do so.
Bob Hartley wants his team to "shock the hockey world" tonight and in this series, giving them inspiration to possibly make a comeback. The Flames have fed off this underdog energy all year long, and when things look bleakest, that's when the Flames have come up big. I would love nothing more than for the Flames to continue that trend tonight. Play disciplined and focused and things are likely to go well. Play too loose and careless and your year comes to an end. However this all goes down, just make sure that the Ducks have to earn every second of this game. There is absolutely no shame in losing a series to a team like this.
Roster Notes: There doesn't seem to be any imminent changes for the Flames. No more injured players are due back any time soon, and the roster that played the other night is likely to be the same. My own thought is that Jooris will be back in the lineup for Raymond, but that's purely speculation. Boudreau had mediocre reviews of Fleischmann's game, so it's possible that you see Etem or Sekac back in the lineup.
Flames
Gaudreau-Monahan-Hudler
Bennett-Backlund-Colborne
Ferland-Stajan-Jones
Bouma-Jooris-Bollig
Russell-Wideman
Brodie-Engelland
Schlemko-Diaz
Ramo
Ducks
Maroon-Getzlaf-Perry
Beleskey-Kesler-Silfverberg
Cogliano-Rakell-Palmieri
Etem-Thompson-Jackman
Lindholm-Beauchemin
Fowler-Despres
Stoner-Vatanen
Andersen
p.s.-IF today is the last game day thread I write for the year, I just want to say what an absolute privilege it has been to have this responsibility this season. It's been incredibly fun to write these all year, and the overwhelmingly positive response that I've received from all of you has been much appreciated. It's especially appreciated because I know just how knowledgable and critical the group on CP is. Thank you all, and I hope I get to do at least one more of these this year. Cheers!
GO FLAMES GO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!