Most of the images, like the games against the Coyotes, are quite boring.
Flames: 25-25-3, 53 points, 6th in Pacific, 12th in West, 25th in NHL.
Coyotes: 24-23-6, 54 points, 5th in Pacific, 11th in West, 24th in NHL.
I have no words for that game last night. I wouldn't even know where to start, so I won't even try. However, the Flames managed 2 points on the road under trying circumstances. Now all of a sudden they are back in the playoff race, albeit still pretty far back of a spot. Winning 4 of your last 5 will do that though. The Flames still have a shot if they continue to win. They're now just 1 point back of the Coyotes with equal games played. A win tonight will leapfrog them over the Coyotes and put them just 1 point back of Vancouver with equal games played. And just for fun, a win tonight with a Nashville loss would put them 3 points out of the playoffs with a game in hand on the Predators. Not bad when you consider that this team was dead in the water before the all-star break.
Here's the bad news though. Ramo is out for tonight and had to be helped off the ice last night. No word yet, but according to Hartley, "It doesn't look good." Chances are Ramo will be out for several weeks...maybe even the season. The Flames will have to rely on Jonas Hiller to get the job done; a goalie who hasn't managed to get his save % above .900 all year. Kudos to him though, he came in last night ice cold and stoned the Sharks to give the Flames the win. We need more of that Hiller and less of the bad Hiller if there's a real shot at the playoffs.
As for the Coyotes, it looks more and more like their hot start this year was an aberration. They've really come back down to earth over recent weeks with just 2 wins in their last 11 games. They've won both games against the Flames this year, both by a score of 2-1. That's surprising because they're actually one of the worst defensive teams all of a sudden with 163 GA, ranking them 3rd worst in GA/G. Like the Flames, they're not good on the penalty kill, and their goalies have been a bit of a mess this year. Louis Domingue has come in and split time with Mike Smith and Anders Lindback, posting the best numbers of all 3, yet he's struggled of late allowing 5 goals against in 3 straight games (before his last game against Vancouver). However, they do have a pretty decent power play ranked 16th, which is roughly where their GF numbers are. Of course Oliver Ekman-Larsson leads the team with 38 points, but Max Domi and Anthony Duclair have continued to provide some regular offense. The surprise has been Mikael Boedker, who has become one of their best offensive forwards this year along with Tobias Rieder. There's definitely a changing of the guard going on in Arizona as the Doan's, Vermette's, and Hanzal's are slowly giving way to the younger players, but they aren't ready for the playoffs just yet.
Roster Notes: Ramo is definitely out for tonight's game, but there's no further word on his status yet. Hiller will be the goalie tonight. No word yet on who would be recalled from Stockton. David Jones left the game after blocking a shot and is questionable for tonight's game. Mike Smith remains sidelined with an abdominal injury, but he started practicing again with the club this week. Boyd Gordon is week to week with an upper body injury, and Joe Vitale is out for the season with a concussion.
Flames
Gaudreau-Monahan-Hudler
Bennett-Backlund-Frolik
Ferland-Granlund-Jooris
Bollig-Stajan-Colborne
Giordano-Brodie
Russell-Hamilton
Smid-Engelland
Hiller
Coyotes
Rieder-Vermette-Boedker
Domi-Hanzal-Duclair
Martinook-Richardson-Doan
Chipchura-Gaudet-Connauton
Ekman-Larsson-Murphy
Dahlbeck-Michalek
Grossman-Stone
Domingue
Go Flames Go!!!!!!