The way I like to look at it is that the Flames are a better team going in to this year's playoffs than they were 2 years ago. If they played the Ducks in the first round, I think they'd give them a much tougher series than last time. There are times throughout the regular season when the Flames haven't played well at all, but then again which team hasn't. There are always twists and turns in the regular season, but the main thing for me is that I think this team has made good strides in the last couple of months. They've peaked at exactly the right time.
Personally, I think the team we stack up the best against is the Wild. But there is no chance of that being a first round match up. I am not sure if there is a team we really don't want. Only the best teams make the playoffs and if we have any aspirations of going deep then we're going to have to play the top teams at some stage anyway. The thing with Chicago is that they have some very dangerous players who will be difficult to play against if they turn it on in the playoffs. The Ducks are also finding form just at the right time for them, but I think the 2 remaining games with them will tell us a lot about how a potential series with them might pan out. If they do turn out to be our first round opponent then we would have learned just a little more about them in those 2 games, compared to Chicago. That could be an advantage whether we win those 2 games or not.
I just feel that overall the Flames are better equipped to make a run in the playoffs than they have been for a long time.
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