Will we make the playoffs

[tkflames]

Originally Posted by Caged Great

Realistically, a team can only afford 30-32 regulation losses and make the playoffs.

We are 11 games in and we're already at 6. That means those will need to be made up. The Flames will have to win a larger portion of games to claw their way back into things.

The worrying thing is that the next games this month are

SJ - (T-9th)
LA - (T-23rd)
ANA - (T-16th)
DAL - (T-23rd)
NYR - (4th)
MIN - (T-5th)
ARI - (30th)
CHI - (T-5th)
DET - (T-5th)
BUF - (T-14th)
CBJ - (T-18th)
BOS - (T-14th)
PHI - (13th)
NYI - (T-23rd)
TOR - (T-18th)

8 Vs top 15 teams, 7 vs bottom teams with 4 of those being against teams that made the playoffs last year.

In other words, fun.

That is as average of a schedule as you are going to get. 8 teams in the top 15
7 teams in the bottom 15
4 games against bottom third of the league
5 games against the top third of the league

The part of this schedule that makes it concerning is the volume of games on the road and volume of games in a short duration.

[Corral]

Unlikely.

If the Flames manage to get only another 9 points by Game 20 - and looking at the upcoming schedule they may be fortunate to even get that - they will need about 80 points in the last 60 games to make it. that means a 40-20 record. No chance with this roster.

[N-E-B]

Yes. They look like they're starting to click. Our top guys won't play this bad forever. Once they get going we'll be fine.

[CroFlames]

I thought this was a rah rah Flames overly positive thread. I read the title as We Will Make The Playoffs.

[mrdonkey]

PP: 28th
PK: 28th
GA/G: 26th

Those sure don't look like the numbers of a playoff team to me.

[FlatLandFlamesFan]

Playoffs or bust , have to believe every year till we're out , Ain't no Oiler fan !

[kyuss275]

For me it was 50/50 when season started and it still is. Flames play in a weak division. First line has not gotten started yet. If they can get going they have a chance. I'm probably one of the few, but i do like what the new coach is trying to implement. That said, not a fan of d-pairings, especially Wideman.

[madmike]

Too early to say in my opinion.

To be honest, the 3-6 D look decent and the 2-4 lines have been solid.

But unless Gaudreau, Monahan, Brodie and Gio pick their games up, the answer is likely no. You have to think they should improve, but this is a pretty extended slump the four of them are in.

[troutman]

36-27-8 gives Calgary a 63% chance of making it. Nine games over .500 the rest of the way is not out of the question.

http://www.sportsclubstats.com/NHL/W...c/Calgary.html

[Ruttiger]

No.

[Samiz]

The Flames in the early parts of the season have shown that they can play like a playoff team (see successful roadtrip against good teams) but they have also shown that they have major weaknesses (i.e. defensive lapses and terrible special teams) so I think that it is totally up in the air at this point and it depends on which team shows up on a night to night basis

One this that is FOR CERTAIN is that if they want to make playoffs, their top players need to be better and the special teams need to be at least average

[vilzeh]

no

[Redliner]

What does the snake say?

[genetic_phreek]

It's totally possible. Ducks were the worse team in the conference same time last season. They ended up winning the Pacific.

[Huntingwhale]

Originally Posted by genetic_phreek

It's totally possible. Ducks were the worse team in the conference same time last season. They ended up winning the Pacific.

Being in the Pacific really is a blessing for us. If it was the old 1-8 format, I would say we have a poor chance. But the fact we only need to win the race within our own division gives us a real good chance.

[polak]

Is it possible? Yes.

Have to Flames looked anything like a playoff team? No.

Do I think they will make it? I'll answer that by the end of this month, I'm not confident based on what I've seen. Feel like Monahan, Gaudreau and Brodie are going to have off years which will kill our chances.

[Redliner]

Peter Maher always said that it takes 20 games to get a true picture of a team. He watched the Flames enough for me to trust his judgement, so I'll wait for another 9 games before getting too excited or throwing in the towel.

That said...I see things in the team's performance that I don't think are an easy fix. I still don't think Gulutzan was the right hire and I can easily see him being a one-and-done coach if the team isn't able to turn the corner at some point. Those who say we are still in rebuild mode are kidding themselves. Yes, we have a lot of young players, but the pieces are in place for this to be a playoff team and anything less is (and should be) a disappointment.

[Five-hole]

What we need is one of those patented runs that a team puts together after they finally gel under a new coach. See: Sullivan, Mike; DeBoer, Pete.

A good 8-2 run would go a long way to allowing us to play .550 hockey for the rest of the season.

[Hot_Flatus]

Originally Posted by CroFlames

This is loser talk. You have three highly paid defencemen, 2 highly paid forwards and a bonafide #1. With that kind of money already being paid to the core players, this should be a playoff team.

Anything else is an excuse and allows loser culture to take hold.

You have your head in the clouds plain and simple.

How do you expect a rebuilding team with players like Chiasson and Versteeg playing legitimate top 6 roles to compete with perennial playoff juggernauts?

You can hope but it's just not realistic to expect yet

[Benched]

was highly optimistic before the season....not so much anymore.

pretty sure we're not making the dance, unless we suddenly start playing much better.