Playoffs? PLAYOFFS?!?

[edslunch]

Shoot for .500 by the all star break then trade for David Price

[Gaudfather]

With loser points etc it is tougher than you think to overcome deficits. The Flames are not out of it yet, but the margin for further struggles is getting pretty thin. With 15 points so far and an estimated 95 points needed to make the cut, the Flames need to win 40 of their remaining 62 games. Not impossible, but a tall order!

[Jay Random]

Originally Posted by Gaudfather

With 15 points so far and an estimated 95 points needed to make the cut, the Flames need to win 40 of their remaining 62 games. Not impossible, but a tall order!

That's assuming that the Flames don't get any loser points at all in those 62 games.

It's also assuming that it will still take 95 points to make the playoffs. The Pacific is so weak this year, I suspect the third-place seed may go to a team with as few as 90 points. In fact, I won't be surprised if the 6th-place team in the Central gets more points than the 3rd-place team in the Pacific.

[AcGold]

The teams we have to beat aren't that intimidating. Arizona, Colorado, San Jose and Vancouver. I like our chances against that group, not a contender in the bunch really. If we can't get 5 points on those teams we don't deserve to be in the playoffs.

[driveway]

One serious problem we're about to face is our schedule in the next few weeks, here's the group of teams we're playing from now until Christmas.

Blackhawks, Ducks, Coyotes, Sharks, Stars, Bruins, Sharks, Sabres, Rangers, Predators, Stars, Blues, Redwings, Jets

Home games are bolded

There's one, maybe two "easy" games (Coyotes and Sabres) on paper, but they're both playing pretty well this season. The non-playoff teams are the Ducks (Honda Center) Coyotes, Sabres, and Bruins. And we get three games, two against the Stars and one against the Rangers against teams currently tied for the league lead. Not to mention the defending Cup champs,

I don't think we're a playoff team this year, I think we blew it in our first 10-15 games, but if we actually manage to claw our way back into the mix through this mess of teams between now and Christmas, I'll be confident we can beat anyone in this league.

[Erick Estrada]

While Ramo has been playing better of late he's still not delivering top flight goaltending. Unlike the Wild last season there's probably not going to be some miracle trade that solves the Flames goaltending woes. I just don't see the goaltending holding up for extended periods of time this team will need to rattle off considerably more wins than losses for the rest of the season.

[Daradon]

I wouldn't discount Anaheim so easily, Sure they won't be the cup favorite like many of us thought they'd be, but they're still way too good to finish out of it. They'll probably have an excellent second half. I can't imagine them finishing worse than third.

We are lucky to be in the Pacific, but that's the only reason we have a chance. I'm not bold enough to say we can make it until we win a few more, but it is possible, and not as bad as it looks standings wise because of our division.

[Daradon]

Originally Posted by edslunch

Shoot for .500 by the all star break then trade for David Price

As awesome as that would be, can you imagine how much he'd cost trade wise? Wow. He might be the most valuable player in the league.

I know your post was in fun, and so is mine, just stepping back to think about it.

[Displaced Flames fan]

The reason I think the Flames have a chance at making a run is because through the first 1/4 of the season here it's been Gaudreau, Bennett and Monahan who have been the most consistent players. Coming into the season one would have been sensible to suggest that the young guys duplicating what they did last year is something that could not be counted on. If the rest of the team gets going......

Still...if you don't have goaltending you can't win. So far, we don't have it. Ramo has still not looked good to me in these last several starts.

[adc]

I am not worried about the 5 points to 3rd gap (which also ignores the fact we have played more games than most teams) it is the fact that we have to outplay Vancouver by 5 points, SJ by 5 points plus whatever they get in the 2 games in hand, Arizona by 4 points plus the 2 games in hand and Anaheim by 1 point plus the one game in hand.

I think it is possible to beat those teams individually but to outplay all of them with the 3 point games is what becomes much more difficult. So yes I think they can easily make up the 5 point differential in the 62 games remaining, the problem is two of the teams ahead of us are likely to have got at least as points over that same time period.

As mentioned it is nice that Vancouver, SJ and Arizona aren't exactly world beaters but I am not sure the Flames are any better than any of those 3 especially SJ and we definitely are not better than Anaheim.

[Resolute 14]

Originally Posted by Cali Panthers Fan

FWIW the Flames absolutely owned their division last year. 22-6-1 for a winning % of roughly 76%. With Anaheim so much worse this year, it's entirely possible they do so again.

Of course they did. But if the Flames have proven one thing so far this year, it is that what we did last year means absolutely nothing.

[the2bears]

Originally Posted by Gaudfather

With loser points etc it is tougher than you think to overcome deficits. The Flames are not out of it yet, but the margin for further struggles is getting pretty thin. With 15 points so far and an estimated 95 points needed to make the cut, the Flames need to win 40 of their remaining 62 games. Not impossible, but a tall order!

Except we play in the Pacific. The current cut-off is 82 points. That's right, 3rd in our division is on pace for 82 points. Then there's Arizona, with a better ppg than Vancouver, but still only on pace for ~86.5 points this season.

We still have to make up a deficit and pass a few teams, but it's not as bad as some think.

[Cali Panthers Fan]

Originally Posted by Resolute 14

Of course they did. But if the Flames have proven one thing so far this year, it is that what we did last year means absolutely nothing.

That's a little defeatist, is it not? We are 2-2-0 so far this year against divisional opponents, and that was all in October when this team was still pretty much a tire fire. They're starting to play a little better in all aspects of the game and are 5-5-0 in their last 10 despite a road trip that didn't go well at 1-3-0. Why don't we wait and see how they fare against the opponents that they dominated last year before we stick a fork in them?

Honestly, there's only a couple teams that look vastly different than last year. The Kings look like themselves again, but the Ducks look much worse. Switch them in the standings and you pretty much have the same division again with some improvement in teams like Arizona. This team was made last year by their divisional record, because they were pretty mediocre against the rest of the league. Nearly the same thing is occurring this year if you remove yourself from the awful October. We also had a horrible stretch last year that everyone thought would finish our playoff chances, but they found a way to bounce back from an 8 game losing streak to make it.

I'm not certain that they're going to be in the playoff picture this year, but I usually wait until February before making any sort of predictions. It's a marathon, not a sprint.

[Badgers Nose]

After all these years Flames finally benefit from being in the Norris... I mean Pacific division.

They'll make the playoffs for sure, along with the ducks. Even with the craptacular goalies. Vancouver and ARI will fall out.

[REDVAN]

Last year I was a believer- this year I am not. Prove me wrong Flames, prove me wrong!

[adc]

Originally Posted by Cali Panthers Fan

That's a little defeatist, is it not? We are 2-2-0 so far this year against divisional opponents, and that was all in October when this team was still pretty much a tire fire. They're starting to play a little better in all aspects of the game and are 5-5-0 in their last 10 despite a road trip that didn't go well at 1-3-0. Why don't we wait and see how they fare against the opponents that they dominated last year before we stick a fork in them?

That record last year was helped a lot by going 10-0 versus Edmonton and Arizona. They already lost once to Edmonton and both teams look better this year so it's unlikely we are coming close to that record against the division this year.

[Bandwagon In Flames]

I'm staying optimistic (apart from my Hartley hate) and do believe this is a playoff team in the pacific division. This team has a great mix of young skill and veteran leadership. I think with some more tweaking to this system we can become that fast paced skilled team that we should be when looking at the roster sheet.

Brodie is showing that he's the main player to make Hartley's system work. He's also our best player and it's been quite evident this season. We've been a different team with him in the line-up and he's only going to get better the more he plays. If Gio can get back to the Gio of the last 3 years, we will once again have one of the top 3 D pairings in the league.

[Rick M.]

Originally Posted by edslunch

Shoot for .500 by the all star break then trade for David Price

Who's David Price?

[edslunch]

Originally Posted by Rick M.

Who's David Price?

Not a Jays fan I guess? How about Carey Price then?

[mrkajz44]

It's still too early to call it, but I'll put myself in the doubtful camp. I'm not saying its not possible with the division this year, but the games I've watched doesn't really scream "we'll bust out of this soon". Yes, they've been better as of late, but no one was saying, "hey, it's just a matter of time". There is plenty of time to come back, but I don't think they are good enough to do so.