Flames season will only be as good as its finish

[foofighter15]

Right now our Flames are playing playoff hockey so the key will be how they handle other teams when they start playoff hockey too whether it's down the stretch or in the playoffs itself.

If they can maintain this level of play, or even find another gear, I think this team, especially under Sutter, can go a long way

[Off the Wall]

First in the Pacific, that’s where the Sutter school of defensive hockey is taking us.
Edmonton can skate in sand for all I care.

[Badgers Nose]

Hard to keep going at this pace. There will be injuries and slumps. If they finish around 99 points I think that would be a pretty good bounce back.

[Mathgod]

105-109 seems like the most likely outcome. The team is playing considerably better than last year in all phases of the game.

[sec304]

I picked 95-99 points, because, well, they are still the Flames

[Bingo]

Quick calc has the curve suggesting 103 points after 73 voted.

[blankall]

The issue with this team always seemed to be their poor ability to deal with adversity. They were mentally weak and you could see them give up.

Now, it looks like that's not even on their minds. Every shift is simple. Get out there, work hard, fill your role, get off the ice. They are playing like they have no mental weaknesses. Failure or winning isn't in their minds, just winning that battle, making that turn over, etc.... When a player has gotten cold, there's another one there to take over.

The worst they looked was against a team like Dallas. Who are experts at stifling other teams offensively. They may run into a team like that in the playoffs, but it's hard for me to even picture a first round loss with this team.

[Macman]

At the Flames current rate of 29 points in 20 games would get them to 119, so even if they fall off a little they'll still get close to 110+ points.

3 losses in regulation in 20 games is quite good even impressive.

I think getting off to a good/hot start like the Flames have done so far is critical to success in the season. It's just too hard to catch up if you fall behind even 6-8 points even at the midway point in the season.

The Flames are also currently all healthy (knock on wood) so that's even more important that they got off to this great start. There will be some bumps and a losing streak or 2 even, it happens. That's why you have to collect as many points as possible when the team is playing well which is what the Flames are doing.

[Hemi-Cuda]

It's been a fun season to watch so far, but I won't be putting any stock into this team having turned a corner until they can prove it in the playoffs. We already know they're capable of being a top team in the regular season

[TheIronMaiden]

96 points exactly, to please the snake.

[Hot_Flatus]

Naturally and rightly so, unless this team goes a few rounds it would be deemed a failure considering the GM doubled or tripled down on this season. At least the games will be entertaining either way.

[Northendzone]

I am the opposite on this. We are 20 games in, call this team what it is now - a very good team.

There should be a trophy given so we can have a parade and maybe riot a bit.

[Roof-Daddy]

I want to see what happens here for a stretch of home games and a stretch of games against western teams. The less than desirable results vs the west is probably (hopefully) just an anomaly.

I don't expect them to continue at a .700+ point percentage all season obviously, but even a drop to .600 would have them over 100 points at seasons end.

It's a very well rounded team right now, and Sutter has them playing better than the sum of their parts IMO, which is a huge turn around from the dud coaches Treliving previously hired.

[mikephoen]

So hard for me to predict. I'm a HUGE believer in Darryl Sutter, and I'm an almost equally HUGE disbeliever in this core. They've folded like a cheap tent multiple times in the past as soon as something started to go wrong... but Darryl is a game changer (pun sort of intended).

Might be rose coloured glasses at work, but I think I side with Darryl on this one. The Iginla led core didn't look like it was going anywhere until Darryl stepped behind the bench, and just as surely it slipped back once he left. My best guess today is that this will be the same.

As others have mentioned, Darryl gets more than the sum of the parts out of his teams pretty much every time.

[ComixZone]

I was going to go with 94-99 because how many times have I actually seen the Flames pop 100.

...but no, no! With Darryl?! We popping off that 100! Went with 100-104

[djsFlames]

Originally Posted by FormerPresJamesTaylor

The Flames have provided us with some spectacular foreplay, some of the best of our lives but we won't go home happy without that explosive euphoric finish.

Well, that's one way to put it.

[djsFlames]

The way they play, it's just so hard to take 2 points away from this group. 1 is often the best you can hope for, because they simply do not let you do much damage at 5 on 5 whether it's because of suffocating team defense or outstanding goaltending.

It's really amazing.

It's hard to see more than a marginal drop off in the coming weeks. The western teams will be more competitive and push them more, no question. That will lead to some lost points on nights when they're not completely rolling, but the system blueprint is still sound and their toughness can rival anything thrown at them. I'd say against the west you can expect more 2-1 and 3-2 games (with ENs since we can score those now), and maybe less 4-0 or 5-1 games.

[Stampede2TheCup]

I don’t even care about how many points they get. I’m confident they’ll be in the playoffs with a team made for the playoffs. I haven’t been this excited since ‘04 when that team was even exciting as a team in the regular season compared to its predecessors. Me and my roommate hung out and listened to their playoff clinching game on the radio as if it were a game on TV, even though making it was a formality at that point. It was worth it to listen to the game just to hear the excitement in Peter Maher’s call at the end. He was warming up his Yaaaaaaaa Baby for the playoff excitement to come.

The team may cool off some, they may run into injury problems.. who knows. But I strongly believe a Daryl Sutter team doesn’t take a big step back in their level of play in this spot. His teams have been known for consistency. He’s only crashed and burned after years on a team. Right now they’re so happy to not be underachievers they’ll do anything Daryl says all year.

Their results may not stay the same, but I just don’t see a big drop off in level of play happening.

[Ragnar]

Who cares. Making playoffs should be the only goal. If you want to contend you come in hot regardless who you play first round.

[Geeoff]

Flames will make the playoffs. I'm not too worried about that. I am worried about what will happen when we get there.