Calgary Flames

Calgary was able to squeak by the offense-challenged Dallas Stars in the first round, but against the leviathan Connor McDavid and the high-octane Oilers, they ...

It’s also safe to say the Vancouver Canucks will be a more consistently better team than they were this season. But it’s safe to assume Edmonton will be better than they were this year. He also doesn’t want to get into a nasty contract negotiation with Tkachuk. But something has to change. In addition, only four of their defensemen are signed through next year. And their offense could not bail them out as they did in Game 1. And it wasn’t as if defense was the problem for Calgary during the regular season.

The Calgary Flames built their reputation on Darryl Sutter Hockey – that heavy-forechecking, quality-defending style that smothers opponents and wins back ...

He ended up posting just an .852 save percentage in the series, and the crease was supposed to be where the Flames had a clear advantage. That’s what’s been happening for the Oilers, and no matter who their next opponent is, that game plan has every chance of being effective in yet another round. In Game 5, the Oilers had 18 slot shots to the Flames' nine. There was a desperation there that we hadn’t seen from the Flames, and by Game 5 I kept thinking, “Just catch the pass and shoot it” rather than trying to rush a one-timer on a hot pass or on one that was in a bad spot. In the summer, I use a plastic oar to stir my kids’ kiddie pool and get the water going in a “whirlpool,” and that’s what happens when Hyman is on the ice. The Edmonton Oilers can be given no greater compliment than the way the Flames were reduced to playing in the Battle of Alberta, chasing more and more offence to try to keep up with an Oilers top-six that simply could not be stopped. The roller coaster Mike Smith Experience includes the type of highs you need to get by great opponents, and Woodcroft gave their team the chance to see that through. But I just couldn’t. How could I? Everything about the Oilers hinged on this, with two players combining for **checks stats** – no, that can’t be right – **checks again** 29 points in five games. This is speculation on my part, but I don’t think the Oil loved how Kane defended a Flames set breakout early in the game, followed by his positioning on the Andrew Mangiapane goal. The Flames played with offensive impatience, which left room for the Oilers to fly back the other way. On the backs of that plan, the Flames allowed the third-fewest goals during the regular season. The Calgary Flames built their reputation on Darryl Sutter Hockey – that heavy-forechecking, quality-defending style that smothers opponents and wins back pucks, which makes the burden of creating offence a struggle for their opposition.