Flames Looking to End Playoff Woes

In the off-season the Calgary Flames acquired a lot of players they felt would help get them over the hump (i.e. the first round of the playoffs) they have been unable to surmount since the 2004 cup finals appearance. The signing of Todd Bertuzzi, Mike Cammalleri, etc. along with sewing up Curtis Glenncross among others seem to be working pretty well so far as the Flames now sit on top of the Northwest Division after their 6-3 victory in St. Louis Tuesday night despite the three game skid that proceeded Tuesday’s game. Winning the division will be a tall order for every team in the division as it is arguably the most competitive division in the league this season, so Calgary certainly cannot count on winning it to secure decent playoff positioning. However, although the ultimate goal is to win the Stanley Cup, step one for Calgary is to win the first round and it seems this is the year that will happen. Jerome Iginla is once again playing very well leading the team in scoring and Kiprusoff’s goals against average is a solid 2.98. But what I think will accompany the high-level playoff stars like Iginla and Kiprusoff come playoff time is the team’s size. Being able to wear down opponents in a long series is what Calgary will have to do to be successful. In recent years teams they have played in the post-season have not seemed to wear down too much come games 6 and 7 allowing their offense to post high shot totals late in the series helping oust the Flames. This year I think they are better suited for a long series and if they can manage to avoid either Detroit or San Jose in the first round the Flames will advance to round two, then after that all bets are off.

Kiprusoff Struggles: Team Needs to Step Up

Miikka Kiprusoff has not been playing well as of late and despite his respectable 9-6 record, entering Thursday he had a very modest .889 save percentage accompanied by an embarrassing 3.31 goals against average. As a result of these poor numbers many people want to put pressure on him saying if he does not play better the Calgary Flames cannot be successful. Although that may be true it is about time some of the other players on that team felt some heat (no pun intended). Kiprusoff has bailed them out time and time again over the years when they have put lackluster defense and streaky offensive production in front of him. This team has way too much talent to rely so hard on goaltending. Jerome Iginla has carried his weight but he too can only take the team so far without adequate help. The Flames invested way too much money and time in the off-season bringing in the likes of Todd Bertuzzi among others as well as sewing up Dion Phaneuf and Robyn Regehr long-term to lay so much at the feet of Kiprusoff and Iginla. It is still early, and the team is not in any real trouble just yet but despite their recent six-game-win-streak if the Flames do not shape up they will be facing another first round playoff exit square in the face.