The Big Monday Thing - Bound For Glory Or Something
postseason hockey means, regrettably, more Big Monday Thing
The Calgary Flames of yore (in this case the mid to late aughts) had a tendency to falter down the stretch, clinching playoff spots largely based off of opposition losses more than team wins, and would limp into the playoffs, essentially presenting themselves as fresh chum for their first round matchup. Those teams are largely forgotten, wisped away in the sands of time, because who wants to remember a bunch of uninspiring losers?
This year’s iteration of the team just locked in their own postseason berth, but only when the Edmonton Oilers put a beating on the Vegas Golden Knights, instead of the Flames earning the victory over Vegas a night before and being in control of their own destiny.
Do I see any parallels between this version of the Flames, and those previous, frustrating 2008-esque teams? No. Are you kidding? No. Absolutely not.
The Week of: April 11th-17th
Results From Past Week:
Lots of home cooking for your Calgary Flames this week, although some of that could also include a time where maybe you let your university roommate prepare a house meal, which meant that one of the ingredients in at least one dish would be creatine. The team started the week off earning their 5th victory in a row, and in fairly dramatic fashion, with a 5-3 come from behind victory over the Seattle Kraken, which probably should not have been such a challenge.
With a chance to clinch a playoff spot on the line, the Flames followed that up with an absolutely dreadful 6-1 loss against the now Mark Stone-laden Vegas Golden Knights, and zoinks, I sure hope that doesn’t come back to haunt them in like 6 weeks time.
Thank Miikka for the Arizona Coyotes though. They rolled through the Saddledome on Saturday night, and then laid down entirely for the home team, allowing the Flames to skate away with a Matthew Tkachuk hat trick and a 9-1 (!!) victory. A soothing balm. Very refreshing.
Flames Overall Record: 46-20-9, 101 pts
Standings: 1st place in the Pacific Division, 3rd in the Western Conference. Once again, the Flames hold onto second place TECHNICALLY, due to being atop the Pacific Division, but the St. Louis Blues are one point up on them, and we like to keep things honest around here. That being said, the Flames have a game on hand on the Blues and could very well be back in 2nd place proper by the end of the night.
Soundtrack: Nosetalgia - Pusha T ft. Kendrick Lamar
Is this the track of the week just because I was blown away by this breakdown of Kendrick’s verse in this?
Yeah, it was. Kendrick rocks.
What We Liked:
Personal milestones are fun. You could argue that individual success is ultimately meaningless if it isn’t accompanied by team prosperity, but anyone who fights for that cries into their Stouffer’s Lean Cuisine and yells at Nathan Fillion every time he’s on screen during their third rewatch of the ABC drama Castle. Only one team walks away with the Stanley Cup at the end of the year, and it’s very likely not your team, so sometimes you need to celebrate whatever you can get.
What’s really fun is when multiple players on your team that also COULD win the Stanley Cup are realizing career checkpoints at the same time, which is exactly where we find ourselves now.
We’ve already seen Andrew Mangiapane eclipse not just the 20 goal plateau, but the 30th as well (and maybe more???) We’ve seen - this still matters, I guess - Erik Gudbranson reach a career high in both goals and points during what will likely be his one campaign wearing the Flaming C.
But of course, the top line, like it has all year, is supplying all the real fun. Johnny Gaudreau is parlaying his now official 100 point season into a potential Hart Trophy calibre season. And don’t look now, but Matthew Tkachuk is only 4 points away from hitting the century mark himself. Meanwhile, the entire trio of Gaudreau, Tkachuk, and Lindholm look primed to be 40 goal scorers, a first for all three superstars. Things are just getting taken care of around here.
This all being said, Jacob Markstrom is not allowed to collect any more shutouts this year. Some records are not meant to be broken.
What We Would Prefer Not To See:
DON’T WEAR OUT JACOB MARKSTROM. I could go on a rant about this, but it’s more or less the subject of what we’ve been dedicating to this section for weeks.
Enemy of the Week:
The Flames need a combination of 6 points won, and/or 6 points dropped by the cross-province rivals in Edmonton. All of this could theoretically manifest itself this week. This makes Edmonton a pretty fitting enemy for the days ahead, as their existence in general makes them a pretty fitting enemy for life.
The Oilers skate twice this week, with homes dates at Piss Sink Stadium against the Dallas Stars and Colorado Avalanche, and we wish the road teams our very best. We also wish the Oilers their best as well, because no one is better at beating Edmonton than themselves.
What Comes Next:
As mentioned, the Flames have ample opportunity to win the Pacific this week, and, while I’m just superstitious enough to prevent saying anything that could jinx the team, I dare say the schedule is…lighter this week.
Calgary lines up across from Chicago tonight, and you know, it’s been tough sledding over there for one reason or another. The team spends the rest of the week toying with some squads fighting for their playoff lives, with a date with Nashville on Tuesday, Dallas on Thursday, and a now Bo Horvat-less Vancouver Canucks on Hockey Night in Canada. The Western Conference more or less gets decided this week.
Two Things That Go Perfectly Together Of The Week:
lol.
Unrelated Fact:
I think Mike beat Elden Ring. I haven’t played the game, but from what I understand, that should not be possible. Is Mike a sorcerer? I can only conclude that he is.
See You Next Week:
The Seattle Mariners earned their first series victory of the year, and did so against the Houston Astros. A new dawn is rising in the AL West. It’s the year of the Mariner.
Julio.
I'm more of a spell blade than a sorcerer but thank you for acknowledging that I killed a god.