The Big Monday Thing - I've Heard About Score Effects, But What About Scorch Effects?
I didn't have a good title, so I stole this one from a tweet I wrote last night
The one thing we’ve noticed is that we’re all too tired to do the iconic Overtime 2 call in postgame show when the Flames are on the West Coast. We’re very professional, but nothing is more formal than a good night’s sleep.
The Week of: November 29th-December 5th
Results From Past Week: The Flames welcomed their old nemesis “the shootout” to town this week and promptly dominated it, picking up two wins on one-on-one showdowns, which is a confusing sentence to read, I’m sure. Mikael Backlund roofed a picture-perfect shot over the top of Tristan Jarry against Pittsburgh, while Matthew Tkachuk demonstrated that the Swedish House Mafia in Calgary has a hold on him, breaking out the Peter Forsberg goal against the Ducks.
They also beat the Kings in hilarious fashion, and just because life isn’t perfect, the week ended with a 3-2 loss against the Golden Knights in a contest that wasn’t anywhere near as close as the score would indicate.
Flames Overall Record: 15-5-5, 35 pts
Standings: 1st place in the Pacific Division, tied for 1st in the Western Conference. I mean, this is all pretty good. The unfortunate thing, however, about the losses the Flames do incur are that they seem to coincide with Oilers Ls, and while that means Edmonton doesn’t overtake them at the top of the heap, it sure would be nice to put a bit of distance between Calgary and the rest of the opposition.
It’s not a particularly big deal right now as this team is winning a lot more than it isn’t, but things might get dicey towards the end of the season. We’re still talking about potentially “finishing first, or finishing third” which is still a very nice problem to have.
Soundtrack: The Rat - The Walkmen
It’s Spotify Wrapped season, and it would be tempting to drop a track from mine, but I’ll spare you all from that, because it’s a lot of Weakerthans songs from 2003, ska, and NXT era Shinsuke Nakamura theme songs. In short, it’s awesome, and you’re not ready.
Instead, I’m going with The Rat, because I think Matthew Tkachuk had himself a week, and it feels like a nice tribute. Also because longtime Scorchstack reader Ezra Koenig of Vampire Weekend used to be an intern for the Walkmen, and that’s some nice synergy.
(Also, I lied. The Rat is on my Wrapped, because it’s 2021 and I still listen to the Walkmen all the time)
What We Liked:
Last week, in this here very What We Liked, we talked about Dillon Dubé slaying the dragon and ending his lengthy goal drought, meaning Blake Coleman was due up this time around. And wouldn’t you know it, turns out you Do Not Mess With Texas as the pride of Plano notched his long time coming 4th goal of the season against the Ducks.
Perhaps sensing a shakeup was in order to get a couple of stick squeezers off the schneid, Darryl Sutter extracted Coleman from a very productive line with Mikael Backlund and Andrew Mangiapane, creating a trio with Trevor Lewis and co-drought haver Sean Monahan. On paper that seems like a bad idea, and I still don’t think I’d do it if given the choice, but at least it paid off, as Monahan also lifted his own curse deep within the confines of a building famous for hexing the Flames.
Hopefully, this is a sign of things to come for Coleman (and I guess Monahan, but you know…mixed hopes there) because, like Dubé, he is far too talented to be kept off the scoresheet to the extent he has been. This is not to say he hasn’t been good - he has been, to the tune of about half a win so far - but as much as I deign to say it, when you’re a near-$5 million dollar per year player, there are certain expectations that come with that. But I think Coleman is powerful enough to live up to those lofty burdens placed upon him, and then some.
What We Would Prefer Not To See:
I mean what are we fucking doing here? Save Juuso Välimäki already.
Enemy of the Week:
Rasmus Andersson has been remarkable all season, but some sort of unknown force keeps applying itself to him, because how else do you explain this for someone so gifted who still has yet to notch a goal this year?
Whatever force or spirit is responsible for this, you’re on notice pal.
What Happens Next:
Just when you thought the road trip was over, your Calgary Flames touch down in the Bay for a rematch with the San Jose Sharks, looking to avenge one of the surprisingly few regulation losses on the season. That would look a lot more jarring on paper if not for the literal Montreal Canadiens also being responsible for a similar affliction.
Then the East Coast comes to Calgary, which to me is only fair, as we keep inviting them to the Saddledome, and they’re all like no, come here instead, and the Flames keep doing it.
But no more! The Carolina Hurricanes visit Mountain Time Zone this week, and the Boston Bruins decide if they want another taste of Flames goaltending, which I am telling you, they do not.
Whoever The Defenseman On That Side Was Of The Week:
I can tell you who it was, Matthew:
Drew Doughty returned this week from an injury I did not know he had, and Young Matthew absolutely had his way with him, including using him as a screen on his goal against the Kings.
I am ready for this feud to continue to become even more and more one-sided.
Unrelated Fact:
Let’s get a W in the chat for YOUR NEW Canadian Premier League Champions, Pacific FC.
I’m sure there’s a few Cavalry FC fans in the crowd tonight, and I ain’t mad at ya, but there was no way the Isle was going to be denied this season. They were the class of the league from the opening whistle and a deserving champion.
If you’re a soccer fan in this country and you aren’t all the way in on the CPL, man, I don’t know what to tell you, but you’re missing out. This league is legit.
See You Next Week:
I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the tragic news coming out of Vancouver regarding the dismissal of their management team in Jim Benning and John Weisbrod. For the better part of a decade, the duo entertained Flames fans one and all, signing bad players to long contracts, never properly addressing a necessary rebuild, capping out their team and sewering their prospect pool, all while doing it with some of the most befuddling press conferences and tampering charges along the way. I’m going to miss them so much.
But there is hope! I felt the same way I did yesterday when the Edmonton Oilers dismissed Peter Chiarelli, but we’ve seen what Ken Holland has done for the team since taking over. It’s like you wouldn’t even know there was a change.
Francesco Acquilini is still the owner in Vancouver and is both very involved and very stupid. We’re already hearing rumours about Benning being replaced by recently sacked Canadiens GM Marc Bergevin. The future of the Vancouver Canucks is in good hands.