The Big Monday Thing - This Is Real If You Decide It's Real
The Flames are on a roll, why try to dissect it to see if it's legit when you could instead BUY DISCOUNT CANDY?
I don’t remember if we did a season preview for this 2021-22 Calgary Flames season (we did), but if we did (again, yes), an adjective that would not have been tossed around very much throughout would be “good”. Given an offseason where it didn’t seem like much improvement had been made - I would have told you straight up the team looks worse - it was pretty easy to be pessimistic about the team’s return to an uncertain but probably decent Pacific Division.
Early on this season, the Calgary Flames are sticking in it way up in all of our fucking faces. They’re on a six-game winning streak, but what’s more amazing are components of this run we’re not typically used to seeing from past iterations of this team: They have been offensive, they have been dominant, and maybe most bizarrely, it’s been consistent. I don’t think anyone would disagree that the team is playing above their heads, but for now - with the knowledge that the season is young and the sample is small - those of us around the Kipperverse are asking a familiar question: Are the Flames good?
The answer, of course, is the same one it is whenever we toss that thought into the world: maybe? This could be the way the team plays all year, or an injury or two could cripple them entirely and reveal that this whole house was built with a deck of cards the entire time. All I do know is the team’s best players are operating to the best of their abilities at this juncture, and if that keeps up, maybe this whole Darryl Sutter thing is exactly what we’ve been trying to talk ourselves into believing it is since his hire last season. Instead of questioning it, instead of waiting for the other foot to drop, why don’t we - and I know this is a novel concept around these parts - uh, enjoy it?
It’s easy if you try.
Update: I actually went back and read our preview, and it turns out my own brain is more powerful than my subconscious, and I might be the smartest man alive:
Great job, me. Ignore the unwatchable part, this team is very fun.
The Week of: October 25th-31st (spooooooky!)
Results From Past Week: Get used to looking at this thing: W. It is the 23rd character in our modern English alphabet and traditionally denotes when a sports team is victorious in a particular game. In the case of your Calgary Flames, that funny-looking W thing has been applied VERY liberally.
Check this shit out: October 25th, Flames (W) vs. Rangers. October 26th, Flames (W) vs. Devils. October 28th, Flames (W) vs. Penguins. October 30th, Flames (oh you better believe it’s a W) vs. Flyers.
It’s the 4th last character in the alphabet but holds the #1 position as far as the Big Monday Thing is concerned, I’ll tell you what.
Flames Overall Record: 6-1-1, 13 pts
Standings: 1st place in the Pacific Division, 1st in the Western Conference, 1st in our hearts. Again, who knows if this lasts, but right now, this is pretty fucking rad.
Soundtrack: Mr. Brightside - The Killers
In truth, I do not care for this song nor The Killers at all, but I can’t deny that the play of the Flames has me crawling out of my cage and doing just fine.
(ed note- was Floob the author of this infamous @NHLFlames tweet?
I’m an optimist this week! What the hell?
What We Liked:
Uh, everything? Ever heard of it?
Hard to distill what we’ve seen of late into one thing, so let’s just sorta briefly touch on the assorted goodness that’s been powering this team so far:
First and foremost, it’s the play of the top line. Johnny Gaudreau, Matthew Tkachuk, and Elias Lindholm are looking primed to set the league on fire (makes sense, as they are Flames). They’re hovering around 60% for shot share as a line, which essentially means they aren’t letting the other team touch the puck, and why would they? It cuts into time they could instead be using to score goals, something they seem to REALLY ENJOY right now.
Rasmus Andersson truly appears to be back. The Flames desperately need last season to be an anomaly, especially with Mark Giordano plying his trade in the Pacific Northwest. Early on, it’s looking like that may have been the case. Andersson is playing strong, confident hockey, and the underlyings back it up. Rasmus rules, and he’s letting us love him again.
Speaking of bouncebacks, what can we say about Jacob Markström? He was quite strong beginning his Flames career last year before his midseason injury, and while we should expect a dip at some point, Markström looks even more dialed in this time around than he did at this stage last year. That is scary. When the Flames aren’t filling the opposition net, Markström is keeping his real clean, and there are going to be instances where they’re REALLY going to need it (the Pittsburgh game was a real clear demonstration of that).
It’s nice to have balance across the lineup. While the top line is doing the lion’s share (which they SHOULD be doing), the pairings of Andrew Mangiapane and Dillon Dubé, and Mikael Backlund and Blake Coleman are really starting to gel. Brett Ritchie and Tyler Pitlick are living blessed lives.
We touched on this last week, but letting Oliver Kylington be Oliver Kylington is continuing to pay off. His contributions are not as monumental as those of many of his teammates, he does have clear chemistry with Chris Tanev (who continues to be a surprising Defenseman Whisperer), and fans and coaches alike seem to have a lot of confidence when he’s on the ice. Just let our guy Oliver go!
This all boils down to the lingering thought we always have, but never truly ever let ourselves believe: Darryl Sutter might be a pretty damn good coach. His system requires speed and skill as much as it does a need for grinding, strong two-way play. If he’s tapped into a formula for success here, this could be a fun season.
Jack Eichel isn’t even here yet! Think about that!
What We Would Prefer Not To See:
I don’t think we’re there quite yet, but I’m wondering how much longer we can go before we need to have a conversation about Juuso Välimäki. There are a lot of caveats to be stated up front - he’s only just turned 23 years old, and he’s essentially spent every second on the ice so far with Erik Gudbranson - but Välimäki is a player this team has high hopes for, and I don’t know when we need to reassess if he’s a player of the kind of pedigree we assumed he was when he was drafted in the first round.
Välimäki hasn’t necessarily been bad, at worst he’s been replacement level. But again, by now we should be expecting him to be much more than that. Darryl Sutter hasn’t really put him in positions to succeed, but good defensemen can turn nothing into something, and I can’t really fault Sutter for not elevating Juuso, because I’m not really seeing him do that either.
I’m not sure what the answer is here, I don’t think some time in Stockton is going to be beneficial at all, and nothing would be worse than being stuffed further down the depth chart than Michael Stone and the truly, truly awful Nikita Zadorov, so I suppose he needs to play his way through all this, but there’s a non-zero chance Välimäki won’t be getting any better than he already is. That would be a travesty.
Enemy of the Week:
March 2020 was one billion years ago. Having fans filing back into the seats of the Scotiabank Saddledome for the first time in 19 months meant that I had forgotten all about the fans shouting “C” and “Red” during the American national anthem. Jarring. I can’t believe we still do that. Everyone that still does that, guess what? You’re the Enemy of the Week. I’ll see you in Hell.
What Happens Next:
That successful undefeated road trip was a ton of fun and hopefully has really set the tone for this season. We’ll find out back in our beloved Mountain Time Zone, as the Flames continue a five-game homestand with three tilts over the next seven days. They’ll square off against the Predators, Stars, and Rangers, and presumably win each of those games handily.
David Rittich plays for the Predators! Did you know that? I randomly googled him a couple of days ago and was entirely shocked by that fact. Will he play against his former team? Probably not, unless the Flames just absolutely destroy Juuse Saros and Connor Ingram gets hurt ahead of time, which….maybe!
Big Save Dave deserves better. Trade him to like Boston or something, both their goalies suck.
Secret Key To Success For The Flames Season of The Week:
The Flames are undefeated on games where Hrudey On Duty is listened to before or during the game. If that trend continues all season, the Calgary Flames will finish the season with a respectable 80-1-1 record. This is powerhouse stuff. Make this jam part of your gameday rituals and we’ll all be going to bed happy.
Unrelated Fact:
Alright, it’s not unrelated, I just want to look at this guy from Hrudey on Duty again:
Fucking GET IT, my dude.
See You Next Week:
Mikael Backlund notched his 400th career point this week. Mikael Backlund can ride lightning like it’s a skateboard. Mikael Backlund can microwave a frozen burrito so hot that Jesus himself couldn’t eat it, but Mikael Backlund can. Mikael Backlund can talk to animals. They respect him tremendously. If you suffer from glaucoma, Mikael Backlund can cure it by looking directly into your eyes. Mikael Backlund SEO is off the charts this week for some reason.