Flames are cooking up something ‘special’
Streak has Calgary sitting pretty in playoff race
Lanny, Chopper, Killer and Co. celebrated eight consecutive victories during their Stanley Cup-winning campaign in 1989.
Theo and Friends repeated that feat a few years later.
Jarome and Kipper were costarring when the Calgary Flames rolled to eight straight again in 2005.
And now the current cast at the Saddledome — we can’t decide if it should be Backs and The Boys, Gio’s Gang, Moose’s Herd or maybe Johnny, Monny and The Band — can scribble their own names in Calgary’s club history books.
They’ve already celebrated seven in a row. With another triumph in Thursday’s home date with the Montreal Canadiens (7 p.m., Sportsnet West/Sportsnet 960 The Fan), the current crew of Flames can match the longest winning spree in the 37 years since this franchise moved north from Atlanta.
“That would be special,” said Flames winger and veteran voice of reason Kris Versteeg. “It’s always special to be a part of those teams and a part of history. But before you get there, you always have to put the work in. It’s exciting that you put yourselves in that situation, but now it’s just about going out and playing another game.”
Just another game. That’s the company line. It’s boring, but it’s working. The Flames are consumed by one column on the NHL’s daily stat report — their status in the Western Conference playoff race.
Case in point, Flames rookie Matthew Tkachuk — an encyclopedia of hockey knowledge — argued after Tuesday’s uptempo practice at the Saddledome that any chatter of a franchise best should wait until they’d at least notched a seventh straight win. Uhh, Matthew … “It’s already seven?” he replied with a chuckle. “That just shows you we don’t pay attention to it.
“Let’s go eight against Montreal and then hopefully win the ninth. That would be cool. Keep this thing going as long as possible.”
At the next locker-room stall, netminder Brian Elliott stopped just short of covering his ears when the previous marks were mentioned.
“See, that’s why we don’t like these questions. You don’t want to hear those things,” he teased. “We’re just trying to win the next game.”
Although it’s all good right now, Thursday’s visit from the Canadiens could bring back some notso-pleasant memories for the Flames.
After all, a Jan. 24 humbling from the host Habs was arguably the low point of what’s been a roller-coaster campaign.
The Flames were thumped 5-1 that night in Montreal. Head coach Glen Gulutzan roasted his players in his post-game media scrum, repeatedly characterizing the blowout at Bell Centre as “pathetic” and suggesting it was time to “man up.” Since then? The Flames had a no-nonsense meeting before their next outing in Ottawa, superstar winger Johnny Gaudreau scored in overtime that evening to end a four-game losing skid and Gulutzan’s bunch has barely had a blip since, rolling to a 12-2-1 mark in its past 15 contests. That’s 25 of a possible 30 points in the standings, prompting their ascent from bubble boys to a team now with a bit of a cushion on the playoff outsiders.
“We’re starting to feel it at a good time,” Gaudreau said Tuesday.
“It’s fun to come into work every day, fun to come to practice. When you’re going through those tough times, it’s difficult. When you’re losing games, it’s difficult to wake up in the morning and go to the rink and watch tape of the game you just played that you ended up losing.
“When you’re winning, everything is a lot easier. You feel more relaxed.”
Which is where Gulutzan comes in.
The skipper probably hasn’t used the word “pathetic” for a few weeks, but he also needs to be the porcupine at the balloon party, as his predecessor once put it.
“It’s easier to be the buzz kill in a streak,” Gulutzan said, referencing an example from Tuesday’s practice session.
“Like today, when guys weren’t jumping in the play, I didn’t like it very much. You don’t want to ever see complacency fall into your game and it will when you’re on a good streak.
“So it’s a balance between keeping the good mood and making sure we’re still pushing.”
Push just a wee bit further and the historians will have to update Calgary’s all-time logs.
“Right now, we’re focused on making the playoffs,” said Flames centre Mikael Backlund.
“Sure, it would be cool to tie a record or beat a record, but our focus is just on the next game, winning that game and trying to put ourselves in a good spot for the playoff race.”
It’s already seven? ... Let’s go eight against Montreal and then hopefully win the ninth. That would be cool.