Flames Win: Hope Lingers for Playoffs

Derrick Newman on Tue, 2012-03-27 02:57

There it is again.

Hope – rearing its ugly head.

Just when you think the Calgary Flames are all but done, they once again give you that faint flicker of hope that the improbable might be still possible.

And here we go again.

With a 5-4 regulation win over the Dallas Stars tonight, coupled with a Kings loss and a Coyotes loss, the Flames climb, once again, within two points of the 8^th and final playoff spot.

See here:

7	DALLAS	PAC	76	41	30	5	87	34	202	203	-1	22-14-3	19-16-2	7-4	6-4-0	LOST 1
8	PHOENIX	PAC	77	37	27	13	87	31	200	202	-2	19-13-6	18-14-7	6-10	4-2-4	LOST 1

9	LOS ANGELES	PAC	76	37	27	12	86	31	175	165	+10	21-14-4	16-13-8	6-7	6-4-0	LOST 2
10	COLORADO	NW	78	40	32	6	86	31	201	207	-6	22-15-2	18-17-4	9-2	5-3-2	LOST 1
11	CALGARY	NW	77	35	27	15	85	32	191	212	-21	21-10-6	14-17-9	3-9	5-2-3	WON 1

Tonight’s affair was the second half of the back to back against Dallas. It was a topsy-turvy affair. The Flames were down 1-0 just seconds after the anthems concluded on a goal that most PeeWee goaltenders could stop. There were three goals in either the first or last minute of a period. The Flames scored THREE power play goals igniting what has been a stagnant offence for the better part of two weeks. Needless to say, it didn’t lack excitement.

Goal droughts were broken by Jokinen (8 games), Tanguay (5 games), and Comeau (2,654 games...ok, 15 actual games), and Iginla broke a five game pointless skid by notching two helpers.

The Flames now face the Kings, in the Dome, on Wednesday night. Another must win. Another game of Do or Die.

With four of the remaining five games on home ice, and the Flames home ice record pretty good (21-10-6), your hope meter has likely been injected with a serious boost of morphine. Regulation wins against LA Wednesday night and Colorado Friday night would give an even further jolt to a successful playoff push.

Leave it to the Flames to show up the game after me, and the majority of the city of Calgary, had written them off.

It’s just one game, but the 2011-12 Flame is still burning. Hope is still alive.

However, as a wise man once told me...”Hope is a horrible thing.”

It can truly crush a man’s soul.

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