The Calgary Flames stable begin to the 2024-25 season hasn’t been with out its speedbumps, and a speedbump was precisely what they hit in final evening’s sport versus the Vancouver Canucks. The Flames had been under no circumstances outclassed by the 2023-24 Pacific Division winners, however weren’t capable of get an entire lot going, both.
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With the loss, the Flames now sit at 8-6-3 on the season. The three-1 loss marks an finish to what was a four-game level streak, although this sport was one which was anticipated to be tough. With that stated, listed here are the three most important takeaways from final evening’s outing.
Noticeably Drained Legs
Except for their final sport which was a 3-1 win over the LA Kings, the Flames have had troubles beginning video games on time as of late. For the second-straight outing, nevertheless, that wasn’t a difficulty, as they really discovered themselves up 1-0 heading into the primary intermission. What the difficulty was, nevertheless, was that their beforehand talked about sport in opposition to the Kings was performed simply 24 hours prior.
Although they didn’t look it within the first, it turned evident quickly afterward that the Flames didn’t have the legs wanted to compete with what’s a robust Canucks workforce. They appeared more and more drained as the sport went on, and didn’t generate a lot of any scoring possibilities within the second and third durations.
That isn’t meant to be a critique, as this workforce was compelled to battle laborious the evening prior versus the Kings. The actual fact they had been capable of hold issues shut in opposition to one of many higher groups within the Western Convention truly speaks volumes about this group’s character, and may profit them transferring ahead.
Kirkland Continues Storybook Season
Whereas the Flames’ prime gamers had been quiet as soon as once more on this sport, Justin Kirkland continued what has been a stable begin to his season. The 28-year-old was capable of beat Kevin Lankinen for his second of the season on a centering feed from Kevin Rooney. With the purpose, Kirkland is as much as seven factors via 14 video games.
Whereas these level totals is probably not excellent, they’re fairly spectacular provided that Kirkland hadn’t even cracked the Flames’ roster out of coaching camp. He was as an alternative recalled within the early going, and, regardless of having solely performed in 9 profession NHL video games previous to this season, doesn’t look like heading again right down to the American Hockey League (AHL) anytime quickly.
Vladar Stable As soon as Once more
The largest level of concern getting into the 2024-25 season for the Flames was within the crease, as there have been many skeptical {that a} duo of Dan Vladar and Dustin Wolf might get the job completed. It’s early, however the two have completed a superb job of proving their many doubters improper up to now.
Vladar was stable but once more on this one, kicking apart 29 of the 32 photographs he confronted. A number of had been of top quality, together with a J.T. Miller one-timer within the second interval which he made look a lot simpler than it was. After two less-than-stellar seasons, Vladar seems to be absolutely wholesome and again to being the goalie the Flames initially thought he could possibly be.
Wanting Forward for the Flames
The Flames will now have a much-needed two days off earlier than getting again in motion on the Saddledome on Friday versus the Nashville Predators. It’s an excellent matchup, because the Preds haven’t solely struggled immensely this season, however can be on the second half of a back-to-back, as they may play the Edmonton Oilers the evening prior.
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Friday will mark the Flames’ ultimate sport of the week. The next will see them tackle the New York Islanders on Tuesday, the New York Rangers on Thursday, and the Minnesota Wild on Saturday. All three are large tilts as they appear to remain in a playoff spot within the Western Convention.
