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The Calgary Flames were finally able to snap their eight-game losing streak on Dec. 22 against the Los Angeles Kings with a 4-3 overtime win. The team has traveled through both peaks and valleys in the early portion of the 2014-15 NHL season. Regardless, they have surprised the league sitting two points behind the defending Stanley Cup Champion Kings as opposed to battling it out with the Edmonton Oilers in the bottom of standings.
They started off the year hot, flirting with the top of the Pacific Division for much of the first portion of the year. Much of the Flames‘ success was delivered from the blue-line, with defensemen such as Mark Giordano and T.J. Brodie producing a lot on offense, and still Giordano leads the team in points. Jonas Hiller and Karri Ramo were both racking up the wins in net, rotating basically every time one of them lost. And despite injuries to the offensive side, young players were filling in the void and contributing; Josh Jooris even played well enough to earn a full-time role with the club.
Since then, things have tapered off, featuring the recently snapped eight-game losing skid. The team had notoriously slow starts to games all season, but they found themselves making a number of third-period comebacks to win. Their poor starts have finally caught up to them recently, though, contributing to the extended losing streak.
The Flames needed to win badly, and they were finally able to get one against Los Angeles on the last night. Now they need to keep that momentum rolling into the New Year, or risk falling short of the playoffs. They had an impressive start to the season, so we know they are capable of winning, but as any team, things can go down hill fast as proven by the long losing streak.
Shaun Lavery is a Calgary Flames writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter, or add him to your network on Google.
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