Post Game Platter: Game 80 Flames vs Sharks

 Post Game Platter: Game 80 Flames vs Sharks 

Credit: Calgary Flames

       The Calgary Flames this season are the definition of the cat who came back and just couldn't stay away. This is by no means a perfect team, they have warts and don't excel in any one area, except for goaltending which is the main reason this team is still alive and in a playoff hunt. Their latest must win game against the San Jose Sharks featured a classic slow start, brilliant play by Dustin Wolf to keep the team in it and then an excellent third period to close out a huge win. Will the Flames have a chance to control their destiny following Tuesday's game against Vegas, we will have to see. 

    Thoughts from the Sharks game: 

• An awful start was not what anyone wanted to see with the Flames season on the line, going down 1-0 in the first three and a half minutes while allowing 15 shot attempts against and not recording a single shot attempt themselves. 
• Dustin Wolf again was the driving force behind this victory allowing his team to weather the slow start and find their game. A magnificent save later in the game off a weird bounce off the glass which went straight out in front of the net onto the stick of Tyler Toffoli kept the game tied until Yegor Sharangovich found the back of the net a few minutes later for the Flames to take the lead for good. 
• Sharangovich has been rounding into form these past couple weeks looking more like the player who scored 31 goals last season. I thought he had been skating much better and was much more engaged the past 7 or 8 games yet had not had much luck finishing chances. Scoring in three straight games now it looks like he is getting his confidence back and maybe that lethal shot of his can come back to life. Might be too little too late for this season, but finishing off the season strong would only be beneficial for his confidence heading into next season which he will need starting the first year of the contract extension. 
• Matt Coronato showed up again in a big moment showing his natural goal scoring ability to control a less than perfect pass off the skate into shooting position, get his eyes on target, and snap in a laser, perfectly placed shot to give the Flames a much needed insurance marker. Fascinating to see what next year will bring for him after a full season in the NHL. If he stays healthy 30 goals should be a likely target he can hit, possibly 35. As this team (hopefully) improves over the coming years it may not be a stretch to see him get close to 40 goals sometime in his career. Now if only the coaching staff could figure out how to get the puck to him on the powerplay... 
• Adam Klapka is such a fascinating player that changes the dynamic of the forward group when he is on his game. Now that is the most difficult question - what is he really? In limited opportunities playing up the lineup he has shown flashes of being a difference maker with the size, skill and not terrible speed to get in on the forecheck, control pucks, make smart passes and finish opportunities. Will he get the opportunity next year to show if he can be that player consistently? With a lot of wingers on the roster it may be difficult to find where he slots in but if he can prove that he has more to offer than being a 4th liner then that would be a huge (no pun intended) find for the Flames. 
• Nazem Kadri and Mackenzie Weegar continue to be the driving force for this team outside of the blue paint. Veterans who are doing their best to shoulder the majority of the load for the Flames and continue to be difference makers. 
• Rasmuss Andersson has struggled this season, in the bottom of the league in plus/minus which is a stat that should be taken with a grain of salt, however, the outliers at the high and low end can be a good indicator of who is contributing and who is more of a liability. He has been fighting through an injury lately yet his play leaves a lot to be desired particularly for a player who is eligible for a contract extension this summer.

    This up and down season is coming to a close, only two games remaining. Tuesday will determing if the Flames are eliminated from playoff contention or will they enter their final game of the season with a chance to control their own destiny. At the start of the year no one imagined that the Flames would be anywhere near a playoff spot so to at least be this close is a credit to how hard this team has worked and how they keep coming back even when everyone is ready to write them off.