Through the first 27 games of the season, the Calgary Flames sit 24th in the league in goalscoring. The first quarter of the Flames season has been a positive one. The team has surprised many and currently find themselves third in the Pacific division, and in the Western Conference playoff picture. However, despite their current spot in the standings, Calgary’s inability to create offence is a major cause for concern.
Goalscoring Woes
The Flames have gone 24 straight games without scoring more than three goals in a single game. Calgary has struggled to find consistent offence all season long. They don’t have anyone in their lineup who can be relied on consistently to score. The Flames leading goal-scorers have just eight goals through the first third of the season. The only team with a leading goal scorer with fewer goals than Calgary is the Anaheim Ducks. The Flames also have the league’s lowest team leader in points at just 16 points.
The Flames power play also struggled early this season. They went through several rough stretches early in the year right until the middle of November. Calgary’s power play has improved as of late, however despite improving to the 16th-best power play percentage, the team still hasn’t managed to eclipse three goals in a game. With these low point totals, it’s surprising the Calgary Flames aren’t lower than 24th in goals for by a team. The teams goal-scoring struggles have highlighted individual struggles for some individuals.
Under Achieving Individuals
The Calgary Flames are admittedly in a rebuild. So it’s not necessarily surprising that they don’t have any players near the top of the league scoring. This team was always going to be a group that needed to rely on more than a handful of players to score. However, this poor level of goalscoring is below what this team is capable of. Last season the Flames had two 30-goal scorers in Yegor Sharangovich and Blake Coleman, while Nazem Kadri scored 29. This year no player on the Flames is on pace for more than 24 goals.
Coleman’s career year wasn’t likely to be replicated as he’s never scored more than 22 goals before last season. The Flames, however, were hopeful that Sharangovich would be able to replicate last years success. This is why the Flames gave the 26-year-old a 5-year $28.75 million contract this summer. Sharangovich missed the start of the season, but since his return, he has largely ineffective and Calgary needs a lot more from him. Nazem Kadri has scored more than 25 goals four times in his career including last season. Although he currently leads the Flames in scoring, Kadri can be better. Like Sharangovich, if the Flames are going to succeed they will need Kadri to find another level.
Potential stars Jonathan Huberdeau and Andrei Kuzmenko have been disappointing to start the season. Kuzmenko is just two-season removed from a 39-goal campaign. However, Kuzmenko has been a healthy scratch in back-to-back games and has just 9 points in 25 games. Huberdeau’s time in Calgary continues to be a disappointment. He is on pace for a sub-50-point season which would be his worst in Calgary. Huberdeau has never been a goal-scorer but was known as an elite playmaker who could elevate his linemates, unfortunately, he’s proven incapable of being a reliable offensive player in Calgary.
This poor individual play is making it harder for Calgary to win on a nightly basis.
Narrow Margin For Error
Calgary’s inability to score goals has resulted in the Flames playing in 12 games that were decided by just one goal. While these games can help teach a team how to win, it can be taxing to be in these close games at this rate. These tight games have also meant that the Flames have found themselves in 10 overtime games. This is tied for the most in the league so far this season. This extra playing time can lead to players getting tired and even potential injuries related to fatigue.
Despite Calgary’s solid record at this point of the season. Finding themselves in so many one-goal games isn’t a recipe for sustained success. Being tied late in a hockey game means you could be one bad bounce away from a loss. All it takes to go from winning to losing in a one-goal contest can be a bad penalty, a single defensive breakdown, or a fluke. If Calgary wants to find themselves in the playoffs at the end of the season, they will need to find a way to create larger leads.
Relying Heavily on Goaltending
In order for the Flames to win they’ve relied heavily on their goaltending. The Calgary Flames goaltending tandem of Dustin Wolf and Daniel Vladar has been a massive part of their early season success. They’ve put together the NHL’s eighth-best team goals against-average and seventh-best save percentage. The strong play for Calgary’s goalies has been a bright spot, but with two unproven goaltenders, there is no guarantee they can maintain this great play for a full season.
Dustin Wolf is still a rookie in the NHL having never played just 18 NHL games before this season. His partner, Dan Vladar has never played more than 27 games in a season and is also coming off season-ending hip surgery last year. There’s not necessarily a reason the Flames goaltenders couldn’t continue their strong play, but the Flames need to find a way to help ease the load on their unproven tandem to improve their chances this year.
Three ways Calgary can improve goalscoring
Power Play
Calgary needs to find a way to create goals more easily. The most obvious way to do this is by having an effective power play. The Flames rejigged their power play units in mid-November and have scored power play goals in 8 of their last 9 games including two multi-goal games. However, so far this hasn’t resulted in more offence overall.
Developing Prospects
Calgary has had an injection of youth in the past two seasons. Some of their promising young talent has stepped into bigger roles. Connor Zary had a breakout campaign last season and could be the Flames most dynamic player. He creates chances on a regular basis and if he can find a way to convert more frequently he could help the Flames breakout. Matthew Coronato is in the midst of his own breakout season. Since being recalled on October 31st, Coronato has looked like a much more impactful player. Arguably the Flames best shooter, he has the potential to be a 20-goal scorer this season if he continues to play his best and gains confidence.
Trade
The third way the Flames can improve goalscoring would be to go out and acquire more offensively talented players. Calgary obviously isn’t in the market for a proven veteran goalscorer at this stage in the rebuild. However, Calgary could look to find some young pieces with offensive upside. The New York Rangers have made headlines recently as they apparently look to shake up their roster. Could someone like Kaapo Kakko be a player the Flames target in an effort to find more offence? Nils Hoglander in Vancouver is just 24 years old and scored 24 goals last season. Apparently, Vancouver could be open to moving him. Without any true offensive game-breakers on the roster or in the minors, Calgary should consider taking a chance on a trade to gain more offence.
Main Photo: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images
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