Blasted

 Oh, Blasty. How appropriate you are to not only symbolize the darkest era of the Calgary Flames, but also be a metaphor for the current team's problems. As of now, the Flames are on a skid of eight games out of their last nine, and if not for the Ottawa Senators, who I'll mention later on in this article, they would be the worst team in the North. Yes, I know Vancouver is tied with Calgary, but they have their own problems with an outbreak at the moment.

The story of the Flames' season so far is one of an identity crisis. On paper, this team should be dominating alongside Totonto. However, something is missing, or should I say, some things. Let's start with the aforementioned Senators, who the Flames have an abysmal record against this season, having just two wins against five losses, with two games remaining. In at least two of those losses, the Flames were run out of the building in embarrassing fashion. Next, the offense is primarily Elias Lindholm, Matthew Tkachuk, Johnny Gaudreau, Sean Monahan, and little else. There is not enough production from the bottom six forwards and the blue line has all the offensive production of a pop gun. Goaltending, long an issue since Miikka Kiprusoff retired in 2013, isn't good, either. Coaching is also an issue, as they are now on their third coach in two seasons, as not even a re-return of Darryl Sutter can energize the Flames. That is their season so far, but how did it come to this? 

Let's rewind to the 2013-14 season, the first without long time Flames Jarome Iginla and Kiprusoff. Mark Giordano is captain and Monahan is in his rookie year. The Flames are still terrible, but there is hope, as Gaudreau makes his NHL debut on the final game of the season. Following the season, Brad Treliving is named GM, and with Bob Hartley behind the bench, they look like they're going places. They even win their first playoff series in 2015, a feat not accomplished since 2004, nor has it happened since. After that season, the Flames have been a mixed bag, alternating missed playoff seasons with first round exits, with only the last two seasons being the first time they made it back to back since the late 2000's. Who do I point the finger at for this situation they're in right now? I think it's time to look at the GM.

Treliving has been around the Flames since spring of 2014. His tenure has seen five head coaches, and possibly counting, four playoff appearances, one series win, and personnel decisions that should have gotten him fired after last season. In the draft, the only real player to have an impact in Treliving's tenure is Tkachuk, and he's tailed off this season. He's traded the first round pick twice, also, to mixed results. While the Flames won the 2015 trade with Boston (to get Dougie Hamilton, only to trade him to Carolina a few years later for Lindholm), they really could have used the 2018 pick, which along with their second round pick that year, was used to trade for Travis Hamonic. They could have used Noah Dobson by now, as 2017 first round pick Juuso Valimaki has had issues staying healthy. Speaking of draft misses, the Flames have had a long history of poor player development. Sam Bennett in 2014 is a prime example, as his career high in points is 36, his first full year in the league. He hasn't cracked 30 points since. 

So, the draft hasn't been the best for Treliving, but what about free agency and trades? As mentioned earlier, his trade for and later trading of Hamilton was good. The problem is grossly overpaying for the likes of James Neal, Chris Tanev, and Jacob Markstrom. Let's begin with Neal, who they signed in 2018 to a five year deal for just under 5 million a year. To say he underperformed was an understatement, and he was shipped to Edmonton for another terrible contract in Milan Lucic. The Flames are paying him 5.25 million to put up around 20 points a season and be nowhere near the player he was in Boston. The Flames currently have just under 20 million tied to their top four defenders, 5.35 million a year tied to Mikael Backlund for four more years, and are paying Markstrom 6 million a year to post a 3.02 GAA as of this writing. 

Writing that last paragraph actually depressed me, as the Flames have no idea what they're doing right now. I didn't put the Flames in the playoffs when I made my predictions, and after writing this piece, I'm beginning to understand why. There is no direction with this team, they're simply throwing things against the wall in the hope that something sticks, and worse, it's all for nothing but tire spinning that won't lead anywhere but the middle of the pack, at best. 

I Watched This Game: Record Breaking Time?

Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images

 Tonight is a special edition of "I Watched This Game," as the Buffalo Sabres are on the verge of history. Tonight, as in Wednesday, if I happen to post late, they take on the Philadelphia Flyers, where they have a chance to hold a dubious distinction of longest winless streak all to themselves. How did it get here? I will set the table, and hope it doesn't get broken.

Their 18 game winless streak has consisted of four shutouts, a coach getting fired, the GM behind the bench for a game, Eric Staal getting a "Get out of jail free" card, every team in the division getting at least one win, and three total points just for reaching overtime. However, nothing in that streak was more painful than Monday's game against the Flyers. Up 3-0 entering the third period, the Flyers score three unanswered goals in the period before Ivan Provorov put an end to things in overtime. In that time, the Sabres missed a chance to ice the game late when Tage Thompson missed an open net, only for Sean Couturier to score at the other end.

Now that I've given context, let's go to the game.

First period

• Brian Elliott and Linus Ullmark are in goal. Dylan Cozens is out due to injury, and Oskar Lindblom, Nolan Patrick, and Shayne Gostisbehere are scratched by the Flyers.
• Sloppy start to the game, as both teams have a fondness for icing the puck.
• Buffalo gets their act together long enough to strike first. A Kyle Okposo pass from the corner finds Sam Reinhart in front. He wrists one, and it goes in, with a little help from Justin Braun, to make it 1-0 Sabres. Rasmus Ristolainen gets an assist at 9:32.
• At 11:59, Riley Sheahan makes a block on a Flyers shot from the blue line, and corals it for a breakaway. He wisely sees Curtis Lazar trail behind him, and dishes it to him for a 2-0 lead.

After one period, the Sabres are up 2-0. Nationally televised game, and the announcers kept harping on Sabres mistakes as a reason for their 18 game winless streak. Both teams had trouble early, but Buffalo found some momentum in the middle of the period. Philadelphia has had a habit of starting slow, so let's hope this doesn't haunt them.

Second period 

• 54 seconds in, Tage Thompson high sticks Travis Sanehim in the Flyers' offensive zone. Two minutes, and a chance for the Flyers to swing momentum. 
• The Flyers don't score on the power play, but do get momentum on their side. They are rewarded with a goal at 3:50, as Ivan Provorov claps one off Brandon Montour in front and deflects past Ullmark. Sean Couturier and Jakub Voracek get the assists.
• The momentum swings the other way, as Buffalo is the team on the attack. Ristolainen feeds a puck out of the corner to a waiting Steven Fogarty, who lasers one past Elliott to restore the two goal lead for the Sabres. Jacob Bryson also gets an assist at 9:42.
• The hits continue for both Bryson and Fogarty, as this time, they are the givers to a perfect Casey Mittelstadt finish. That also spells the end of the night for Elliott at 15:39, as he gives way to Alex Lyon.
• A Henri Jokiharju clear attempt goes out of play, but without touching any of the boards. That is a delay of game at 16:51.

Here we are again, a three goal lead for Buffalo heading into the third period. Do they hold on this time? 

The Flyers had things going for them at the start of the period, but once the Fogarty goal happened, the house caved in. Fogarty and Bryson stood out here.

Third period

• Not much to note for the first half of the period, which is a good thing for Buffalo. They may hold on, after all.
• Thompson trips Sanheim at 13:38. I may be speaking too soon.
• Never mind, Philadelphia pulls Lyon, but the gamble fails, as Montour nails a shot almost the length of the ice at 14:53. Short-handed, and an empty net. It's pretty much over now.
• Now, it's really over, as Montour takes a shot at Lyon, but is stopped. He finds a rebound, and nets his second short handed goal at 15:30.

Game over, Buffalo snaps an 18 game winless streak. The score pretty much tells it all, as Buffalo played one of their best games in a while, and Philadelphia looked sleepy throughout most of the game. Ullmark finally gets rewarded for his efforts, and there's more of a direction, at least the last three games. Taylor Hall still needs to find his game, and Rasmus Dahlin showed flashes.