The two bottom feeders in the NHL’s weakest division meet on Saturday when the Calgary Flames play host to the Vancouver Canucks.
Despite their status as also-rans in the Pacific Division with only a few weeks remaining in the regular season, the atmosphere surrounding the clubs is noticeably different.
While the Canucks (21-42-8, 50 points) sit at the bottom of the league standings and are smothered in disappointment amidst one of the worst seasons in franchise history, the Flames (30-34-8, 68 points) are of the belief their late-season success is a sign of better days on the horizon.
The Flames are looking to rebound after a 3-2 overtime loss to the Anaheim Ducks on Thursday when they close out a six-game home stand in which they have cobbled together a 4-0-1 record.
“That stings. Stings a lot. But overall I thought our team played really well,” goaltender Devin Cooley stated.
The Flames are yet to be officially eliminated from playoff contention, but everyone can see the writing on the wall being nine points out with 10 games remaining.
Yet in spite of their loss to the division-leading Ducks, Calgary is looking at solutions and not just throwing in the towel.
The two big factors in the setback were penalties — including a pair of too-many-men infractions — and passing up scoring chances, not a good sign for a club that has had five goals called back due to coach’s challenges during the past five games.
“We overpassed the puck, and we’re a team that has to put pucks to the net and then find a way to generate off a rebound,” coach Ryan Huska said. “Hey, you’re all for creativity and skill, but at some point, someone’s got to shoot it in the net.”
The Canucks were officially eliminated last weekend, but have been essentially playing out the string for a couple of months.
Vancouver arrives on a four-game losing skid, but that is only the tip of its woes.
The Canucks are opening a four-game road trip after losing six of eight games on their now-completed home stand, with the latest being a 4-0 loss to the Los Angeles Kings on Thursday.
Vancouver has managed only six wins in its last 36 games (6-25-5), a stretch that goes back to before Christmas.
“It’s hard on everybody right now and it’s not easy, but we have to learn from this,” defenseman Filip Hronek said. “No one else is going to help us. We have to keep grinding. … We have to be better everywhere. We have to win more edge battles, like on the faceoffs, we have to win more battles in the D-zone, we have to execute the plays. Everything.”
“Everything” could also describe all of the deficiencies on display, the most obvious being the Canucks’ status as being the league’s worst defensive club in addition to having scored the fewest goals in the league this season, one fewer than Calgary.
Vancouver has been shut out six games this season, five times at home, and the frustration is palpable.
“We have just got to find a way to get more offensive zone time and put pucks to the net,” forward Brock Boeser said. “I feel like we’re passing up a lot of shots, and even (Thursday) I thought there were some chances where we could have put the puck to the net and we tried to make a cute play, and it doesn’t work.”
