The floundering Calgary Flames are hoping a return home will be the tonic to snap their losing skid when the high-flying Winnipeg Jets visit on Monday.
The Flames return to the Saddledome on a five-game losing skid, with the latest setback being a 6-1 road loss to the Vegas Golden Knights on Saturday.
Calgary was outscored 9-2 during a disappointing two-game road swing, and that’s just the tip of the iceberg with the club’s woes. The Flames, who lost both home games so far this season, are last in the league standings, last in offense and third from the bottom in goals-against-per game.
“We’re a way better team than we’re playing right now,” forward Jonathan Huberdeau insisted. “We’re just not playing for each other. We’re kind of trying to do things maybe individually. I just feel we need to come back, play as a team. That’s how we’re going to be. We know we’re not going to score five or six a game, so we’re going to be better defensively. Right now, it’s just too easy against us.”
Pick any part of the game and the Flames are struggling. Their penalty kill surrendered a trio of Vegas power-play goals. They’re being outshot by more than five shots per game (24.2-29.8).
“If we get away from our structure or our detail, or someone takes a shift off, like we saw in the first period (against Vegas), three goals end up in the back of the net,” coach Ryan Huska said. “We need to be more committed and more detailed for a full 60 minutes than what we’ve shown.”
The Jets, last year’s regular-season champions, arrive in Calgary on the heels of a 4-1 victory over the Nashville Predators at home on Saturday, and riding a four-game winning streak.
Unlike their hosts, the Jets are excelling in all areas early in the season. To no surprise, their defensive play has been among the league’s best, but Winnipeg has been clicking offensively, netting an average of 4.2 goals per game, third best in the league.
Leading the attack is Mark Scheifele, who notched his sixth goal of the season against Nashville and became the franchise’s all-time points leader with 813 points, surpassing Blake Wheeler.
“Obviously, I’m tremendously honored,” Scheifele said. “I wouldn’t be here without the guys, especially the guy I went ahead of. He helped me throughout my career and he also gave me a lot of tap-ins, so I’m very lucky about the guys I play with currently and that I played with in the past, and I owe it all to them.”
Scheifele, the first draft pick after the franchise moved from Atlanta in 2011 and was renamed the Jets, has scored six times in a four-game streak and leads the club with nine points.
“He’s been such a consistent player. He has such great offensive skills and instincts. That was a great play, a real highlight-reel goal that he did score,” coach Scott Arniel said.
While their offensive push is eye-catching, the Jets remain a strong club in their own zone, especially on the penalty kill. Winnipeg has snuffed 18 consecutive penalties over the past four outings.
“Everybody is pitching to the best of their ability, and everybody is buying in,” forward Alex Iafallo told the Winnipeg Sun. “Blocking shots is huge, and our goalies have been making huge saves. All around we just have to keep doing that and keep sticking to the plan.”
