5 attainable causes for the Calgary Flames’ freefall

Mike Babcock simply completed up. Now on the 18th tee deck? Invoice Peters.
It feels unjust to even take into account the Calgary Flames coach’s job in jeopardy contemplating he simply obtained the gig final 12 months, by which he took Calgary from out of the playoffs to first place within the Western Convention, however one thing has to provide proper now. The Flames’ freefall obtained dangerous sufficient to achieve the players-only-meeting juncture after Thursday’s 5-Zero defeat to the St. Louis Blues.
The loss was Calgary’s sixth straight. Any shedding streak is worrisome, however the nature of this one has been significantly alarming. They’ve been outscored 23-5. Does imply Peters in in hassle? Not essentially. TSN’s Bob McKenzie mentioned this week that, whereas gamers could also be “grumbling” about Peters, there’s completely no teaching change imminent, and that GM Brad Treliving could go the commerce path to attempt to dig the Flames out of their gap. Then once more, the staff has since dropped two extra video games.
If the issue isn’t Peters, what’s? Let’s delve by just a few attainable explanations for Calgary’s depressing stoop.
T.J. Brodie’s well being scareLast week throughout a Flames observe on the Saddledome, blueliner Brodie, 29, mysteriously collapsed and convulsed. He left the sector in an ambulance. It was clearly a horrifying incident for all who witnessed it. The Flames have performed 4 video games since then, all with out Brodie, throughout which they’ve been outscored 17-2 and shut out 3 times. Is it attainable this super-slump inside a stoop is basically a results of the gamers being emotionally traumatized? That may be extremely comprehensible.
Brodie has begun skating once more after a litany of assessments from specialists urged the incident was most definitely a fainting episode fairly than a symptom of a bigger well being drawback. There’s nonetheless no timetable for his return, however maybe realizing he has an opportunity to rejoin the staff in “the close to future,” as Treliving has urged, can provide Calgary a morale enhance.
GoaltendingNo one will pin Calgary’s woes on David Rittich. He hasn’t been elite by any means, however he’s been a minimum of an sufficient beginning choice. His general numbers obtained torpedoed in Thursday’s defeat, dropping his season save share from .913 to .909. Backup goaltending has been an issue, nonetheless. Newly signed Cam Talbot has struggled mightily, shedding 5 of six choices and posting an .893 SP. A retired NHL goalie turned analyst who watches Talbot rather a lot lately urged to me that his confidence has fully evaporated since his excellent 2016-17 with Edmonton by which he completed fourth within the Vezina Trophy vote.
The celebrities aren’t shiningThere’s one thing severely incorrect with stud left winger Johnny Gaudreau’s recreation. “Stoop” doesn’t describe it adequately contemplating this stretch dates again to final season following the all-star break. Since then and factoring on this season, we get a 56-game pattern, throughout which Gaudreau has amassed 12 targets and 44 factors. His commonest linemates have tanked, too. Middle Sean Monahan over that very same pattern: 52 video games, 12 targets, 39 factors. Proper winger Elias Lindholm: 55 video games, 16 targets, 37 factors. That’s second-line manufacturing at finest from what was one of many recreation’s most dominant trios for 4 months final season. Even left winger Matthew Tkachuk, who has been comparatively slump-proof by comparability, has one aim in his previous seven video games. High defenseman Mark Giordano hasn’t matched final 12 months’s Norris-Trophy type, both, however it’s extra forgivable contemplating (a) he’s 36 years previous and (b) he’s tasked with battling opposing groups’ finest gamers each single evening.
As an entire, although, the Flames have an excessive energy outage inside their core of prime gamers. With the go-to guys not producing, it’s no surprise this staff ranks useless final within the NHL in targets per recreation. Final 12 months, by the best way, Calgary iced the league’s No. three offense.
CoachingSo what can clarify nice gamers of their primes instantly producing like function gamers? Some would possibly say it’s a symptom of men quitting on their coach, which we noticed in Toronto over the previous couple weeks main as much as Babcock’s firing, however that’s a tricky factor to tangibly show.
Peters has juggled his personnel as a lot as he can. He’s put his regular strains in a blender. He’s tried motivating the staff by ripping them to the media. He merely hasn’t been in a position to mine the trouble he wants from his core group, so, honest or not, one has to surprise if a brand new voice would jumpstart the gamers.
LuckThe Flames aren’t scoring. However how badly are they actually enjoying? Throughout their six-game shedding streak, they’ve outshot their opponent at 5-on-5 4 occasions, together with all three shutout losses. They’ve had the sting in shot makes an attempt 4 occasions, too. On the season, their taking pictures share sits at 7.56, useless final within the NHL. So is that this staff merely unfortunate?
Maybe. However there’s a distinction between placing photographs close to the opposite staff’s internet and producing significant probabilities. At 5-on-5, the Flames generate the 24th-most high-danger makes an attempt per 60 minutes this season. The seems to be are too usually low-percentage.
In order that’s both on Peters or it’s on the personnel. The guess right here is that, simply 107 video games into his tenure, he has extra leash left than Babcock did. Earlier than we see a training change or a dramatic commerce involving a participant of Gaudreau’s ilk, it’s extra possible Treliving works to make some secondary roster upgrades within the close to future in hopes of plugging holes in his sinking ship.
(All superior statistics through NaturalStatTrick)
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Tags: calgary flames, lists, information, teaching, nhlConnect: Concerning the AuthorMatt LarkinMatt Larkin is a senior author at The Hockey Information and has been a part of the staff since 2011. He is your one-stop store for deep-dive participant interviews, predictions, statistics, fantasy participant rankings, participant security and hair suggestions. Catch him weekly as host of The Hockey Information Stay and The Hockey Information Podcast.