"Sh*t the bed": Flames can't close playoff gap after another poor result
Calgary Flames defenceman MacKenzie Weegar summed it up best.
The frustrated rearguard, fresh off a stinging regulation loss to the lowly Anaheim Ducks, stated bluntly, “We come here and we kind of shit the bed against a team I feel like’s not at our standard.”
Unfortunately, it’s not the first time.
Better hope it’s the last.
The Flames, facing dire straits when it comes to their aspirations to play hockey beyond the regular-season closer against the San Jose Sharks on April 12, can ill afford to drop any more contests to teams with a higher percentage at landing Connor Bedard in the 2023 NHL Draft than they do having aspirations of post-season play.
“It’s not acceptable,” Weegar said. “It’s happened quite a few times this year. It doesn’t matter who our opponent is. We have to play better than the opponent every night and focus on ourselves. We’ve been talking about it.
“We need to find ways to win these games and get these two points.”
"We've got to find ways to find. It's another night of outshooting our opponent but coming up short."
MacKenzie Weegar speaks with the media after the 3-1 loss to the Ducks. pic.twitter.com/cvJq9CwW74
— Calgary Flames (@NHLFlames) March 11, 2023
Against those — respectively — bottom-feeders, Calgary has been as mediocre as they come. The Ducks’ dismissal drops the Flames’ record this season against non-playoff teams to 13-12-5.
That’s a .517 points percentage for those scoring at home.
They’ve got a .535 points percentage against teams currently in the dance.
Go figure.
“We need players to step up and we need to get those goals,” said fellow rearguard Ramsus Andersson, who’s team managed just one strike against a Ducks team that entered Friday’s action with a -100 goal differential — far and away the worst on the circuit.
“It’s been the same kind of story all season long. We’ve been in games and dominating games but we keep losing them, one goal or overtime or, like today, where it feels like we’re dominating the game but we can’t get that tying goal, we can’t get that leading goal. Couple lucky bounces for them to get a couple goals. We’re there, we’re playing good and all that kind of stuff. We just can’t get that goal we need.”
"It's frustrating."
Rasmus Andersson gives his take on the loss to the Ducks. pic.twitter.com/M3adM5MpVF
— Calgary Flames (@NHLFlames) March 11, 2023
Suddenly, that strength-of-schedule advantage that the Flames boast — the easiest docket from here on out — doesn’t seem like much of an edge.
The problem is compounded by the fact Calgary could’ve been within two points of the Winnipeg Jets for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Western Conference.
Instead, they currently trail the Manitoba squad by four, and have now offered up Winnipeg a game at hand to extend the spread to six.
It’s an uphill climb for a Flames club that’s yet to string together more than a three-game winning streak this season and last did so over three months ago.
#Flames head coach Darryl Sutter shares his thoughts on tonight's setback to Anaheim. pic.twitter.com/mJaNdWa2Vc
— Calgary Flames (@NHLFlames) March 11, 2023
“It does feel pretty repetitive,” Weegar offered. “We’ve got to find ways to win. It’s another night outshooting an opponent but kind of coming up short. It is a bit frustrating, for sure.
“We’ve got to understand now we’re fighting for our lives. Everybody in the room needs to find a way to step up a little bit more. Offensively, I think everybody needs to step up a little more.”
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