Calgary Flames Standing Pat…Almost
The Flames made 2 deals before the trading deadline getting Jamie Lundmark from Phoenix and sending Jason Wiemer to New Jersey. This is pretty much what Darryl Sutter said he would do which is stand pat and go forward with the players already in place. As all FLames fans know the team struggles at times to score goals which forces them to play a very defensive game. One reason this team continues to be successful is they play a total team game and have stellar goaltending from Miikka Kiprusoff on most nights. They have shown they can beat any team on any night and also have shown that due to lack of goal scoring they are vulnerable to a loss. While I know they are challenged to score they are exciting to watch and have a skilled and well rounded team from the goaltending out.
So the question is will we see another Stanley Cup run from Calgary and the answer is Yes they have the goaltending and defense and can keep teams from scoring too many goals against which as we know in the playoffs is key. All teams tighten up and the playoffs are a different game.
The teams with the solid goaltending and established defense have the best chance. Carolina, Ottawa (with Hasek healthy), Detroit, Calgary, Philadelphia, Nashville, and the NY Rangers. You may think other teams should be on this list but I think that the other potential teams lack chemistry or either goaltending or defense. Having sadi that once a team gets through the first round a team can get hot and push through to the finals. Just look at Calgary.
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