Flames need to pick up their socks

Okay, before you other NHL fans jump all over the title of this email, let me first get a few things out in the open.

I have never been what would constitute a "fair weather fan". I have stuck with my Calgary Flames through out the glory days of the 1980s, the inability to get out of the first round of the playoffs in the 1990s, and then a decade with out making the playoffs. I was rewarded in 2004 with the Flames miracle playoff run that fell one game short of the Stanley Cup. Still, it has not been an easy haul.

Last season people kept asking me if I thought the Flames were a Cup contender, to which my reply was "I just want them to make the playoffs". Given the decade of no playoff appearances, that was still the goal. If they went further, that was the icing on the cake.

This year, I saw the improvements the team had made and thought there was going to be something more. At this point though, given their recent slide in the standings, I'm back to "hoping for that playoff spot".

I have made reference to it before, but I am still at a loss as to why Calgary can't win on the road. It certainly reflects poorly on the leadership in the organization.

In saying all of that, the big achilles heal for this team has been overtime and shootouts. Calgary has just 3 wins and 10 losses in OT, including a dismal 0-8 record on the road. The Vancouver Canucks by comparison have 16 wins and 6 loses over the same stretch. If both teams were .500 in OT, Calgary would actually be ahead of the Canucks.

The only thing I can hope for at this point is that the playoffs, should we make it, will be a different tale. There is no 4-on-4 and no shootout. It's hard nosed 5-on-5 hockey - just the way it was meant to be.