Because of all then upsets, many of us took an absolute poop-kicking in the prediction department. However, no money was involved therefore no harm-no foul. It’s also fun to take your best guess and see where things fall. But this opening round was absolutely the best first round I’ve ever watched on so many fronts.

Question is: can the Second Round maintain the same high intensity, the same high level of quality hockey and also the high level of interest from fans? Stay tuned! Why wouldn’t you?

East
Rangers/Capitals
Sticking with the better goaltending…but not by much.
Rangers in Six

Flyers/Devils
NJ has the better goaltending, but Philly has firepower.
Flyers in Six

West
Blues/Kings
Tough one. Like both teams. Like everything about them. But one team can score a little easier than the other.
St Louis in Seven

Coyotes/Preds
Going with my general playoff rule…In most cases I always look at the goaltending first…one team is slightly better than the other.
Nashville in Six

ONCE AGAIN… Do NOT take these predictions and bet the farm.
All four of these series have ‘coin flip’ written all over them. Enjoy and I always love the feedback. Chime in.

Vancouver/Los Angeles
Canucks in Six
Too much offense against a team that can’t create any.

Nashville/Detroit
RedWings in Seven
Taking the team with experience.

St Louis/San Jose
Blues in Six
Hitch has me believing and the Sharks window has closed.

Phoenix/Chicago
Coyotes in Six
Mike Smith has me finally believing…don’t let me down.

NYR/Ottawa
Rangers in Five
Under appreciated Rangers romp.

Boston/Washington
Bruins in Six
Beantowners will smother OV and the Caps

Florida/New Jersey
Panthers in Seven
Just have a weird feeling about this one.

Pittsburgh/Philadelphia
Pens in Six
Best series of the bunch and if it goes Seven, I’d love it!

Just my quick picks based on my gut feeling. Too often after spending hours and hours of pouring through stats and stats…I often think that going with your heart is best. Nothing wrong with that right?

Sit back and enjoy!

Simply put…not beating the Oilers, the Blue Jackets, the Avs and the Wild pretty much says it all. If the Flames really want to make the post season dance then those types of efforts simply cant be acceptable in the eyes of diehard fans.

It also makes it by difficult to believe that they can find that ‘light switch’ and turn it on down the stretch. Am I alone in this line of thinking right now? While the math says YES there is still a chance……

I’m a half full kinda guy, but I also tend to be a realist.

The heartbreaking loss to the Ducks in Anaheim combined with the Dallas 3-1 win over the Oilers in Edmonton put the Flames 4 back going into a huge game on Sunday at the Dome. However, there are still 17 games to go and the loss to the Ducks just keeps everyone on edge.

I’m not saying “this is it”, but lose to the Stars on Sunday and the hole gets very deep. I don’t think that’s overly positive or horribly negative… just realistic.

There were some encouraging signs out of the desert. They saw the big line start to get interested again and that’s a huge positive. Plus they hung in there when the going got tough. Especially in the second period when things started to get away from them…which has been their Achilles Heel so far this season.

No points for pretty…but they found a way to get it done against a team that was the hottest team in the NHL through the month of February. Take the win and move on.

But they were resilient when things got crazy. They were resilient when the wheels started to fall off. That’s a positive and lets see if they can build on it. It’s on to Anaheim for the next big one.

They gathered for video session at 11:45am and finally players started to filter out of the room by about 1:30pm. I have to assume that they had a nice lunch because that’s an awfully long time to sit watching highlights(?) of their game last night against Philadelphia.

The general consensus among those who watch the team is that there’s not a lot the Flames can do to better themselves immediately at this year’s deadline. Jay Feaster’s phone will ring and the names of Kipper, Iggy and Olli will be the most asked about. But it sounds like none of those three will be available if the GM is to be believed. That leaves Glencross and Tanguay as the last of the higher profile guys and I’m just not sure there’s any appetite to move either of those guys right now.

So all that is left is the mid range guys and I’m not sure they’d bring anything but draft picks which won’t help this team right now. It’s a major dilemma for a team that appears confused on which way to go.

So that’s where we all sit right now…waiting.

Sign him and keep him… Sign him and trade him… Don’t sign him and let him walk… but with his strong effort in this game GM Jay Feaster has a dilemma slowly building with the trade deadline looming. What to do?

My opinion doesn’t really matter in the Flames office, but I’ve liked the way Jokinen has played for the most part this season. But with so many contracts up this off season, I’m just not so sure he’s gonna be good value at a time when the team may be looking at some major re-tooling. Is he leadership material and can he help mentor a youth movement?

Like I’ve said… lots of things to like, but I just don’t know if he fits into the team’s future. But if he survives the trade deadline, then I’m thinking he’s a long term keeper in the mind of Jay Feaster.

But after three goals and one helper? He’s gonna make it one tough decision.

Hard NOT to keep a close eye on the Flames these days. Whether  you think they have enough to make it to the post season dance or not, it still should be a fun month of February. 

March? I’m not so sure about that month yet…let’s just get through this one first. 

I’m writing this at 37,000 feet over Salt Lake on my way to the Valley of the Sun where I plan on catching some sun and then catching up to the team on Thursday. 

But first things first…Anaheim then San Jose…not easy. The Ducks game should be ‘win worthy’ but based on their Flames track record in Pond…nothing is a sure thing. As for the Sharks in the Tank? Who knows the way the Flames have played them…close but not quite enough. 

All I know is this…Thursday against the Coyotes is the first of four monster games against the Desert Dogs. Need to win that one for sure. For sure. 

Lose in Phoenix and things could get measurably tougher. They simply need to stay close and NOT fall off the pace before the end of the month. These first two games are big, but the game Thursday is a MONSTER. 

Do you see it differently? Get through this week……and then there’s next week. LOL

Fast forward to Thursday and they played another solid road game in LA and came away with the win in a shootout. A favorable result after a workman-like performance. Played better Tuesday but Thursday was also pretty good. Not scoring much, but they’re becoming miserable for other teams to play thanks to tight checking hockey.

It ain’t pretty, but it’s working.

Question is… Can they keep plugging away like this, banking on so little offense firepower and the spectacular netminding of Kipper? I’m not sure but I figure this is the only way they’re going to have a shot at qualifying for a possible playoff spot. It’s not pretty but so far it’s effective.

Granted three wins in a row is not cause for parade route planning, but they’ve started to show signs of life at just the right time. The powerplay is improved, the penalty killers are working hard and being rewarded, their ability to choke off the neutral zone is coming along and the veterans are starting to lead the way. All positive signs. But there’s still some work to do.

Now comes the toughest part of the entire season… 11 of their next 13 games are on the road and this could be THE turning point of the year. Survive THIS and things could be looking much better. I’m not sure I’m drinking the Koolaid just yet, but I can hear them prepping a brand new pitcher in the kitchen.

Worth the wait?