Music: {allcanada} Sutter says Flames going 'back to Square 1'

Monday, November 1, 2010

{allcanada} Sutter says Flames going 'back to Square 1'

Niklas Hagman (notes) is hardly a mathematician, but he realizes the numbers just don't add up for this edition of the Calgary Flames.

When the puck dropped to open the 2010/11 season, conventional wisdom in these parts suggested the aging Flames might struggle to turn on the red light. They placed a dismal 29th in scoring last season, so the locals - without any additional firepower outside of Alex Tanguay (notes) - had every reason to expect more of the same.

An even bigger problem became overwhelmingly obviously in the last three nights of hockey at the Scotiabank Saddledome.

This team can't keep the puck out of its own net.

Want proof? Just look at the box score from those ghastly outings against Edmonton, Colorado and Washington.

"That's not the way we want to play," Hagman spat Saturday after a 7-2 paddling courtesy of the high-flying Capitals. "We've allowed 17 goals in the last three games. That's way too many."

A goals-against-average of 5.66 won't win many games in the old-timer loop down at the community rink (the one fuelled by liquid courage.)

Never mind in the National Hockey League, where a goals-against-average of 5.66 is a ticket to early tee times and lottery draft picks.

"I'll take responsibility along with everyone else in the dressing room," defenceman Robyn Regehr (notes) said of the recent defensive slide. "We have too look at ourselves. And myself.

"We have to go home and really think about all the things we have to do better."

An exasperated head coach Brent Sutter gave the Flames the day off Sunday to do just that - and perhaps even turn their minds off hockey for a few hours on Halloween.

Sutter, however, planned to huddle in private with his coaching staff and formulate a plan to salvage this mess.

"We have to get better ourselves,'' Sutter said. "I hold myself responsible and accountable for what's going on."We've got to try to get these guys back on the tracks. We've got to get it done, find a way."

For the third straight game Saturday, the Flames coughed up a lead, this one 2-0. But this one will go down in the history books for the most wretched period, with six goals against, in some 26 years for the local side.

The debacle started when Cory Sarich (notes) jumped off the bench at the wrong time, and the zebras nabbed him for too many men on the ice. Then Curtis Glencross (notes) took an ill-advised tripping penalty on Green 200 feet from his own net.

On the ensuing 5-on-3, Ovechkin pumped in two goals in a span of 12 seconds.

Later in the period, Alex Tanguay thought he replied for Calgary, but the goal was called off due to a phantom goalie interference call on Jarome Iginla (notes).

From there, the Flames folded in spectacular fashion. The Caps put up six goals in a span of 20 minutes - the highest total since 1984.

Are the Flames really that fragile?

"We're playing like it right now," Regehr said. "That has to change for us. We have to be able to face some adversity. That's just the way it goes. Sometimes, the calls don't go the way you want or there's things that don't go the way you want out on the ice.

"You battle through those."

As opposed to waiving the proverbial white flag in front of 19,289 hearty souls who paid good money to witness an absolute drubbing of the home side.

"It has nothing to do with being fragile," Sutter said. "I hope they're not saying that.

"This has nothing to do with fragile. We have to get tougher. We have to be able to deal with adversity better."

After a day off, the Flames return to the rink this morning in search of answers.

"Back to Square 1," Sutter said. "Back to the fundamentals and the basics of the game. Get back to the details of it. You just look at things. I didn't think we were sharp on our changes tonight. I thought we made some bad line changes. We were getting caught not coming hard to the bench, and they were able to come back on us because of that. There's times when pucks are just at the far blue line, and we're making line changes.

"You can't play that way. It's just not intelligent. It's not smart hockey."