ST. LOUIS – The Calgary Flames hit the halfway mark a mere four points off the pace they set last year when they won the division.
Yet, it feels like they’re miles apart from there.
It has plenty to do with the fact expectations changed almost as dramatically as the team did over the summer, and the adjustment to both continue to plague the club.
The team’s depth has allowed it to cling to a wild-card position, but coach Darryl Sutter is still waiting for one of his marquee players to step up as regular difference-makers.
Sutter knew goals would be harder to come by this season, but what he couldn’t have foreseen is how hard a time his troops have had keeping the puck out of the net.
Jacob Markstrom has been far from the Vezina-calibre netminder he was a year earlier and it’s anyone’s guess which of the ever-changing line combinations will help the team start winning more of the league-leading one-goal games they find themselves in.
Currently on a roll in which they’ve accrued points in 15 of 19 games, their ability to stay in every game is overshadowed by the fact they’re not steely enough to come through in the crunch.
Leading the loop in loser points isn’t something to get excited about.
For a team that will ultimately be judged on its playoff success, the fear of missing spring hockey altogether is mind-boggling for a fan base further frustrated by the coach’s reluctance to try using thriving prospects from the farm to help the big club offensively.
People are clamouring to see recent call-up Jakob Pelletier make his NHL debut, as the first-rounder has done everything he can in the AHL the last year-and-a-half to warrant the look.
The hand-wringing continues, as many fear Pelletier will be given the same sort of cursory look Matthew Phillips got last month, in the form of two games.
Last year, the Flames kickstarted their second half with a 10-game winning streak that rocketed them to the top of the Pacific.
They did it on the back of great goaltending and the best line in hockey.
Right now, they don’t even have a clear No. 1 line.
Optimists are still confident this crew has the personnel to go on a significant run.
Realists aren’t so sure anymore.
Key Statistics
Record: 19-14-9 (4th in the Pacific division)
Goals for: 3.05 per game (23rd in the NHL)
Goals against: 2.95 per game (15th in the NHL)
Power play: 19.4 per cent (25th in the NHL)
Penalty kill: 81.5 per cent (9th in the NHL)
Biggest surprise: Nikita Zadorov
Some might put Dillon Dube or Dan Vladar at the top of this list, but both were trending so well last year that their rise to prominence hasn’t been nearly as surprising as the Russian blue-liner.
Sutter deemed the 27-year-old the Flames’ best defenceman in training camp and he’s continued to impress from there, with seven goals and a team-leading plus-11.
He’s become a stabilizing force on a third pairing that has seen him play with endless partners this season.
Most importantly, the six-foot-six, 235-pounder continues to play the type of physical game Sutter wants his club to be known for.
With Sutter’s help, he believes he’s playing the best hockey of his career as he continues to play with confidence, allowing him to take chances offensively.
Biggest disappointment: Jonathan Huberdeau
No contest here.
No one in Calgary expected Huberdeau to maintain the pace he set last year with 115 points, finishing tied second in league scoring with Johnny Gaudreau.
He did it on a run-and-gun Panthers club devoid of the type of structure Sutter demands in Calgary.
However, to get to the midway point of the season with just eight goals and 21 assists for 30 points in 39 games is miles away from the mark expected from a man who signed an eight-year, $84-million extension after he arrived as part of the summertime deal for Matthew Tkachuk.
Never mind challenging for a league scoring title, he sits fourth on the Flames.
These are beyond growing pains at this point.
His defensive play and refusal to shoot the puck have been costly, as the two-time 30-goal scorer is being outshot by Trevor Lewis and Nikita Zadorov.
His inability to find chemistry with either Nazem Kadri or Elias Lindholm is confounding.
Surely at some point things will start clicking. But when?
Biggest question for the second half: Can the Flames tighten up defensively?
GM Brad Treliving deemed the ability to cut down the number of goals against his team’s “calling card.”
“We’ve still got a way to go there – it’s been integrating,” said the GM, who is still hoping Oliver Kylington will sort out his personal issues in time to join the team’s top four by season’s end.
“When we’re on, we’re not giving up a whole lot. You can have scoring throughout the roster, but make it real difficult and not give up a whole lot – that’s how it’s supposed to look here.
“We’ve got some work to go there yet, but I’ve seen some encouraging signs.”
The team has certainly been trending well, as the Flames have allowed almost a goal fewer per game in the second 20 games than they did the first 20.
Sutter has always put a premium on being sound defensively, which seemed like it would be easier with the addition of Kadri to Mikael Backlund and Lindholm up the middle, and the presence of a steady blue-line and netminder. Those are the cornerstones on which he’ll continue to build his team’s approach around.
It’s not a 2-1 league anymore, as scoring continues to climb.
But it’s not out of the question for the Flames to turn their raft of 4-3 losses into 3-2 wins.