By Sportsnet Connected /
As the National Hockey League season moves towards the two-thirds pole, Sportsnet Connected experts weigh-in on how the Calgary Flames and Edmonton Oilers are faring.
FLAMES: Calgary slips in Northwest Division race
With Roger Millions
As the calendar nears the end of January, the Flames find themselves falling out of contention for the Northwest Division lead and in danger of falling out of a playoff spot.
Sportsnet Connected reporter Roger Millions can’t figure out what kind of team the Flames are this season.
“In games at Nashville and Vancouver earlier this month, the Flames have shown they can play defence and produce a team game that’s the envy of the NHL,” says Millions.
“However, their current five-game winning streak has shown that team game was ugly‚ÄîDr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde ugly.”
Millions points to the coach and the Flames’ leadership core as the reason behind the discrepancies in their results.
“Can players like captain Jarome Iginla and defenceman Robyn Regher withstand Brent Sutter’s demands and public questioning of their inconsistency? I tell ya, it’s like a soap opera around Calgary these days. But at least it’s not dull.”
OILERS: Edmonton struggles to get back on track
With Gene Principe
The status of the Edmonton Oilers’ playoff hopes are truly on life support.
The Oilers now find themselves entrenched in the basement of the Western Conference.
Sportsnet Connected reporter Gene Principe says the Oilers have not given up but admit it would take a miracle to stop their three-year slide out of the playoffs.
Now might be the time to start moving bodies.
“The most immediate way to change the lineup would be through trades,” said Principe. “The Oilers do have some talent that would pique the interest of those that are buyers going into the March 3 trade deadline.”
The other talk that’s circulating is the chance for Edmonton to be a lottery team for the upcoming draft and have a chance to get a franchise player like Taylor Hall from the OHL’s Windsor Spitfires.
Getting a top-five pick would probably mean a lot more losing but it may be a case of short-term pain for some long-term gain for an organization that has never drafted higher than fourth overall (Jason Bonsignore, 1994).
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