Head Tale

The Calgary Flames are having an amazing year as they move past the the quarter way point and head towards the halfway point of the season with no signs (well, maybe one or two) that they’re going to fall back to earth.

Being in a re-build mode and with predictions of a bottom 5 finish at the start of the year, they are currently in third place in their division.  Meanwhile, their hated rivals, the Edmonton Oilers, are in the midst of an 11-game winless streak and holders of the worst record in the NHL, even with THREE number one draft picks on their current roster (and possibly a fourth who is being labeled as a once-in-a-generation pick if they continue to do so poorly?)

A couple notes…

• The Oilers have 6 wins on the entire season.  The Flames have won 6 games after trailing going into the third period (normally a *very* hard thing to do!)
• Related to the last point, the Flames have more third period goals than the Oilers have total goals this year. (!)
• Various members of the Flames’ defense core is leading the entire league in points, goals, assists and +/-.
• As of this date, one Flame (Josh Jouris) leads the NHL in shooting percentage with 27.6% while another (Jiri Hudler) is in the Top 10.
• I can’t remember exactly but I don’t think the Oilers have won more than a single game against a Western Conference opponent.
• The good folks at Calgary Puck have a 700+ (!) page thread titled “Edmonton Is No Good” where they revel in the ineptitude of their provincial rivals.  Started in 2004 when the board moved to a new design, this thread has been *very* active this year.