gra·vy
ˈɡrāvē/
noun
1. the fat and juices exuding from meat during cooking.
2. NORTH AMERICANinformal unearned or unexpected money.
Not entirely sure if the first definition of gravy applies to the situation but the second option certainly does.
Ask the team or the city in October about heading into Vancouver up three games to one with a chance to finish them off and move on to a second round matchup with the Anaheim Ducks and I would surmise you’d be laughed off the sidewalk.
The baseline was in the McDavid mix.
The upside was a battle season that has them out near the trade deadline.
As the team moved into March it became evident that they overshot pretty much any and all expectations that even the hugest homer, the most optimistic optimist, or the most served bar patron could invent.
The season has been that successful.
When it became possible to achieve the unthinkable and qualify for the post season the campaign became successful as the team even in the thralls of a four game sweep would learn a lot of big game lessons propelling the roster forward at a quicker clip than one regular season of development could possibly generate.
And as has been the case all season, they’ve clearly gone beyond that.
What’s exciting is how they’re doing it.
The Flames could close out the series tonight and move on to the second round. They could drop one tonight and close it out on home ice on Saturday in front of 19,289 enthusiastic but tense red clad fans. They could lose two in a row and get themselves into an all or none game on Monday night in Vancouver.
None of these will affect the gains already made.
Don’t get me wrong, another playoff series against the favourited Ducks would teach even more lessons, experience doesn’t cap you can always get more of it.
But this run is unlikely to result in a Stanley Cup this year regardless of how good it has looked to date. The bottom line is the fact that this “rebuilding” year is exactly that, a team rebuilding, altering it’s core and developing its young players.
The key to this series was the Flame’s youth, and whether they’d go deer in headlights under the glare of the playoff pressure or just cowboy up (obvious Calgary reference) and carry the mail in the first round series.
The answer is clearly the latter.
All 16 teams have at least one rookie that has played at least one game in the first round of these Stanley Cup Playoffs. A total of 38 skaters and 4 goaltenders have graced the ice of first round action. Twenty two of these players have played in all of their team’s games.
The Flames have SIX of those 22 players.
Of the 28 skaters 18 have scored at least one point so far in the playoffs, the Flames have THREE of those 18.
Nine of the 38 skaters have picked up two or more points in the first round, and the Flames have TWO of those rookies on their roster.
Four rookies sit atop the rookie scoring race, and the Flames have two of the four.
The Flames are up three games to one against Vancouver, a positive development in any light, but huge for development when you consider the roles played by first year players. The Flames have two rookies in their top six, each have had three points, and both are tied with Vancouver’s Bo Horvat in a series dominated by first year players. Johnny Gaudreau has been the best of the top line with Sean Monahan struggling (hurt?) and Jiri Hudler only recently making an appearance. Sam Bennett goals in back to back games, including a game winner, and has essentially given the Flames a dominant second line in his effective partnership with cycle strong players like Mikael Backlund and Joe Colborne.
Michael Ferland is a third line presence, has proven he’s a good enough player to be given a shut down assignment and has altered the series with his renegade seek and destroy forecheck, taking many Canuck veterans off their game and playing a huge role in why the Flames are up two games thus far.
On the fourth line Josh Jooris has provided solid secondary minutes also contributing on the forecheck and with physical play.
Markus Granlund sat the last two games, but got his NHL playoff feet wet in the first two games in Vancouver.
Finally Tyler Wotherspoon has been sheltered and a frequent bench sitter since coming in for Cory Potter in game three, but is gaining valuable experience that can only help him in training camp next year. As the series, and hopefully playoffs roll along, I look to his minutes to see if he can creep up from the four or five range to the eight or nine to take some pressure off the Calgary big three.
Playing in big games is a must for young players. If you can perform when you have to, in games with tighter checking, more physical play and a crowd going ape with every turn of the game, you are in better stead for next season and the seasons beyond when the pressure returns to normal NHL hockey.
Johnny Gaudreau has been talking about his size, and whether or not he could survive in the big man’s NHL for years. Watching him in the playoffs its clear that not only was he ready to step up to another level in the playoffs, he’s been more than able to navigate through traffic and spin his wizardry, not jettisoning the puck early to avoid hits. He’s excelling not surviving.
Sam Bennett all of 18 would be forgiven if he was more of a spectator in this series given a) a serious injury b) a season of inactivity and c) his complete last of NHL experience, but instead he’s a catalyst that has already made him a target for less than clean hits from the Canucks in an attempt to neutralize him. How good will this kid look by Christmas next year with playoff action under his belt?
Its a season that can’t fail. Whenever the media, the fans, or likely the team its owners and its management stop to add up the value of an unexpected season it seems things just get better and better.
Tonight the Flames can win and advance to the second round of the playoffs.
But the advancement of the organization and the roster has already gone to the next level.
The team and its fans will be reaping those rewards for a decade.
