Calgary Puck

On the second game of their three game homestand the Flames broke bread.

Er … bread broke loose?

Yeah that’s more like it.

Andrew Mangiapane with his first career hat trick and four point game powered the Flames to a five goal third period, erasing a 3-1 Ducks lead and cruising to a 6-4 final score in a game that looked to be slipping away.

Mangiapane was joined by linemates Matthew Tkachuk and Mikael Backlund in completely dominating the Ducks on the ice, and were finally rewarded with a point spree in the third period to halt the Flames current skid at a single loss.

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What a road trip!

Not very often do you see a team take three out of four on a road trip through California and Vancouver; the sunbelt teams a virtual house of horrors for the better part of 15 years.

However with a convincing 6-0 win in the team’s scariest building of all; the Pond in Anaheim, last night the Flames did exactly that returning home with a solid road trip despite the mind numbing setback in Los Angeles.

After a tepid home stand preceding the junket, two regular top four defenseman down and with the trade deadline just ten days away, the success should make the decision making for the Calgary brain trust all the more interesting.

Is this the same inconsistent crew from all season? Have they figured it out?

Or are they on a long over due puck luck heater?

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Do playoff bound hockey teams have listless first periods in Los Angeles?

I’m sure they do.

The season is 82 games long and it’s next to impossible to be perfect when it comes to consistency, and preparedness on an every second night basis.

However dropping three of four meetings to the worst team in the West is certainly a sign that something’s wrong in Denmark, which is where the Flames find themselves after losing 5-3 in Los Angeles last night.

That’s five big points given away this year, and by looking at the standings they could easily be the five the matter the most.

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Lose three at home and the season appears to be in jeopardy.

Head out on the road and rectify that feel with back to back 6-2 wins despite a depleted blueline with wins over the Vancouver Canucks on Saturday night and tonight in San Jose by the very same score.

Tonight it was the depth as Milan Lucic led the way with a three point night, as the bottom six boasted six scoring points in carrying the team to a really important win away from Calgary.

Now it’s on to L.A. with back to back games and a chance to really grab hold of their season.

Will the work ethic and consistency hold?

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Things don’t look all that great now do they?

After getting spanked by the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday night, the schedule ahead looked good for the Flames to make hay, garner some points, put the tough loss behind them, and push up the standings.

Instead a first period with promise turns into a decidedly listless second and third periods as the Flames lose the game 3-1 to the struggling San Jose Sharks, while also losing their captain to what looks like a right hamstring injury to Mark Giordano.

If this team wasn’t already difficult to categorize going forward, they’re only more confusing after tonight.

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