From now until the end of the season, they’ve all got potential to be the biggest game of the year.
With the Calgary Flames and Vancouver Canucks in a tight-as-can-be, every-point-counts race for the Western Conference’s second wild card spot — and the St. Louis Blues and Utah Hockey Club right in the mix, too — the margin for error is such that every game has make-or-break potential.
Maybe, though, Wednesday night’s matchup between the Flames and Canucks is, err … the biggest-biggest game of the year.
“Listen, every game is a big game for us but what I do feel is cool is there’s some buzz around the city right now,” said Flames head coach Ryan Huska. “I love it. I think our players have done such a good job putting themselves in the mix right now and people continue to get excited about it.
“I feel like because of that excitement, our building gets tougher and tougher for teams to come in and play against us and we have to find a way to use that to our advantage.”
While it isn’t quite do-or-die time for either the Flames or Canucks, it’s getting close.
And Wednesday evening’s game at the Saddledome is the biggest we’ve seen between the rivals in years.
As of Tuesday afternoon, both teams had 19 games left on their schedule and the Flames were sitting on 70 points while the Canucks were right behind them, with 69.
That could flip by the time Tuesday evening is through, though, with the Canucks hosting the Montreal Canadiens.
That flip-flopping has gone on all season long and it brings the importance of these head-to-head matchups into stark focus. In the plainest possible terms, it’s the chance to pick up two points for both the Flames and Canucks, but also a chance to knock your rival back a bit.
Big game? Yeah, it’s huge.
“I feel like we’ve been playing a lot of playoff games lately,” said Flames winger Jonathan Huberdeau. “Every game, we’re in the playoffs (then) we’re out. Why not stay in?
“It’s important that we use that home advantage and, especially against a team like that, it’s probably one of the biggest games of the year right now.”
If the previous meetings this season between the Flames and Canucks have taught us anything, it’s that there’s potential for this one to get a little crazy. The Flames have won two of three against their rivals from Vancouver this year, although one of them went to overtime:
- Oct. 9 – Flames 6, Canucks 5 (OT)
The season opener for both teams was a wild one, with the Canucks storming out to a 4-1 first period league before the Flames clawed their way back into the game before Connor Zary won it in OT. The Flames didn’t like a hit by J.T. Miller on Kevin Rooney, and while Miller’s gone now this matchup set the tone for the rivalry this season. There was plenty of contempt to go around, and while nobody’s expecting a repeat of the 1980s-style high-scoring affair, it was a lot of fun in the moment.
- Nov. 12 – Canucks 3, Flames 1
Justin Kirkland opened the scoring, but after that it was all Canucks. The Flames were playing their second game in different cities in 24 hours and seemed to run out of gas in the second period, at which point goals from Elias Pettersson, Pius Suter and Erik Brannstrom saw the Canucks cruise to the win in the least eventful matchup between these two teams of the season.
- Dec. 31 – Flames 3, Canucks 1
This was a very fun way to spend your New Year’s Eve. Tied 1-1 in the third period until Nazem Kadri scored the go-ahead goal for the Flames and Huberdeau sealed the deal with an empty-netter, this was the game where the bad blood spilled over. Ryan Lomberg fought twice in the second period, dropping the gloves with Brannstrom and Derek Forbort, while Kevin Bahl also squared off against Miller.
Now, the fourth head-to-head tilt between the longtime rivals figures to be the biggest yet, with the most at stake.
These sorts of high intensity games are what the Flames have been hoping to get to all season as they’ve outperformed expectations and kept themselves in the fight.
Over the next 19 games, they’ll have a lot of games that feel huge.
There won’t be many that feel bigger than Wednesday night against the Canucks, though.
“It’s kind of hard not to think about it, but as a group we need to approach it the same way as any other game,” said Matt Coronato. “I think it’s good that we have more excitement and energy and we can use it for good.
“They just happen to be the team that’s right there in the standings, I think no matter when you play a team like Vancouver or Edmonton, there’s always that extra excitement. It should be a lot of fun.”