'A LOT OF BELIEF IN HERE'

Pressure can be the great equalizer.
It reveals character and brings out the best in the most hardened competitors - or brazenly exposes those who might crumble under the weight of it.
The Flames might be facing an uphill climb in their pursuit to make the playoffs, but MacKenzie Weegar speaks on behalf of everyone in the dressing room when he says:
"We believe."

"Pressure's a good thing," the blueliner said as the Flames get set to host the 46-8-5 Boston Bruins tonight. "We've all faced it at some point in our careers. The fact is, these are three huge, huge games against three tops teams - and Minnesota (on Saturday) is another team we're trying to chase.
"Boston's going to be a tough task. They always are. Obviously, they're a great team and we're going need everybody tonight.
"But as much as you could say there's pressure, there's definitely some excitement, too, when you play these top teams. There's a lot of publicity around these matchups and some really good players on the other side that you want to shut down.
"You want to beat them. That's all there is to it."

The Bruins are the NHL's media darlings, often looked at as the gold standard for how to build a contending team and retain talent, year after year. So, the usual line of questioning was again posed to the players at the Flames morning skate:
'What - if anything - do you take from their model and how you can emulate their success?'
To a man, the players were not keen on talking up their opponent too much. They respect them, sure. But these are their peers, after all, and to suggest the B's are in a class of their own would be like admitting defeat.
That's not in their DNA.
"It's mostly about us and our team, what we do well and what we can bring to beat these guys - which I think, and I know, that we have in this room," Weegar said. "When we're going on a great night, we can beat anyone.
"It's not going to be easy and we're going to need everybody. Boston's doing a lot of great things and you can't ignore what kind of talent they have, but we have a gameplan and it's on us to go out and execute."
The Flames enter the night four points back of the final wild-card spot, which is currently occupied by the struggling Kraken. However, by virtue of the Seattle's 27 regulation wins (versus the 22 by Calgary), the Pacific Northwesters hold the first tiebreaker and have a game in hand.
That means, as of this writing, the Flames would need to make up five points on their division rivals to make the dance.
It's a tall task - especially when you consider the gauntlet that awaits them this week at the Scotiabank Saddledome. Following tonight's game against the Bruins, the Flames will host the fellow Atlantic powerhouse Toronto Maple Leafs, before entertaining the surging Minnesota Wild on Saturday.
With 22 games left and a bunch of head-to-head matchups left on the table, they're still in the race.
But, certainly, the margin is razor-thin now.
Bruins or no Bruins - Leafs or no Leafs - the Flames have to make hay on this homestand.
"There's a lot of belief in here," Weegar said. "Every guy in this room still believes that we can get it done and get into the playoffs. If you've got all 23 guys in this room believing in that same goal, then I think we have a great chance of making it."