'Hungry For More'

Naturally, the most important game of the season is the one directly in the crosshairs.

We know the drill.

The one-game-at-a-time-approach rules all around here.

But when you look at the calendar and really examine what lies ahead – 10 games over the next 19 days, including seven of those on the road with plenty of long nights and air travel in between – you get a sense of how crucial this next stretch will be in determining the Flames' fate.

At 3-7-1, it represents an opportunity to turn things around and get back in the playoff race.

But it all starts with tonight – and taking care of business here, at home, would set them off in the right direction.

“It's a special opportunity to bounce back and really show that we're over this slump,” said winger A.J. Greer, who had an assist in Saturday’s 6-3 win over the Kraken and has been a great fit on the fourth line this season. “Being able to win is one thing, but being able to follow it up and win another game is another. It shows that you're dialled in, you're tenacious, and you're hungry for more.

“We're not content with one and we're certainly not content with two, either, but I thought we did very well in Seattle.

“It's time now to keep that momentum going and keep building on the good things that we've been doing.”

Despite the coaches’ best efforts of narrowing the focus down to single game – tonight’s – the players are keenly aware of and made sure the mention the dubious 'American Thanksgiving' stat that gets bandied about ad nauseum at this time every autumn.

That is, if a team isn’t in a playoff spot by the fourth Thursday in November, they have roughly a 25% shot of climbing the standings and earning a place in the spring dance over the final five months of the season.

Even then, the math tells us that the majority of the teams that do overcome those long odds are within only a few points by the time the turkey is served. 

This year, Thanksgiving falls of Nov. 23 – two-and-a-half weeks from today, and in the middle of a four-game road trip that will conclude this pivotal, 10-game block. 

And at the time of this writing, the Flames are only four points back of the second wild-card spot.

“We're aware of today and that's it,” said Head Coach Ryan Huska, quickly kicking that line of questioning to the curb, and instead putting all the emphasis on tonight’s clash with the Nashville Predators. “You can look at that stuff all you want, but I've seen teams in recently history that were the worst in the NHL at Christmas and they won a Stanley Cup. 

“Today is the most important day.

“The key to us making up ground is playing well tonight and putting this game as the most important game. We have to build on some of the things that we did in Seattle. We have to make sure that the pace of our game is right and that we have contributions from everybody.” 

A win would give the Flames a 4-7-1 record before they head out on a three-game, all-Canadian road trip that begins on Friday against Auston Matthews and the Maple Leafs. 

You can’t look at this upcoming stretch and attack with trepidation.

Instead, the Flames really do see this as an opportunity, with their game rounding into form and looking more like the offensively confident, yet defensive stingy group the Huska-led squad was advertised to be.

In addition to scoring a season-high six goals, they allowed a season-low 20 shots while being especially chintzy in the interior, where they surrendered a measly half-dozen high-danger scoring chances – their fewest in five games. 

“The results often show if a team is playing the right way,” said Greer, noting the Flames had a strong third period against Dallas that helped set the table for their victory in the Emerald City. “Sometimes in sports, it happens in a way where it doesn't work out like that. But ultimately, you look at longer stretches, longer patterns of games – and you keep doing those good things consistently over time – it's only a matter of time before it clicks. 

“We didn’t have to wait long.

“We knew that if we came out and had a similar effort in Seattle, it would give us a good chance and we were rewarded for that.

“The challenge for us now is to put that same game on the ice tonight against another good opponent.”

The Predators are coming off a 5-2 win over the Oilers on Saturday and currently sit at 5-6-0 on the year after dropping three of their previous four games. But what makes the Music City Men particularly intriguing is not the star power, led by Filip Forsberg and Ryan O’Reilly, whose hat-trick propelled Nashville to that one-sided victory in the Alberta capital.

It’s the infusion of youth, with a second line compromised of Tommy Novak, Kiefer Sherwood and Luke Evangelista, who continually push the pace and wear teams down on the forecheck.

So, yes, look ahead all you want. 

At your peril, even.

The Flames need to bring their work boots tonight and kick off this stretch of ‘must-wins’ with the most must-have of them all:

This one, right here.

“It's a long season and you do need to break it up into segments to focus in on the moment,” Greer acknowledged. “But right now, playing in front of our crowd, playing in front of our fans, you don't want to lose two in a row at home. We've lost a few in this building, so you definitely want to turn that around and start building off that here at home.

“We know we have a big road trip coming up. Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal – they're good cities, they’re great places to play and are going to be very competitive teams to play against. We're going to be prepared. And a big part of that is setting ourselves up well for that trip by getting a big win tonight. ... This league is very competitive and on any given night, anyone can win. 

“It comes to your will.

“And how badly you want it.”