'IT GIVES YOU THE CHILLS'

The C of Red is more than a classic, panoramic colour scheme.
It's an identity.
A family.
A culture unto itself.
Come playoff time, with 19,289 souls crammed inside, the atmosphere at the Scotiabank Saddledome is - without question - a spine-tingling, chart-topping, full-body experience.

"It's hard to describe, really," said Rasmus Andersson. "It's exciting. It's fun. This is what we've been waiting for all year, to get here, to get to this point and start playing. It's something you've got to take in and really enjoy it, for sure.
"It's special.
"It gives you the chills and gives you the goosebumps. It's fun. We're all really excited to get going here."
You can say that again.
For the first time in three years, the Flames and their fans are together again for this incredible, springtime tournament.
"It's a good thing," said Head Coach Darryl Sutter. "It's a fun thing. Haven't had it for a number of years. You watch the games last night, two Canadian cities (Toronto and Edmonton), start to finish - it was rocking.
"The best part being a playoff team in Canada is for your fans and players.
"Hey, it's our game. They have the right to be loud."

This year - perhaps - more than any other in history.
We're slowly emerging from the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic and fans have been clamouring for an outlet. They patiently watched while their team competed in the Edmonton Bubble. They stayed at home while the abbreviated, 56-game campaign robbed them of a chance to see their heroes up close all of last year.
But the Flames have come back stronger.
Just like the community that rallies around and supports them so.
"It's exciting to have a group like this," said the longest-tenured Flame, Mikael Backlund. "It's been the best regular season we've had in my time here. It's a very mature and experienced group. I'm really excited about what this group has done this year and can do (in the playoffs). It's a great time, the playoffs.
"It's a lot of fun it's great to see the fans in the city come together."
The locals enter Game 1 of their Western Conference First Round series as the betting favourites over the Stars, who earned the first wild-card spot and are the only playoff team entering the dance with a negative goal differential (-8) in the regular season.
But these are the playoffs.
And anything can happen.
With four of the eight series' kicking off last night, a noticeable theme emerged, with a combined 37 powerplays setting the standard for is and isn't a penalty.
The key for the Flames is to manage their emotions early, and not let the excitement of it all dictate their playstyle.
Energy is good.
But getting too charged up and loose with your discipline can definitely lead to some problems.

"Just look at last night, there were a lot of penalties taken," Backlund said. "That can happen when you get too excited. We want to stay cool so we don't take those penalties, but at the same time, use (the home crowd) to our advantage.
"A good start will be key to get everything going.
"We don't want to sit in the box. We want to play hard and physical and take charge right away, but we have to do it the right way."
Backlund has 856 career games under his belt as a Flame, but only 30 of them have come in the postseason. This could be his best chance to take home the ultimate prize and he doesn't want to let it slip this time.
"We believe in ourselves and know we have a good team," he said. "There's a lot at stake here and a lot of hurdles... but we know we're a really good team, and we have a really good team to play against and can't get too far ahead of ourselves.
"We've got to stay in the moment - right here, right now - and that's the biggest part of the playoffs.

"It's more a goal and a mission within the group - not what outside people think."