'WIN AS A COMMITTEE'

SAINT PAUL - They've clearly bought into the program.
You don't get to a franchise-record 25 road wins and bring the same level of commitment unless you're driven to play that way - the hard way - every night.
"I think guys really believe that we have what it takes in our room to be successful - obviously in the regular season, but come playoff time, too," said Blake Coleman, who knows or a thing or two about postseason success.
"We're not a team that relies on one guy. We obviously have some really talented players - a very talented first line - but we win as a committee and guys have really taken ownership of their game and made sure that they're pulling the rope, night-in and night-out. Our responses, after nights when we maybe didn't have it, has been pretty good. You look at the last stretch here and we've bounced back from losses and gotten back on track.
"Things like that are important come playoff time and that's a good sign."

The Flames had a goal all year of making the Scotiabank Saddledome a tough place for the opposition to walk into. They've done that, going 25-9-7, including a league-leading 21-5-3 mark since Jan. 18.
That's a full 10 points more than the second-place team, the Minnesota Wild, who the Flames will battle tonight at the Xcel Energy Center.
But the simple fact is that you need to win on the road if you hope to achieve the ultimate goal later in June.

"You've got to win on the road at some point in the playoffs if you want to win a Cup or win a round," Coleman said. "It's kind of inevitable that you've got to hold serve at home as much as possible and those road games are big.
"In my previous playoff experiences - more so than last year being in other buildings - stealing games on the road the first game we were in the other team's rink was a theme. I think we did it in all four rounds. So, obviously, that's a big momentum-setter for the series and puts some doubt into the other team's mind and the other fanbase's mind.
"And sometimes, that's all you need to get the ball rolling."

The Flames have been remarkably consistent this year, no matter the venue. In fact, no other team in the conference has won more on the road, nor has any other western club given up less than their stingy, 2.62 goals against per game, despite not having matchups.
With home ice guaranteed for only the first two rounds, they know they'll have to bring their A-Game to (un)friendly confines.
The Flames will close out their regular-season schedule with another two road tilts - tonight in Minnesota and tomorrow in Winnipeg - before the playoffs get underway next week.
For a trip that was initially billed as a bit of a sleeper with the division and most individual milestones already locked up, it's been anything but. On Tuesday, the Flames and Nashville Predators gave fans on both sides a taste of the postseason could look like.
It became clear that the Flames aren't tip-toeing their way into the playoffs.
And that no visiting barn will intimidate them.
"I had a few guys come up asking, 'Is this what to expect? Is this playoff hockey?'" Coleman laughed. "I had a very similar experience last year. I played Florida a few times in that Battle of Florida before the first round and it draws a lot of comparisons to how that game is played.
"The intensity, the physicality, the tight-checking way the game is played. The emotions. It was really close to playoff hockey.
"The after-whistle stuff, the retaliating - the things that can hurt your team… The good teams will cut that stuff out of their team and give themselves better chances to win.
"But aside from that, it was a good segue into the playoffs here."

ONE OF THE GREATS

A victory tonight would give Darrul Sutter his 700th career win behind the bench, tying him with Mike Babcock for 10th on the all-time list.
He'll tell you, of course, that regular-season success is just that - a number to be talked about, but judged, independently, from playoff achievements and the ultimate goal of winning a Stanley Cup.
But while the 63-year-old hates being in the spotlight - and gossiping about the "individual stuff" - it certainly is a mark worthy of attention.
"I never even thought about (approaching the milestone) until …. we played in Chicago and Jimmy Waite is the goaltending coach there for the Blackhawks," Sutter said. "He came to me before the game and told me that my first win as a coach, he was that goalie. I didn't remember that.
"That was in St. Louis and we played Tampa. (The night before), Tampa's first game ever in the NHL, and they smoked us. Eddie Belfour was our goalie, so we played the next night in St. Louis, and I put Jimmy in. We shut them out, it was (3-0).
"It goes fast."

Sutter has drastically changed the culture in the Flames locker-room. He's a frontrunner for the Jack Adams Award as the coach of the year, and rightfully so for how he's turned the team from a non-playoff club into one that could compete for the Cup this year.
The players would love nothing more than to reward him for that tonight.
"He's the ultimate competitor," Coleman said. "He lights up when he talks about winning Cups and winning games. … When you have a guy like that motivating you and driving the bus, it's not a surprise he's had so much success in this league. He's tough, but he's fair. Obviously, this game is on the players, but he puts the ship in the right direction and that's why he's about to hit 700.
"One of the things I've really noticed about Darryl… As a player, you recognize when you feel good. There are games when you think you should be out there more, and then there are games when you just don't have it and are scratching and clawing to do whatever you can to make an impact. I would say that Darryl has a really good finger on the pulse for that kind of thing.
"I would say that more games than not, when I'm feeling as if I'm feeling good and should be out there more, I'm playing more that game and vice-versa. I think more-so than some other coaches, he's got a really good grasp on that.
"That's what you want as a player, a coach that recognizes when you can contribute to a game, to a team, and understands when to use you like that."