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2011-2012 season preview: Calgary Flames

Edmonton Oilers v Calgary Flames

CALGARY, CANADA - APRIL 6:Jarome Iginla #12 of the Calgary Flames is congratulated by teammate Alex Tanguay #40 on his hat trick goal against the Edmonton Oilers in third period NHL action on April 6, 2011 at the Scotiabank Saddledome in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. (Photo by Mike Ridewood/Getty Images)

Getty Images

2010-2011 record: 41-29-12, 94 points; 2nd in Northwest, 10th in West

Playoffs: Did not qualify

Calgary is one of the most curious and maddening teams to follow. The Flames have been inconsistent at times, tough and brilliant at others thanks to Jarome Iginla. That said, they’ve been a non-playoff team the last two seasons. Can the Flames forget about the slumps and learn to embrace consistency?

Offense

Scoring was not an issue in Calgary last season. The Flames were seventh in the NHL in goals scored and had seven players earn 40-plus points. Iginla was again Mr. Everything in Calgary leading the team in points with 86 and scoring 43 goals. Alex Tanguay and Olli Jokinen will try and show that last season wasn’t a flash in the pan offensively while Rene Bourque is emerging as a force on the left wing. Scrappy winger Curtis Glencross will also look to keep his production rolling along as well.

The Flames will need to get more from the center position and the likes of Brendan Morrison (once he’s healthy) as well as Mikael Backlund and Matthew Stajan. Newly acquired Lee Stempniak should help keep things balanced on the right side and give Calgary a steady 20-plus goal effort.

Defense

Calgary’s top four shape up to be rather decent. Adding Scott Hannan helps give them a steady defensive presence while Mark Giordano is one of the best kept secrets in the NHL when it comes to point production on the blue line. Anton Babchuk gives them a booming shot on the power play and Jay Bouwmeester is just quiet and steady as he goes. Cory Sarich, Chris Butler, and Brett Carson round out the pack that will try to keep things quiet for Miikka Kiprusoff in goal. There’s solid play here, but they need to be stronger defensively.

Miikka Kiprusoff

Calgary Flames’ goalie Miikka Kiprusoff, from Finland, leans on the goalpost during a break in the closing seconds of third period NHL hockey action against the Anaheim Ducks in Calgary, Alta., Wednesday March 30, 2011. Anaheim won by a score of 4-2. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press - Larry MacDougal)

AP

Goalies

Miikka Kiprusoff had a below-average year for himself last season finishing with a goals against average of 2.63. The Flames, however, hope to give Kiprusoff a bit more rest as he gets older. Last season, Kiprusoff was third in the league in minutes played and his backup Henrik Karlsson has to play stronger and earn coach Brent Sutter’s trust more. How Kiprusoff holds up and plays is key to the Flames’ success. A few more nights off would go a long way towards helping him play at his best.

Coaching

Brent Sutter enters his third season as the Flames’ coach and while the Flames have done all right in earning 90-plus points in both previous seasons, the team has yet to make the playoffs with him at the helm. Should Calgary get off to a slow start like how they did last season, the calls for Sutter to be fired will roar quickly. GM Jay Feaster inherited Sutter as his coach, so don’t expect him to sit and wait around for Sutter to fix things if the losses pile up early. In such a questionably talented division Calgary could bully other teams to win. Failure isn’t an option for Sutter.

Dallas Stars v Calgary Flames

CALGARY,CANADA - FEBRUARY 16: Mikael Backlund #11 of the Calgary Flames skates against the Dallas Stars during their NHL game at Scotiabank Saddledome, February 16,2011 in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.(Photo By Dave Sandford/Getty Images)

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Breakout candidate

The time is now for Mikael Backlund to prove his worth. At 22 years-old he’s the lone Calgary prospect showing that he can make it in the NHL. After struggling to establish himself as a force last year scoring just 10 goals In 73 games and winding up with just 25 points, if he can break out he’ll provide a huge lift to the Flames offense and make them all the more dangerous there. Earning Sutter’s trust would go a long way to doing that as he averaged just over 12 minutes of ice time per game last season. It’s tough to leave your mark when you’re twiddling your thumbs on the bench.

Best-case scenario

Iginla does the same thing he did last year and dominates play night in and night out and brings all of his linemates along for the ride as well. Getting repeat performances from Jokinen and Tanguay would go a long way to helping that. Seeing continued growth from Bourque and Glencross with another 25-plus goal season would help out too. Giordano and Babchuk make the Flames’ power play one to be feared season-long while Kiprusoff bounces back in a big way to show why he’s one of the better goalies in the league and leads the Flames into the playoffs without much stress.

Reality

Slow starts and poor stretches of play have ruined the last two seasons for the Flames. Avoiding that meddling stretch of play will be key for Calgary as they’ve shown they can keep up with the best in the West, they just haven’t been able to produce that full season of effort to get to the postseason. Iginla’s health (he’s had back spasm issues in training camp) puts the Flames on a dangerous brink. If those issues linger season-long, the Flames are in trouble. Both Iginla and Kiprusoff have to be the All-Stars here to get Calgary back to the playoffs. If their defense can’t hold it together and Kiprusoff has to be beyond brilliant on a nightly basis, the Flames will find their playoff hopes coming down to the final games all over again.