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Flames ‘sick and tired of the musical chairs’ in net, says Hartley

Bob Hartley

Bob Hartley

AP

The goalie situation in Calgary doesn’t seem to be getting any better.

The Flames are off to a 1-4 start and sit bottom-five in both GAA and save percentage, while still carrying three netminders -- none of whom have made the case for the starting gig.

And it’s starting to annoy head coach Bob Hartley.

After Jonas Hiller allowed five goals on 28 shots in Saturday’s loss to Edmonton, Hartley said he’ll go back to Karri Ramo for Tuesday’s date against the Capitals -- meaning the Flames will have a new starter for the fourth straight game.

Clearly, Hartley wants to see one of his netminders get on a roll, but neither Ramo nor Hiller has been able to.

Which begs the question: What about Joni Ortio?

Throughout this lackluster start, Ortio has sat idly by without getting a minute of action. The Flames originally kept him up because sending him down to the AHL would require a trip through waivers, and conventional thought suggested someone would snag the 24-year-old, who was named to the American League’s all-rookie team in ’13-14.

With the way things are going, shouldn’t Ortio get a shot at playing?

The Finn said in training camp he was looking to “steal that No. 1 job” and obviously believes he’s on par with Hiller and Ramo. The Flames must think it too, as GM Brad Treliving opted to keep all three guys -- even though he said “a wise man one told me there’s only one net,” and “carrying three goalies, you can do it for a short period of time, it doesn’t make sense.”

It’ll be interesting to see what happens next.

The Flames have two games left on their current home stand -- against the Caps and Red Wings -- before embarking on a tough stretch. From Oct. 25-Nov. 15, the team will play nine of 12 on the road, which includes difficult games against the Rangers, Islanders, Lightning, Caps and Blackhawks.

In short, it won’t get any easier on the goalies.

Related: Struggling Flames need to ‘get the ball rolling’